Ten years ago, I met Gene Freeman and Chris Strempek in Dallas, TX, right before we brought our group of GROW! 2016 attendees to their company, Complete Landsculpture. We were introduced by Jim Cali and Jason New, our partners in running our ACE Peer Group Program.
Gene and Chris have become good friends since that first meeting, they're business owners I regularly look to for inspiration because:
1. They do really great work. I'm blown away every time I see photos of their work, it's so impressive. The quality of their designs paired with the detail in their installation and maintenance: they're keeping the bar for professional landscapers high. They do both commercial and residential work, and every job I've seen them do is just so impressive.
2. Their attitudes as leaders. Gene and Chris have attended GROW! consistently since they hosted the event a decade ago, and they've also been members of our ACE Peer Group Program. They have so much humility, ask great questions, and look to learn from everyone they meet. I think that's critical to their success: neither of them has ever had an attitude of "what could I learn from that company, they're smaller than we are!" Instead they, I think rightly, realize that contractors of all sizes have great wisdom to share.
I frequently remind myself and others to have this mindset. I think this is the single most important thing a leader can do to continue growing: stay humble and keep looking for things to learn.
3. They work together well as partners. I'm so impressed by the way they work together, how much they respect each other as co-owners, and also how they each are able to focus on their strengths in their roles. By understanding what they excel at and then staying focused, they've grown their business.
Gene and Chris are the kind of leaders I'd like to work for, and there's so much we can learn from them. I'm excited to bring GROW! 2026 back to their facility on the 10th anniversary of our original tour of their facility - in the time since then this event has grown dramatically both in attendee numbers and in the education offered. We'll have 40+ breakout sessions, a tour of Complete Landsculpture's facility and in-depth sessions with their award-winning team, networking, and plenty of inspiring main-stage sessions, too.
Early Bird pricing is available until November 1 for GROW! 2026. You know you want to join us in Dallas, so register this month to save $200 per person. Plus, that discount stacks with our team discounts of 15% off for groups of 3+ and 20% off for groups of 10+. Will we see you there?
Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.