Thirty-seven years ago, I started my company. Thirty-five years ago, I joined the National Arborist Association (now TCIA), and 20 years ago I attended my first TCI EXPO. Recently, I checked my address book and found that 218 of my contacts are tagged with TCIA.

As I scrolled through, I could vividly recall the faces of each person, whether it was meeting them at EXPO, hanging out on the beach at TCIA’s Winter Management Conference (WMC), having dinner at my home or theirs or remembering a trip we took together. Each memory was surprisingly clear and meaningful.

My life would have been very different without TCIA. I spent three years, four times a year, sitting in a room with eight incredible business owners in my TCIA Peer-to-Peer Networking Group, and meeting with them on Zoom or conference calls every month. Serving six years on the TCIA Board of Directors further broadened my connections and experiences. I often wonder how many more people I could have met if I had shared more contacts.

Without TCIA, I wouldn’t be where I am today

Last year, I merged my company with a capital-investment firm focused on investing in service companies. On Friday, June 14, 2024, I stepped down from my role as president of Treemasters. While I will still be involved with Treemasters, the team has taken over all daily operations.

This merger allowed me to break the glass ceiling I had created within my business, ensuring all my staff could not only keep their jobs but also grow in their positions. It also ensured that my clients would be well taken care of and gave me the opportunity to travel around the country, spend time with my friends, help them with their businesses and work more strategically with the other businesses.

The knowledge I have gained – whether from a presentation at TCI EXPO, one of TCIA’s Executive Arborist Workshops, sessions at WMC or time spent with friends I met through TCIA – has been invaluable.

So my message to everyone, whether it’s your first exposure to TCIA or you’re a veteran member, is this: lean in, learn, share, laugh and enjoy all that TCIA has to offer. I firmly believe my life would have been different without TCIA, and most definitely not for the better.

Thank you, TCIA. I look forward to the future and what it holds for all of us.

Tad Jacobs, CTSP, QCL, is founder and recent past president of Treemasters, an accredited, 16-year TCIA member company based in San Rafael, California, and is a member of TCIA’s Board of Directors. He also is a former member of TCIA’s Peer-to-Peer Networking Group.