Fall / Winter 2021
What's Inside:
- Can One Rope Hold An Elephant
- Why the Pumpkin (& Spice) Obsession?
- Greetings, Growth & Bittersweet Moments
- New Faces & Featured Plant
What's Inside:
- Can One Rope Hold An Elephant
- Why the Pumpkin (& Spice) Obsession?
- Greetings, Growth & Bittersweet Moments
- New Faces & Featured Plant
- Page 2 and 3: I ’d like to start off by wishing
- Page 4 and 5: Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice a
- Page 6 and 7: Sherman Gentry joined Green Dynamix
- Page 8: festive bloomer during the holidays
I<br />
’d like to start off by<br />
wishing you an incredible<br />
holiday season! This<br />
year has been marked<br />
with change and growth for us at Green Dynamix,<br />
all of which we are so grateful for. We’ve changed our company<br />
name, expanded into Landscape Supplies and are more committed to<br />
our Core Values than ever before. We hope you see added value through<br />
these changes and that we can strengthen our relationship with you, our<br />
customer – The Boss!<br />
Personally, I’ve experienced a few changes this year. My second<br />
oldest daughter is attending college at Florida State University. As with<br />
all 3 of my children, I always encourage them to go out, crush it and<br />
never let anyone talk them out of their dreams! Another milestone for<br />
me this year was my son Michael turning 18. I know he’ll accomplish<br />
anything he sets his mind to! I would be lying if I said these weren’t<br />
both proud and bitter- sweet moments for me in <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Back to business<br />
– At our Lake City<br />
Office, we’re in the<br />
process of building a<br />
brand-new warehouse<br />
to hold more products<br />
in bulk supply.<br />
When we first built<br />
that office in 2016,<br />
we thought we had<br />
plenty of room.<br />
Sometimes it’s<br />
good to be wrong!<br />
I’ve always believed<br />
if we aren’t<br />
growing, moving,<br />
expanding in<br />
work and in life,<br />
then we need to<br />
rethink our process.<br />
Part of our<br />
growth is refining our processes and our Logistics<br />
Operations Manager, Josh Carter, has been<br />
hard at work finding ways to increase our freight<br />
options and streamline our deliveries. On the<br />
sales side of things, Sherman Gentry has come<br />
aboard as an Account Executive, serving our<br />
amazing customers in the Panhandle and North<br />
Florida. Previously in Inside Sales, Mariela Caballero<br />
has moved to Account Executive for our<br />
Central and South Florida customers. They both<br />
exemplify what it means to have “Customer Obsession”,<br />
one of our Core Values, and I would love<br />
for you to read more about them on pages 6 and 7.<br />
We had our quarterly company meeting recently<br />
and we set some new goals. These meetings<br />
are 100% business but because we have such a<br />
great team, sometimes they feel more like a family<br />
reunion where we get to align our goals and<br />
inspire each other. We always try to include some<br />
team building exercises and that’s such<br />
a treat for all of us. For this meeting,<br />
we took a break to play volleyball,<br />
which you see a photo of on page 7 as<br />
well. I’m thankful for our customers<br />
and our team that takes care of their<br />
needs. We always want to know how<br />
we can better serve you and be an<br />
ally. We all look forward to having<br />
more of those conversations as we<br />
enter 2022!<br />
Cheers!
