Making the Community Better
The Walton Sun
By JOYCE OWEN, Sun Reporter

During a visit to Eden Gardens State Park , Les Fritz took a stroll through the park and noted that while the ancient, live oaks had survived Hurricane Ivan, the trees needed attention. Although Eden is just a five-minute drive from U.S. Highway 98, it seemed like a world away from the hustle and bustle that is usually associated with fast-growing South Walton, he said. Giving some TLC to the park, Fritz, who owns Fritz Brothers Tree Service, decided would be his next community project.

It’s a place Fritz wants others to enjoy, but he knows additional visitors will mean stress on the park and its stately trees. After assessing the needs of the park, he and his staff spent a day removing dead limbs from the tops of the massive live oak trees, grinding up stumps and clearing away debris left from Hurricane Ivan. In January, Fritz contacted Friends of Eden member Wayne Carlisle and offered to adopt the park. On Feb. 15, Fritz brought his work crews into the park. Carlisle estimated the value of the 40-member crew’s work could be one of largest in-kind donations since Lois Maxom donated the mansion to the state. “ Something like this, on this scale, has never been done here,” Carlisle said.

Five or six times a year Fritz participates in events like this. He has adopted Shalimar Elementary School and holds an Arbor Day program there every year. He has also participated in building the children’s playground at The Village at Baytowne. “ It’s good to get involved with this kind of stuff,” Fritz said. “Good projects generate good publicity, and it is a good thing to give back to the community.”

Fritz and his wife, Theresa started the company 15 years ago in Shalimar. He established a second office in Pensacola , and in January opened a third office just south of Freeport on U.S. Highway 331. He has 40 year-round employees, but in season that grows to about 100. It’s also a family affair. His father, George, took early retirement and moved from Memphis , Tenn. to help him with the business. His brother, Mike, oversees a million dollar equipment fleet. His mother, Ann, works in the Shalimar office four or five days a month and does data entry work. The decision to open the Freeport office gave him a way to promote three employees.

For years, about half our work has been over here. We promoted Adam Machalk, Wayne Bloxidge and Matt Campbell to run the Freeport office,” he said. “We wanted to branch out and this office gives them the opportunity to take on more responsibility.” And though Fritz loves trees, he is the first to admit the primary business of Fritz Brothers is not about trees, but about people ? his customers and his staff.

Without his staff, Les Fritz said, his company, Fritz Brothers Tree Service would not have grown as it has. Among his 40 employees, many came to the business with no tree service skills. Still they had a willingness to learn and through training, have become valuable employees. The entire staff spent Feb. 15 cleaning up Eden Gardens State Park.

Dawna Davidson, a stump grinder operator and the only woman Fritz has in the field, made easy work of one of the many large stumps that were targeted for removal at Eden Gardens State Park .

Driving “Gertrude,” her nickname for the powerful stump grinder, Davidson is all business as she maneuvers the machine in place and in less than two minutes turns the ugly stump into mulch. “ I knew the (Fritz) family really well. I needed a job and they gave me a shot,” said the blonde who has been with the company for 18 months. The petite woman said Tuesday she had trained in most areas of the company, with the exception of climbing. She can fertilize, cut trees and run a chipper. And she noted an extra benefit, she’s lost 50 pounds since she moved from a retail job to the active outside work at Fritz.

Although many tree-trimming jobs involve a bucket truck, to protect sensitive areas at Eden , climbers removed dead and damaged limbs. Albert Middleton is one of the top climbers for the company. “Dangling from a rope, he is more like a spider monkey,” said Davidson, as the tall thin man swung through the limbs of a live oak Tuesday morning at Eden . Middleton has been with the company about 20 months. There he learned all the rope techniques that put him up in the trees.