This article written by Leon Thompson appeared in the May 24, 2013 Issue of The St. Albans Messenger
FAIRFAX - St. Albans native Sean Brock inherited his work ethic and integrity from his father, Stephen, a warehouse leader at Perrigo Nutritionals in Georgia, and his uncle, Joe St. Pierre.
"I like to get my hands dirty," said Sean, 33, who lives in Fairfax with his wife and business partner, Nikole, and their children, Noah, Melanie and Joseph. "I like to get my hands on something and make it look better."
The Brocks own Buck Hollow Lawn Care. Sean provides all aspects of lawn care, from regular and seasonal yard maintenance to snow removal and some gutter cleaning. This year, he introduced garden tilling to his menu of services, after a friend, Randy Swann, of St. Albans, asked if he could help Sean with his tractor.
Sean performs residential and light commercial work and uses his own equipment. "I add a little bit at a time," he said.
The Brocks opened Buck Hollow Lawn Care in fall 2011.
"It's always been something that I wanted to do," Sean said. "And I got to a point in my life where I wanted to go for it and see what happened."
Before he was a student at BFA-St. Albans, Sean worked for his Uncle Joe at a local auto shop. From 1996 to 200S, Sean was a volunteer firefighter in St. Albans Town, where Randy Swann is assistant fire chief.
Sean still works full-time as a service technician for Vermont Gas, which has employed him for eight years. Since he opened Buck Hollow, he has logged 70-hour workweeks during the summer, between his two jobs. He hopes to get more work, build an even stronger reputation in his field, and add some employees - but not grow too fast.
"I've seen people grow their businesses too fast, and they fail," he said. Buck Hollow Lawn Care has the potential to become Sean's full-time venture. He also wants his oldest son, Noah, to start helping him when he turns 12, as he did for his Uncle Joe at the auto shop.
Nikole Brock owns an at-home -daycare. She and Sean moved to Fairfax seven years ago. They also operate a backyard sugaring operation with 500 taps, which they started in 2006. Uncle Joe taught Sean about sugaring, too.
"It's just something that I enjoy," Sean said. "It gets me outside 'before I rev up for, lawn care.
"Sean said he has to work around the weather - sometimes rain gets in the way - and current gas prices can make it costly to fill his mowers, and the trucks to haul them. But he's not complaining; he finds his yard work relaxing and hopes he can pass Buck Hollow Lawn Care on to anyone of his kids.
"They are my life," he said. "Everything I do, I do it for them."
Owners: Sean and Nikole Brock
Address: 10 Lawton Rd., Fairfax
Hours: (By appointment)
Phone: 802.393.0065
E-Mail
sbrock@myfairpoint.net Web:
www.buckhollowlawns.com Facebook: https:llwww.facebook.com/pages/Buck-Hollow-Lawn-Care-Property-Servicesl84566328236280?fref=ts
