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Certified arborists Sara and Jesse Hesley branched out to open their own tree care business, Town Branch Tree Experts, in 2011. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Mature trees such as these in Bell Court (pictured above and left) contribute to a city’s beauty as well as individual property values. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Mature trees such as these in Bell Court (pictured above and left) contribute to a city’s beauty as well as individual property values. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Mature trees such as these in Bell Court (pictured above and left) contribute to a city’s beauty as well as individual property values. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Well-maintained trees are less susceptible to storm damage when they have been properly pruned. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Town Branch Tree Experts has a staff of 11, six of whom are certified arborists through the International Society of Arboriculture. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Sara and Jesse Hesley, owners of Town Branch Tree Experts. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
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Sara and Jesse Hesley, owners of Town Branch Tree Experts. Photo by Ryan K. Morris
When taking a brisk walk or a slow drive through Ashland Park, Bell Court, Chevy Chase or Lansdowne – some of the most desirable neighborhoods in Lexington – you’ve likely noticed that your route is contoured by tree-lined streets.
“Having a lot of trees in a city makes the city more livable for everybody,” said Sara Hesley, CEO of the Lexington company Town Branch Tree Experts. “Trees are one of the only natural resources that increase in value over time.”
Many of us think of Lexington as having plenty of green, but it’s actually at 25 percent tree canopy coverage – and declining. The national recommendation is to have 40 percent canopy. As vice chair of the city’s Tree Canopy Subcommittee, which was appointed by vice mayor Steve Kay in 2015, she works with the city to explore ways of preserving existing trees and planting new ones.
“We need to protect the urban forest and strengthen it,” she said.
Sara and her husband, Jesse Hesley, who co-founded Town Branch Tree Experts six years ago, are both certified arborists. Originally from western Kentucky, the couple met in college there and moved to Lexington in the late 1990s to finish their degrees at the University of Kentucky (his is in natural resource management, hers in plant and soil science). Before graduation, Jesse was already regularly climbing trees to prune, cable or otherwise help keep them healthy.
In early 2011, Jesse represented Kentucky at the North American Tree Climbing Championship in Savannah, Georgia; upon coming back home, he said to Sara, “I’m ready.” The couple started their own business and did their first job a few months later.
“From February to May we were able to get funding, get started, buy a truck, buy a chipper, get an office and get incorporated,” Sara recalled. Working with the Small Business Development Center for funding, the company was able to hire three people right away with a Small Business Administration loan.
“The hiccups typically experienced with a startup, we really didn’t have any,” Sara said.
Today the Hesleys’ company has a staff of 11, six of whom are certified arborists through the International Society of Arboriculture with three more on track to have that credential by the end of the year. According to Sara, these and the other certifications held by the company not only signify the experience and knowledge of their staff, but also the company’s commitment to professionalism and safety.
“These things tell our customers that we strive to be the very best in our field and provide the highest level of service to our community,” she said.
On a day-to-day basis, Jesse oversees field operations and crew training, while Sara handles administration, finances, marketing and creating a strong identity for their brand. The Hesleys are aware that any city can have “tree cowboys with chainsaws and pickups” who are operating without insurance and not following the industry’s safety culture.
“We’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, so we cost more,” she said. “We follow industry standards very closely. We take a lot of pride in following best management practices for safety and pruning standards.”
When it has been properly pruned, a well-maintained tree with a strong structure is less susceptible to storm damage – and also adds property value.
“Everyone is benefiting from trees being healthy and happy, not just that particular homeowner,” she added.
When Jesse was recruited for an arborist position in California in 2005, the couple lived in San Francisco for three years, where Sara was diagnosed with Lyme disease and ultimately recovered after undergoing aggressive treatment for several years. During that time, she worked as an herbalist and started her own company to make organic body care products. Leaping into business that first time was intimidating, she said, and led her to do lots of homework before opening Town Branch Tree Experts years later.
When the Hesleys moved back to Lexington in ’08, she took a job in administration management in the arboriculture field and got training and certification while she was at it.
“I knew a lot about the industry because my husband had been in it so long,” she said. With her related college degree, business ownership experience and knowledge of the arboriculture industry, Sara found herself positioned to have “a unique standpoint of seeing these different facets of this industry – and pull off a successful company.”
The Hesleys said that owning their own business is one of the best decisions they have made.
“We love it,” Sara said. “We love our community and being part of the local economy.”
Named for Town Branch Creek, the middle fork of Elkhorn Creek on which Lexington itself was founded, the company’s name is a fitting title – and not only for the homage it pays to one of Lexington’s most prominent natural elements, according to Sara.
“Part of our business model is striving to serve the urban core of Lexington,” she said, “to identify our niche working from the center of Lexington out.” cc