Texas Landscape Contractors Win Small Business Award

CHAPPELL HILL, Texas – One of the most pleasant surprises in the lives of Kathy Conway and Linda Jordan since they became partners in an initially part-time Houston landscape business in 1991 is that one of their clients – Pam Rudasill – introduced both of them to the Chappell Hill community.

In turn, that led to a big surprise honor on a rainy night under a giant tent pitched in Brenham's Far View Bed and Breakfast's backyard several months ago when Kathy and Linda's Designing Landscapes venture was awarded the 2004 Eeebee, the county's highest small-business honor.

Starting with landscape work at Rudasill's place here in Washington County, Conway and Jordan found their growing "after work and weekends" lawn care/landscape business bringing them out Washington County way on a quite regular basis.

By 1996, Conway-Jordan's Designing Landscapes partnership grew to a full time venture; and with much of its clientele in the Chappell Hill-Washington County area, it soon demanded a home base here.

Plus, there was this ironic twist: Jordan moved to Chappell Hill though still commuting to an Alief schools job, while Conway had gone full time in landscape contracting but lived in Houston and had to commute regularly here.

"We waved at each other on the highway a lot," Jordan said with a laugh. 

Conway countered that, thankfully, her partner had an extra bedroom "with a good pillow" and she would stay over when just too tired for the return trip to Houston. But a new plan was in order.

Within the next two years, Kathy and Bob Conway bought Chappell Hill acreage and completed their country place on that land before the 21st century dawned.

Yet it seems someone in the Conway family will always be destined for a Houston commute; first, it was Bob from 1999 move here until his rather recent Houston Chronicle retirement after a career of almost 40 years in advertising sales. (Now Bob greatly enjoys his woodworking shop, possibly looking at a second career making and marketing his woodcrafts.)

So now the mantle has been passed. The Conway's daughter Julie and husband Chris Sigler are enjoying "the Washington County life," but with both commuting to Houston jobs; and taking son Alex, 2, to day care there.

And it seems everyone in the Conway family is getting at least a bit involved in their mom's Designing Landscapes passion: Conway son, Jim – who lives in Houston - is designing a Web page for the landscape firm.

Also, "every other weekend" is generally a special family gathering session at Chappell Hill's "Camp Conway" – single father Jim bringing daughter Amber, 3, to Kathy and Bob's place for the weekend.

With the county-based Sigler's often in attendance, too, Kathy reports "It's great!" how close a slightly younger Alex and Amber have become.

A fourth generation Houstonian with most of her family centered around the West University area, the then Kathy Lightfoot graduated Lamar High School and, at age 19, married Bob Conway within the next year.

Bob had entered the U.S. Navy and the couple's first born would actually arrive while they were stationed overseas in Morocco.

Four years later, they would have a second child. Kathy worked some years outside the home, but not until enamored by horticulture/landscape design as "my ideal career" did more schooling appeal to her, earning a 1998 associates degree in the field from a Houston junior college.

By 1997, a year into Conway leaving her Alief school system post and taking Designing Landscapes full time, Kathy was a charter member and chosen first president of La Bahia Native Plants Society.

Actually, Kathy recalls an early love of flowers and plants, etc. had come her way primarily through two maternal generations - first, grandmother Marion Forman introduced her to gardening.

This now passion was further picked up from her mother Annie Lee Lightfoot, also described as "an avid gardener," but effectively took hiatus during those busy years raising two children and managing a family.

As a Girl Scout leader for daughter Julie's troop, it may well have been a gardening merit badge, or such, that would have been Kathy's most serious encounter with gardening and plants in years - but her interests and life's course changed rapidly with the Jordan partnership in 1992.

"Initially, we were just cutting (and edging) residence lawns in Houston after our Alief school job and weekends," Jordan says.

But, you might say, the landscape quickly changed as these then two Houston-based women - and these days far better known in Washington County as "the landscaping ladies of Chappell Hill" - put their collective green thumbs and landscape design ideas into the churning mix.

With a Texas "raising," just a couple of hundred miles north up around Fort Worth, Linda Jordan's background was similar to Conway - and yet different in an important way that her 18-year marriage had given Linda tremendous knowledge of the landscape industry.

Linda's then husband's landscaping business was one of the largest in the state of Texas for a period of time.

More importantly, she loved the field as well as knowing it well.

A mid-60s graduation from Fort Worth Arlington Heights High School had been followed by Linda studying elementary education for two years at Midwestern University in Wichita Falls.

Then came the greatest similarities between Kathy and Linda; marriage and each having two children - except in Linda's case a boy first and girl to follow.

Her son, Jeremy Jordan, is an occupational therapist and recently became a Texan again, moving to nearby Austin, after some years as a Seattle, Wash., resident.

Daughter Carrie Jordan lives in Houston and is involved in a property management career.

In 1974, Linda became a licensed vocational nurse and practiced that profession in Fort Worth through 1981.

Then it took Linda Jordan nearly a decade - including such jobs as supervising 75 crossing guards and planning school safety for the Alief school district - to somehow bring her back to the lawn care/landscape field which ultimately would bring Designing Landscapes to this county.

As the one who actually moved to Washington County first, way back in 1992 and from where she commuted back to a Houston job for some years, Linda Jordan is basically entrenched as "old timer" among Chappell Hill's vast numbers of relocated, mostly retired Houstonians.

And despite Linda Jordan's always full work weeks - with she and Kathy always on site to supervise implementation of each Designing Landscape project (the firm's staff numbers 10 these day) - she is a vital player in Chappell Hill's leadership, especially since 2000.

That track record includes: president of the Chappell Hill Chamber of Commerce, 2001 and 2002, and now soon due to complete a two-year term leading the Chappell Hill Historical Society as president, 2003 and 2004.

Kathy has a CHHC role, too, chairing the CHHC committee that schedules events and takes care of downtown's historical Rock Store.

It's obvious Kathy Conway and Linda Jordan are as solid as "the rocks" they use in their landscape designs - but they also have a secret formula, you might say, to hold those rocks together without ever using mortar.

For sure, few people enjoy what they do any more than the Designing Landscape ladies of Chappell Hill.