Arlington Heights Resident Leads Day of Service at Arlington National Cemetery
It is our nation's most hallowed ground. A place to honor those who have served our country. It is there, Arlington National Cemetery, that Arlington Heights resident Scott Jamieson recently addressed 400 landscape volunteers who had gathered for a day of service. The annual Renewal & Remembrance event was organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, which represents 100,000 professionals in the landscape and lawn care industry. Jamieson is president of the organization and is a vice president at Bartlett Tree Experts.
"To do your life's work in the landscape profession and to give back, on this hallowed ground. Caring for trees and turf - those things that comfort people who visit - it really means a lot to these landscape professionals," says Jamieson of the volunteers who gathered from 25 states to participate.
In addressing the Renewal & Remembrance participants, he said:
"Today we gather in our 19th year of this event to honor those who rest here by caring for the trees and the turf. Turf, which covers these 682 acres like an eternal blanket and softens the footfall of grief for those who come to mourn. Trees, over 8,000 here and many over 200 years old, stand as silent sentinels, witnesses to the burials and grieving families, while spreading their branches of comfort to all who come and visit.
"As landscape professionals, we are here to make a difference. To give back. To express the love and thanks in our hearts, through the work of our hands."
Dave Froede, who works out of the Northbrook office of Bartlett Tree Experts, participates in the event every year. It has particularly special meaning to him, as his father and grandfather are both buried there. His father, a 21-year veteran and Air Force "full-bird" colonel, was buried with full military honors. His grandfather, an Army captain, served in both world wars.
The volunteers provided arborist services, such as installing lightning protection and cabling; planting, pruning and mulching; and lawn care, including liming and aeration, and installing irrigation.
Founded in 1907 by Francis A. Bartlett and in its third generation of family management, Bartlett Tree Experts (www.bartlett.com) has pioneered the science and services that make landscapes thrive. With offices in 27 U.S. states, Canada, Ireland and Great Britain, the company's tree care experts provide a rare mix of local service, global resources and innovative practices that lead the industry. Distinguished by having its own tree research laboratory, Bartlett is the only private company in the National Plant Diagnostic Network, a consortium of government agencies and universities providing rapid diagnosis of plant pests and diseases. Bartlett is the presenting sponsor of The Morton Arboretum Plant Clinic.