I have no objections, and I can’t express enough my appreciation for the advice and support from the helpful folks on this site. But, you may want to consider that many tree care professionals reading your magazine with reputable businesses will probably look askance at this tree job. This was a “buzzie” job that was underbid and performed by a person (me) with no insurance. Tree care professionals who pay a high premium for liability insurance and workers compensation, and who have a payroll to make week after week, don’t like to be underbid by “hacks.”
I don’t consider myself a hack, as I have formal degrees in both Urban Tree Management and Urban Forestry, I’m a Massachusetts State Certified Arborist, and I have a fair amount of climbing experience with a reputable tree service company. And I can’t think of any work I performed on that particular job that didn’t comply with ANSI Z133 standards.
Nonetheless, the underbidding and lack of insurance don’t make the job look professional, and many tree care professionals reading your magazine will legitimately have a gripe with that.
I remember in the early 1990s, a tree care magazine (either Arbor Age or TCI Magazine) featured a UMASS graduate in its cover story titled, “My First Takedown.” Pictured on the magazine’s cover, in full color and in glaring detail, was the student standing by the tree wearing completely inappropriate PPE. Then as the reader got into the text on the takedown, more improprieties emerged, including clear Z133 transgressions.
The magazine was soon flooded with letters by outraged readers, and it turned into a major embarrassment, not only for the student and the magazine, but also for the UMASS Urban Forestry department.
So, I just want to give you fair warning of what kind of feedback you might get from your readers on this story.
(-TM-, if I make it to Columbus you better know the carbonated malt beverages are on me! Same goes for Lumberjack, et al!)