This episode is brought to you by C&E Insurance Company, a leading insurance company that provides a broad range of standard and specialized property and casualty insurance products and services for businesses and professionals throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and is backed by more than 120 years of experience and approximately $45 billion in invested assets. Hi, this is Dave Garcia, President of Rancho Mesa, and thank you for joining me and listening to this week's Getting to Know Your Rancho Mesa Family, brought to you by Studio One, our safety and risk management network. Today's guest will be Drew Garcia, the Vice President of the Landscape Group here at Rancho Mesa. Hi, Drew.
Welcome to the show. I guess I got to say hi, Dad. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I tried to get rid of you for years, but you just keep coming back.
So let's begin by finding out a little bit about yourself, Drew. So tell the audience, where did you grow up? I grew up here in San Diego County, and for those that are familiar with the county, Mount El Cajon, so we would call that East County, and now I live out in Alpine, which is probably the most eastern part of San Diego County. And do you have, are you married?
Do you have children? I'm married, and I have, I say, three kids, one being a dog. I have my wife, Lauren, and have my daughter, Avery. She's a little over three.
My son, Henry, is about a year and a half. And then my baby, Amiga, she's a little Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She is one of my kids, and she's five. She's five, okay.
So if you're growing up out in East County, what high school did you attend? So I went to Bahala High School, and just right out there in El Cajon, right behind my house. So you're a Norseman? I'm a Norseman, yeah, Bahala Norseman.
Orange and white. So during your time in high school, what types of activities did you participate in? You know, I'm prepping for this interview, and I was looking at it, and it really made me a little bit disappointed in myself. I literally was not involved in anything other than baseball growing up.
And, you know, fortunately for me, that was a serious passion that I found early. So I was fortunate as a young kid to know that I had a passion for something, and that is all I did. And so when I got into high school, I played high school baseball. I didn't do anything else.
That was everything to me, and I spent a lot of time down at Bahala Baseball time and, you know, continue to try to get better. Yeah. Well, I was a part of some of those days, so I know how much time you put in, and it was a lot of fun for me as well. Yeah, but the arm's about to fall off all the practice.
Yeah. If I had a dollar for every ditch I threw in batting practice to you and your brothers, I wouldn't be working today. So outside of work, what do you enjoy doing? Really, if I have a spare moment, I want to be with my family.
I want to be with my kids. My wife, I get the most joy just watching them being with my kids, watching them grow up, you know, watching them learn and teaching them things. So if I got a spare minute, I want to be there with them. And, you know, if I get a couple of minutes while they're napping or something like that, you'll find me outside.
I want to be outside gardening, improving, you know, my backyard. I always got some kind of project going. My mind's always moving, so I do not like to sit still. I don't watch TV, no Netflix for me.
If I have a spare moment where the kids are sleeping, I'm going to head outside and get something down in the yard. Now, I know a little bit more about you than most, and so I know some of your hobbies that you do enjoy being outside and have many projects going, and I'm not quite sure where you got that knack, because I have no mechanical skills at all. But I watch you make your house into something spectacular with all the projects you've done. So you seem like you get a lot of enjoyment out of doing those projects.
I do. Yeah, I do. So I like challenges and I like to be creative and thinking of those things. So I know that drives you crazy, because if you would come over and help me with one of my projects, I don't plan things out and I don't have laid out plans and, you know, this is the next step we're going to take.
Everything's kind of off the cuff, but I like that challenge of having to create something. And particularly, I like to look at things where, you know, I can create more experiences for my family. So I focus on, you know, like you saw me, I did the barbecue area and I'm looking at doing down below and making some play areas down there for the kids. But I just look for things that I can do to enhance my backyard to keep my kids at my house so that, you know, we can have lots of good times in the future.
Yeah, I'm sure you're creating a lot of those future memories. So outside of work, outside of time at your home, do you and Lauren have any favorite vacation spots that you can think of? Yeah, we found through you guys or through you, we found Truckee up in the Tahoe area. And I would say that's, we've been there now two or three times and that's by far our favorite spot to go during the summer.
Never been there during the winter. I know it's a different, it's a different vibe there with the snow, but summertime in Truckee for my family, there's so much to do. You can go to the water, to the lake, you can go to the river, you can hike, play some golf. So there's so much outdoor activity.
I think that for us, that's a destination we'll be going to for years to come and one that we look forward to going to annually. Yeah, that's definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth with the trees and the lake and the rivers. So Drew, tell us, tell the audience a little bit of something about yourself that maybe most people don't know. And again, as I'm prepping for this interview, I'm pretty much, you get what you see and what you hear.
