Wise and willing

For a few months out of the year, Isidoro Acedo spends his days in Veracruz, Mexico, at home with his wife and daughter. The rest of the time, he’s working as the lead foreman for Cedar Ridge Landscape in Baltimore County, Maryland — over 2,300 miles away.

Acedo’s employer, Owner and President of Cedar Ridge Larry Ring, says Acedo’s work ethic and loyalty have been evident since he started over 17 years ago.

“He’s been with me for years,” Ring says. “Everything he does is for the company and for the betterment of everyone. He does everything you ask him to do and never complains. He’s been that way since Day 1.”

“The first time I came to the U.S. was in 2007 and Mr. Larry helped to bring me here,” Acedo says. “Unfortunately, another guy got sick, and someone recommended me, so I came here. I’ve worked for him every year except for a few years that were bad years for the United States like 2008 and 2020.”

Acedo says he learned everything he knows about the landscaping and hardscaping world from a former colleague at Cedar Ridge who he eventually went on to replace. He adds that it’s been a lifechanging experience working in the U.S. through the H-2B program.

“I was working for an American supervisor who taught me a lot with hardscape and landscape,” he says. “In 2015, our supervisor quit so I started to take care of my crew. I felt I wasn’t ready for that, but Mr. Larry trusted in me.”

Cultivating camaraderie

But the tricks of the trade weren’t the only thing Acedo learned early on. A tough lesson on who to trust turned into a determination to help as many as possible.

“When I arrived here, someone tried to take advantage of me,” he explains. “I didn’t understand anything or any English. So, then I started to study and began taking English courses four days a week after work. I promised myself that if I had the opportunity to help other people I would do it.”

Ring and others who work with Acedo say he’s kept that promise probably hundreds of times over.

Over the past 17 years, Acedo has been known to assist the other H-2B workers with everything from getting their drivers licenses to help with their taxes to taking them to the bank to open up their first checking account. He does it all without complaint.

“He makes sure everyone has what they need, and that’s all above and beyond him putting in his wonderful work —his work is stellar,” Ring says. “But if a group of guys have to go back to the airport at 3 a.m., well, he’s taking them. And he’s at the shop ready to go to work at 7 a.m.”

Acedo is just one of eight employees at the company, which garners about $1 million in revenue.

Fellow foreman Tyler Norcross says it was Acedo’s helping hand that’s brought him up at the company.

“I’ve been working here for 10 years and Isidoro is actually the one who taught me everything,” he says. “When I was first hired, I worked under Isidoro.”

Norcross says Acedo is an excellent leader who gets the best from his crews by being firm but fair.

“He’s just a really great guy and is a huge benefit to this company because he knows what he’s doing and he likes camaraderie — he keeps the mood light with everybody and is just a great guy to be around,” Norcross says.

He adds that Acedo’s own background helps to inspire others to not only work harder but to aspire for more for themselves.

“He’s always had a good work ethic and tries to teach the guys that in order to get what you want, you have to work hard for it — and he’s the prime example of that,” Norcross says. “He’s worked really hard and had worked his way up in the company and now he tries to give back as much as he can.”

What makes him a good leader is simple for Acedo — he gets the most out of crews by giving them little rewards throughout the day in exchange for hard work.

“I try to be understanding and talk with my guys always about everything,” he says. “I’m making sure they are working hard but also taking breaks about two or three times a day,” he says. “We work really hard for three hours and then it’s time to take a break. They say, ‘It’s time for a cookie.’”

But the good times keep rolling after work as well.

“After we’re done working, we go to our house and we start to cook our food and have fun at dinnertime,” Acedo says.

A friend to all

It’s not just the other employees at Cedar Ridge who truly appreciate Acedo and his work ethic — Ring says customers commend him as well.

“Everybody loves him,” he says. “The customers love him, even his employees love him even though he’s pretty strict. He’s a good guy.”

One of those customers is Brad Roth, who says Acedo and his crews installed multiple decks on his property recently.

“Izzy was a rockstar when he was out here,” he says. “He comes over every day and he always gave an update on where everything was and what they were doing before they did anything. He walked me through everything and made sure I understood it all before it was going to happen. There was a lot of very good communication with him.”

Roth says it was clear how receptive the crews were to Acedo’s leadership, and it showed through their efficiency.

“You could tell the crews respond to him and respect him,” he says. “They worked together well and communicated well. Everything they came to do on Day One was done on that day and everything else was always done on the schedule they were looking to achieve.”

And Roth says he wasn’t the only one in his family to make a connection with Acedo.

“My son really took to him as well,” he says. “He’s four-years-old and would bring waters to the crews every day, and Izzy and his crews would stay after for a few minutes to play with him and kick the ball around with him. He loved that.”

Acedo says he really enjoys getting to know his customers and their families and has become fast friends with a few of them.

“My English is not perfect, but I try to be friendly with them and make sure they’re happy with our job,” he says. “Some customers, I’ve made friends with them. I go to their kids’ weddings or have Thanksgiving dinner with them.”

Loyalty and leadership

In addition to customers and colleagues alike loving Acedo, some local competition appreciates his fortitude. According to Ring, other companies are constantly trying to steal Acedo away with promises of higher wages.

“They’ve offered him $10 more an hour but he’s really grateful to me for everything we’ve done for him,” Ring says.

Acedo echoes this.

“I try to be loyal to everyone who has helped me,” he says. “Larry has been a great, great person to me… He’s given me everything. Larry is a really nice guy, and he trusts us a lot and we trust in him.”

In fact, Ring is helping Acedo become a permanent citizen of the U.S. and obtain his green card.

“Larry is supporting me getting my green card, and I’ve spent about three years making all the arrangements for it and I think I have to spend the winter this year here,” Acedo says.

That commitment to Cedar Ridge has allowed Acedo to implement a few practices that have not only been beneficial, but profitable.

“Isidoro was an advocate for switching personnel from one crew to another,” Ring says. “About two years ago, he wanted to switch up some crews just so others got to see how other guys did it. The landscape guys could learn how to do patios and vice versa. That turned out to be really good for us because then we could sub guys in and out if we had to.”

Norcross adds Acedo is always an advocate of hard work and working to find a solution before throwing in the towel or calling in backup.

“I consider Isidoro the glue to our company,” he says. “Everybody loves Isidoro. I don’t think we’ve had to hire another employee in the 10 years I’ve been here. Everybody comes back and that’s because of him and him being a good leader and a good teacher.

“He’s taught me how to face challenges head on,” Norcross adds. “If you run into a problem, before you run and call somebody else, just try to think it through and solve the problem on your own. That’s something he is really good at.”

All good things must come to an end

As much as Acedo says he loves working at Cedar Ridge, he knows his time in the physically demanding green industry is winding down.

“I’m getting old,” he jokes. “I’m planning to work for as long as God can give me the strength to continue working. I’m thinking of working another three or four years more. I’ve bene working since I was 16 years old.”

Now, at 60, Acedo says he wishes he would’ve had the opportunity to work in the U.S. sooner.

“I came here a little old,” he says. “If I would’ve started here when I was young, I could’ve learned so much more.”

Ring says he knows Acedo’s time left with the company is limited but it hasn’t hindered his determination or performance one bit.

“He’s going to stop working here in a few years,” Ring says. “But he’s already offered to stay or come up for a month or something if we really needed him.”

Norcross adds that even when the time comes for Acedo to retire, his influence on Cedar Ridge will live on.

“These last few years for him will continue on this legacy that he’s built,” he says. “Cedar Ridge would be nothing without Isidoro. He should take pride in that and be happy with everything that he’s done.”

The author is senior editor of Lawn & Landscape.