Client Spotlight: Peak Landscape Featured on Cover of Lawn & Landscape Magazine

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa client Brian Connors, President of Peak Landscape Inc., can be seen on the cover of this month’s November 2019 issue of industry leading Lawn & Landscape Magazine.

Connors and his Truckee, CA-based landscape company were recognized in a cover article, “Report Card Time,” for their ability to use weekly performance evaluations to drive their employees’ work ethic.

“It’s no surprise that Brian and Peak Landscape are getting this kind of recognition,” says Drew Garcia, Vice President of the Landscape Group at Rancho Mesa. “He is such a smooth operator which is a reflection of his attention to detail and process-oriented style. On behalf of our team at Rancho Mesa we couldn’t be more excited for Peak Landscape. Well done!”

The article takes an in-depth look at Peak Landscape’s 10-item evaluation checklist, used to rate employee performance. Component’s on this list include safety, attendance, communication, and upkeep/appearance of company trucks and uniforms. The score an employee receives, depending on how well they complete each element on the checklist, directly effects the bonus they receive at the end of a season. As a result, Connors sees his employees exemplify an increase in productivity, higher quality of work, and an elevated respect for the job.    

“Report Card Time” and the November digital edition can be read at magazine.lawnandlandscape.com/issue/november-2019.

About Peak Landscape Inc.
Peak Landscape Inc. is a full service landscape contracting company, that specializes in the design, installation & maintenance of landscape, irrigation, patios, fences, gates, all phases of tree work and more. To learn more visit, peaklandscapeinc.com.

Client Spotlight: Standard Drywall Implements Pre-Work Stretches

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance, Inc.

Tom Jolliff from ICW Group sent over a video of Rancho Mesa client, Standard Drywall Inc., carrying out their routine morning stretches before the beginning of a work day. Stretching reduces muscle tension, increases movement and coordination, enhances blood circulation, and boosts energy levels. Most importantly, stretching helps to prevent employees from becoming injured, and Rancho Mesa is proud to see their clients implementing a team, health, and safety culture.

RM365 Advantage Mobility & Stretch Program™

Rancho Mesa's Drew Garcia enlisted personal trainer, Collin Dawson from Bodies By Collin, to develop a stretch program specifically designed for the landscape and construction industries. This program is known as the RM365 Advantage Mobility & Stretch Program™. The idea was to create a stretch program that would allow workers to stretch their bodies before starting their day. The program uses the company truck to help employees achieve total body activation in minimal time, while both stretching and strengthening the key muscles that surround common industry injuries. If you would like to learn more about implementing a daily stretch for your employees, visit https://www.ranchomesa.com/mobility-and-stretch-program.

About Standard Drywall
With over 34 years of experience, comprehensive technical knowledge, and a reputation for quality, SDI has become a recognized subcontractor for metal stud, framing, drywall, lath, plaster, cast products and EIFS, with value-added design-assist and pre-construction services. SDI has grown to seven full service regional offices with over 1,200 employees giving us the advantage and flexibility to efficiently mobilize project site teams throughout the Western U.S. within the time frame necessary to ensure a successful project.

Client Spotlight: Three E.L. Hobbs Employees Complete Safety Star Program

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance, Inc.

Within the last month, Eduardo Torres, Mike Gonzales, and Richard McDeavitt of E.L. Hobbs, Inc. completed the RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program™. E.L. Hobbs has many more employees signed up and on their way to becoming Safety Star certified. Rancho Mesa is proud to partner with a company that holds safety to the highest importance.

The RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program™ in Construction Safety is designed to:

• Lower your organization’s probability of work-related injuries while promoting a safety culture.

• Give your organization a competitive advantage in the insurance marketplace.

• Better understand the major hazards that face your industry and drive insurance premiums.

• Lower the organization’s overall insurance cost.

The program is intended for supervisors, foremen, safety coordinators, upper management, and administrators, directors of human resources, facilities/operations managers and safety committee members, respectively. To learn more, please visit the RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program™ page or contact aburley@ranchomesa.com.

About E.L. Hobbs, Inc.
E.L. Hobbs, Inc. is a well respected, fully licensed, insured and bonded company, established in 2006. They specialize in lath, plaster, integral colored plaster, EIFS, fireproofing, drywall and metal framing to both residential and commercial (private sector & public works) projects. To learn more visit, elhobbsinc.com.

Client Spotlight: YardApes' Philanthropy Recognized in Lawn & Landscape Magazine

Par for the Course

August 6, 2018
Story by Kate Spirgen, Lawn & Landscape

The YardApes Quad AM Golf Classic has raised thousands of dollars for local nature preserves and nonprofits. Photo courtesy of YardApes.

Back in 1999, when Yardapes was a small company, the seven or eight employees would get together about once a month to go golfing and let off some steam. “We used to call it the Hack Fest because some people could barely swing a club or hit the ball, so we’d just go have fun and then have a cookout afterward,” says Shayne Newman, founder and owner.

Then, an employee suggested turning the Hack Fest into a charity event, and after two or three years of talking about it, Newman decided to just go for it. Now in its 13th year, the annual YardApes Quad AM Golf Classic is a huge success, benefitting nonprofits in Connecticut to the tune of $43,500 since 2006. “We’ve had a lot to learn but we’ve been really successful,” he says.

And that’s just one of many projects YardApes employees take part in. Newman is a big believer in the idea that if you do good things, good things will come back around. But once the company started giving back, he realized how much recognition the company would get from the community and the landscaping industry. Not to mention the team-building aspect of volunteerism.

^{Reproduced with permission.}