Almost exactly one year after the passing of baseball legend Willie Mays, the field that bears his name in Fairfield, Ala., has reopened with a fresh look and renewed purpose. The revitalized field, featuring a new playing surface built by BrightView, was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 19 as part of the East-West Classic, Major League Baseball’s tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Games held from 1933 to 1962, at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham.

Originally constructed following World War II, the field was renamed in the 1970s to honor Mays, a native of Fairfield. In the decades since, however, the park deteriorated and fell into disrepair. The diamond was overrun with clumps of grass, the dugouts were crumbling, and the outfield was covered in weeds.

“Willie Mays was one of the game’s greatest ambassadors and we were honored to help breathe new life into the field that carries his name,” said Murray Cook, President of BrightView Sports Turf. “Restoring this field meant more than just improving the surface—it was about restoring pride to the community and giving children a place to play again.”

A full transformation of the field took place over a three-week period from May to June. Astroturf was installed in the infield to ensure durability and reduce maintenance demands, especially during Alabama’s hot summers. Portions of the outfield were stripped and resodded and the fencing painted, helping to give the ballpark a fresh look.

The bleachers, dugouts, and sidewalks were pressure-washed and cleaned, and the dugout received a fresh coat of paint, rounding out the facelift.

“This was a total group effort from my BrightView team, MLB, A.G. Gaston, the city of Fairfield, Astroturf, and lots of local services in Alabama,” Cook said. “Our crew put in long hours to make sure the field would be something the community could be proud of, and a place where future generations can play and dream, just like Willie Mays did.”

Local interest in the upgraded facility has surged. Organizations, such as the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club, Miles College, and the local NIKE RBI program, have already expressed interest in using the field.

The June 19 ribbon cutting included local leaders and politicians, May’s son Michael Mays, and many former MLB players who were participating in the East-West Classic at nearby Rickwood Field (which was renovated last year by BrightView).

“When we pitched the idea last year to see if an area youth field could be renovated as part of the Rickwood Game, we were so excited when Major League Baseball suggested Willie Mays Park as a potential site,” Cook said. “This field honors a legend while giving young players a first-class place to grow their love for the game. It has all been incredibly meaningful for our team.”

Love VC, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the local Ventura County (Calif.) community to love each other through connecting, giving, and serving, is the latest recipient of a $2,500 grant from the BrightView Fund for Social Justice.

The Fund was established by BrightView to support organizations and initiatives that promote equality and inclusion in the local communities where BrightView team members work, live, and play.

Rene Rivera, BrightView VPGM, and Jasmine Orozco, BrightView Market Recruiter, presented the check to Love VC’s Sarah Abrams and Greg Abrams.

“Love VC is excited to be able to partner with BrightView as we work to beautify, enhance, and better our local community. Through their generosity, we will be able to make a great impact on our city-wide day of serving, Love Ventura, coming this October,” said Sarah Abrams, Co-Founder, Love VC.

Tim O’Brien, BrightView’s Golf Maintenance superintendent at Green Hills Golf Course, recently extended his passion for golf beyond the borders of his home and job location in Worcester, Mass., by lending his expertise to a project in Brazil.

As superintendent, O’Brien is no stranger to the intricacies of golf course management, and his dedication to excellence is evident in every aspect of his work, so when he was presented with an opportunity to contribute to the renovation of a golf course in Brazil, he eagerly accepted the challenge and chance to make a meaningful difference on an international level. He not only was able to share his expertise, but also cultivated a sense of camaraderie and goodwill across continents.

His involvement in the project underscores BrightView’s commitment to its corporate responsibilities, including community engagement. O’Brien’s participation in this endeavor exemplifies these values, demonstrating how individual team members within BrightView actively seek out opportunities to give back and make a difference in the communities where we work, live, and play, and even abroad.

With the holiday season here, BrightView, the industry leader in commercial landscaping and snow removal services, is not only transforming outdoor spaces, but also touching the lives of those in our communities. In a heartwarming display of social responsibility, BrightView is ushering in festive cheer by participating in toy drives, making donations to local organizations, engaging in community service initiatives, and more.

