"I like this community. It’s amazing the way they’ve come together like this. It inspires me, and it’s a good feeling being able to stay here."

When tree service owner Justin Hartmann traveled from his home in Florida to mid-Michigan, he was hoping for a contract with Midland County for debris removal in the wake of a flooding disaster in May.

What he found was one of the most inspiring communities he’s ever seen, he said.

Hartmann owns Canary Tree Services in Jacksonville, and his crews have worked in areas across the nation struck by natural disasters. So, when a contractor he worked with located near Sanford told him about the historic flooding that ravaged the town, Hartmann loaded up his trailer and made the hike north.

While waiting for word on a work contract, Hartmann traveled around Sanford to “help out as much as I could,” he said. Soon enough, he found himself using his specialized equipment to help Sanford residents remove boats and other items from dry lake beds.

Although Canary Tree didn’t get a contract, Hartmann decided to stay. Working on lake bottoms can be dangerous work, Hartmann said, and he knew he had the machinery and expertise to do so safely.

 

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