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Virginia Turfgrass Journal – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

The Turf Zone: Welcome to TheTurfZone. In this episode of Virginia Turfgrass, we’re speaking with VTC Board Member Harris Wheeler. Harris is the Founder and Owner of Grounds Maintenance Consulting and Training Services, or GM-CATS. Harris, thank you so much for joining me today.

Harris Wheeler: My pleasure!

TTZ: I have been hearing so much about you and seeing a lot of your work lately from VTC and the Environmental Institute, and I think it would be fantastic for VTC members and our other readers and listeners to get to know a little more about you and your history in the industry. So let’s just go back and start at the beginning – tell me how did you decide to pursue a career in the landscape and turfgrass management industry? 

HW: To be honest with you I really didn’t make that decision, I kind of backed into it. I guess it all started as a youngster, in South Carolina at four or five years old, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents down in Pendleton, South Carolina. My grandfather had a farm and cows, chickens, hogs, those things, a big garden, so we were outside all the time. Then we moved to the city, which was Columbia, SC. My mother always had a garden and I hated it. She wanted us to work in the garden, dig up the garden, pull the weeds. Every spring I said, “Oh my god, here we go.” So, all those things affect you later on in life. I didn’t realize I was developing a, I wouldn’t say a love for the outdoors, but just being acclimated to the outdoor world. So fast forward to 1983, my nephews down in South Carolina were having some troubles, one was 14, one was 16. And their mother called and said she couldn’t handle them, what can I do? I said, “Well, let them spend the summer with me.” I had already been renting a house and working outside, and decided that we wanted to just cut some grass in the neighborhood, so we made a little flyer and went door to door, because I told them we’re going to work, they weren’t gonna just sit around and watch TV all day long. So, we started cutting grass in the neighborhood and at the end of the summer they left and the customers kept calling me. I was working an insurance job, as an adjustor for the Travellers Insurance Company, and I was just wanting to go outside, I wanted to spend time outside. So, customers kept calling and calling so I decided to do lawn work part time and get another job working with youth. So, I quit my job in 1984 to work for a youth agency and found out that I had too much business coming in and I couldn’t do both, so I quit that job, which was about two weeks I had, and started cutting grass in the neighborhood, and that’s how I really got started.

TTZ: You kind of went the round-about way, but turned out to be a pretty a pretty good choice for you now that you can look back on it. From there when you really transitioned into doing this type of work full time, how’d you get from there to here, because you’ve hit a lot of areas, you’ve been a horticulture instructor, and you’ve done the actual work of keeping landscapes and lawns up, but now your business has a different direction, so tell me about how that evolved to where it is now.

HW: Well, first of all, I was a wayward youth. I didn’t like education, I had a lot of challenges in school, especially when I was in 11^th and 12^th grade. My senior year in school I was about to flunk out of high school. So, when I finished school – I did graduate, and when I graduated I was crying because I couldn’t believe I graduated—but then I roamed the streets for a while, then by the time I got to be 24 years old, I got married and started college, I was mature enough to handle the college world. So, I majored in music, spent three and a half years, almost four years in music, ended up getting and inter-disciplinary studies degree from the University of South Carolina, but I majored in music education so that was part of my background, teaching. But I did go into the insurance field because the offered me a good paycheck and a good job, and my wife was saying, “You better take that job!” I didn’t really have much of a choice! But I did that for four years, but when I started the lawn service, the education part was still in me, like you gotta educate yourself, so that took me down a journey, I was the entrepreneur, head of business for seven years, it went from TLC Lawn Service to Turf Master and I shut the business down in 1991, had a lot of challenges in the business, a lot of things I didn’t know. I started working for the City of Richmond as a senior labor and trades crew chief, and I worked for the housing authority as a grounds supervisor, then back to the City of Richmond as a senior gardener, and it was during that time I began to really study the horticulture field and really get into—the guy that mentored me, he was a senior gardener and he would take me to greenhouse and show me the propagation and all the systems they had, the fertilization plan and all the books. So, I began really engulfed in studying this craft and that led to me volunteering at the Richmond Technical Center and when the gentleman left, David Seward, he said you can do this, so they hired me as a horticulture instructor in 2000, actually part time in 1,998, and I went full in 2000, so I taught from 2000 to 2013.