Some of the events include:

• Blue Bell Headquarters collected winter clothing, including coats, hats, gloves, socks, shoes, and more for the local children in partnership with Cradles to Crayons.
• The Montgomery Branch sponsored a family and donated and wrapped gifts for them.
• In Denver, a BOMA Community Affairs Committee Workday was held at The Urban Farm. Forty volunteers, including some BrightView team members, came out to paint the main building and vegetable storage shed, weed the landscaping, and revamped the outdoor tent area with wood and mulch.
• Seasonal Division leadership joined the Boys & Girls Club of Philadelphia to assemble bicycles for children as part of the Jaws Bike Drive.
• The Hunt Valley, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Delaware branches prepared meals, organized donations, and decorated the Franciscan Center of Baltimore.
• The Richmond, Chesterville, and Southern Virginia Tree branches joined forces for a volunteer community event at St. Joseph’s Villa to refresh the landscape to restore joy and safety for children with special needs and their families.
• Managers in the South Florida Region received and fulfilled wish lists from roughly 100 children at the Chapman Partnership homeless shelter.
• The Human Resources team helped with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective to prep meal boxes for families and the Columbus West Branch also helped at another location to prep boxes and hand them out to the community.
• The Southwest team visited St. Mary’s Food Bank and sort and distribute donations of food, baby items, and household supplies for the community.
• The Eastern Shore Branch partnered with Haven Ministries food pantry
• The Rocky Mountain team collected donations as part of the Denver BOMA Annual Toy and Gift Drive.
• The Washington DC and Maryland Tree branches joined together to revitalize lawns for individuals suffering with traumatic brain injuries.

BrightView’s holiday initiatives are more than just charitable acts, but are a testament to the company’s commitment to spreading the message of unity and hope. Its team members are using their platform to inspire others to join in the spirit of giving, emphasizing that small acts of kindness can collectively have a significant impact.

With more buildings being constructed in cities, the urban canopy is rapidly decreasing. To help combat this, and reduce what is called the heat-island effect, Texas supermarket chain H-E-B launched Trees for Texans.

As a client of BrightView, H-E-B reached out to the team to help with the year-long program which aims to plant hundreds of native trees at select urban school campuses in the state, along with additional nonprofit grant recipients.

Justin Jordan, BrightView Tree Care Services Branch Manager, and Shane Rasco, Key Account Manager, consulted with H-E-B for the project, and coordinated his branch’s efforts at the Forbes Middle School project in Georgetown, Texas. BrightView’s Austin Branch, led by Bill Davis, was also involved by organizing the delivering the trees to the location.

“My team arranged the unloading of 18 trees, ranging from 20- to 45-gallon containers, and then we helped plan the placements of those trees and pre-dig the holes before the volunteer event,” he said. “We also volunteered to be onsite during the event to help answer any questions and educate the volunteers on proper tree planting techniques."

The native trees planted at the school included Mexican white oaks, cedar elms, Mexican sycamores, evergreen sumacs, and Montezuma cypresses.

The event, celebrated on Texas’ Arbor Day on Nov. 3, had a few dozen volunteers in attendance, including some familiar faces of the school.

“There was a large group of middle school students that came out, and if even one of those students goes home and talks about this with their families, or even goes and plants a tree at home, then this event couldn’t be more of a success,” Jordan said.

As the nation’s largest commercial landscaping company, BrightView has embraced its role as good stewards of the planet and has prioritized its Environmental, Social, and Governance commitment.

BrightView has also been involved with additional environmental projects, such as replanting trees lost to Hurricane Ian in Florida.

Five more planting projects through Trees for Texans are planned from now through December, including a school in Houston and one in Austin.

“It was nice to see the turnout for the actual planting event and see the excitement to plant trees,” Jordan said. “It will be fulfilling to drive by this site in the future knowing that we planted these trees and have helped to make a difference in our communities.”

In February, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department lost a member of its force when six-year veteran Deputy Brian Haney was killed in a traffic collision. In remembrance of him and his service to the city of San Juan Capistrano, a memorial was constructed with BrightView’s help.

Since BrightView already services San Juan Capistrano, Heidi Ivanoff, the city’s Community Services Manager, approached the team about partnering together for the project, which they quickly agreed to.

“Fernando Lopez, our Account Manager for the city, did the landscape rendering for the project,” said Leon Vitort, BrightView’s Greater OC Branch Manager. “We presented the plans and Heidi and the staff loved and approved them for us to move forward with.”

As part of the donation to the project, BrightView did the demolition to the existing space. They then installed an upgrade to the irrigation system and the plant materials.

The project was completed in August and a memorial dedication was held in late September.

