Support Staff

Randy James
Founder and President Randy James grew up just west of Lawrence, KS on 140 acres. Finding his way through the Flint Hills to Manhattan, he met his wife Robyn at Kansas State University while pursuing his B.S. in Horticulture. He took his first full time job at American Tree Care on Long Island, NY as a practicing arborist. Kansas wooed him back (yeah, there’s a lot more trees in Kansas!) where he worked as Vice President of Landscape Management at Hermes Landscaping in Lenexa starting in 1988 until starting Growing Concerns in 1997. During that time, he and Robyn increased their family by three girls. As the brains of the operation, Randy earned his M.S. from KSU in Plant Pathology and enjoys working in his lab identifying diseases and doing research. He works just enough in the field to keep the microscope from sticking permanently to his face. When not in the lab or up a tree, he likes to read non-fiction, play with their dog Jesse, or just find reasons to be outside.

Robyn James
Robyn James, has worked as Office Manager for the company since its beginning in 1997 and wife to founder Randy James for 20 years. Born a beach bunny in California, she moved to Great Bend, KS at 7 years old. Having survived the climate shock, she went on to earn her degree in Family and Consumer Economics from Kansas State University. Robyn left a career in banking to pursue a Ph.D program in multi-tasking. She has excelled in managing the company’s books; academic, social, and sport calendars for their three girls (Katie – 19; Kara – 17; and Kylie – 12); and an animal care facility for horses Jenna and Cowboy, numerous cats and foster goats for 4H. Though she remains stuck in the 70’s and 80’s musically, she dedicates spare moments in the here and now to horseback riding, spending time with friends, and reading good books. Her favorite aspect of the job? “Working with everyone else’s money!”

Susan Schnieders
Susan Schnieders (shneeeeders) has been in Customer Care for Growing Concerns since 2004. Born in Lynn, MA, Susan grew up in Shawnee, KS and earned her B.A. in English from Kansas University. She married husband Pat in 1991, starting their family that same year (surprise!) with their first son, Patrick. Two more boys followed; Nick (14) and Daniel (13), as well as two dogs, a cat, and three pet rats. Ending up in Manhattan, KS by providence (actually by a long-deceased Nova), she worked 3 years in the insurance field before the James’ graciously ignored the KU/K-State rivalry to add her to the staff. Building relationships with clients and working with friends is her favorite part of the job. When not facilitating the lines of communication between the staff and clients, Susan spends her spare time and money at the grocery store (courtesy three teenage boys), cheering at soccer games, and laughing with family and friends.

Dawn Dunlap
Customer Care assistant (and Susan’s neighbor) Dawn Dunlap joined the office staff in June, 2008. Dawn came to Manhattan from Horton, KS in 1996 with her high-school sweetheart turned hubby, Randy and their two boys, Devin and Connor. Daughter Haley came along in 1999 to cheer on K-State. In addition, they own a menagerie of two dogs, two hamsters, and a rat with various species of babies on occasion. A jack-of-all trades, Dawn has worked for a hospital, USD 383 food service, Food-4-Less floral department, and KSU Child Development before adding her talents and service skills to the Growing Concerns crew. The best parts of her job include her co-workers and learning about tree and turf care. Off the clock, she helps coach her daughter’s soccer team, takes her kids fishing, on walks, and is a talented cake decorator, a 15-year hobby that her employer really appreciates!

Plant Health Staff

Kevin Kremer
Kevin Kremer, KC Branch Manager and Plant Health Consultant, has lent his boundless energy to Growing Concerns since 1999. Kevin left a career in construction management as a carpenter when he realized that live trees would be much more interesting than working with tree by-products. Making the switch, he has since obtained Kansas Arborist and Kansas Pesticide Applicator’s certifications, and is currently pursuing an Associates of Applied Science degree. Married to Angela in April of 2007, Kevin finds his tree climbing abilities helpful as a father to three boys, Kody – 13, Tristen – 10, Brayden – 6 and his little girl Callista – 8. Another Kremer is scheduled to make her debut in June of 2009. In his “spare” time, Kevin enjoys canoeing, home improvement, and barbequing, even hosting his own BBQ competition. “Enjoying work this much hardly constitutes having a job. Our clients help make my day very enjoyable.”

Ron Moretti
Ron Moretti is a home-grown boy from Junction City, KS with two brothers and a sister. After lettering all “fore” years (ha, ha) in varsity golf at Junction City High School, he was awarded his Bachelor of Science degree from K-State in 2005 while working for a local greenhouse. Ron answered Randy’s call for another Plant Health Technician in January, 2007 partly because “the outdoors is where I belong” and he enjoys seeing his efforts result in healthy plants and more beautiful landscapes for our clients. As if he didn’t get enough fresh air on the job, Ron likes to fish, camp, and play golf, as well as cheer on the Royals whenever he gets the chance.

Matt Raybern
Matthew Raybern hails from Hudson, KS, population 133 (saaa-lute!) where the Hudson Mill brand flour is produced. Growing up with two brothers, Matthew worked four years in the flour mills and graduated from St. John Kansas High School. He completed 3 years at Kansas State University, where for two of those years he ran the 400-meter and threw the javelin for the track team. Laying claim to “youngest Growing Concerns team-member,” Matthew took on the Growing Concerns challenge in 2008 as a technician who loves working outside also. This small-town boy spends his down-time playing golf among other sports, weightlifting, listening to country and talk radio, and taking care of his wire-haired terrier, Jed.

Bruce McCullough
Bruce McCullough lands in the younger half of the staff at Growing Concerns. He considers himself a local boy having lived in Kansas City most of his life, but isn’t opposed to exploring other places in the world. The mountains in Colorado called on him for a brief time where he worked at Telluride Ski Resort. His adventurous nature also leads him to enjoy things that make his line of work as a plant health technician more difficult like snowy nights, thunderstorms, and his two dogs, Scooby and Baylee (who are not helpful in maintaining a nice-looking lawn).  Bruce’s wife, Jen, has the honor of keeping him “in line” and being the “better part of his brain.” You will often see Bruce performing turf/tree applications or standing under a tree waiting to catch Kevin if he falls.

Andrew Swarts
Technician Andrew Swarts, aka Drew,  joined the Manhattan Growing Concerns branch in the fall of 2007. Born in New Amsterdam, NY, he grew up in Junction City, KS and has two brothers and four sisters. A true entrepreneur, Andrew started mowing and trimming lawns when he was ten and continued to do so even while working other jobs like car detailing and supervising a floor maintenance crew at Fort Riley. He eventually earned his business degree from K-State in General Management and Entrepreneurship (say that 3 times fast!). Working outdoors and learning how proper lawn & plant health care makes all the difference in having a beautiful yard make his job enjoyable. When not lending his talents and muscle to Growing Concerns clients, Andrew likes to fish, camp, bowl, play not-so-great golf (his evaluation), and watch K-State and Buffalo Bills football.