LIFELINE

S PA N S O F S E R V I C E
Tom Ryan, General Foreman,
Region 461 – 30 Years
Tom came to work for Nelson Tree Service after being laid off from his
construction job.
“I had a friend who was working for Nelson Tree at the time and he asked if I
would be interested in coming to work for them,” shares Tom. “I thought, ‘Why
not?’ At first it was temporary but I was able to stay on and the rest is history.”
Tom started out on Ohio Edison property in Sandusky, Ohio. From there,
he transferred to Springfield, Ohio, then to Mansfield, Ohio, working as a
transmission crewleader in both locations.
Tom, with his wife
Jane, playing Santa
Clause at the Amvets
children’s Christmas
party and County
Home for the elderly
As Nelson Tree’s
presence in Mansfield
grew, Tom was promoted
to general foreman
and oversaw three
transmission crews,
and up to seven crews
during the spray season.
Currently, Tom runs six transmission crews on Ohio Edison property. He is
also overseeing three distribution crews in the Mansfield/Marion area.
Tom and his wife, Jane, recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
They have three children and three grandchildren all living in Pennsylvania.
“My wife and I enjoy spending as much time as possible with our family. The
kids are all great,” boasts Tom. “They turned out perfect!”
Tom also enjoys hunting “just about everything” and fishing.
Vicki Hoffman, Office Manager –
30 Years
Vicki began her Nelson Tree Service career in the summer of 1977 when
she was hired to handle payroll and billing. Today, Vicki is office manager
of the corporate office in Dayton, Ohio. She is responsible for managing
Nelson Tree’s fitness-for-duty policy, and resolves issues concerning past
due invoices for accounts receivable.
“I work with our customers and field management to help get our invoices
paid,” explains Vicki. “I monitor receivables daily so I always know where we
stand with things.”
Vicki also manages Nelson’s employee drug and alcohol testing program,
reviewing test reports for all pre-employment, post-accident and random
testing and entering them into the system.
Informally, Vicki functions as the office counselor and does what she can to
try to keep everyone happy.
“People feel like they can come and talk to me and I really don’t mind,”
claims Vicki. “It’s good for people to have a place where they can go and
just vent.”
Vicki and her husband, Jim, have been married for thirteen years. Their son,
Jaron, and daughter, Jenna, are both in college: Jaron is a senior at Ohio
State, and Jenna is a sophomore at Cedarville University.
Outside of the office, Vicki leads an active life. She is a personal trainer and
has her own clients that she enjoys whipping into shape.
“I’m really into physical fitness,” says Vicki. “I have several clients, some of
whom are up in their 80s, and even a few from the office. It’s good to see
people being active and getting healthy.”
Vicki and her husband love hiking and make time almost every day to hit
the trails.
“We live right next to Germantown Metro Park,” states Vicki. “Jim and I can
just walk out our door and into the park.”
I’d like to thank all the guys that I’ve
worked with over the years. They’ve all taught
me something (although in the early years
everything Bill Shook taught me got me into
trouble), and I like to think I’ve taught them
a few things! –Tom Ryan
pansFrom left: Jim, Vicki, Jenna and Jaron on vacation in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida
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