Meet John Rich: EARTH FIRST’s Chief Operating Officer

John Rich grew up working in the rice-fields of Liberty Texas. Connected to the outdoors from birth, he maintained, planted, and harvested rice and soy beans on his family’s farm. It was only natural for John to attend Texas A&M after high school, where he pursued a business degree.  John worked full time through college and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management.

After college, John spent 18 years in the restaurant industry.  He was identified early in his career as a natural leader with exceptional motivation skills and an eye for operational efficiency and quality.  From General Manager, to Director of Operations, to Area Vice President, John succeeded at every level of his career.  At his peak, John lead all aspects of operations for 33 company-owned restaurants! 

The landscape construction industry called John’s name in 2013.   His corporate-operations experience was a perfect fit for a fast-growing company like EARTH FIRST.  John entered EARTH FIRST as an office administrator and the rest is history.    Today, John is one of Earth First’s strongest leaders.  As Chief Operating Officer, John has a full schedule and oversees all inter-departmental communications, especially Accounting Administration, Construction Service Operations, Grounds Maintenance Operations and Asset Management.   

John finds true joy in motivating others at work. WHATEVER IT TAKES is a phrase John brought to our company and he takes this approach to every project he’s involved with.  He begins each day with an employee status huddle, and then it’s off to the field.    John knows that project success is only as good as the plan directed by management, and he spends most of his day ensuring everything is running smoothly.  One of our best listeners, John has a reputation for identifying the needs of our employees, so they can bring a better project to our clients.  Saving time and money for our clients is the element of John’s job that he is most proud of.

When John isn’t hard at work, he is an avid outdoors-man.  He enjoys spending time hunting and fishing, especially when he is with his wife Nicole and their four sons.   John also enjoys outdoor cooking of all types, and RV camping on holiday weekends.