TTZ: What age group of students were you teaching in that position?

HW: It was high school students from 9^th to 12^th grade.

TTZ: How did you find students, as far as their interest and how receptive they were to learning about horticulture in the sense of maybe pursuing that as a career?

HW: I didn’t choose my students, they were given to me. And most of the students I got were the hard-headed kids that they didn’t know what to do with. They just “Send them to Wheeler!” So, I got used to dealing with hard-headed kids who didn’t want to be in my class, so I had to be very creative because I knew this was a career that I had a lot of passion for and so I had to be very creative in developing ways in which they could handle or stomach horticulture. Eventually they began to see, in fact I took them on a lot of field trips, and they began to appreciate landscape. And we always went out to a good place to eat and I’d say, “Are you enjoying that food? Well, somebody had to grow it.” So, you have to get the kids where they are. I would entice them to appreciate what I was doing, but I have a lot of passion for it so they knew that.

TTZ: That ties into a conversation you and I had recently – what education really works and how you’ve kid of evolved from that teaching in a classroom setting to what you’re doing with GM-CATS now. We talked about some of the requirements of teaching in public schools right now with a lot of challenges with focusing on testing. Tell me how you wanted to change that and make it a little more appealing to people who really could use some great career options.

HW: I think it was around 2005, maybe 2006. SOLs were beginning to be a real big barometer for finding out where children were as far as the academic. What happened is it drifted over to the technical center, so they had us doing a lot of testing – NOCTI testing, OSHA testing, career-readiness testing, just one after the other. The students were being pre-SOL test, then SOL test, then post-SOL test. By the time they start testing so much at the tech center, I had one girl, she basically had a meltdown. She said, “I’m not taking this no more.” A lot of my students felt the same way and I had reached the point that enough is enough. Because the business I’m teaching of horticulture, there is a timeframe from September to about Thanksgiving that you have to get a lot of work done, so my first two and a half months, most of my kids spend in the lab taking tests. So, when they finished all their tests, then they could do what I’m supposed to teach them, well by that time it’s about 25 or 30 degrees outside. That was a frustrating part, so I ended up retiring at 62 because I felt like I couldn’t give the kids what I really wanted to give them. After that I took a job working with the prison population for two, maybe three years and then I was off on another job working for a company called Groundwork RVA, and they were working with students, which was very fulfilling and I worked with youth. Since then I decided to, this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing – teaching what I have learned and GM-CATS came into practice because I played basketball, and I wanted to be a professional basketball player, of course I never reached that, but I’ve always spent a lot of time in the gym and I felt that the outdoors is my gym. So, when I go out, I leave the house, I’m going to the “gym.”  It’s not like I’m hating to do this, it’s my stress reliever. So, I came up with the mane GM-CATS, it was at first Grounds YARD Maintenance, but that was too long, so I just changed it to Grounds Maintenance Consulting and Training Services. And I’m hoping to attract some young people who are athletic or like working out or like exercising because it’s a physically demanding career that is an opportunity to continue to be in shape and be outdoors and enjoy mother nature.

TTZ: Let’s talk about that Consulting and Training Services portion of GM-CATS. Who does that involve and how does it work?

