Meet Our Lawn & Tree Professionals
For the first 10 years, it was just Frank and his truck. The first truck was a red Chevy S10 pickup truck with no radio, no power steering, and no air conditioning. You have to start somewhere! Back in those days, Frank had a backpack sprayer and a chest spreader. Milk jugs were used to transport water (2.5-gallon jugs came later). The whole bed of the pick-up truck was filled with jugs! A couple of years later came the first 200-gallon tank. Always wanting to be on the cutting edge, he bought the first rider spread/spray unit in Lexington called the Z Spray. Slowly and surely he kept growing. Ten years later in 2007, Manny Saenz joined the team. He was our first team member, and now he's the general manager. It’s been over 20 years and we have over 10 - 200 gallon spray tanks, 10 Z Spray Units, and around 10 team members. Please see our team member profiles, as we find it important for you to know your local lawn and tree care applicators.
Once again, we would like to thank you for your continued use of Mr. Green Thumb for your lawn and tree care needs. We are truly a company trying to provide you with the best quality service available. That starts with direct contact with Frank, the owner, to best handle your individual needs when they arise. When these needs do arise, that means handling the situation in a timely manner that rectifies your concern with a plan. Additionally, we provide top individual applicators who take pride in working on your property and working with you. Many of you email, text, or talk to our team members regularly. Finally, it means using the best materials, equipment, and technology available in order to achieve the highest possible results possible.
Frank Gaydovchik
Frank is from White Plains, Maryland, just south of Washington D.C. After graduating high school in 1989, he enlisted in the Army where he served as an aviation operations specialist. Kentucky must have been calling Frank as he started his military career at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and ended in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. During his 7 years of military tour, he served in Germany, Cyprus, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Texas. He was a member of Operation Desert Shield/Storm and the 160th
Special Operations Aviation Regiment based in Fort Campbell, KY. This was the unit featured in the movie Black Hawk Down and the unit that was the aviation component in Operation Neptune Spear. You will see their helicopters flying around the Lexington area. After leaving the military in 1996, Frank came to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky. In 1997, while attending school, Frank started Mr. Green Thumb. After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a BA in Elementary Education, Frank made the decision to focus on Mr. Green Thumb.
It has been over 25 years since starting Mr. Green Thumb - Still going strong!! Frank is married to Ann Margaret (Administrative Executive at Mr. Green Thumb, see bio) from Casey County, Kentucky. They reside in Garrard County, Kentucky just south of the Kentucky River. His main hobby is cooking and paddleboard fishing. He is probably on some body of water fishing on the weekends.
Manny Saenz
Manny grew up in Brownsville, Texas, about 30 minutes from beautiful South Padre Island. After graduating high school from Homer Hannah High in 1990, Manny attended Eastland Community College in Garland, Texas. In 1994, Manny accepted a position with a marketing company based in New Jersey.This opportunity allowed Manny to travel to over 16 states on the East Coast. In 2000, Manny took a leap of faith and moved to Kentucky with hopes to marry his future wife, Paula.
Manny worked in sales and started his own Lawn Care Company, Luxury Lawn Care, which he ran for 7 years. Ironically, his neighbor, Frank Gaydovchik, was building a similar dream with his company, Mr. Green Thumb. Frank recruited Manny to become the General Manager of Mr. Green Thumb to help take the company to the next level. It has been over 13 years since Manny joined the company and he has never looked back. Manny currently lives in Lexington with his wife, Paula, and their two children, Mia (19), and Michael Paul (14). Manny spends most of his spare time watching Michael Paul compete in his football, and basketball games. Manny travels as much as possible to watch his daughter Mia play D1 volleyball at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is their biggest cheerleader and number 1 fan! Thankfully, he doesn’t wear a cheer-leading outfit, but if you know Manny he is likely just to make you laugh.
John Savage
Though born in Dayton, OH, John’s family moved to Kentucky in 1972 and he grew up in Versailles. After graduating from Woodford Co. High School in 1982, he attended Purdue University for 1 year (math major), and Eastern Kentucky University for 2 years (geography major). The next 10+ years he spent working in the automotive industry in Lexington and Atlanta, GA.
He moved back to Lexington in 1994 and spent the next 11 years running a pawn shop. During this time he met and married his wife, Lisa. They have 2 children, Lily and Jonah. In 2009, he started working at Mr. Green Thumb and hasn’t looked back. They spend their time parenting their teenagers and enjoying life on Elkhorn Creek in Midway, where they have lived since 1998.
