Massey Services announces promotion, continuing education

Massey Services has announced the promotion of Grace Byrd from benefits manager to director of benefits.

Byrd joined Massey Services in 1999 as an HR Assistant. In 2002, she was promoted to the role of benefits manager and since that time as steadily worked to enhance the offering of benefits to Massey team members across the nine states in which the company does business. Her expertise has played a pivotal role in the management of various benefit programs including health insurance, 401K, leave of absence, an internal team member reward program (“MAD”), inherited workers compensation and wellness.

In her tenure at Massey, Byrd has been selected Corporate Team Member of the Year two times, most notably in 2021 after guiding the company through the COVID-19 pandemic by assisting in the development and implementation of new protocols as the company navigated uncharted territory.

“Grace’s extensive knowledge and insight has played a key role in the development of our benefits offering,” says Jean Nowry, executive vice president and CFO of Massey Services. “As the number of team members has steadily increased, so has her resolve to ensure our employees have the best options available for their health and well-being. She has done a tremendous job and we congratulate her on this well-deserved promotion.”

Away from work, Byrd demonstrates her commitment to her community through active involvement in various outreach and ministry opportunities provided by her church.

Additionally, Massey Services’ Sean Clifford, senior director of learning & development, has completed a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree at Florida State University. Conferring of degrees took place in a graduation ceremony at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, on May 5, 2023.

Clifford has been a Massey Services Team Member since 1996, and has served in a variety of roles, including service manager, general manager, GreenUp regional sales manager and quality assurance. He now serves as the senior director of the learning and development team. In this role, he has been instrumental in the development of Massey’s virtual reality training programs, also known as Massey University, which allows team members in all nine states where the company does business to participate in training and certification courses without having to travel to the corporate office.

A self-described lifelong learner, Clifford enrolled in the Instruction Systems & Learning Technology Program (ISLT) at FSU to pursue a Learning Design & Performance Technology degree with the goal of enhancing his research and analysis skills. His dissertation, entitled Impact of Trainer Self Efficacy and Technology Adoption on Learning Performance, has already proved fruitful in the redesign and rebuilding of Massey University.

“Sean is an exceptional leader and has demonstrated a proficiency for the training and development of our workforce through the use of technology,” says Jeff Buhler, senior vice president, customer service of Massey Services. “His contributions have been instrumental in positioning not only our team members but our company for continued success. We congratulate Sean on this outstanding achievement and applaud his drive and determination to achieve this goal.”

In addition to his contributions to the company, Clifford also remains dedicated to community service. Currently he serves as Chair of the Business Advisory Council at Valencia College, is on the Professional Development & Standards Advisory Council for the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and is a member of the Elevate Conference Committee for NALP. Since 2018, he has participated in the annual National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) day of service at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. as part of the Massey team donating more than 150 labor hours on irrigation projects.