“Heidi and the city were very pleased with the outcome of the project,” Vitort said. “We are so honored and proud to have been a part of it and the team feels great to have been able to honor a fallen office in this way.”

BrightView is pleased to recognize Refuge for Women, a nonprofit organization providing specialized long-term and emergency housing for women who have escaped human trafficking or sexual exploitation, as the recipient of a $2,500 grant from the BrightView Fund for Social Justice.

The Fund was established to support organizations and initiatives that promote equality and inclusion in the local communities where BrightView team members live, work, and play.

Tricia Justice, BrightView Vice President of Human Resources, presented the grant to Refuge for Women at a luncheon in Las Vegas.

“We, at Refuge for Women, are so incredibly grateful for the gift. Gifts such as this one allow us to continue serving women who have been sexually exploited and sex trafficked,” said Rosie Harris, Executive Director, Refuge for Women. “It is because of organizations like BrightView Landscapes that we are able to help women experience freedom, rest, restoration, and a restart. We appreciate you, greatly.”

Grabbing shovels, wheelbarrows, and rakes is part of our daily routine of creating and maintaining the best landscapes on Earth. 

But on Earth Day, it’s even more special for our teams as we extend a hand – or in our case, shovel – to communities where we work, live, and play in an effort to keep our Earth healthy and green.

This past Earth Day, BrightView team members across the country volunteered their time and participated in enhancement projects and local events to make a positive impact in their communities. They accomplished everything from rejuvenating community centers’ gardens and flower beds to planting trees and distributing educational materials and flower seeds at client locations.

Click here to view a slideshow of BrightView’s work in the community on Earth Day.

These efforts are in addition to our commitment to ecosystem preservation, which saw us partner with the Arbor Day Foundation in 2022 to plant 300,000 trees. These plantings help revitalize the ecosystem, while cleaning the air, filtering water, and sequestering carbon. 

Learn more about BrightView’s Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) goals and strategy in its 2023 ESG Report. 

Simon Youth Foundation (SYF), an Indianapolis-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the national academic dropout rate and increasing college accessibility by partnering with established public school systems, is the latest recipient of a grant from the BrightView Fund for Social Justice.

The mission of SYF is to foster and improve educational opportunities, career development, and life skills that transform the lives of at-risk youth through focused programs and initiatives with our public school and post-secondary education partners.

The $2,500 donation was presented to Andrea Neely, President and CEO of SYF. Bill Schell, BrightView’s Fishers, Ind., Branch Manager, was joined by several team members, including Account Manager Zach Binder, who nominated SYF for the grant.

“Thank you for supporting the SYF mission! We appreciate BrightView’s commitment to helping students have a brighter future,” said Neely.

“Simon Youth Foundation is doing great work for the youth of Indiana and all over the country,” said Schell. “It’s reassuring to know our support will benefit the SYF’s programming and have a positive impact on these students.”

BrightView actively engages the field in social giving and established the BrightView Fund for Social Justice to support organizations and initiatives that promote equality and inclusion in our local communities.

A Pacific Northwest community garden seeking to provide food sustainability for residents experiencing financial hardship is the newest recipient of a grant from the BrightView Fund for Social Justice.

Seattle Beacon Hill Garden Club, an affiliated program of Beacon Arts, runs a series of programs designed to cultivate friendship and community through gardening. The Garden Club’s signature Seed Library and Garden Share projects were both started in 2020 during the pandemic as ways to assist local families in need.

Betty Jean Williamson, Beacon Arts Board President & Beacon Hill Garden Club Member accepted the donation on behalf of the Garden Club.

“Thank you to BrightView for the generous support of our work,” said Williamson. “We are a neighborhood of 40,600 BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, and People of Color – residents, with 40 percent immigrants and refugees. This new source of support will allow Beacon Hill Garden Club to purchase more seeds and supplies for our neighbors and will help us in expanding the selection to serve our extremely diverse community.”

Presenting the donation for BrightView were Renton (Wa.) Branch Manager Charley Rash, Account Managers Christine Wetmore and Wayne Bernritter, and Project Manager Uriel Calderon. Wetmore is an active member of the Garden Club.

“I am honored to be a part of the BrightView Fund for Social Justice donating to this organization that promotes locally grown and sustainably sourced food that is donated to our local community. It’s also thrilling that Christine has championed this contribution,” said Rash.

BrightView actively engages the field in social giving and established the BrightView Fund for Social Justice to support organizations and initiatives that promote equality and inclusion in our local communities.