C N' R's Appreciation Page - "Special Thanks"

Parents of the owner

C N’R sends a special thanks to Craig’s mother (Donna) and father (Wayne) for their unending support during the quest to succeed. Without parental support,
it is difficult to accomplish anything. Craig was taught at a very early age that you COULD believe in your dreams, and they would come true if you worked very hard to achieve them.

Thank you very much Mom & Dad! – I love you!

Wife and Family of the owner

Craig and Courtney met in high school in 1993. As Craig was developing C N’R during and after High School, Courtney finished her college career and became an eighth grade Math teacher in the Wayzata School District. She was always there as a sounding board for Craig to bounce ideas and questions off and help in any way she could. During these early years, Craig and Courtney were lucky to bring into the world two children – Emerson and Isabel. Craig and Courtney hope to provide the same support system and love for their children as they received from their own parents growing up.

Courtney, I love you! And to Emerson and Isabel, you are the pride of our lives and a major part of the story of our success.

The Customers of C N'R Lawn N' Landscape

C N’R has earned the reputation of giving their best and showing loyalty to their customers. On the flip side, the customers of C N’R have done the same thing. C N’R was founded in 1992, when Craig was in his teens. There are still customers who have been with C N’R from that beginning. It is unbelievable how loyal the customers have been to C N’R and words cannot explain our gratitude appropriately. C N’R would not be the business it is today without these great customers. As C N’R continues to grow, with so many years behind them, there are a great number of customers that may not have been onboard from the very beginning but have been onboard for a long, long time. An incredible journey it has been and C N’R could not possibly have done it without their loyal customer base.

Thank you so much for your continued business through all the years. The amazing relationships that have been developed through all these years are very strong and a lot of fun, C N’R is lucky to have you on our side!

 -- Mentors --

Warren Garrett

C N’R would like to recognize and give a special thanks to Craig’s cousin, Warren. Warren was in the lawn care industry long before C N’R. As Craig was growing up, he looked up to his cousin and saw what he was accomplishing to earn a living. Warren was running a successful Lawn, Landscape and Snow Removal business. When Craig made the decision to get into the same industry, Warren was the mentor with experienced answers to many questions. Many people know when you start a business, you need somebody succeeding in the same industry to give you great advice and proper direction. Warren was one heck of a mentor to C N’R, and helped out amazingly, to say the least. C N’R would go to him for everything – business advice, equipment advice, and customer service advice. C N’R would not be possible without Warren’s help during the beginning years. C N’R is extremely lucky that Warren was such a professional, patient, and kind person to help his cousin during startup.

Warren, it brings tears to Craig’s eyes to think about all you did for C N’R! Thanks for being there and thank you for your continued friendship, professional and personal.

Roger Higbee

When C N’R moved into their first shop, Roger’s shop was based next door. Roger was a competitor (same industry) of C N’R and they became friends fast. When Craig & Ryan met Roger, C N’R did not offer snow plowing as part of their service menu. So, what did C N’R do next? Yes, you guessed it…they got into the snow plowing business during the late 1990’s. Roger had been in the snow plowing business for many years prior and really helped C N’R to learn this part of the industry. From contracts to policies – and the system of operations for snow plowing, Roger was a genius. He knew the business very well and he was there for Craig & Ryan while they were learning. Roger (like Warren) had to deal with a lot of questions and phone calls. His patience was amazing and that is what led to the tight relationship. In 2005, Roger helped in a new big way by educating C N’R about irrigation systems – which prompted the start-up of irrigation installation and maintenance. Just like snow plowing, Roger knew a ton about sprinkler systems. He is just one of those great guys who is knowledgeable about everything in our industry. Roger later jumped ship and became a full-time employee of C N’R. He helped manage our landscape/snow plowing sector, along with many other business items. It was the year 2010 when Roger started to help out C N’R as an employee and slowly moved from his business to our business. It was not technically a full-time job during 2010, but because it worked out so well when we did work together – it naturally became full-time very soon after. The year 2011 was officially his first full year aboard the C N’R train. He worked very hard for several years, and then had to make a life decision in 2015 which led him to move to a different city.

Rog – You are our friend and we are proud that you were a great mentor to us! And then the timeless effort you put in working those 5 years to continue to help us write the C N’R success story. We could not have dreamed for more! Thanks so much!

 -- C N'Rs First Employees --

Chad LaRoche

Chad is Craig’s brother and became an employee of C N’R in the early developing stages. As odd as this may sound, an older brother being employed by his younger brother, it did work out well. With Chad’s hands on experience, he brought great new ideas to C N’R. His biggest contribution came when he encouraged C N’R to offer landscaping instead of just lawn maintenance. Since that day, the majority of C N’R expansion was in the landscaping industry. Later, after Chad graduated from college, he has helped C N’R periodically in many different ways. As the years past, Chad did move on and enjoyed great success in the corporate world.

Thanks, Chad! You are my only big Bro !!

John Obremski

John grew up on the same street as Craig, almost straight across the street, and they became best friends. John was always the little brother that Craig never had. When C N’R was first created, John became an employee of C N’R and worked very hard. John has a great work ethic and did work long hours for C N’R, learning the industry, and later became a crew leader in the landscaping field. Although John could not be a full-time employee, he always gave his best effort to help as much as possible, even while attending college. College made him a genius when it came to computers, amongst other things. After he graduated, he became a part time C N’R employee once again. He is the creator of the C N’R Webpage and is currently the Webmaster.

Over the years, his job with the C N’R website has grown due to the technology boom. C N’R’s website is a beautiful piece of work and has made C N’R more of an all-around business. C N’R is thankful to have John in our corner to stay up to date with technology and to keep our website fresh with new information.

