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A bright future: It’s less about weeds, and more about people

     As COO of Weed Man’s U.S. operation, one would think Jennifer Lemcke would talk about success in terms of new franchises in this country. “Oh, sure,” she says, “I would be a very happy camper if one day we were to have 800 franchises in the U.S. We didn’t truly get involved in the states until 2000, and since then we have set up nearly 100 franchises. That’s pretty good. So our future, both in the U.S. and Canada, looks bright.”

     She continues, “But when I think about our success as a company, I think about all the awesome people who work for us, and all the families we’ve met and become associated with over the years. Like everything else in the green industry this is a people business. As for myself, I’ve been blessed to have great people in my life. My parents have been great mentors. They believe in hard work and have taught me to be loyal, respectful, and fair to all who surround me. My husband Chris and my three children have always supported me through thick and thin. Lastly, I love the people I work with and enjoy my job.” What else could a person ask for?

     What else, indeed? But having a successful career would seem to be a good starting point. Lemcke then offers a brief history of Weed Man and her involvement with the company.

     As she explains, Weed Man was founded in 1970 by Des Rice who still owns and operates the company as a division of Turf Management Systems. Lemcke’s father, Roger Mongeon, a former chemical engineer, purchased a Weed Man franchise from Rice in Canada in 1985, and since then has added several territories to his Canadian holdings. He later formed a company to purchase franchise rights in the U.S., and, as they say, the rest is history.

     Lemcke says she has been involved with her dad’s operation from the time she was 16 years old, but didn’t truly get interested until after spending three years at the University of Ottawa studying both political science and communications, and later working another year at the school in telecommunications.

     “I started working seriously part-time for dad in 1992 and, a year later, both my husband Chris and I started full-time. We spent a year in every position at the company, including driving trucks and treating lawns. A few years later, we moved to the Scarborough office where we now work, and just last year I was promoted to my current position. Chris is technical director of turf operations in Canada.”

     As COO of Weed Man USA/Turf Holdings, Inc., Lemcke is responsible for developing the Weed Man franchise market in the U.S. Her counterpart in Canada is Bill Shane, who is COO of turf operations. He manages the company-owned franchises in Canada.

     When asked to pinpoint Weed Man’s success in the U.S. franchise market, Lemcke says simply, “Our philosophy starts at the grass roots level, with the franchise owner. If he or she does well, then everyone in the company benefits. So, it behooves all of us at the corporate level, including our 14 sub franchisors in the U.S., to ensure our franchisees’ success.”

     Not to say the market isn’t without its challenges. In Canada, Lemcke points out, more than 120 municipalities have individualized sets of bylaws governing the use of lawn care products and more than a dozen have banned their use by professional lawn care operators. In her words, “We have been fighting an uphill battle in Canada, but the lessons we have learned here are quickly being applied to the U.S. market where our industry members are very aware of the issues and very involved. I think the important thing is for all of us in the industry to be proactive and continue to educate customers and legislators, alike.”

     Regarding her industry’s future, Lemcke is nothing but optimistic. “Our industry is strong. We have strong support from our suppliers, and we benefit greatly from our relationships with groups such as Project EverGreen and, of course, PLANET. In fact, I can’t say enough about PLANET Director of Government Affairs Tom Delaney and the work he does on behalf of the lawn care industry and the green industry as a whole.”

     Again, she adds, it all comes down to people. No matter what industry you’re in, if you have hardworking, dedicated people, the future will always look bright.