John Wasmer Celebrates 20 Years!

Twenty years of service with the company have gone by quicker than I imagined. My introduction to ACRT started while I was still enrolled as a junior at West Virginia University. During the summer of 2001, I worked in Washington D.C. for the summer performing a city-wide street tree inventory. ACRT was the selected contractor to perform the training and auditing for the endowment program. This is where I first met Mike Weidner and Kevin Puls. Kevin would perform audits throughout the summer on all the interns working on the project. I always received high audit scores but the one thing I would miss from time to time on my audits was “power lines present” — imagine that looking back now.

A year passed, and I kept an eye on opportunities with ACRT. After graduation, my fiancé and I headed to Nashville, Tenn. for an interview with Troy Ross. Troy was the operations manager in Nashville at the time. Fresh out of reconstructive eye surgery and looking kind of creepy, I had to soften the facts of what happened to cause my eye injury. It worked, thankfully. Troy made me an offer and the rest is history.

Feb. 10, 2003, would be my first day at ACRT and continue for the next 20 years of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing and have been blessed with many opportunities and experiences with the organization. Starting as a consulting utility forester (CUF) on Nashville Electric Service, I learned the ins and outs of the industry. I honestly never knew the industry even existed. I imagined that I would be cruising timber or working in a sawmill for the rest of my life. I have never regretted the decision I chose. After the CUF position, I have held seven different roles and titles over the past 20 years including:

• 2004-2006, supervisor
• 2003-2004, operations (including CUF)
• 2006-2012, auditor/manager
• 2012-2014, senior operations manager
• 2014-2018, director of operations
• 2018-2020, president
• 2020-current, executive vice president

There are many things you get to experience and see during a 20-year career and there are several that I am grateful for. Helping the company grow and be successful was always a priority. Providing this would allow me to provide a healthy lifestyle for my family year after year. Seeing all parts of the United States was a perk of the job by starting new projects, I would have not likely seen these beautiful parts of the U.S. on my own. One of the things that I found most rewarding was giving and creating jobs for people across the U.S. Seeing new employees, giving them a path, and watching them grow often to great success is so rewarding. I have been fortunate to help lots of people and see lots of great things.

Spending 17 years on the operations side of the business has built relationships and friendships that will last a lifetime. Shifting gears over the last two years to sales and marketing has brought new challenges, initiatives, and rewards. I am fortunate to have a strong team working by my side again as in years past to continue our mission of growth, diversification, and overall business success and health.

It’s been a long journey with both the good and bad times. Moving from Maryland to Nashville, Nashville to California, and now California to Ohio. I feel this will be my final stop in my long career with ACRT Services, but you just never know as we continue to grow year after year. I’m always up for the challenge.

I can’t thank those enough that have put faith and trust in me and supported me over the past 20 years. It’s been a great experience and has truly made me a stronger person all around.

Cheers on many years to come!