Thank you, John, for your efforts in the beginning and your efforts today. Thanks for sharing your brilliance with our business – and never forget that we appreciate our friendship with you always.

Nick Brooks

Nick was another employee hired by C N’R during the early days (90’s). Nick was actually the first hire from an employment ad. This was a learning experience for C N’R – all previous hires were family, friends or walk-ins. Nick was an incredible worker, working long, hard hours and we could not ask for more. He became an important C N’R employee, and when it was time for Nick to move on, it was extremely difficult. Nick pursued work with his dad upon leaving C N’R and today has moved onto other jobs similar to the Lawn, Landscape and Snow Plowing industry. C N’R remains in touch with Nick as friends.

Nick, your commitment was amazing! The hours you put in will always be remembered. Thanks for your great employment in the past and your continued friendship today and going forward!

Chad Ruff

When Chad came to C N’R for his job interview, he was a young man just out of high school. C N’R hired him instantly. During his first couple years, Chad was in the learning stages, but C N’R saw tremendous potential in him. When a crew leader job opened up, Chad was challenged to fill those shoes. He proved that he was up for that challenge and passed with flying colors. Chad became C N’R’s go to person and worked for many years. Out of mutual agreement, Chad left C N’R in the early 2000’s to pursue Harley Davidson Mechanic Schooling. Chad still worked for C N’R from time to time during this schooling – especially in the fall and winter. Starting the season of 2009-2010, Chad came back to C N’R full time to help mainly to expand our yard maintenance service sector, and more importantly maintain the customer service qualities C N’R expects to give to all their customers. During the 2013 season, Chad permanently moved onto other employment.

Thanks for your efforts during the time you worked for C N’R. You were very important during the early and later growth stages of C N’R’s business, and we would not be where we are today without your involvement. We were sad when you left, but we also understand that life is a journey and we wish you the best of luck going forward.

Current Employees of C N'R

To all our existing employees for current day-to-day operations, whether you have been recently hired or worked at C N’R for a while now. From the hard workers on site to managers conducting a smooth day, and of course our office help, we are always grateful. C N’R is extremely fortunate to have a wonderful current crew. We are always confident they will represent C N’R in a professional way. From their sense of humor to how hard they work – there are so many good things to say about our current staff!

Past Employees of C N'R

A great outer core of a business starts with its inner core: “employees”. During our process through the years, we have encountered many good employees that worked hard for us. It is extremely difficult to properly express the gratitude required for all the help these great employees gave in the business field. C N’R really does appreciate everything that all the past employees have done. There are many fond memories with all the friendships that were developed amongst our professional relationships.

Perhaps it goes without saying, thank you to all our past employees through the many years. We could not have done this without you.

Vehicles

C N’R puts every bit of effort into a good impression, both service and appearance. Having nice Trucks is a good start – more importantly, having trucks that are dependable takes a service company a long way. C N’R have been “Ford Guys” from the beginning. C N’R has owned a variety of Ford Trucks through the years. The durability of the Ford transmission has always been liked and appreciated. The first Ford Truck came from Bob Ryan Ford in Minnetonka. Then the second from Freeway Ford in Plymouth. As C N’R grew, more trucks were needed. As time went by, older trucks needed to be updated. Referring to Waconia Ford, the next three trucks were purchased there. The salesman, Dennis, worked with C N’R and the location although helpful at the time, proved to be too far away in the future. To be more efficient with precious time, C N’R moved to Morrie’s Ford in Minnetonka for all new purchases. When Morrie’s Ford’s salesman, Eddie, moved to Eden Prairie Ford, C N’R followed. New trucks were now purchased at Eden Prairie Ford. In 2011, Eddie moved onto other things, so all new purchases of Ford Trucks are now purchased from Eric Bjorgaard at Metropolitan Ford in Eden Prairie. Starting in 2016, C N’R purchased Jeeps from Walser Jeep in Hopkins, for those tight spaces. (We cannot say Trucks anymore, they are now Vehicles) Today, regular C N’R Fleet Vehicle maintenance is performed by Metro Ford and private mechanics at the C N’R facility.

Thank you to all the “Ford Relationships” and mechanics through the many years. It is very difficult to mention everyone that has helped us along the way – we apologize if anyone was missed. Expertise and GREAT service goes a long way when you need it, especially when we are talking about a very key asset to run a service business - vehicles.

-- Vendors / Suppliers & Business Relations --

Vendors

 C N’R has many vendors, both past and present, where purchases are made for different kinds of products through each season. Materials of many sorts, whether it be for landscaping, fertilization, irrigation, salt and much more – the Twin Cities is blessed with GREAT vendor businesses for our industry.

Equipment / Supplies

Purchasing equipment and supplies needs to be easy. C N’R has been blessed with good companies to supply equipment. A big shout out to these companies as well that supply amazing service to keep the day rolling smoothly. Buying quality equipment plays an important role in success. Then, good people are needed for maintenance to that equipment as it gets older. C N’R has had the luxury of dealing with businesses that provide both quality equipment and excellent maintenance, when needed.

Accounting Services

We would also like to send a special “thanks” to Sims & Company (Tom Sims & Chris Berdan) for helping the C N’R Corporation stay true to Uncle Sam.  It is a lot of hard work keeping numbers intact each fiscal season.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To all the people/businesses we have worked with over the many, many years, - thank you very much for your superior and timely service – not to mention the stellar product you sell. The machine does not run without service, and high standards coupled with good customer service fuels the machine.

Boxing all of our ‘thank you’ cards…

After 30+ years of success in the outdoor maintenance industry, it is impossible to mention everyone who has helped us along the way. It has been a long journey for C N’R and because of the many amazing people and businesses, we have managed to make it this far. The future is tomorrow, and bright – and success is both in the past and the future, as we look forward……