Our goal in having the season kickoff is to make sure that our whole team knows who we are, what is happening and where we are going. 

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We have to start by recognizing our father, the founder of this business, Danny. Through his commitment to excellence, Danny grew a local company into a commercial leader. Yet his impact extended across business success. He is a person of strong principles. Guided by integrity, respect, and a belief in the satisfaction of an honest day’s work. 

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Moving forward, Strathmore will be led by Gord, Conor and myself, with me as president.

Our clients needs are changing. Our business is expanding. However, our founding principles remain the roots of our culture, our work, and our success. Our professionalism, positivity, sense of respect and integrity will not change. Strathmore has always set the bar for excellence. And I am always proud of the work we do and the impact we make. 

As we move forward, our stewardship of the environment and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion are not just corporate responsibilities, but fundamental drivers of our success. Our team is made up of over 25% women in an industry where the average is 8%.

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But we are not content to stop there. Our goal is to be absolute leaders in these areas:

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• To train people of all backgrounds and genders to be able to have successful careers in this industry

• To be leaders in reducing our carbon footprint and supporting our clients’ zero-emission goals

• To continue to create a workplace that not only accepts, but celebrates and embraces diversity in all its forms: gender, sexual orientation, race, age, background, religion and belief

• To actively promote and support women in leadership roles to attract more women to our industry - not only to strengthen our company but to strengthen the industry as a whole,

 

It is by embracing the future with an open mind that we, as individuals and as an organization, can navigate uncertainty, adapt to change and thrive in a rapidly evolving world. 

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We show up to work every day to shovel snow, to clear fallen trees, to care for the grass and the flowers. And make no mistake, our commitment to excellence not only makes our clients' lives better, but has a transformative impact on people, the community and our planet. 

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I am immensely proud to be part of our team and I am excited to sow the seeds of excellence together.

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Our commitment to excellence has led to exciting things at Strathmore:

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• We won the national award for best commercial landscape in the country three years in a row - something that has NEVER been done in Canada

• We service properties coast-to-coast. Last year, 500 properties trusted us to care for their trees, gardens and snow removal across Canada

• We provide jobs for over 200 people - giving the chance for people to grow, develop and provide for themselves and their families.

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Looking forward, our commitment to excellence is leading to exciting opportunities and milestones:

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• We have grown our maintenance business by 10%, focusing on clients who share our commitment to quality and peace of mind

• We have hired a consulting firm who is helping us to improve communication in order to ensure better quality work and work environment for all

• We are working with a leading health and safety firm to make sure that each of you goes home healthy every night

• We have started our season with full crews - a first for strathmore! This was a team effort of course between HR, recruiting, operations - and most importantly: YOU! This year our team is made up of 65% returning people. For this we are so grateful to each of you for continuing to grow your career with us

• All our returning people will be contacted in the upcoming weeks with an invitation to a platform hat we have chosen to thank you and reward you for your continued choice to work with us. 

• We remain committed to your growth and development - with over 70 people enrolled in PAMT and in total over 75 of our team members with diplomas and degrees from various landscape programs. And stay tuned, we are always committed to bringing you more opportunities to learn and will have many exciting choices available this summer.

 

• We have the best clients in the country: 10 out of 10 of the top real estate owners in Canada choose Strathmore for their maintenance services

• While we have lost clients this year, we remain committed to working with clients who value quality and the hard work you do every day.

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One of our very practical commitments to continued excellence is the creation of our one-week onboarding program. Every single new person working with us has had a week of basic training with Karine. Our goal is to make sure that everyone who starts with us has the foundation needed to do safe and excellent work. We want to make sure that when new people join your crews, you can trust that they have been exposed to the Strathmore, both in WHAT we do and HOW we do it. 

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We would like to recognize our first ever graduating class of strathmore Academy, class of 2024:

 

Emmanuelle 

Alex 

Benjamin 

Apollon 

Francisco 

Sabrina 

Dolores  

Frank 

Rajbir 

Nauris 

Holub 

Samuel 

Billy Alexander 

Sebastian 

Abdellahi 

Viviane

Maksym 

Sergii 

Artem 

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And we are very grateful to our dedicated teacher - who committed for the past 5 weeks to share her passion for landscape and doing good work: Karine Moniere.

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We are excited. There has never been more of a need for a company who looks like us, cares like us and provides excellent service like we do. We are proud to grow together and thank each of you for your commitment to excellence.