Saluting Branches has added three professionals to its 2025 Board of Directors: Russell Evans, Vikram Krishnamurthy and Paul Schoenike. Each new member brings a blend of experience, perspective and deep personal commitment to the organization’s mission of honoring American service men and women through volunteer tree and landscape care at sites dedicated to our veterans.

From military service and urban forestry leadership to a decade-long legacy of on-the-ground volunteerism, these new directors reflect the passion and purpose that have defined Saluting Branches since its founding. Their involvement strengthens our ability to expand our reach, deepen our impact and uphold the safety, dignity and care we bring to each site we serve.

Russ Evans  serves on Saluting Branches sponsorship committee. Evans is a United States Marine Corps veteran with more than 13 years of service as an infantry marine (1999–2012). He has been in the utility-vegetation-management industry since 2019 and currently works for Southern California Edison. He holds multiple professional certifications, including ISA Certified Arborist, TRAQ, Utility Specialist, TCIA CTSP and OSHA 30-hour General Industry. For Evans, Saluting Branches represents the perfect intersection of his two greatest passions, military service and arboriculture, giving him a meaningful way to give back while connecting with others who share those values.

Vikram Krishnamurthy, of American Forests, brings a background in urban forestry that includes experience in city tree management and neighborhood tree-planting programs. He became involved with Saluting Branches as a way to honor the memory of his father, who passed away in 2021. After retiring as a local physician in Petersburg, Virginia, his father returned to service as managing director of the Military Entrance Processing Station Command at Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams). He served the U.S. Army for 10 years, driven by a strong commitment to giving back and a deep admiration for the recruits entering military service. Through Saluting Branches, Vikram carries forward that legacy of service by contributing to a cause that connects trees, people and purpose.

Paul Schoenike has been involved with Saluting Branches since its inception in 2012, contributing to its development and participating every year since. Coming from a long family history of military service, he sees the Saluting Branches Day of Service as a meaningful way to give back using the skills he knows and loves. He has been with Rainbow Companies for 18 years and is an ISA Certified Arborist. Schoenike currently serves as safety coordinator and quality control supervisor for Rainbow’s Injections Division. His background includes roles as a tree injection foreperson and climber on the pruning team. Working with the staff at Fort Snelling National Cemetery has been especially rewarding. For Schoenike, Saluting Branches is about remembering, honoring and offering a hand to help, creating safer, more beautiful spaces for those who visit and those who served.

Looking ahead

As Saluting Branches prepares for the 2025 Day of Service on Wednesday, September 17, we are honored to have Evans, Krishnamurthy and Schoenike contributing their leadership and vision to our national network of volunteers, partners and supporters. Their service will help guide our efforts in growing a movement that brings together the tree care industry, veterans and communities across the country – united in purpose and gratitude.

For more information about Saluting Branches, sponsorship opportunities or volunteer registration, please visit salutingbranches.org.