During the late-2000’s recession, Raymond Harvey found himself curiously looking at a vacant house for sale while servicing the neighboring home’s yard. During that routine maintenance visit, he began to dream about moving his family into the Van Buren home and just weeks later he pulled the trigger. Not long before moving here, Harvey was running Turf Pro out of Oklahoma while living in Fort Smith. That move would lead Harvey to seeing a need for a lawncare company in this area. A year later he chose to move the Turf Pro headquarters to Van Buren as well, purchasing the building where it’s currently located on 6^th Street.
 
Today you regularly see their brightly-colored logo adorn nine trucks all over the River Valley, easily one of the most recognizable brands around. With a lifetime career in the industry, Harvey takes enormous pride in not only the services Turf Pro offers, but also by striving to excel in customer relations and building community. Harvey talks about ensuring the company provides quality over quantity and building relationships with their clients. One of the ways he chose to ensure growth in these areas was by bringing on Nathan Riggs to the Turf Pro team in 2014. Riggs, a Van Buren native, echoes Harvey’s dedication to serving the community with top notch care. The pair extend themselves beyond the office by volunteering in multiple committees and organizations across the region; including the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, Keep Van Buren Beautiful and Kiwanis. Harvey also currently serves as Justice of the Peace for District 5 in Van Buren.
 
Over the last decade, they’ve expanded to now 12 employees and numerous lawncare options. In 2015, pest control was added to their company, changing the business name to what we now know as Turf & Pest Pro-USA. The addition of Pest Pro also allowed for more leadership to the team, with Geoff Starts joining in. Around the same time, Logan Patterson finished his master’s degree from the UofA and became owner/operator of the Northwest Arkansas branch of Turf Pro-USA. The company has additionally expanded beyond Arkansas to now reach clients in Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.
 
Being a business that services homes during the day, technicians often do not get the chance to visit with homeowners. This lack of communication pushed Harvey to find other ways to be considerate of building those relationships. Simple gestures like including candy and dog treats, or a personal note, give an extra touch to saying “hello”. It’s not unusual for homeowners to find their garbage cans have been returned and newspapers on the doorstep if the technician sees the need.
 
Besides monthly and quarterly care for lawn and pests, Turf & Pest Pro also offer seasonal and special programs. As summer approaches, they see an increase in mosquito control and offer monthly sprays from May-September. They are able to assist in mole and gopher control, aeration for compacted soil and special projects with the help of superintendent JJ Ames.  It’s the quality and care to attention that has awarded Turf & Pest Pro as the Southwest Times ‘Best of the Best’ winner for lawncare the last five years.

Harvey credits his early involvement with the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce as one of the main ways his business has grown. He recognizes that the stronger the Chamber, the stronger the community and believes that as a business owner his role in growing the Chamber creates more appeal for businesses looking to expand in this area. The team at Turf & Pest Pro love being involved in the community and credit the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce as opening the door for them to do so. For more information on Turf & Pest Pro, visit their website at turf-prousa.com or call 479-474-LAWN (5296).