Spartan Mowers Releases 2025 Product Lineup
Jessica Schwartz
What’s In My Truck: Bryon DeLong
Bryon DeLong, account manager and snow plow truck operator for Bluegrass Landscape & Maintenance, based in Bridgeton, Missouri, says he enjoys plowing in the wee morning hours when there’s nobody else around. It’s serene at that time, and he’s able to get a whole different view of the busy city that nobody else gets to see — at a time when no cars are on the road. While Bluegrass handles snow throughout the St. Louis region, the company also has a national division that stretches into Illinois, Iowa and other parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky. The company has well over 100 plow trucks, 65-plus skid-steers, and 100-plus sidewalk crew members throughout the snow events their regions bring them. DeLong says the snow events in St. Louis can be unpredictable — they’ve had years where there was more than 40 inches falling and others where they got nothing. As a result, they have to be prepared for anything. We recently caught up with DeLong to find out just how he does that, as well as what he keeps in the truck to be prepared for whatever he faces. On long nights, Mountain Dew, Monster Energy drinks and an occasional Starbucks Latte help keep me going. You can’t forget to stock up on gas station food either! Anything from Zebra cakes to sunflower seeds makes it into the truck. Most of the music I would listen to in the plow is interrupted by phone calls. Whether it’s from dispatch or clients, ...
What’s In My Truck: Bell Outdoor
After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in horticulture, Faulkner Bell began his professional career in the industry working for two local companies — one as an account manager for a residential-focused firm and one as the director of operations for a large commercial firm. The latter being the most recent, Bell learned that commercial work was not his passion. In fact, he briefly pursued a career as a financial advisor with a well-known investment firm. While he was incredibly impressed with the intensive training he went through, Bell says he couldn’t shake his desire to be back in the horticulture world and was still moonlighting with landscape work on the side, using his grandparents mini-van to get it done. As that side work grew, Bell took the leap and launched Bell Outdoor LLC, specializing in design/build and enhancements as well as full-service residential maintenance. The St. Simons Island, Georgia-based business has seen rapid success since opening its doors in June 2016. He gladly traded in the mini-van for his first truck — a black crew cab F250 diesel — and splits his time in the field and in the office. He says his truck gets him around the island with ease and is well-suited for towing loads and other outdoor hobbies. We chose the color black for our trucks, and that’s helped us stand out. The majority of commercial trucks are white, at least in our area. Our logo really pops against the black trucks and we get ...
What’s In My Truck: Conserva Irrigation
Russ Jundt, owner and founder of Conserva Irrigation headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, says that for the longest time he would get a work vehicle to double as his personal vehicle. But he realized that often created the propensity for him to say, “I’ll just do it myself” when it came to job tasks. As a result, he found himself often running around from job to job in a company vehicle until one day he just said “enough.” “I recognized that I couldn’t be in the field any longer — that it wasn’t the right way to grow my business,” Jundt says. “So, I literally drove myself to the dealership and got a vehicle — one that couldn’t haul a trailer or one I didn’t want to throw my muddy boots in. I needed to force myself to do that.” Today, Jundt drives an Acura RDX, but says it’s his service vehicles that really shine. A lot of thought was put into them and they are a critical tool that help Conserva technicians across all 32 territories in which the company operates (Conserva is built around a franchise business model). Read more: Conserva Irrigation Offering Franchise Opportunities We are all about systems here; it’s no different with our vehicles. One system we have in place is color coding each van. Everything in the purple van, for instance, is painted purple. The idea is that if more than one vehicle shows up on any given jobsite and tools get mixed up, there’s ...