ephant encampment<br />
where he was welcomed<br />
warmly and<br />
invited to stay to rest<br />
from his long journey.<br />
The trainer of the camp<br />
offered him a tour<br />
when he noticed none<br />
of the elephants were<br />
chained or caged. In fact, all the elephants<br />
from the smallest to the largest, were held by<br />
nothing more than a single rope tied to one of<br />
their legs. The ropes were held by an average<br />
looking stake in the ground. These strong<br />
massive creatures could easily<br />
break their bonds and have<br />
their freedom. Why were they<br />
not escaping? Completely<br />
confused, the traveler<br />
inquired of his tour<br />
guide.<br />
The el-<br />
was recently in<br />
I our Lake City office<br />
and overheard<br />
one of our awesome<br />
team members talking<br />
about how much her<br />
3-year-old son loves<br />
anything and everything<br />
to do with elephants. It reminded<br />
me of an inspiring old tale I<br />
believe is worth retelling to you, so here<br />
goes!<br />
Whether this fable came from<br />
very ancient times or<br />
a travelling<br />
circus<br />
troupe is unknown, but the<br />
moral remains the same. Elephant training<br />
dates back approximately 4,000 years and<br />
is well documented. I find that incredible! They<br />
were used for work purposes, transportation, in<br />
war and in circuses for entertainment. Our story<br />
is found in a particular method.<br />
A lone traveler happened across a large el-<br />
ephant<br />
trainer explained,<br />
“We<br />
begin their training<br />
when they are still<br />
small enough that<br />
they cannot break<br />
the rope. As they grow up,<br />
we use the same size rope and they continue<br />
to believe it can still hold them, so they<br />
never try to break free. In their minds, it’s impossible<br />
to break because we conditioned them<br />
to believe that.”<br />
What we believe about ourselves and what we<br />
see as limitations in our minds can hold us back<br />
unnecessarily! If we reset our thinking,<br />
we might discover our limitations<br />
are really nothing more than<br />
tall tales. What’s holding you back?
Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice<br />
and everything nice season is<br />
in full swing and its been a topic of<br />
discussion lately around our office.<br />
If you are not a fan of all the pumpkin<br />
treats, you might have asked<br />
WHY people love pumpkin (and yes,<br />
pumpkin spice) so much? Let’s look<br />
at the psychology behind the pumpkin<br />
craze and the rumors circulating<br />
about a national pumpkin shortage<br />
this season.<br />
Its notable to start with a few<br />
facts: no ingredient in the pumpkin<br />
spice blend is seasonal to fall; they<br />
all hail from tropical plants! Cinnamon,<br />
nutmeg, cloves and ginger are<br />
the big 4 but some blends include<br />
all spice, cardamom and even lemon<br />
peel. Also, there is no actual pumpkin<br />
in pumpkin spice. So why are people<br />
obsessed with it? Elementary, dear<br />
readers – nostalgia! It is all in our<br />
brains.<br />
According to an article by Rachael<br />
Ross published by LiveScience.com,<br />
if you love pumpkin treats, its most<br />
likely the scent of the spice blend that<br />
triggers the excitement. We associate<br />
the smell with the coming of fall<br />
holidays, warm memories and sugary<br />
satisfaction. The article goes on to<br />
explain that smell is the only one of<br />
our senses that is directly transmitted<br />
to the amygdala, the emotional center<br />
of our brains, and can instantly take<br />
us back to a place, time or feeling.<br />
Throw in some clever marketing and<br />
the excitement of the change of season<br />
and you have the perfect recipe<br />
for pumpkin mania from September<br />
to the new year.<br />
Now, what would happen if there<br />
is a national pumpkin shortage this
season? Would pumpkin<br />
lovers give up the obsession?<br />
Many reports state<br />
this is a “somewhat”<br />
false alarm and if we<br />
experience a shortage,<br />
it is due to 3 main factors<br />
– pumpkin blight,<br />
shipping challenges<br />
and extreme weather.<br />
Anyone in the<br />
Green Industry can<br />
relate to these troubles<br />
here in the<br />
southeast region!<br />
Much like pumpkin<br />
spice lattes,<br />
the shortage<br />
was hyped up<br />
and not as dire<br />
as some articles<br />
might<br />
lead you<br />
to believe.<br />
Depending<br />
on what<br />
part of the country you live<br />
in, pumpkins for Halloween Jack-O-<br />
Lanterns might have been difficult to<br />
find as the holiday approached. Now<br />
the concern is canned pumpkin with<br />
Thanksgiving on the way.<br />
A quick Google search will inform<br />
you 90% of our pumpkins for processing<br />
are grown within an 80 mile<br />
radius of Peoria, Illinois and there is a<br />
pumpkin processing plant ten minutes<br />
away<br />
in Morton,<br />
Illinois for Libby’s® brand<br />
canned pumpkin, the most popular<br />
in the U.S. While the news is mixed<br />
on the severity of the Great Pumpkin<br />
Shortage of <strong>2021</strong>, the key takeaway<br />
is to buy your canned pumpkin earlier<br />
rather than closer to the holidays,<br />
just to be on the safe side!
