Kenny Crenshaw in 13th year of volunteering
Local business owner Kenny D. Crenshaw, president of Herbi-Systems Inc., is gearing up for his annual trip to the nation’s capital. This year marks 13 years of patriotic volunteerism and leadership for Crenshaw.
In D.C., he serves as a “champion” or leader in the Arlington National Cemetery Renewal and Remembrance project, where he supervises 300 volunteers from across the country out of a total 500 participants.
In 2014, he picked up the inaugural Workhorse Award from the organization now known as the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) for his longstanding commitment to the project.
This year, Crenshaw’s home crew will consist of wife Melissa and Herbi-Systems Industrial Vegetation Manager Lee Barclay. The big day is July 11.
The 20th annual NALP Renewal and Remembrance project involves mulching, cabling of trees, pruning, planting and aerating of more than 200 acres of the grounds in the historic cemetery.
According to Crenshaw, he and his team will add phosphorous fertilizer this year rather than lime.
“We will be working on a recently opened area of the cemetery, in the eastern portion in between the Visitor’s Center and Air Force Memorial, where the soil has not yet been amended,” he explained.
He credited new sponsor and Herbi-Systems supplier Pat Woods of Woods Farm Supply in Byhalia, Miss. (the Watson community), for making that effort possible with a generous donation of four tons of EarthMate Granular Triple Super Phosphate (valued at $3,000).
“We are honored to be involved as we need to remember people who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Woods said.
Woods has a vested interest in the project. His cousin, Luell L. Woods Jr., was the jeep driver for Gen. George S. Patton. Woods Farm Supply is a 63-year family owned business.
The overall labor of love occurs each July and is collectively valued at more than $200,000.
Crenshaw said, “I do it because it gives us a chance to give back to people who have served our country.”
His Uncle Ken Kruger, who served in the U.S. Navy, is buried at Arlington.
In his own community, Crenshaw also is recognized for his initiative. Herbi-Systems was a Top 5 finalist in the 2014 Memphis Business Journal’s Small Business Awards. The company garnered two Bartlett Chamber Barty awards for customer service and marketing in 2013, and Crenshaw was the organization’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam appointed Crenshaw to the state Pest Control Board in December 2012 (serving through 2016).
Crenshaw also received the Patriot Award in 2012 given by the Employers in Support of Guard and Reserve.
Herbi-Systems is the largest locally owned lawn care provider in the Greater Memphis Area, serving more than 8,000 homeowners as well as industrial, governmental and commercial entities.
The company specializes in weed control and fertilization of turf and ornamentals, as well as industrial and right-of-way weed and brush control.
Herbi-Systems added irrigation maintenance and repair to its roster of services in 2013.
For more information on Herbi-Systems, call (901) 382-5296, visit herbi-systems.com or follow the company on Facebook.
