Alex
A Brooksider born and bred, Alex grew up in the neighborhood, attended Rockhurst High School, and graduated from KU with a degree in Environmental Studies. Envision co-founder John Smith offered Alex what was supposed to have been a temporary gig, but it turned into a permanent—and happy! —one not long after.
Within a year, Alex moved from mowing lawns to sales and account management, meeting with prospective customers and overseeing every aspect of their projects, from start to finish.
“I make sure that the sites are ready for us to begin work and that the crews have everything they need,” he says. ‘Then, I kind of pop in throughout the project to make sure that everything is going smoothly and if not, what are the issues? How do we fix them?”
He appreciates the emotional and financial commitments that Envision customers are making in their homes and outdoor spaces.
“These projects can be big investments for our customers,” he says. “So, our job is to put their minds at ease that they are going to be taken care of and everything will be installed correctly, and their vision of their dream backyard will come into being.”
His pleasure in completing a job does not stop when the crews leave.
“I love it a month or two after we are done, and I get pictures from customers with their outdoor furniture and plants in full bloom,” he says. “They always come with some praise, like, ‘Thanks so much. This looks great. You guys are amazing!’ It feels really good to go from the first rough draft of what the project should be and then see the final version, too.”
Married since 2020, Alex, his wife, two dogs, and a cat make their own home in Brookside, not far from the house he grew up in himself. An extra benefit of his job is living among happy clients and neighbors that he sees regularly at one of the markets, in the shopping district, or Charlie Hooper’s.
“It’s fun to be in my neck of the woods and help transform outdoor spaces for families or young couples who want to establish roots here for the next 10 to 15 years or longer.'”
