First Choice Tree Service honors Linn Mills

By Tony Valenti

In Las Vegas, most everyone knew of Linn Mills.  He was a leader in the Southern Nevada horticultural community and a longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. 

Recently, at First Choice Tree Service, we dedicated our yard to Linn.  Now, at our two-acre fenced lot, hangs a banner in his name. Every time we drive through, we think of the great person he was.  The lot is called the Linn Mills Yard, and it is the heart of our tree service business.  But, the tribute to this man runs much deeper. 

You see, Linn was such an inspiration, to not only me, but to everyone he encountered. He had a way of making everyone feel good about themselves.Linn was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a bishop for his church.  But, talks of religion were hardly in my conversations with him, as he always regarded me as a peer and expert in the tree industry.

Professionally, he was an expert in his field of horticulture. During most of his career as a horticulturalist, Linn worked for the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension in Southern Nevada. He spent a few years working for the Utah State University Cooperative Extension in Salt Lake City. Linn finished his career at the Las Vegas Valley Water District. For the past 30 years he was a garden columnist for the Las Vegas Review Journal and did garden segments for KLAS-TV 8. Linn also co-authored “The Nevada Gardener’s Guide”.

Linn was also active at Springs Preserve.  I still remember the time when he called upon me, as I was doing a site check there.   He had a tour group of about 15 people. He was educating them on the various native species that grow in the Las Vegas Valley.  Linn and I had known each other a long time and whenever he wanted to talk about trees, I was his go-to person.  That day, I just happened to be at Springs Preserve when he spotted me and asked me to talk to this group about a particular tree.  I was honored to have shared the platform with him that day.

Linn had a way of making everyone around him feel special.  It’s a gift that only a handful in this world are willing to give freely.  His unselfish ways, his laughter, his knowledge, his continued thirst to learn - even as accomplished as he was - is an inspiration.  His legacy lives on in our hearts. With each person he touched, it was like an arrow launched from his bow. We are the arrows that will continue his legacy of sharing, serving and enriching the lives of others.

First Choice Tree Service is LEAN at 25!

By Tony Valenti

It has a been a spectacular year for us, as we celebrate 25 years since First Choice Tree Service started out of a pick-up truck.  We have grown significantly since our early beginnings.  I wrote in a previous post about my visit to Vermeer Manufacturing’s headquarters.  What I learned from my visit is the importance of business efficiency. It inspired me to want to provide a better workplace for our entire company. This year, I’m honored to take part in Vermeer’s LEAN Initiative.

Tony Valenti and Kyle Pieratt of Vermeer Southwest Sales

We can choose to LEAN anything, from our administrative process, to our yard operations.  Our goal is to eventually LEAN our entire business, but a good starting point for us was our yard and shop areas.  First Choice Tree Service sits on three acres, on which we house all our equipment, entire fleet, tools, etc., everything needed to conduct business on a daily basis. With the help of representatives of Vermeer Mfg. and Vermeer Sales Southwest we re-organized our yard in a manner in which our crews can clock in, grab their tools and uniforms and head to their trucks in far fewer steps.  By moving key storage containers, Conex boxes, etc., to more logical locations, we have increased their efficiency and reduced wasteful time spent walking across our large lot multiple times to obtained everything the crews need to start their day.

Essentially, LEAN is centered on making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else. It’s a philosophy derived mostly from the Japanese manufacturing industry. Kaizen, the Japanese word for “good change,” is based on improving standardized activities and processes, and ultimately eliminating waste.  By implementing an organizational method called “5S” (Sort-Set in Order-Shine-Standardize-Sustain), we successfully implemented a process for creating a more efficient work environment.

Another area of our LEAN focus was our mechanic’s shop.  Our entire inventory of tools and shop supplies were removed from various locations of the shop and placed in a staging area for evaluation.  Items identified as waste were hauled away. Items of value were kept. In fact, an area of waste that totaled approximately 30 yards was considered expendables.   Every corner of the shop was cleaned, then re-organized.  Equipment and tools were assigned to specific areas, clearly marked with paint.  At the end of the day, all equipment/tools are expected to be returned to their designated locations.  If a designated spot it empty, it will be noticeable to anyone something is missing.   Additionally, our mechanics have color coded work areas and toolboxes.  I think they are quite pleased with their newly-organized workstations.

A presentation was held at the end of the event to recap the week’s activities and to discuss what we must do to maintain the 5S process in our yard and shop areas.  We still have work to do in LEANing the rest of our company, but we made a remarkable change in just one week. We look forward to implementing the same methods in other areas of our business.  I’m so grateful our staff embraced and invested themselves in this philosophy.  The idea of working towards a more efficient business translates to so many positives. From raising morale, to greater teamwork, to increased pride in our work, to reaping the rewards of accomplishing great feats. 

  

I cannot thank Vermeer Mfg. and Vermeer Sales Southwest for their investment of time and resources in our company, spending upwards of 50 hours in one week to jump-start this great business venture we call LEAN.  It’s been an incredible experience thus far. We look forward to sustaining this initiative and continually moving forward with “good change.”

First Choice Tree Service Visits Vermeer

By Tony Valenti

Every once in a while, I am fascinated by something that inspires me to take action.  While my company, First Choice Tree Service, is celebrating 25 years in business this year, we are still growing, learning, expanding, and perfecting our business model.  My recent trip to Vermeer only accelerated our momentum to keep up with the pace of our fast-growing company, to improve our processes while continuing to provide value to our customers.

