The many hats of “Landscaper to the Stars,” Sal Rodriguez

SAL RODRIGUEZ The RENAISSANCE MAN over 2,000 trees, 10,000 plants, and all the bark, rock, and soil DIYers could need, it has certainly done just that. Calling Sal Rodriguez a triple threat would be an understatement. In fact, he has proved himself in essentially every business he’s ever set his mind to, and his list of successes have certainly racked up. From landscaping to real estate, and cattle ranching to law enforcement, Sal has made a name for himself as a true renaissance man, and his reach has grown exponentially from his start in Oroville, California to extend across the entire Northstate.

Born to a farming family, Sal learned the value and importance of hard work from an early age. After graduating from Las Plumas High School in 1993, he attended Butte College and obtained his associates degree in criminal law enforcement. Sal joined the police academy and was hired as a deputy by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department in 1996. “It was the year of the huge floods throughout Northern California.” he recalled, “I spent the first months of my career in law enforcement, dealing with dead livestock, from dead cows from the flooding, to floating propane tanks, and keeping people from looting flooded homes and businesses. It was an interesting way to get your start in law enforcement.”

Sal began a side business landscaping homes in 2001, and the business quickly took off. Within three short years, the business had grown so large, he decided to leave the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department to focus on the business full-time. Committed to keeping his community safe, he signed on with the Butte County Sheriff’s Department as a reservist and later joined the Oroville Police Department in the same capacity.

“It’s been said we’re the landscaper to the stars.” Sal laughed, “People took notice of the level of work we were capable of doing and continued to present us with bigger and grander landscape projects. Within a few years of focusing on the business full-time, we had become the go-to in Oroville for high-end custom landscaping, waterfalls, cement work, and just about anything involved in a fancy landscape. Best of all, we made sure to do everything in-house so we had full control over each project.” To date, Sal and his team have completed over 3,000 projects throughout the Northstate, landscaping homes and businesses from Redding to Yuba City.

Finding immense success in landscaping, Sal used the profits to diversify his portfolio, getting into cattle ranching, rental properties, a landscape yard, and eventually opening a property development company as well. The ranch, now operating for nearly 20 years, is home to a number of hereford and black angus cattle, which Sal has continued to breed, determined to produce the highest quality beef possible. The landscape yard filled a void in the community for folks looking to source material for their own landscaping. With “I purchased my first property in 2005, and I haven’t stopped since.” Sal began, “We’re now well-diversified with 36 properties across residential, commercial, and bare land. It’s been a lot of fun too. We find a property in need of help, buy it, fix it, and rent it.” The endeavor not only helped in beautifying Sal’s community, but provided him with the experience necessary to jump into property development, something he has a clear excitement for. “We most recently purchased the Oro West Racquet & Health Club in the heart of Oroville. It’s an ambitious project as we’ll be renovating the entire property to include a brand new sports club with a gym, casual dining, bar, pool, and outdoor basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts. The property is 102 acres, and we plan on turning it into a true destination with an RV park. We plan on opening Coyote Canyon in 2022.”

Sal has accomplished all of the above and bettered his community in so many ways, all while continuing to be a devoted husband and a loving father to six beautiful children. He’s even found the time to coach their soccer, baseball, and basketball teams throughout Oroville. As a member of Rotary, the Farm Bureau, and still an on-call public servant in law enforcement, he has proved that truly anything can be done if you put your mind to it. If you’re in need of any of Sal’s many services, don’t hesitate to call (530) 532-9303

keeping cool in the northstate

Was it just us or did summer seem to arrive well ahead of schedule this year? With temperatures rising into the 90s by the end of April, the heat caught each of us off guard and sent us running to our thermostats in search of help. That first sweltering emergency resulted in two members of our team discovering their air conditioning units were not up to snuff—one took what seemed like ages to cool their house, a problem which wasn’t there last summer, and the other simply didn’t turn on at all. This experience isn’t uncommon for HVAC systems either, as most of us don’t take the time to conduct yearly maintenance on our systems, believing instead that they’ll continue to work flawlessly through cycles of heat and cold. For most, finding out their HVAC system needs maintenance comes at the least opportune time—when they need it to work the most. Luckily, Jason Nyberg, owner of Feather River Aire, has built a business around ensuring North Valley homes and businesses remain cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

“It’s all about comfort.” Jason said as we sat across from each other in his perfectly temperature-controlled office, “Whether you’re trying to get something accomplished at work or attempting to unwind at home, you can be sure comfort decides just how quickly and effectively you can do either. Temperature plays a huge role in creating and maintaining that level of comfort, and a properly functioning HVAC system is key to ensuring the temperature gets where you need it to be and stays there.”

As a family-owned and locally-operated full-service heating and air conditioning company, Feather River Aire has been providing that comfort and peace of mind to Butte County residents since 2007. Though they are the go-to for emergency calls when an HVAC system doesn’t operate as it should, Jason and his team pride themselves on educating customers on preventative measures to decrease the chance of such emergencies occurring in the first place.

“Everything begins and ends with our customers.” Jason said, “They’re our top priority, and we aim to treat them as family, like every business should. Part of that commitment is ensuring they have the necessary knowledge to use their system correctly and setting up a maintenance plan so it continues to function properly for years to come without any work on their part. After all, something that provides comfort shouldn’t demand extra work. If a system fails, and is beyond repair, we take the time to go over new system options and direct our customers to high-efficiency and Energy Star-rated HVAC and air-filtration systems that not only save money on utility bills, but are better for the environment as well.”

Perhaps equally important, Feather River Aire takes the sting out of those unexpected emergencies that turn into unexpected costs with in-house financing. “There’s nothing worse than an expense you didn’t plan for, and most HVAC issues come with little warning.” Jason said, “Financing allows our customers to make the right decision for their home based on comfort rather than cost. It makes sure their new system is the right one for their future rather than a bandaid that will get them by for the time being.”

As full-service heating and air specialists, Jason and his team at Feather River Aire provide just about every service you could imagine, including installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, service, and tune-ups for all heating and cooling equipment. They also sell and install a number of different HVAC systems and accessories including heat pumps, ductless HVACs, and smart thermostats.

With summer already here, and temperatures getting hotter by the day, there’s no better time to call Feather River Aire to schedule your maintenance, tune-up, or a free estimate for a new HVAC system. You can reach them by phone at (530) 589-2260 or by visiting them online at www.FeatherRiverAire.com