Pictured, from left, are Sen. Bill DeSteph, STIHL Inc. Board Chairman Fred Whyte, Honorary Chairman of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG Advisory Board Hans Peter Stihl and STIHL Inc. President Bjoern Fischer.Photo: STIHL
STIHL Inc. Board Chairman Fred Whyte was honored by the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates recently with a joint resolution outlining his successful tenure with the company. State Sen. Bill DeSteph presented the joint resolution to Whyte at a luncheon in Virginia Beach.
The resolution outlines Whyte’s career at the helm of STIHL Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the STIHL Group – from his start as one of the company’s first 50 employees to his community leadership across southeast Virginia as a member of the boards for Old Dominion University and the Children’s Health Foundation of Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.
The resolution also honors Whyte’s work as a leader in the outdoor power equipment industry and his service to several national industry trade associations.
Whyte currently serves as the sole director and chairman of the STIHL Inc. board of directors, following his retirement as president in December 2015. During his tenure, STIHL saw record growth and became the No. 1 selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America.
“Fred Whyte has been a friend, constituent and most importantly, a leader, for over 30 years,” said DeSteph. “As the president of STIHL Inc., he contributed to the city of Virginia Beach in ways few can claim – overseeing the growth of this top corporation, which resulted in tremendous economic benefit to our great city; employing hundreds of residents in high-paying, skilled manufacturing jobs; mentoring local students as they consider future employment paths.
“Fred is to be commended for his character, his drive and his willingness to contribute. He is truly an inspiration to those who know him. We are indeed fortunate to have a man of his caliber living in our community.”
Scott TilleyMeanwhile, STIHL Inc.’s general counsel, Scott Tilley, has been elected chairman of the board of the Virginia Manufacturers Association.
“I am honored to serve a second term as chairman,” Tilley said after the recent board election. “Manufacturing is growing across the Commonwealth and we take pride in our work that has helped foster that growth.
“Over the next five years the VMA is going to aggressively implement workforce solutions, member benefits programs and legislative solutions to make the Commonwealth the most competitive place in the U.S. to manufacture world-class products.”
Ruppert promotes 4 to associate branch manager
Drew DummannRuppert Landscape announced recently the promotion of four employees to associate branch manager within the company’s landscape management division: Drew Dummann in Raleigh, North Carolina; Rob Groves in our Gainesville, Virginia; and Tom Flint and Jenna Hicks in Laytonsville, Maryland, where the company is headquartered.
“The position of associate branch manager is a new position within our company,” said Tom Barry, vice president of the landscape management division. “We are committed to growing from within and believe that this new position will further enable us to invest in training and preparing future branch manager candidates while simultaneously improving the current capabilities of the branch.”
Rob GrovesDummann has been with the Ruppert organization for more than a decade. He worked in the company’s landscape construction division for the first eight years, including assignments with the Maryland and Virginia landscape construction branches as a
production manager. He been a part of the landscape management division for the past two years, spending time as an enhancement manager in the Frederick, Maryland, branch and, most recently, as an area manager in the Raleigh branch.
Dummann holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Ohio State University and resides in Clayton, North Carolina. His wife, Angela Howes, is branch manager in Ruppert Landscape’s North Carolina landscape construction branch.
Tom FlintGroves joined the Ruppert organization in 2006 as an enhancement field manager in the company’s Gainesville branch. He was promoted quickly to enhancement manager, “a position in which excelled for nearly nine years until his promotion to area manager last year,” according to a Ruppert news release on the promotions.
Groves earned his associate of applied science degree in landscape and nursery operations from the Pennsylvania College of Technology and resides in Culpeper, Virginia.
Flint brings more than 30 years of experience in the industry to his new position, including over four years with the Ruppert organization. He spent his first three years with the company as an area manager in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2015, he transferred to the Laytonsville branch, where he has helped coach and mentor a young team and continues to produce top enhancement sales, the Ruppert news release says.
Jenna HicksFlint attended Millersville University of Pennsylvania and currently resides in Derwood, Maryland. His eldest daughter, Amanda (Flint) Timmins, works in the company’s payroll department.
Hicks joined Ruppert in 2014 as an area manager in Laytonsville. In August of this year, she took home the Ruppert landscape management division’s award for top performer in enhancement sales.
Before joining the company, Hicks garnered extensive and varied landscaping experience at organizations such as Walt Disney World and McHale Landscape Design. She holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape contracting design/build from Pennsylvania State University and currently resides in Montgomery Village, Maryland.
Ruppert Landscape is a family and employee-owned business providing commercial landscape construction and management. Its 19 branches serve eight primary markets: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta and Houston.
