Member Spotlight
This issue we caught up with Mike Landry , MCA , MCLP . Mike is the newest member of the MCLP Committee and passionate about certification ! We ’ re lucky to have him involved . He works as a Project Manager at Riverside Services in Southboro MA .
Mike , thanks for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself !
How old were you when you decided you wanted to work in the landscape industry ? My father runs his own tree business , L . C . Tree , so the field kind of … grew on me I suppose . I started as an arborist when I was about 12 years old .
What was your first paying job in the landscape industry ? What were you doing ? As mentioned above I got my start in the arbor industry but my first landscape gig was at Landscape America after Doug McDuff , MCA , MCLP took me in . I think most kids want the opportunity to use a chainsaw all day but I eventually became more interested in high end residential work .
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work ? How have they influenced you ? My first crew leader , Mike Dineen , MCLP taught me almost everything I know today . Besides the technical aspect , Mike also taught me how to take pride in my work and expect nothing but the best from myself and others .
What energizes you at work ? I love seeing large scale projects come together in tight commercial spaces . Additionally , I owe a lot to my teams ; being able to lead every day has really given me purpose in my career .
Favorite piece of equipment ? Product ? Technology ? Dingos for sure . We all joke about the days of rolling 3 ” caliper trees off of sideboards and digging holes with skid forks , now one piece of equipment can turn a 10-hour day into 4 hours ( at least that ’ s what I tell my guys ).
What ’ s your favorite plant or tree ? Why ? I love natural Yews . We ’ re conditioned to see them as neatly trimmed hedges but in the wild they ’ re sprawling and beautiful . It always reminded me of people , you can either put yourself in a box or … branch out … to your full potential .
What ’ s something you ’ re good at that most people wouldn ’ t know ? Give me a bass guitar , I ’ ll get your Grandma to boogie .
Best book you ever read ? The Comfort Crisis .
Mike Landry , mclp Project Manager Riverside Services Southboro , MA
Top destination on your must-see list ? Rural Japan , one of my tattoo artists is native and swears the beer tastes better .
Favorite season ? The couple weeks before Halloween , it ’ s the stereotypical Norman Rockwell Fall feel that does it for me .
Mountain , lake or ocean ? Lake on the Mountain
What would we most likely find you doing on your day off ? Either hurting myself on a mountain bike or having a couple afternoon beverages with my fiancée Erica .
What ’ s one thing you ’ re learning now ? Why is it important ? You can ’ t control everything all the time and it ’ s ok to take your hands off the wheel to trust your team . Being fluid is just as , if not more , important than being perfect and the way you project this to your staff is the difference between good and great leadership .
What ’ s the best advice you were ever given ? Who was it from ? When I was in my early teens , my Uncle George told me “ When you ’ re in an argument , if something you ’ re about to say feels good , you probably shouldn ’ t say it .” I ’ m willing to bet this has saved me many nights on the couch since .
If you didn ’ t work in this industry , what would you be doing instead ? What are you talking about , I thought we all loved it here ?
MLP Newsline | Winter 2022 15