Bartlett Tree Experts earns Service Tree Award at ArborExpo

Bartlett Tree Experts earned the ArborAwards Service Tree Award in recognition of Bartlett’s Legacy Tree Program. 

Celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program has distributed more than 775,000 tree seedlings in communities since the program began in 2014, representing a commitment of 14,000 hours and $2.4 million. 

Through the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program, Bartlett’s Certified Arborists in all 189 participating local offices voluntarily provide outreach in their communities to teach people about the importance of trees while distributing over 50,000 tree seedlings each year to students, community groups and reforestation efforts across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

Many of the seedlings Bartlett arborists distribute through the program each year are handed out or planted in the spring as part of Arbor Day and Earth Day festivities, events and activities. Popular species being handed out in 2025 include Flowering Dogwood, Redbud, and Swamp White Oak. 

Jim Ingram, president and chief operating officer of Bartlett Tree Experts, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

“We are honored to receive this recognition for our Legacy Tree Program, a meaningful way for Bartlett Tree Experts to make a difference while giving back to our communities and improving the environment. It is extremely gratifying to bring people and trees together," Ingram says.

Another award

Ingram also presented John Ball with The Robert Bartlett Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Named for Robert A. Bartlett, Jr., chairman and CEO of Bartlett Tree Expert, this ArborAwards recognition is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the tree care industry. 

Ball, a tree care industry safety expert and professor of forestry at South Dakota State University, is also the South Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Forest Health Specialist. A TCIA Certified Tree Care Safety Professional, TCIA Qualified Trainer and ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Ball also serves on the ANSI Safety Committee and is an Advanced EMT.

The awards were presented last Thursday during the ArborAwards and ArborExpo ’25 Welcome Reception in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“To receive an award [from Robert Bartlett], a groundbreaking individual, and also from Bartlett Tree Experts, a company that is incredibly innovative, is quite the honor," Ball says. 

Presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Arborists Association, the annual ArborExpo provides attendees with training opportunities for CEU credit, tree work demonstrations and equipment vendor exhibits.

More from the event 

Among ArborExpo presentations, Andrew Loyd, a plant pathologist and mycologist leading beech leaf disease research at the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, and Matthew Borden, plant pathologist, provided an update on new treatment options now available for beech leaf disease. These treatment options are the result of discoveries made by a team of Bartlett research scientists and have been shared with the industry through scientific publications.