Landscape Management, November 2017

Landscape contractors love working outside so its a good way to give back and share the gift of green space with those in the military says Code Its a small thing that we in this industry can do to give back Den Gardner is a member of Project EverGreens board and is its former executive director Gardner helped transition the organization from its original name Ever Green Foundation which was a legacy group from the Professional Lawn Care Association of America in 2002 and he managed it from 2003 to 2010 In 2004 the foundation became Project EverGreen Gardner recalls that the seeds for GCFT were planted in 2006 when Phil Fogarty a master franchisor at Weed Man Lawn Care in Euclid Ohio mentioned to Gardner that his company started offering free lawn care services for families whose primary breadwinner was deployed overseas Fogarty wondered if it was possible to turn this idea into a larger service project Gardner returned to the Project EverGreen offices then located in Minnesota and began to work with the board and his staff to create GreenCare for Troops He hired a part time manager to handle the day to day operations of the initiative with financial support from Cub Cadet LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET November 2017 G4 PHOTO sPrigs Twigs Do the riGht thinG As a business owner in a military community Bill Lillie sees his fair share of families and disabled veterans dealing with hard times trying to juggle basic daily tasks such as grocery shopping or shuttling kids to and from school As a longtime volunteer for greenCare for Troops he wants to help take lawn care off that mile long list Along with his wife Linda Bill Lillie co owns sprigs Twigs a landscape company in gales Ferry Conn He discovered greenCare for Troops gCFT in 2009 at a giE EXPO in Louisville Ky He signed up on the spot received an onboarding package in the mail a few days later and began providing services for military families in need There is no shortage of families to help in his area since his business is located in southeast Connecticut near Naval submarine Base New London the Navys first submarine base Helping military families hits close to home for the Lillies since in Lindas first marriage she was a young Navy wife A lot of them are just starting out managing a household or managing a young family for the first time Theres a great opportunity to help them out and help them get some chores done says Bill Lillie His wife founded sprigs Twigs in 1997 as a part time venture and in 1999 she made it her full time job Bill Lillie retired from his job in the defense industry in 2005 and joined the business Today the company has 20 employees and is projected to hit 225 million in sales this year on almost entirely residential clientele Landscape design build and installation comprises 60 percent of the companys business while maintenance accounts for the remaining 40 percent The sprigs Twigs team handles lawn care for five or six greenCare for Troops families each year and transitions those families to snow removal during the winter months Though keeping up with the scheduling of the military families might be challenging in addition to a full slate of clients the companys volunteer coverage area adheres to its regular coverage radius of 30 miles of southeastern coastline and 10 miles inland which allows it to work the military families into its regular routes fairly easily Bill Lillie is very proud of sprigs Twigs relationship with gCFT and wishes he could promote its volunteerism more but hes hesitant to do so because of the demand in his area i let Ki Matsko program manager for gCFT handle that and were kind of like the silent partner he says its almost defensive that i dont talk about it i would get so many calls if i advertised that i volunteer and i have a problem saying no Hes grateful that the company he built can assist at least a few families each season its very easy to give back to people who have given back to us he says They are the ones sacrificing their lives supporting the country and their spouses are supporting them its the right thing to do Bill Lillie The Sprigs Twigs team gathers for a company party Cindy Code GreenCare for Troops guide