Chad Birkes
Chad is from Lawrenceville, Illinois. Chad Moved to Winchester, Kentucky when he was 3yrs old where he grew up and graduated from George Rogers Clark High School in 1992. Chad has never felt at home with any of his career choices until he was offered his position at Mr. Green Thumb in 2010. Chad now resides in Lexington, Kentucky where he lives with his wife Kristal Birkes a hair stylist at Fantasia Salon. Chad has 4 wonderful kids 2 still at home and 2 out with families of their own. Chad is also blessed with 2 wonderful grandsons that have him right where they want him. When Chad is not at Mr. Green Thumb you will probably find him at a baseball field with his son or a dance recital with his daughter.
Sean Hager
Sean was born and raised here in Lexington Kentucky and graduated Dunbar High School. He attended Eastern Kentucky University for one year, where he discovered a passion for landscaping while push mowing yards in the area to pay rent. So he moved back home to Lexington and started his own landscaping company. He owned and operated that for 9 years before joining the Mr. Green Thumb team! He loves spending time with his two sons, Liam and Landon. And when he's not chasing them around, he enjoys working out and being outdoors.
Joey Blake
Joey was born in Ft. Thomas, KY. He then lived in Damascus, VA for four years before moving to Sanford, FL where he lived until after he graduated high school in 2001. After high school, Joey moved to Lexington, KY for a change. He met his wife, Heather, an elementary teacher, in 2002 and they have been married since 2007. Together they have an eight year old daughter named Halle. During his free time, Joey enjoys spending time with his family, being a cheer dad, traveling to cheer on his daughter's competitive cheer team, woodworking, and playing pickleball. Just prior to joining the Mr. Green Thumb team, Joey owned and operated a lawn care business in Nicholasville for ten years. 2023 will mark Joey's 11th year here at Mr. Green Thumb.
Caleb Harding
Caleb Harding is from Pikeville, KY. After Graduating High School in 2003, Caleb moved to Lexington, KY to attend Lexington Community College to pursue a Business Management Degree. During the early years of college life Caleb helped with Mr. Green Thumb during the summers of 2003 and 2004 before eventually finding himself submerged in the retail business field in 2004. Over the next 10 years, Caleb worked with Best Buy, Circuit City and H.H. Gregg as a Sales Manager and General Manager in Louisville, Lexington and Washington D.C. After exiting the retail arena, Caleb was looking for a job that would better accommodate his needs with the perfect work/life balance. Caleb began working again with Mr. Green Thumb in spring of 2015, primarily taking care of the Residential Clients. One of the things he enjoys the most is the team assembled at Mr. Green Thumb and the roles each person plays to take care of our clients. It makes the biggest difference in the world always seeing the same friendly face year after year and building that work relationship. Caleb is married to Susan Harding from Carthage, Missouri. They recently celebrated their Six-year wedding anniversary and their son Breck’s Third birthday and his oldest son Ashton, who is now a teenager.
Michael Mulcahy
Michael was born in Lexington and grew up in Nicholasville. After graduating high school in 2007, he moved to Richmond to attend Eastern Kentucky University. He got married in 2014 to his wife, Paige, after knowing each other since 2005, and dating since 2009. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Brinley. They moved back to Nicholasville in 2015, and in 2021 renovated his late grandparent's house, and moved back to his family's farm.
After several different jobs, he decided to try a career in something he had always been interested in. In 2017 He started his career at Mr. Green Thumb. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, woodworking, and working on his vehicles.
Ann Margaret Gaydovchik
Ann Margaret grew up in Casey County, Kentucky. After graduating high school, Ann Margaret went on to receive an associate’s degree in accounting as well in business management. For an adventure Ann Margaret and her son, Tyler moved to Eastern Kentucky where she worked for an engineering firm, made some amazing friends and received her Real Estate License. With family calling, and seven years in Eastern Kentucky, Ann Margaret and Tyler relocated back to Central KY and settled in Garrard County. While working for a local builder in Lexington, KY, Ann Margaret met Frank, and the rest as they say, “Is history.” Family time, fur babies, paddle boarding/camping with Frank are just some of Ann Margaret’s hobbies.
Ken Balzer
Ken, also known as “UK” by the Mr. Green Thumb team, retired from actively managing his Pittsburgh-based businesses about 9 years ago and joined Mr. Green Thumb as a “back office” specialist – helping to keep the residential clients’ database in order and creating and maintaining the original web site. Ken does this remotely from Myrtle Beach, SC. Ken graduated from Point Park University with dual degrees in Business Management and Public Relations and Advertising and spent his adult life working in Pittsburgh after a 3-year stint in the US Army, stationed in Berlin, Germany - while the wall was up. He spent many hours working at the famous Check Point Charlie. Ken splits his time between Mr. Green Thumb's work, woodworking, rooting for the Steelers, and just enjoying retirement.
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2005 Park Central Ave, Unit G, Nicholasville, KY 40356, United States