There's not a lot to me. I wish I had something, you know, that I could throw out here that people would find super interesting, but you know, I'm pretty basic. I guess the one thing that would be unique is when I was younger, I always did have, I get excited about things, you know, quickly. I get behind ideas real quick.
And if I get something fixed in my head, I'm really going to go after and get it done. And I know that you're shaking your head because, you know, we've had many pets and different things that I've got into it. You guys, you're always a great parent and support everything I always wanted to do, but you know, get me a unicycle one time and, you know, figure out how to ride a unicycle. So I don't know if people know that about me, but I have the ability to still get on one and make it happen.
But it's probably been 10 or 12 years. I can acknowledge that that did occur. He, he's very persistent. We relented, got into unicycle.
He mastered it within a few minutes and that was the end of the unicycle because he was on to the next thing. Okay. Let's switch gears and talk about your role within Rancho Mesa. So as the vice president of the landscape group at Rancho Mesa, what are some of your responsibilities?
So I only work with landscape companies and it kind of goes with my title there, but I'm kind of in charge of business development, production, product enhancement, you know, customer service, customer care. So there's a lot that I have my hand on and I really enjoy all aspects of my role and what I'm trying to create there, but it would involve kind of a full circle from bringing on a new customer to, you know, being involved in their policy and making things happen and helping them throughout the way. Okay. So describe maybe one or two areas of that role that you really enjoy.
I really like the teaching aspect and because I only work with landscape companies, I really, you know, had a unique opportunity to see inside different businesses and how they're run specific to landscape companies. So I get to see how each one of them operates at a different level and then trying to connect the dots for risk management insurance and make it relevant to them. So they have a better understanding of how this impacts their business and getting a chance to see those aha moments when, you know, they're grasping some of the information that we're putting out there. We're giving them the information that they need timely so that they can make these decisions that improve risk management, improves insurance, but ultimately improves their business, you know, moving forward.
So I really get a joy out of seeing the different ways that landscape businesses are run and then the different ways that I can try and, you know, I'm challenged with showing them information so that it's relevant to their business and they can make an impact. So I know a little bit about your landscape group, obviously, and I know it's not just limited to California. So what types of experiences have you gained by reaching out and working with and representing landscapers all over the United States? Just you figure out that, you know, when I got into ensuring landscape businesses, I think that my thought of what a landscape business was was very elementary.
You kind of just picture, you know, a mower and a blower and, you know, they're maintaining properties, but the industry is so diverse. So it's super interesting to find out all the different aspects of landscaping. And, you know, here in California, I think we're realizing we're more of a desert climate. So we're not, we don't have the lawns like they do in the Southeast and in the Midwest, you know, to a certain extent.
So the whole idea of lawn care service being a different type of a component to landscaping and learning what that's all about with the application of herbicides and pesticides and fertilizers and things like that, getting to know that there's some snow work. So a landscape company, they take care of a full spectrum of, you know, things and they're challenged with a number of different ways to help their customer. But I was only able to learn that as I work with, you know, customers in different climates, because their operations would change based on where they were located and what the local need was. So as we take a little peek into 2021, what areas are you looking to expand or grow within your landscape group?
I think that we always are going to have our throttle down on product enhancement. So we're always looking for ways to improve our product to our customer and help them become more efficient with using the tools that we have to improve their business. And by doing that, you have to listen, you have to ask questions, and you kind of have to try to connect the dots, because the answers that you're going to get back might not necessarily make sense to insurance. You're gonna have to, you know, I'm challenged with that creative process of making sense of what they're telling me and, you know, providing it back in the terms of risk management and insurance.
So I think we're always going to be really looking to enhance our product for our customer to make it more user-friendly and for them to get the most out of it. And I think that you're going to see the landscape group continue to try to grow virtually. So we're going to do more on the side of putting out, you know, information via video or podcast like we're doing now to try and reach a larger group of companies. Yeah, that's exciting.
I can't wait to see where you take it. So here's a question I like to ask everyone here within the Rancho Mesa family, because I always find the answer is interesting. So if you were to meet, you know, a stranger up in Truckee, let's say, or someplace, how would you describe Rancho Mesa to a stranger? I think that there's two, they could be coming at it from two different angles.
