First things first: yes, that’s a photo of Marcene with famous gymnast Gabby Douglas, two-time gold medalist at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
Champions hang out together.
When Marcene was 10, she was the gymnastics floor exercise champion for the whole state of Maryland.
She spent hours practicing in the gym four nights a week and all day on Saturdays.
“It gave me discipline and focus that I’ve used my whole life,” she says.
When Brian Outten interviewed for a job as shop manager at Level Green Landscaping, co-owner Bill Hardy told him he wouldn’t have to worry about Brian showing up late for work.
Brian served in the U.S. Army, where being punctual is a way of life.
That's just one of the traits Brian brings to his landscaping work, as a military veteran.
When Brian Outten joined the U.S. Army out of high school, he learned he’d be a 63 Bravo, a light wheel mechanic, changing oil and replacing tires on military vehicles.
Imagine hosting 100 industry professionals at your company, showing them exactly how you run your business, then asking them to tell you what they think about you.
The good — and the not-so-good.
Terrifying? Or invigorating?
It can be a bit of both when Jim Paluch of JP Horizons People Solutions organizes a Face to Face Review at your landscaping company.
When Dafne Aguilar started at Level Green Landscaping as a crew member three years ago, it was the first paid job she ever had.
She’d been pretty busy raising three kids.
“Before this, my job was mom,” she says.
She didn’t know anything about landscaping. Her operations manager told her she had a lot to learn, but he was willing to teach her, if she was willing to learn.
She was. Now she operates a standing mower like a boss.
In fact, she is a boss. It wasn’t long before Dafne was promoted to driver, then supervisor.
Zacharie Jackson was pretty sure she’d be studying bacteria for a living after graduating with a degree in biology from Marymount University.
Then she got her hands in the dirt, during an internship at the National Arboretum in Washington DC, spending her days tending glossy boxwood, bright day lilies and fragrant catmint.
So, when a recruiter contacted her about a job at Level Green Landscaping, that career studying bacteria would have to wait.
The plants were calling.
Hector Diaz learned how to work hard at an early age, growing up with seven siblings on his parents’ small farm in Guatemala.
They grew corn and beans and raised cattle, dairy cows, pigs and chickens.
“I started feeding cows when I was 7 or 8 years old, after school,” Hector says. “Ever since we were little, my father would tell us, ‘We are not rich, so I can’t give you money. But I’ll teach you to work hard, and by doing that, I know you’ll be successful in life.’”
His dad was right.
There are certain things you can count on with supervisor Naldo Mendez.
His trailer full of equipment is one of the most organized in the company.
He doesn’t drive away from a property until every single weed is banished.
Even his most particular customers love seeing him show up on the job.
He’s a detail guy. And in this business, details count.
The menu at Applebee’s restaurants is packed with choices, but it couldn’t keep William Urquilla’s interest when he worked there as a cook.
“It was a little boring,” he says. “Every day was the same.”
Why switch to landscaping?
“Why not?” he says cheerfully.
William is one of those guys who’s up for anything.
Wendell Thompson is good at spotting the little things.
