Sage Advice
Overcoming Labor Obstacles Former TCIA CEO Mark Garvin reflects on his career of political activism and business management in the tree care industry By Kelly May
the major concerns of the industry haven’t changed – namely, unethical business practices, safety concerns, and employee shortages. First and foremost for Garvin though, is elevating the reputation of the industry so that its workers get the recognition and conditions they deserve. “Elevating the profession itself was an issue in 1950, and it’s an issue today,” he shares. “Throw in gov- ernment regulations, or inappropri- ate regulations, and the issues are remarkably similar, decade aer decade.” POLITICAL ADVOCATE Although he’s never owned a tree care company nor been in the field himself, Garvin has become a tree care advocate and has gone to the mat in Washington, D.C., to better the entire industry. The two political issues he has worked on are Occu- pational Safety and Health Adminis- tration (OSHA) regulations and con- tracting foreign tree care laborers. OSHA wrote a standard to cover log- ging. And once that was in place, it was decided that the tree care in-
Mark Garvin came into the tree care industry sort of sideways, as he ex- plains it. He had been an editor for a magazine in New Hampshire that ended up folding and he found him- self on the hunt for a new job. As fate had it, he saw an ad for an editor for a tree care magazine. Even though he admittedly knew nothing about the tree care industry, he did know how to fix grammar, write well, and use desktop publishing soware, so he took a shot and applied. Not only did he get hired, but he re- mained the editor of TCI Magazine, the official publication of the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), for 12 years. He eventually took over more and more responsibilities for membership, marketing, and com- munications. When the current CEO le, the association’s board offered Garvin the job of president and CEO, which he assumed for nine years. When asked which role he pre- ferred, Garvin shared that while he enjoyed his editorial position, it’s good to change and add things to your career to avoid stagnation. Moreover, he enjoyed the opportuni- ty to look at the tree care industry from a new perspective as president.
Mark Garvin
He remarked how rewarding it had been to help tree care companies grow and become more professional and profitable, which is the mission of the TCIA. “Every company, in a way, is a fam- ily,” Garvin explains. “So, to the ex- tent that you can make them safer and more profitable, they can offer higher wages and better benefits. It’s very rewarding to help those companies prosper.” THE ISSUES HAVEN’T CHANGED Throughout his time as editor and president, Garvin has observed that
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