Like, you know, I would first want them to know that we're an insurance agency. So we offer commercial insurance to specific industries, you know, mainly arts and trade contractors, and then the human services side, like nonprofits, home health care, and the private schools. So we have those two segments, and I would just want someone to know, yeah, we offer commercial insurance to those two silos, those two of our main industries. And then within that, we have individuals like myself who are focused on one particular trade, and they're challenged with the task of really understanding it and knowing it to bring more value to the customer and really understand the exposures that come with landscaping or painting or any other kind of those trade contractors.
So I'd want them to know that, that we have a very unique approach towards insurance, which is traditionally very general in terms of agencies and covering businesses. And then within Rancho Mesa, the group of people that we have, I would liken it to baseball. So in baseball, you wear a uniform and you have the name of your team on the front, that would be Rancho Mesa for us. And then you also have the name of your last name on the back representing you and your family.
And I think that when you look at the people here who work for Rancho Mesa, I think there's a lot of pride in both names where, you know, the quality of work, the consistency of that quality, people are doing that because they're tied to the client. And they know that based on their output and the type of quality of work that they're putting in, the clients are going to benefit from that or need more. So I think people are always looking at in Rancho Mesa, you know, I want to make sure that the quality is up to par because this is, you know, my name's on this. I want to make sure that that looks good.
And at the same time there's a huge respect for the company to know. I feel like Rancho Mesa is a good job saying this is where we came from. This is where we are. So no matter if you joined Rancho Mesa in the last three years or you were here 19, 20 years ago when everything started, you know the evolution of Rancho Mesa and the value that we try to uphold with our customers throughout the cycle of policy.
Is there anything in particular that you think is unique to Rancho Mesa? You described a lot of things just now that are very unique, I would say. But is there anything in particular that you think stands out about Rancho Mesa? Yeah, I think there's a number of different things, but I think it comes down to vision and then execution.
I think that we're always open to learning and hearing the different ideas, but what really separates us is our ability to execute on those and then put those into, you know, into play for our customer. And that's what we're really looking at when it comes to growing Ranch Mesa and becoming a stronger presence. We're evaluating each opportunity, you know, by looking at it. Does this help our employees, the people that work for Rancho Mesa, or is this going to help our customers?
If it's not a yes to either one of those answers, then we just end up, you know, we don't do it. If it's a positive for either one of those sides, you know, we're going to go through and try and make it happen. And I think that's where we separate ourselves is we have great vision. We really listen to our customer, but then we have the opportunity and we actually do execute on bringing that to fruition.
Well, that sounds really exciting to me. Where do you see Rancho Mesa in the future? That question to me means, you know, where's growth going to come from? Because we're growing.
There's no doubt about it. Our business is growing. And I think that we are going to see, we're going to have more of a presence in Central and Northern California here in the next, you know, three years, but three to five years, I think we're really going to have a good footprint in those areas. We do a really good job in Southern California because traditionally we always spend a walk into your office, meet with you type of business.
And then the pandemic has created, you know, the need for virtual business to be done. And hopefully, you know, obviously it doesn't stay like that forever, but we are really geared and set up for the ability to grow our business remotely. And because I think we are so niche oriented with industry and the products that we have to offer for those particular industries, there's the ability to really grow. And we know the California market very well.
So I think we're going to see some significant growth in Central and Northern California. Great. So before we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to share that maybe we haven't covered? No, no, no, no.
I think that's it. Obviously a lot of this stems from our president right here with Rancho Mesa and I think it's unfortunate because I got a chance to watch the progression of Rancho Mesa and I was, you know, in the beginning cleaning the office for you with Aaron and Greg, my brothers on Saturdays when you were coming in early when Rancho Mesa was two employees. We were in La Mesa and you had the office above the pharmacy and I got to see you, you know, progress the business to where it is today. So I have a really high appreciation for all people that own businesses, run businesses and grow.
And, you know, particularly I've had, you know, front seat looking at how you've been able to do this. So there's a lot of pride, obviously, for me from a family standpoint to continue to raise the bar for Rancho Mesa, but, you know, I've been in that position to do that. No, thank you for saying that, Drew. And it is true that you and your two brothers were my cleaning crew back in the day.
One, because you needed to get some work and two because I couldn't afford to really, but, you know, I'm excited to see where we all go in the future. What I do know about Rancho Mesa is that where we are today is not where we'll be in the future. And we would never have been where we are without all the wonderful people that have just come our way and helped us grow this company. So, Drew, thank you for joining me and for letting us get to know a little bit more about you and your role within Rancho Mesa today.
Thank you. Appreciate it. So that'll do it for today. Thank you for joining me and getting us to know the Rancho Mesa family and for tuning into Studio One, our safety and risk management network.
Until next time, stay well. Thank you.