The Extreme Pond Build from a Distributor Prospective:
Clark O’Neil – Smith Turf & Irrigation

What worked:

• Tunes- Loved the fact that there were tunes while we worked. I’ve become a devotee of Slacker.com since. Right about the time I’d start to slow down, I’d hear a great tune that would pick my energy level right back up. I actually planted a tree to Speed Metal. That was a first!
• Safety-The emphasis on safety was great. Roberto and his guys are to be commended! I was the safety manager (as well as operations manager) for an $8,000,000.00 a year landscape company. I always stress safety! More than once I was in a hurry and tried to bypass procedure, and got my butt chewed. I saw some people attempt to do some pretty stupid things but they got shut down pretty quickly by your team. It was a thankless, hot, tiring day for them, but they did a great job.
• Water Bottle Concept-I loved the idea that you tried to do the right thing by the environment. We will put millions and millions of water bottles into landfills this year alone. They will stay there forever. I thought it was a great idea to assign everyone a bottle. Someone forgot that they were dealing with humans, however. In my case, I’d set my water bottle down, jump in to help someone, and find myself on the other side of the feature. I’d go back and someone would have moved my bottle or just thrown it in the mud. By Monday after lunch, I’d abandoned it and wholeheartedly contributed to the plastic in landfills. BTW - Did you know that if you recycle your plastic water bottle and don’t remove the lid, they just throw it out? The plastic in the lids is a different type and not as easily recycled.
• Loose Build Style- I liked the fact that there was freedom of movement around the site. People as a whole sort of blended together to just keep doing whatever needed to be done.
• Dogs- I loved the fact that Buckeye had the roam of the joint. Dogs have such great energy! It actually made people smile. At one point, in the distributor meeting Monday, Greg was earnestly explaining the foundation being laid for the future of the company. Heady, serious stuff I said to myself. This is no picnic. This is a matter of serious importance! Right about that time, Buckeye comes strolling around with a Guinness Book of World records drool and this mischievous “grin” on his face. I swiped the slobber off his face, scratched his head and sent him off in search of cheeseburgers or whatever other illicit contraband he might discover. Wednesday Ellen B. had their little dog chasing bottles in the feature and there was no quit in him (her?)! It was just fun to watch. Two thumbs up to dogs!
• Watermelon and Otter Pops- On Sunday, I was whooped! Beat like a rented mule. It was hot and I’d been moving gravel. Lots of freakin’ gravel! More gravel than I ever want to see again. Did I mention I was beat? Someone came around with Watermelon slices. I had forgotten how refreshing they were. Awesome. About ten minutes later someone else came by with frozen Otter Pops. In the blistering sun, with every joint in my body hurting, I looked around and saw the whole damn site had stopped. Nearly every person there had a green or orange or red or blue frozen pop and was taking time to enjoy it. It will go on the list of things I doubt I’ll ever see again, but for that two minute period, all was right with the world. The process was repeated on a smaller scale throughout the week. My wife is now wondering why I brought home Otter Pops from the grocery store the other day.
• Rain Water Harvesting- I sat through Ed’s presentation in Miami and enjoyed it then. He has honed it even further and it was well received. Nice job Ed!
• Personnel- Being able to work with Aquascape people on the build was great. Do you know how much respect I gained for Tavia after I watched her work circles around people (me included)? Now the person that answers the tech phone also represents determination, sticktuitiveness (it’s been years since I made up a word; I’m due), toughness, and follow-through. I saw many great attributes come out in people throughout my 4 days.
• Buses- The shuttles were dependable, quick and clean.
• The Feature Itself- Yeah. Like words could do that justice. I’m just glad I was there.
• Networking- Great opportunities. You have aligned yourself with some pretty big players. We all know each other. It’s nice to interact.