A Santa Rosa County businessman is being honored today for being the top in his field.
Rob Williamson, owner of Trees Plus in Navarre, is the Florida Urban Forestry Council's 2009 Outstanding Professional. Williamson will receive the award at an urban forest seminar today at the Pensacola Civic Center.
"It really validates what we, the team members of Trees Plus, are doing," said Williamson, 41. "A lot of work went into it. It's very rewarding."
Charlie Marcus, the state Division of Forestry's representative to the council, serves on the group's awards selection committee. He praised Williamson's efforts to promote urban forestry.
"He has done volunteer tree and landscape work for a number of public entities," Marcus said. "He has conducted educational programs for local communities. He serves on a local tree board (in Fort Walton Beach). He sponsors an awards program for residential properties that expeditiously use trees to enhance energy conservation, use primarily native trees, and adhere to the concept of 'right tree/right place.' "
Williamson believes giving back to the community is an important part of his business.
"The team members at Trees Plus donate a lot of time to preserving parks, natural areas, historic cemeteries and historic trees," he said. "I go into school and speak about preserving trees."
Trees Plus has helped at Bagdad Cemetery and the Old Mill Site Park in Bagdad, and restored two historic trees at the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Fort Walton Beach. Williamson is the chairman for the Emerald Coast Science Center in Fort Walton Beach and hopes to work with Escambia County urban forester Jimmie Jarratt to help plant trees in urban areas this year.
Trees Plus was established in 1992. Williams has owned it since March 2005. The business employs as many as 17 people at the height of the season, he said. It serves customers from Pensacola to Santa Rosa Beach in south Walton County.
"I'm one of the few certified arborists in the area. As a certified arborist, I am able to provide consultations for new construction," Williamson said. "We do tree planting and removal. We do tree pruning and stump grinding, anything to do with trees. We also have the landscaping side of the business."
Pensacola News Journal • Louis Cooper • lcooper@pnj.com • February 10, 2010
