MAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Russell Holman , MCA , CTSP , BCMA Eversource Hyde Park , MA
VICE PRESIDENT Max Ford-Diamond , MCA Boston Parks & Recreation Boston , MA
SECRETARY / TREASURER Brandon Maltby , MCA Maltby & Co . Stoughton , MA
PAST PRESIDENT Kevin Cleveland , MCA Tree Tech , Inc . Foxboro , MA
MCA REPRESENTATIVE Matt Fisk , MCA Fisk Tree Service Seekonk , MA
DIRECTORS Kieran D . Yaple , MCA Race Mountain Tree Service Sheffield , MA
Keith Bernard , MCA Barrett Tree Service East Medford , MA
Steve Vernon , MCA Harrison McPhee , Inc . Millis , MA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR M . Virginia Wood
DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & CERTIFICATION Carrie Martin
MANAGEMENT TEAM Peggy Benjamin Charissa Sharkey Merrilee Guarini
MASSACHUSETTS ARBORISTS ASSOCIATION , INC . 67 West Street Medfield , MA 02052 phone : 508.653.3320 info @ MassArbor . org MassArbor . org
President ' s Message
Russell Holman was elected the president of the association at MAA ’ s Nov . 19 , 2024 annual meeting . The following is an excerpt from his comments that evening :
“ Thank you , Neil Reilly , MCA , for your time on the board and to all MAA members for entrusting me to lead this incredible organization . Kevin Cleveland , MCA , thank you for your steady hand and excellent leadership . I can only hope to follow your example and lead MAA as effectively in the coming year .
I ’ d also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Jim Abusamra , MCA . Without your letter of recommendation to serve on the MCA Committee , I may have never started this journey of service to the MAA .
I grew up in New Hampshire and got my first taste of the green industry at 14 , working in a nursery and garden center . After high school , I enrolled at UMass Amherst to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture . However , after a year and a half spent drawing in the basement of the Hills building , I realized that wasn ’ t the path for me . I changed my major to Plant , Soil , and Insect Science .
During my final semester , while job hunting , my advisor recommended I take Intro to Arboriculture with Dennis Ryan . That course — and Dennis ’ guidance — set me on a new path . After earning my degree , I started my arboriculture career dragging brush .
Early on , I kept hearing about the Massachusetts Certified Arborist ( MCA ) designation and the rigor of the exam : twig identification , slideshow IDs , and the oral problem-solving portion . It felt like a ‘ Mount Everest ’ challenge . Thankfully , I had incredible mentors like Rich Herfurth , MCA , and Carl Cathcart , MCA , who helped me put my college learning into practice in the field . With encouragement from colleagues like Phil Perron , MCA , Sinclair Weeks , MCA , and Kevin Narbonne , MCA , I finally took — and passed — the MCA exam .
The following spring , I volunteered to proctor the MCA exam and was eventually invited to join the MCA Committee . Serving alongside members like Ron Yaple , MCA , Dan McCarthy , MCA , and Natasha Batchelor , MCA , challenged me and made me a better arborist . continued on page 18
MAA NEWS is a publication of the Massachusetts Arborists Association , Inc . MAA NEWS is published four times a year for the Massachusetts Arborists Association ( MAA ) and is distributed free of charge to members . The purpose of the newsletter is to disseminate information to promote general standards and ethics in commercial arboriculture , as well as to foster research and share knowledge with its members . The MAA is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to communications between its membership and the industry . The MAA believes the infor- mation in this publication to be accurate as of its publication date and is not responsible for inadvertent errors . The MAA and Massachusetts Certified Arborist ( MCA ) logos are trademarks of the Massachusetts Arborists Association , Inc . Qualified MAA members and certified members only are permitted to utilize the logos . Logos for MAA and MCA are available through the MAA office .
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DISCLAIMER : The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the MAA .
MAA NEWS WINTER 2025 3