If you would like to attend Seminar this semester, it is held in 
Benson 232 on Tuesdays from 12:45-1:45 pm.
If you have any questions, please contact Brother Nelson.

January 17
Merrill Quality Landscapes - Jerry Merrill

January 24
Brickman Landscaping - Bob Morris and Skyler Westerguard
Bob Morris and Skyler Westerguard of Brickman Landscaping came all the way from Seattle, WA to speak with us. Students who attended the seminar learned that Brickman Landscaping was founded in 1939 in Chicago by Theodore Brickman. The company has grown since then to more than 160 different branches across 29 states. Bob Morris is the branch manager over the Redmond area and has been with the company for 19 years. Skyler Westerguard is a 2007 BYUI graduate and is now managing more than 20 employees and over $1 million dollars in the Brickman company. Brickman is a three generation, family owned and operated company and is the largest provider for snow removal in the United States! Mr. Morris and Mr. Westerguard taught students that it is important to prepare now for a job in the future. Brickman Landscaping is looking for supervisor and entry level employees, and has several internships available now. For more information about career opportunities go to the Brickman Landscaping career page.

January 31
Town and Country Gardens - John Crook

Town and Country Gardens was started in 1964 by Howard Crook as a bedding plants provider for the Idaho Falls area. Today, Howard’s son John Crook has grown the business to $3.5 million in sales. Despite a rocky start, Town and Country Gardens has dabbled, and succeeded, in everything from potatoes and snowmobiles to providing garden and landscaping supplies. They offer a lawn program for the Southeastern Idaho area that includes lawn care and a fertilizer that is specific to this area. John Crook’s ultimate goal for the company is to become a complete garden center. Town and Country Gardens has plans to start a new landscaping division this summer and is looking forward to opening a new store in 2013. Mr. Crook stated that their “reputation for honesty” helps keep the business in the competition with other landscaping and garden companies in the area. Town and Country Gardens may be looking for graduates in Landscaping in the near future. For more information about Town and Country Gardens visit their homepage.

February 7
Willard Bay Gardens - Barney Barnett

With pictures of deep-fried green chile dogs, and admonitions to “pay attention to the journey,” Barney Barnett taught students this week that there are “all kinds of things out there in life.” Barney Barnett is the owner of Willard Bay Gardens in Willard, Utah. He told students that he was first drawn to plants at the young age of 12 and then came to Ricks College at age 18. He met his wife Della here at Ricks and they were married shortly after graduation. Barney and Della built their greenhouses off of the old Hwy. 89 and are now flourishing as a flowering plant supplier. They specialize in perennials, annuals, and their popular ‘design-your-own’ hanging baskets. Mr. Barnett stated that one of the best ways to succeed is to “be patient and consistent with customers.” One of Mr. Barnett’s most popular services is Basket Daze. Customers are drawn to this event because they get to come to the greenhouses and design and plant their own hanging baskets and then leave them to grow at the greenhouses until they are flowering and the weather is warm enough to hang them outside. Willard Bay Gardens provides customers with plant materials starting in April all the way through October. Mr. Barnett left students with the message “remember the journey.” For more information about Willard Bay Gardens visit their homepage.

February 14
Blanchford Landscape Contractors - Andy Blanchford and Mason Shaffer

Andy Blanchford and Mason Shaffer came to speak to students this week about the company that provides landscape service to customers in Montana. Blanchford Landscape Contractors was started in 1997 as a Design/Build/Maintain company. In 2001, Blanchford Landscape Contractors grew their business to offer fine gardening, and then later in 2007 they added a Christmas décor division. Today the company is designing and maintaining landscapes for million dollar homes in the Big Sky, MT area. They have goals to develop their brand and reach out to even more customers. Mr. Blanchford told students that the company’s mission is “Creating exceptional environments for great experiences.” The company likes to hire college graduates who are hard-working but know how to have fun. Blanchford Landscape Contractors is looking to fill multiple positions right now. For more information about the company, go to their homepage. For information on their current job opportunities see the Job Postings page on the weebly.

February 21
Lawn Tech - Kim Johnson and Matt Rich

Today we heard from Kim Johnson, Matt Rich and Justin Lindstrom from the LawnTech facility in Idaho Falls. LawnTech was the first lawn care company in the Eastern Idaho area. In their first year of treating lawns they made over $19,000 in revenue without even having a business plan! LawnTech started out as an on-the-side franchise for brothers Kim and Kurt Johnson. They each had well-established fruit and garden retail centers and in 1981 wanted to combine their transportation efforts to make things easier and hours shorter. After discovering a forte for lawn care, they dropped the franchise and created LawnTech, a full-time lawn care and chemical company. That first year in 1982 that proved to them how successful they could be encouraged the brothers to keep going. LawnTech now serves at least a 100 mile radius from Idaho Falls, ID and is making plans to expand even more. LawnTech offers many yard-care related services, other than lawn care, such as pruning, weed control, landscape design and maintenance, and even installing sprinkler systems. In 2002 they expanded their staff to 25 employees. Their strong core values keep customers returning and happy. Mr. Johnson told students that some of the company’s current goals include management training, updating their marketing and branding program, and developing even better public relations. He listed off several large name professionals that they are affiliated with, and admonished students to develop their talents. Mr. Johnson also informed students that there are current positions available for internships or full-time jobs. For more information on available opportunities be sure to check the Job Postings page.

February 23 (Thursday at 12:45pm)
BYUI Career Fair - 9am to 2pm in the BYUI Center
(Meet in Benson 232)

February 28
Sleepy Ridge Event Planners - Nannette York

March 6
Field trip to The Atrium event center at Hemming Village. (Meet in Benson 232)

March 15 (Thursday at 2pm)
Intermountain Plantings - Bruce Reed