My close association with Vermeer landed me an invitation to visit their headquarters in Pella, Iowa. I have always been impressed by Vermeer products. What I learned while I was there made quite an impression on me and the future of our company.  The legacy of Mr. Vermeer lives strong in their company, and it all started with his philosophy for success:  fill a need.  

Gary Vermeer was a farmer who saw a need. In1948, he created a mechanical hoist to ease the process of unloading his grain wagon during harvest. Word spread quickly and a company was born. Soon, different product lines started emerging from Vermeer Manufacturing Co.  In 1971, he invented the first large round baler.  The Vermeer baler revolutionized the way hay was harvested and is still considered one of the most important agricultural inventions.

Today, Vermeer manufactures equipment for the hay harvesting industry, as well as grinders, brush chippers, stump cutters, horizontal directing drilling systems, mini skid steer, utility and track trenchers.

In later years, the company added Vermeer University, which provides product knowledge/training for its dealers and company work force, and employee job skills training.

Aside from the overall experience of being on the Vermeer property and learning about their company's culture and philosophy, the biggest take-away for me was learning about the "Lean Initiative."  Using the company's core innovative thinking, Vermeer developed a process that improved their cost management, quality, lead time, customer service and many other aspects of their operations.  After implementing the Lean process in the late 1990s, their productivity skyrocketed.  One example of their improved efficiency is it used to take 52 days to manufacture a chipper, it now only takes 2 1/2 days.  The hours per unit went from 80 hours to the low teens. Additionally, Vermeer experienced improvements in their production quality, safety and customer service.

 Learning about the process of organizing a company that is streamlined, productive and robust in every way was the highlight of the visit. While Vermeer is in the business of manufacturing, First Choice Tree Service is a service company, in the business of providing the best tree care service in Southern Nevada.  We take great pride in giving back to our community, educating our customers and our community about trees and conservation, as well as beautifying the cityscapes in the Las Vegas Valley.  At the end of the day, it's a lot we are trying to do, and we're committed to being the best.

I'm excited to see how the Lean Initiative will enhance our company’s processes in delivering greater value to our customers.

Is it time to remove a tree?

By Tony Valenti

Certified Arborist #WE7531A

CTSP #918

Trees are beautiful and comforting to many of us. Some would even go so far to claim that they’re like family. So, removing a tree from your landscape could be a difficult experience to encounter, especially if you’ve grown accustomed to seeing it outside your window for years.

What if you notice over time that this tree looks different than it did when it was healthy?  Rather than seeing its branches sway in the breeze, you observe a bare canopy, which would normally be lush with leaves in the summer, hanging over the ground where the tree's roots once vigorously grew.

A tree planted too close to a building can cause hazards.

This palm tree succumbed to rot.

Before you decide to do anything, consult a professionally trained arborist to help inspect your trees for damage and determine the best solutions for the benefit of your landscape. A qualified arborist would not only best communicate the likelihood of failure for your injured tree, but also provide you with the full range of benefits your living tree would continue to provide if not removed.

Transplanting a tree can often times be an alternative to removal.

For a quick home analysis, start observing the tree, starting at the roots. Determine what might be occurring at the base before working your way up the tree during an inspection. Check of the following signs of tree damage:

1. Heaving soil at the base of the trunk and beneath the canopy
2. Mushrooms and other decay-producing fungi growing at the base of the trunk
3. Fine twigs without living buds near the ends of branches
4. Peeling or chipped bark and cracks in the trunk
5. Cavities in the trunk or large scaffold branches
6. Dead or hanging branches in the upper crown

Are London Plane Sycamores happy in Las Vegas?

         The name “London” gives us an indication that London Plane Sycamore trees are not native of Las Vegas. In fact, Sycamores grow in all states east of the Great Plains, except Minnesota. Sycamores prefer to thrive along edges of streams and lakes and small depressions that have slow drainage. Additionally, this species grows well in wet muck land, shallow peat soils and soils associated with river bottoms and flood plains. Farther south, it commonly grows on the alluvial soils of flood plains adjacent to larger rivers, on former stream banks and in the moist coves, lower slopes and ravines. In general, this tree grows best on sandy loam with a good supply of ground water, typically on the edges of lakes and streams. 

So, what happens when you take that same tree and install it in the harsh desert environment with extreme heat, extreme winds, extreme cold and extreme fluctuations in temperatures? Then, on top of that, we plant it in a small tree well next to asphalt and concrete walkways and buildings, like many trees are planted in Las Vegas.

The result can be any or all of the following: discoloration of the leaves (yellowing), leaf scorch (the leaf tips browning), twig die back, lethal cankers, lace bugs, flathead borers, plum borers, premature leaf drop, dead branches, reduced vigor, injury and ultimately death.

While there are some Sycamores that do better than others in the Las Vegas area, this is mainly due to proper tree maintenance being performed on the trees such as, minimal pruning cuts, adequate water, fertilization and overall plant healthcare program. 

Environmental stresses are the root (no pun intended) of the problem. Planting London Planes in constricted planters next to asphalt parking lots and being exposed to radiant heat from the buildings, sidewalks, asphalt, cars, exhaust, dry winds, severe cold and heat, and rockscapes are all negative forces that challenge Sycamores to thrive in Las Vegas.

The roots of these trees become super heated and respiration hardly occurs, which thereby prohibits the trees to shut down. As a result, only short periods of time is allowed for the tree to actually transport water and nutrients to the trunk, branches and leaves to the tree.

Now, combine all those environmental stresses with the borers and the lethal canker, which are actually secondary issues and we’ve got some unhealthy London Planes.

In the end, London Planes are challenging to grow in Las Vegas and location of these trees should be carefully considered.