HW: Right now, I’ve got a couple of small businesses that I’ve put under my wing and I’m actually working with them, hands-on going out to the job site with them. One in particular that has really clung to me and called me just about every day, so there’s a lot of little things, trade secrets that you learn, at the same time I’m teaching them the different type of grasses, different type of weeds, different safety precautions they need to implement. Because I worked for insurance for three years as a claim representative, and one of the things I did all day long was to investigate accidents, so that has come in handy because when I got into the lawn care industry, there was a lot of safety issues in this field. I would say that’s one of my strong points in recognizing safety issues that need to be addressed. I use that insurance background that helped me to understand liability issues. So, I’m using that to help the young men that I’m working with. I’m also working with a man, Mr. Bob Argabright. He has an outdoor learning center on south side. It’s called the Oak Grove Belle Mead Outdoor Learning Center. He developed this himself, so it’s really an outdoor classroom and I’ve helped him and volunteered, but we’re hoping to set up an even more polished program this year at that outdoor learning center.

TTZ: That’s targeted at younger students, right?

HW: Yes. He has middle school primarily coming to the outdoor learning center. And that’s where you can get the students interested. They have a garden there, about five or six chickens, a little creek where they check the water, look at the guppies, a beaver playground. Just kids enjoying the outdoors, the bird watching, that sort of thing and I’m involved in that.

TTZ: As the parent of a middle schooler and couple of younger kids, you can really start to see their interest growing right now, and anything they can nurture and put time into, hands-on learning where they can actually experience it, it really has a big impact, much like your early gardening years, and look where that went. 

HW: Exactly. When students can link theory with hands-on application, then the theory has a bigger impact. It’s almost like, I’m taking swimming classes right now, and it’s almost like teaching swimming through a virtual atmosphere and it’s totally different. You get in that water – HELLO – you have to connect. And I think the biggest thing I have going for, I have a college degree, and that’s good, and I have academia behind me, but I end up doing blue collar work. But, I truly understand how those two mesh and really you can enjoy both of those worlds, academia versus the trades world. But I think that’s a separation in those two areas that sometimes we get mixed up in seeing how closely they are related.

TTZ: I think when we look at the community building aspect of this and look at the companies you’re helping, and even in my area the lawn and landscape companies are actually skilled workers. It’s a trade, it’s not necessarily a lot of college educated folks that are out here working, but understanding the value of the knowledge that they’ve gained through their actual hands-on work. And the physical nature of this work, it’s really a tremendous career with some fantastic people, so I love how you’re investing in that and helping those who maybe were just like, “I need a job!” And they got in this industry and now they’re getting a little more in-depth training, I think that’s amazing. (~17:00)

So, this loops around to a question I like to ask, and I almost always get the same answer, but I’m going to see what you say. But what do you think is the biggest challenge in the lawn/landscape/horticulture profession right now? 

HW: I think the biggest challenge is educating the public. I think that there is a mindset among some people– and as an African American, I think that I speak for my community – that anybody can do it, it’s easy-peasy, 1-2-3. But to do it right, with precision, to understand the dynamics of the landscape field, you need to get some education or hands-on experience from somebody who knows what they’re doing. A lot of people think, like I said while teaching they just sent a lot of kids to my class that, most of them were kids that nobody could deal with. Well, it takes a lot. And the kids begin to understand that you’ve got to know a little bit of math, YES. I had my kids in school, they had to stand up before the mic and speak. “Why do we have to do this?” Because you might be a salesman in this industry, and you might have to learn how to sell. They had to do a lot of writing. Why? You might want to write a magazine article about landscaping. So, you don’t know, there’s all kind of careers. So, we just have to educate the public and really educate higher administration, people that’s in just education. The superintendents, the principals, that this is more than just, “oh, they’re taking care of that little greenhouse over there.” It’s science and it‘s very important and it’s not easy once you begin to study and realize what’s involved. So, I think that’s the biggest challenge – educating the public.

TTZ: We’ve had an opportunity with Virginia Turfgrass to talk to some of the high school programs that are doing specifically turfgrass programs in the high schools, but educating the public always includes how do we get kids to know what this is and bring them in. And you’re right, it covers such a spectrum of skills and abilities, and those instructors that are doing it well, are incorporating all of those elements. And when they get those kids to really understand it, especially at the high school level, when it really clicks, it’s wonderful to see kids who really hold onto that and they take such pride in the work that they’ve completed.

