CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

Not content to simply be a keystone business in and around Williamson County, Whittlesey Landscape Supplies substantially contributes to many local communities. They donate landscape and gardening supplies to schools and churches for vegetable and flower gardens and to sports programs for community athletic fields.

Outside of their business lane, and as a single company with distributed locations, Whittlesey easily facilitates and manages a drop-off program for summer fan drives sponsored by KXAN and Family Eldercare. Last year’s fan box donations topped $200,000 in value, and approximately

FAMILY OWNED & RUN

Clayton’s son Blake has been working in the family business since he was in high school. He started out in the mulch and sales yards before moving to the manufacturing side in soil blend and composting. Blake says the best and most challenging thing about working with family is that you must preserve the relationship while meeting business goals. The goal is to maintain a win-win scenario for the interests of the business as well as the family members.

Blake says his mother, Beverly, supports everyone in the family and is instrumental in the company’s success, and his wife, Kimberly, helps the business with marketing and event management. Clayton’s daughter, Brooke Whittlesey Smith, also enjoys being involved in business operations and is proud to support her dad.

10,000 people without air conditioning were gifted a new fan. Whittlesey also offers free Christmas tree recycling, and their people and equipment are regular fixtures at many popular community events Christmas and Independence Day parades and Touch-a-Truck events.

As well, company leadership is happy to boast about their environmentally friendly product processes. As work product, they use brush and yard trimmings to make mulch, which protects soil from erosion, regulates its temperature, and helps it retain water. They also compost to turn waste into valuable fertilizer for soil and plants.

Ann Marie Kennon