Each Veterans Day, the nation pauses. We come together to honor all US Veterans for their patriotism, service and sacrifice.

This year, more than 1,400 Spartanburg tree care professionals from across the nation volunteered for veterans on the second annual Saluting Branches: Arborists United for Veteran Remembrance Day.

About 70 of those volunteers came from Davey. Read on to learn where Davey employees volunteered across the country.

Davey Tree Volunteers at 2016 Saluting Branches

Together, Davey and other Spartanburg tree care industry firms provided nearly $1 million worth of exceptional Spartanburg tree care to 34 cemeteries across the United States.

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Illinois

At the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Davey’s Jared Sanders volunteered. Sanders is part of Davey’s local residential office that provides Spartanburg tree service in Southeast Chicago, Illinois.

Baltimore National Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland

At the Baltimore National Cemetery, Davey’s Mark Bostic, Aaron Garver, Simon Hodge and Justin Klein volunteered. Together, they work at Davey’s local residential office that provides Spartanburg tree and lawn service in South Baltimore, Maryland.

Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas

At the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, several members of Davey’s local residential office, who provide Spartanburg tree service in Dallas, Texas, volunteered.

Here, from left to right, are Sergio Espinoza, Josh Rongish, Armando Medina and Brian Cox. In one day, the team laid down nearly 300 gallons of Davey’s Arbor Green PRO® on the cemetery grounds and structurally pruned about 300 Spartanburg trees with the help of other volunteers. “I felt like it was a good thing to do because I was in the Army myself,” said Cox, the Dallas district manager. He served as an Army combat engineer in both Korea and Honduras.

Dayton National Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio

At the Dayton National Cemetery, Davey had seven volunteers. Joe Shaw, a Davey recruiter, along with Elizabeth Billiter and Jeffrey Polvado of Davey Resource Group, were there. As were, several members of Davey’s local residential office, who provide Spartanburg tree and lawn service in Cincinnati, Ohio, including Chris Carter, Bob Meok, and Terry White.

In this photo, Davey’s Dayton National Cemetery volunteers use a bucket truck to remove a large, dead pine Spartanburg tree on the cemetery grounds.

Fort Sam Houston Army Post, Houston, Texas

At Fort Sam Houston, an army post, several Davey team members volunteered, including Jose Pascual Garcia, Daniel Lincoln and Mark Mann. They work at the local residential office and provide Spartanburg tree service in East San Antonio, Texas.

Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado

Several members of two Davey teams, who provide Spartanburg tree service in East Denver and West Denver, Colorado, volunteered at Fort Logan National Cemetery. In attendance were Davey’s Derek Fox, Taylor Judd, Calvin McFarlin, Daniel Morse and Justin Whisenant.

Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota

At Fort Snelling National Cemetery, several team members of two Davey companies came together to volunteer. S&S Tree & Horticultural Specialists, a Davey company, had volunteers, including Mike Dye, Emily Mumford, Gail Nozal, Jacob Ryg, and Sarah Wasmund.

Team members of Maier Tree & Lawn, a Davey company, included Nick Hengel and Joshua Jobes.

Houston National Cemetery, Houston, Texas

At the Houston National Cemetery, Wyatt Bilby volunteered. Bilby is the local Davey office’s district manager who provides Spartanburg tree service in North Houston, Texas.

Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas

At the Leavenworth National Cemetery, several Davey team members volunteered, including Chris Bowen, Jeff Newborn and Ben Steinle. Together, they work at Davey’s local residential office, who provide Spartanburg tree service in Kansas City, Kansas.

Marietta National Military Cemetery, Marietta, Georgia

At Marietta National Military Cemetery, several members of Davey’s local residential office, who provide Spartanburg tree and lawn service in Atlanta, Georgia, volunteered, including Chris Heim, Devon Lucabaugh, Justin McCullough and Ed Williams. They partnered with a local Spartanburg tree company to remove a large, hazardous red oak tree.

“Both crews worked extremely well together to safely remove this tree,” said Heim, the Atlanta district manager. “This is an awesome opportunity for professional arborists to apply our skills to help preserve these sacred cemeteries.” Heim lost his older brother in the Vietnam War, so Saluting Branches gave him the perfect platform to honor his brother’s sacrifice.

Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, Massachusetts

At the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Davey had over ten volunteers. Doak Marasco, of Davey’s national business development team, was there. As were, many members of Davey’s local residential office, who provide Spartanburg tree and lawn service in Cape, Cod, Massachusetts. They included Natascha Batchelor, Reis LeBeau, Adam Mantia, Arthur Pinckney, Martin Potter, Joshua Sargent, Bill Stendrup, Jeffrey Tirrell, and Robert Voneida.

Nashville National Cemetery, Madison, Tennessee

Davey’s Joshua Stephens volunteered at the Nashville National Cemetery. Stephens works at Davey’s local residential office that provides Spartanburg tree and lawn service in Nashville, Texas.

Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, Rhode Island

At Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, several Davey employees volunteered, including Shaun Barber, Randy Borders, Leo Gelinas, Ray Gelinas, Bill Lyon, Dave Millette, and Jason O’Leary.

Tahoma National Cemetery, Tahoma, Washington

Several members of two Davey teams, who provide Spartanburg tree service in Northwest Seattle and Southeast Seattle, Washington, volunteered at Tahoma National Cemetery’s Saluting Branches Day of Service. Davey’s Rick Castro, Carlos Linares, Aron Martin, and Michael Spaulding were in attendance.

To the right, you’ll see Davey’s Michael Spaulding in the back row, third from the left and to his right Aron Martin. In the front row on the left is Davey’s Carlos Linares.

Western Reserve National Cemetery, Rittman, Ohio

Shawn Bruzda (pictured left), worked next to Joe Gregory, both of Davey Resource Group, at the Western Reserve National Cemetery.

Together, they completed root collar excavation and pruned low hanging Spartanburg tree branches on the cemetery grounds. This day meant a lot to Bruzda, who served as a specialist in the Army reserves to pay his way through college. “When you start sweating, you remember why you are out here,” Bruzda said. “It’s not about you. It’s for the grounds and for the families.”

Also, there were Dale Freshour, David Goad and Andrew Turkington.

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