Let’s talk about your recent busyness with your involvement with VTC and being on the board. I think every time I get an email from Tom Tracy, it’s “Harris and I are doing this, and we’re doing this legislative work…” He is keeping you hopping. So, tell me what motivated you to join the board and the type of work you’re doing with the VTC.

HW: Tom and I go back a few years. It started with the trade show they had in Fredericksburg. I remember calling him, this was a while back because I retired in 2013, so it was probably around 2005 or 2006, and one of the things I did with students was take them on field trips. I got my actual commercial bus driver’s license so that I wouldn’t have to depend on somebody to drive my buses for my students. That was always a challenge when you wanted to take them on a field trip, you had to find out if there is a bus driver. I said, “Okay, I know what I’m going to do, I’m going to take the training so I can just get the bus and drive my kids.” And that was a good move because I didn’t have to worry about not having anybody, I had my commercial license. So, I called up Tom at the spur of the moment, they’ve got the winter field days in Fredericksburg, I talked to him on the phone, he said, “Bring your kids on up, don’t worry about it, just bring them up.” And I brought my kids up there and they had a blast. I thanked him so much because it was the last minute and he didn’t even charge the kids, he didn’t charge me. I had maybe about 15 kids and they got to tour all the different things. So that’s when our relationship really started. And from time to time we would talk. But I got to know him, a few other times we talked. So last year we did a project together in Petersburg, and he worked me really good. But it was a fun project and we really got to know each other more and he asked me to be on the board. I wasn’t seeking to be on any board, but he asked me and I thought about it and I said okay. It wasn’t something that I desired to do, but he asked me and I like what they’re doing and I know some of the people on the board, and I said okay, I’ll do it.

TTZ: So now that we know that he maybe twisted your arm just a little bit, tell me what you hope comes from this relationship that you have with VTC? 

HW: Wow. We went to a conference yesterday and today, Virginia Ag Summit, and met a lot of people. But I think my niche, as an African American, is to bring that to our community. There’s very few in the field of horticulture that I know of, it’s a few. And I think a lot of things have happened to cause a lot of people to disdain this field. The results of what happened years ago, the “I’m not going to get my hands dirty,” sometimes even a slavery type mentality, whatever. I think I have to be the one to show them, this is fun. You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s okay to get your hands dirty, it’s okay. I remember one time I was going to the bank on a regular basis, making deposits, and I would go in all sweaty and dirty, and one day I walked in there with a suit on because I had to do to a business meeting and the lady didn’t even hardly recognize me. She said, “Oh, Mr. Wheeler!” And she like, gasped, almost. And I said to myself, “What’s that?!” It’s almost like there’s a stigma on people who get their hands dirty outside. So, I want to make sure that I share with people that it’s okay to get dirty. Especially to people of color – it’s okay. You don’t have to have a tie and suit and an office now. You can work outside and you can have a good living and have a lot of fun. I think that’s part of my niche. And just because you have a college degree or don’t have a college degree, you can still do this kind of work because it’s –I just finished the professional turfgrass manager program at Virginia Tech, and that was the hardest course I’ve taken, even in all my college courses, that was the hardest course I’ve taken. So, I want people to know that it’s not about getting somebody who can just grab a lawn mower and pull it and that’s it. It’s a lot more involved, so I think that that’s my – I go back to I want to help educate the public as to there’s so many careers and advantages of going into this agriculture or horticulture field.

TTZ: Well said. I’m going to ask about your personal life now – tell me about your wife and your family.

HW: I’ve got a lovely wife of 47 years and I have two grown children. One is 40, one is 38 and I have three grandchildren, ages 3, 4, and 7. And I have a blast with them.

TTZ: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working and running around for the VTC? 