What’s In My Truck: Michael Mayberry
Michael Mayberry started mowing lawns and shoveling driveways when he was just a kid. But he got a more official start in the green industry by working on a golf course — weeding all day long. Even though it was tedious work, Mayberry says he loved it. The idea that he could work outside all day for his career was appealing. After putting around the golf course industry for close to a decade — as well as a brief stint living on a boat in Key West — Mayberry made the change to the landscaping industry. As a technology guru, Mayberry is now the chief technical officer at Level Green Landscaping, headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. But Mayberry says he makes a point to still get outside as much as he can — including plowing when the company needs him. It’s often all-hands-on-deck during a big storm and Mayberry is more than happy to jump behind the wheel. We caught up with Mayberry to find out more about his time on the road — as well as the two years he spent on a boat. WHEN I WAS 22 I SOLD ALL MY BELONGINGS, RENTED A CAR, AND MOVED TO KEY WEST. I spent a few years enjoying island life, which had always been a dream. During that time, I had the opportunity to take a sailboat trip, which ended up lasting two years. WHEN I PLOW, I COULDN’T GET THROUGH A STORM WITHOUT MUSIC. Music is huge in my ...
What’s In My Truck: Joe Ryder, Professional Grounds Inc.
Joe Ryder says that his Ford F-150 has been the perfect vehicle for the tasks that he must perform as the landscape production manager for Professional Grounds Inc., based in Lorton, Virginia. Between overseeing logistics and scheduling, checking in on field operations and ensuring that everything is staying on track, Ryder says he spends a lot of time driving around. Ryder, who says he was always on the path toward a green industry career, loves the job as he enjoys spending time outdoors and also working with clients. In his role, he gets a good mix of both. We recently caught up with Ryder to find out more about his truck and what he’s up to on a typical day. I appreciate that I can load up my Ford F-150 when I need to. If I need to bring materials to a job site or pick them up, I have the capability and space to do that. I can even hitch a trailer if I need more space for something like equipment. I’m on the go a lot. I may be checking in on job sites, meeting with a customer or meeting up with crews. I’m constantly bouncing around. Sometimes that means sitting in a lot of traffic, which is common in Northern Virginia, but I always look to maximize my time. If I’m in my truck, I’m making calls that need to be made. The most instrumental thing in my vehicle is its Bluetooth technology. Virginia is not a ...
What’s In My Truck: Brittany Whalen, Rock Water Farm
Landscape designer Brittany Whalen of Rock Water Farm, a full-service landscape company based in Aldie, Virginia, says that as much as she loves her Chevrolet Cruze for zipping around the Northern Virginia area, she really could use a pickup truck. “As many times as I’ve tried to stack plants in my car, I have yet to figure out how to fit a tree in,” Whalen jokes, adding that she hopes her boss reads this. But in all seriousness, Whalen says her vehicle helps her get through the day — most of which is typically spent in the car going from client to client. We recently caught up with Whalen to find out exactly what she keeps in her vehicle and why. During the busy season, I may be in the car as much as eight hours a day. I spend a lot of my time driving around from client to client. My car is basically my office when we’re busy. I don’t have kids but I carry a diaper bag. It’s the only bag I could find that was big enough to carry everything I need — and I love all the pockets. You don’t get that in a regular bag. I can even fit my purse in there. I just load it up and hit the road for the day. My music keeps me going, but it changes depending on my mood. If I’m about to go into a presentation I like to listen to 90s hip-hop. It amps ...
What’s In My Truck: Joshua Tree
Equipped with a Toyota Corolla, Jeff Dietrich, a sales rep/account manager for Joshua Tree in Stockertown, Pennsylvania, says he’s able to “zip around” the company’s large service radius. He spends most of his days visiting with clients — and potential clients — in his wrapped vehicle, which Dietrich says is “as stickered up as a NASCAR car.” Of course, he says that driving a wrapped vehicle has taken some getting used to. Not that Dietrich says he was by any means a crazy driver, but when you’re constantly representing your company in what he calls a “rolling billboard,” you truly have to be on your best behavior at all times. Dietrich says that has also meant keeping a neat and tidy vehicle, which he adds hasn’t been difficult since he’s a bit of a neat freak. Turf spoke with Dietrich about Bluetooth (which he calls a “necessity” for someone who is on the road all day) while he was on his way to preview a potential client’s property, as well as other things that keep him going as he’s out and about on the road every day. I listen to a lot of talk radio when I’m in the car all day. If it’s a particularly early morning, and I’m feeling really tired, I might throw on some metal via a Pandora station. That definitely wakes me up. My phone rings constantly. Having Bluetooth in the car has been incredibly important for that reason. I’ll do a lot of my ...
