In March, we had the opportunity to sit down with Ashley Davis, the founder and owner of Absolute Tree, an iconic NoVa arborist and Greet Del Ray charter sponsor. Our interview offers insights as to how he began his journey and how he was inspired to help salvage and protect our trees.

 

Greet Del Ray: Tell us a bit, broadly, about Absolute Tree as it relates to serving Northern Virginia, including Alexandria and Del Ray. 

 

Absolute Tree: Over the last 19 years, Absolute Tree has grown a reputation as one of the premier tree service companies in the Northern Virginia areas. And there’s a good reason for this—we love trees and our passion for them shows. When you call on Absolute Tree for tree service, you aren’t just getting “some guys who cut down trees.” You’re hiring highly skilled arborists who understand the growth of trees and consider tree care an art form. There is something to be said for experience, especially when it comes to perfecting the art of tree care. Our tree service was founded in 2005 on the premise of helping our community nurture the growth of the Earth’s trees. Over the years, we’ve recruited only the highest trained, skilled and educated arborists to join our team and help us in our mission to improve the health and beauty of today’s trees. We currently have about 18 full time employees.

 

 

GDR:  What attracted you initially to this profession, before founding the company? 

AT: I always had a love for trees.  As a kid my parents would always find me in the canopies of a few southern magnolias we had in the front yard of our Fort Hunt home. I began my career working for my family's business at Golds Gym in Alexandria.  We had several locations in northern Virginia and Orlando, Florida. I was lucky enough to learn from that industry that helped with my owning my tree care company. During my time at the gym, I was able to travel during the building phases of the new clubs we opened learning so many different avenues of business.  I began working for a friend that I signed up that owned a local tree care company in Alexandria. I would work for him part time form 8am to noon a few days a week. I quickly fell in love with the industry. I became a sales arborist over 2.5-year period.  He ended up selling and I that time I decided to give it a go on my own.

 

GDR: Are there services you provide that you think most people don’t know about?

AT: We have a large winter service division. We have been in the snow removal side since Day 1. We also have a large firewood division that focuses on residential and restaurant firewood.

GDR: What would you say are your top accomplishments over the past 19 years?

AT:  I would say the our best accomplishment is the team we have created. I have three employees who have been with us since year two. We are very close-knit group. We do not have a lot of turnover here; we are very close with each other and work very well as a team.

GDR: Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.

AT: My wife Denise and I started this company in Alexandria. We have two children, 12 and 15 years old, both of whom are very active in sports, including playing lacrosse, basketball and volleyball.  In our spare time we are very passionate about the outdoors. We spend out summers in Deltaville, Virginia. (mostly on the water as much as possible).

GDR: What are your plans for the future? 

AT: We are actually in a great spot with our company, and the relations with other clients both on the commercial and residential side. We have downsized over the last six years from operating out of three locations in two states down to one our home office, based in Alexandria. We have a great relationship with another Greet Del Ray sponsor, Sean Sutherland at Rosemont Landscaping. We both send each other several projects throughout each season!