HW: I’m always picking at my wife. I just pick and we have a lot of fun back and forth. Besides that, I spend a lot of time in church, I’m a Sunday School teacher and most of the pandemic shut all that down, but I taught ages 6-10 for probably the last ten years or so. I enjoy the church and the spiritual part of my life. I am preparing now to take a lifeguard certification. I enjoy swimming, that’s something that I hadn’t planned on doing but I enjoy swimming now. I just learned how to do the flip turn not too long ago. I’ve got a certification coming up in May, I’m not sure – it’s a physical challenge for me to do some of the things they ask me to do. I’m still involved in music. I have an instrumental ensemble I’m in charge of at my church. I play a lot of table tennis, I’ve been a part of the Virginia Senior Games for the last ten years or so. I love that, table tennis. The other game that I’ve recently picked up right before the pandemic hit, and this is what caused me to almost not finish high school, I used to cut class in high school to go shoot pool. So right before the pandemic, I’d thought about a pool table and found a good deal on a pool table, put it in my basement and the juices were flowing about pool and I love it. If I were teaching math, I would work with my kids on different angles and different things that I’ve learned about math through pool. And I think that’s how you get kids really excited about something – show them a game they like and then show them, this is how the math works in it, this is how the angles work. How you’re looking at this. That’s something I’m going to use, some of the games that I’m playing, table tennis and pool and music to get kids to understand. One of my teachers, Ms. McDearman, when I was in 11^th or 12^th grade, she said, “It’s not what you do in life as your real job, it’s what you do in your leisure time.” And I looked at her like, what are you talking about? And what she was basically saying was how your leisure time is going to determine really a big part of the quality of your life. Certainly, I am fulfilled, I love those things and I take time out for them, for swimming and ping pong and have fun, just have some fun. Don’t just work, work, work, work. I think that’s very important. And family time is extremely important to me.

TTZ: I think you’ve set me up for one last question so perfectly. That may have been your answer, about how you spend your leisure time. I was going to ask you about what your advice would be for people entering the industry, but I’m going to amend that because when I get an opportunity to talk to somebody who has had a full career and has a family and is doing so many great things with your church and with your community, and with the industry and your business, maybe I just want to ask you just general – what would you tell people who are, younger who are coming up, whether in the industry or in life, if you could just tell them one thing, one bit of advice, what would it be?

HW: Without sounding too religious, one of the things that changed my life was a scripture, it’s Matthew 6:33 in the Bible. It says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” I didn’t really understand that scripture for a while, but I began to look at that and what does that really mean? And this is probably 20, 25 years ago. Because life, if you’re not careful can be a rat race. You’re just running, running, trying to climb the ladder of success. I had to put the brakes on a lot of things and say what does this mean? So, I began to study the Bible and get some understanding. I grew up in the church and I began to get some understanding about life and the things that are important. I began to set some priorities and my relationship with the Lord, with understanding the Bible and implementing and then having a string relationship with my wife was so important, my family. So, you can have success in business and all these things and you lose out on family, it’s tough. But now at 70, I’m having a blast with my wife, my kids, my grandkids. My mother will be 100 this year, I’m at her house right now. It’s fulfillment. As I get older, it’s not like, “Oh my goodness, I’m getting older.” I want to make sure that I pass on the lessons I’ve learned in life. The other thing I’ll say but America has become, if we’re not careful, the racial divide and tensions we’ve seen the last few years – people just need to talk. We integrated the schools in 1964. There’s an article that was in the state paper down in South Carolina that says, “South Carolina Schools Integrate Quietly.” It had a picture of my dad, my brother and myself with one other person on the front page of the paper. I remember those days. I learned a lot, it was tough, but I learned a lot about people and that has helped me now in dealing with people, no matter what color, religion, you deal with people. And if you size up people and you don’t really know them, you don’t know what you’re missing. So, I think that life has its challenges, but if you’re open to learn and be accepting to new ideas, you can have a great time.

TTZ: I think that is quite possibly the best note we could end this on. Harris, thank you so much, I have really enjoyed talking to you and so appreciate everything you’re doing for VTC.

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