General Manager
Jesse Swena
General Manager, Grade-A Tree Care
Jesse Swena hired on at Grade-A Tree Care in 2015 as a member of the crew. That is the least decorated way to say he has done the work. Groundsman, climber, crew manager, general manager. In more than 15 years in the trade he has held every seat that exists on a Kansas City tree job.
If you get a written estimate from us, Jesse has usually already walked the yard or reviewed the photos. He is the person who decides whether a pin oak over a Leawood garage is a climb, a crane, or a conversation about the neighbor’s fence.
“I do not need a speech about a tree. I need to know what it is leaning toward, what the soil is doing, and whether we can get a chipper down the drive.”
What the general manager actually does here
On a Tuesday in June that can mean three things before lunch: a bagworm spray on a row of arborvitae in Olathe, a takedown behind a Shawnee split-level, and a call from a property manager whose ash finally split. Jesse’s job is to keep those from stacking up on the same crew.
He also still reads trees. Deadwood in a silver maple is different from a red oak that browned overnight. One is a prune. The other might be oak wilt, and then we are talking lab samples and the oaks next door, not a $200 trim.
- Scopes and prices the work before a crew rolls
- Matches climbers and equipment to the lot
- Catches pest and disease jobs that are not “just a dead limb”
- Keeps storm nights from turning into a three-day backlog
South KC, Grandview, and the chambers
Jesse represents the company at the South Kansas City and Grandview Chambers. He shows up at things like the South KC Block Party. He is an associate member of the Prospector’s Club. That is not a lead-gen hobby. Grandview is where the shop sits. The people who call us after a straight-line wind on 71 Highway are often the same people he sees at those meetings.
After the chipper is parked
He spends what is left of the week outdoors with his wife and three kids, usually on their pontoon. He hunts. He is a Kansas City Chiefs fan in the way that means Sundays are spoken for. He also plays in a cornhole league, which is a very Grandview way to spend a weeknight.
Affiliations we can actually name
- South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
- Grandview Chamber of Commerce
- Prospector’s Club (associate member)