Going the Extra Mile for Military Families

Kevin Houle, owner of KH Industries in Tolland, Connecticut, takes pride not only in the day-to-day work his crews perform, but in the company’s support of the community, especially military families. Giving back to the people that support his business is something about which Houle is very passionate.

Kevin Houle (right), owner of KH Industries in Tolland, Connecticut, and hos brother Ken take pride not only in the day-to-day work his crews perform, but in the company’s support of the community, especially military families.

KH Industries is a community-centric landscape care and construction company an hour north of Hartford and 20 minutes from the Massachusetts state line. KH does it all, from spring and fall cleanup to mowing to hardscapes, cranking through 150 maintenance accounts – about three-fourths of them residential – per week.

Joining the GreenCare for Troops Movement

An important element of giving back over the past two years has been his participation in the GreenCare for Troops program. Houle learned about the program last year and completed a full season of lawn and landscape maintenance for a military family. When he checked with Project EverGreen, he learned that there were an additional five families in his area on a waitlist.

“When I found out, I took them all on,” said Houle. “I said that as long as they are within a reasonable distance, I will take care of all of them. Military families with a need like this shouldn’t have to be waiting for help given the sacrifices they are making.”

Houle admits that a couple of the families them are in the outer reaches of his service area, but he can’t imagine saying no to a military family he’s capable of helping.

A Personal Connection

His brother Ken, who works in the business, is an Iraq veteran, so Kevin well knows the impact of deployment on family life, and how people feel.

“They are doing the hard job, our work is easy,” said Houle. “It takes 20-40 minutes of our time to take care of a lawn; it’s an easy decision. These families shouldn’t have to be worried about landscape maintenance while members of their families are working for all of us overseas.”

Are you ready to step up for a military family? Register today at https://projectevergreen.org/about-the-program-volunteers/

The Title Sponsor of the GreenCare for Troops program is Nufarm. Platinum Partners include Toro and SiteOne Landscape Supply. The Gold Partner is Arborjet/Ecologel and the Silver Partner is the Propane Education and Research Council

Brian Tauscher – Creating Urban Green Spaces Where They’re Needed Most

Ridgewood, New Jersey
Brian Tauscher of Artisan Gardens has been an enthusiastic volunteer in the GreenCare for Communities initiative since the Liberty Island project in 2014.

David Holt Honors His Family’s Sacrifice

Freemont Center, New York
Volunteering for the SnowCare for Troops program is a deeply personal experience for David Holt of Turning Leaves Landscape.

Volunteer Jon Hubacek Has A Natural Enjoyment for Serving People

Blue Ridge, Illinois
For Jon Hubacek, owner of Hub Landscape and Lawn Care in Blue Ridge, Illinois, working in the green industry has served to satisfy his lifelong enjoyment of serving people.

Being A Good Neighbor to Military Families

It’s almost impossible to live and work in and around eastern Dayton, Ohio and not experience the community impact of the Wright-Patterson Air Force base. All in, the base employs more than 30,000 people, including military families, civilians, and contractors.

Military Families GreenCare for Troops -Project EverGreen

GreenCare for Troops volunteers Patrick (left) Jon Jackson of Global Neighbor in Dayton, Ohio.

“My mother worked at the base when I was growing up, so I knew a lot of people who were active military or who worked there,” says Patrick Jackson, a GreenCare for Troops volunteer who works with his father Jon developing and servicing high-tech products for lawn care and weed control.

Patrick’s father Jon Jackson started the company, Global Neighbor, Inc., several years ago servicing lawn equipment. In more recent years, the company focused on sales and service of robotic mowers. Jon also worked on developing an equipment concept that would fertilize and spot spray weeds on a mower platform. Although that effort did not pan out, Jon and Patrick continued to pursue big ideas, eventually commercializing a technology called WeedErase that can spot-kill a weed with concentrated light.

But during all this research and development, the father-son team have found time each summer to take on the lawn and landscape care of one military family each season through the GreenCare for Troops program since 2015.

“I’m not sure exactly where my father heard about the program, but he thought it would be great for us to volunteer and take care of someone’s yard while they are deployed overseas,” says Patrick. “It’s literally just my dad and myself, and we’ll just take off a few hours and take care of whatever needs doing in the yard.”

The experiences over the years have been rewarding for the father-son team, and Patrick urges others to serve those who serve their country.

“It’s just a great way to help those who are doing such extraordinary work for our nation,” he adds. “For us, it’s a natural fit.”