Sherman Gentry joined Green Dynamix in August<br />
of <strong>2021</strong> as an Account Executive, primarily<br />
serving customers in the Panhandle and North<br />
Florida. He has been surrounded by the landscape<br />
industry for many years in different aspects and<br />
with his dedication to honesty and integrity, he<br />
lives out our Core Values as a company, especially<br />
“Customer Obsession”! Originally from Lake<br />
City, FL, Sherman worked locally as an Operations<br />
Technician and then received an offer to<br />
move to Pennsylvania as a Field Service Engineer. Now that he is back in Florida, he is<br />
diving into his passion for the Green Industry. He enjoys going to the beach and pool with<br />
his family in his free time. He and his wife have two boys, age 6 and 2. We are thrilled to<br />
have Sherman on the Green Dynamix team!<br />
Hannah Vasily joined the Green Dynamix team<br />
in August of <strong>2021</strong> when our company’s Core<br />
Values caught her attention. Her personal passion<br />
involves all things customer service and she wanted<br />
to focus in on that passion daily in a team-player<br />
environment. Her goal is to make an important impact<br />
towards customer satisfaction while continuing<br />
to grow her own personal skillset. Hannah is<br />
part of our Inside Sales team and brings a level of<br />
excitement and efficiency through her role in helping<br />
to increase productivity and provide support to<br />
both our team members and our customers. Originally<br />
from Peachtree City, Georgia, she has spent<br />
the last few years moving around the Southeast with her family. Currently, they have<br />
landed back in the great state of Georgia. She attended the University of West Georgia<br />
where she studied both Marketing and Business. She previously worked for a landscape<br />
supply company and has a great deal of customer service experience that allows her to<br />
blend her acquired skills towards her current role with Green Dynamix. Hannah is a<br />
mother of 3 little boys and she and her husband, Avery, have been married nearly 5<br />
years. In her spare time, her interests include photography, hiking and all things<br />
women’s/family health related. We are excited to have Hannah on our team!
W<br />
hile Mariela is not a new face with Green Dynamix,<br />
she recently became an Account Executive<br />
for both our Central and South Florida customers. She<br />
joined the team in May of 2020 and over the course of this<br />
year, Mariela has truly exemplified our first Core Value<br />
as a company, Continually Improving! We wanted to recognize<br />
her commitment to excellent customer<br />
service and reintroduce her under her new title.<br />
Originally, she came on board as Operations<br />
Support. She then moved to our Inside<br />
Sales team and took on the responsibility of<br />
serving our South Florida customers. Her previous<br />
experience with us, enthusiasm for the<br />
Green Industry and drive to connect with customers<br />
to better meet their needs makes her a<br />
great fit to serve both our Central and South<br />
Florida customers. Read her full bio and others<br />
on our website’s “Meet Our<br />
Team” page!
festive bloomer during the holidays, ‘Yuletide’<br />
is a beautiful camellia option for your<br />
A<br />
landscapes with masses of rich red single flowers<br />
and bright yellow<br />
stamens. Its an evergreen,<br />
compact shrub<br />
that typically blooms<br />
from late autumn<br />
through the winter season.<br />
It can reach 8-10<br />
ft tall at full maturity<br />
but can be shaped<br />
through pruning, which<br />
should be done after<br />
its flowering season is<br />
over. Contrary to some<br />
myths, camellias are<br />
not difficult to care for.<br />
The key is to choose<br />
the right spot! They<br />
require part to mostly<br />
shade and thrive in moist but<br />
well-drained rich acidic soils.<br />
Providing them some shelter<br />
from harsh winds and direct afternoon<br />
sunlight is ideal. When<br />
planting, using a root mulch is<br />
recommended and fertilizing<br />
should be done in the spring or<br />
at least 2 months before the first<br />
frost. Looking for ‘Yuletides’ for<br />
your next project? We have 3, 7<br />
and 15 Gallon options available<br />
TODAY!