A Little History On “The Original Rick’s Tree Service of Bucks County”
Rick’s Expert Tree Service was started on a limb by two individuals with a strong work ethic and a will to succeed. Our owners, Jodie and Rick Horger, are The Original Rick’s Tree Service of Bucks County. Our goal is to strive to be the best and do the best work for our community.
The company initially focused on grinding stumps and tree removals. Jodie and Rick would drive around Bucks County looking for any yard with a dead tree or stump, knock on the homeowner’s door and leave a free estimate on the door. This was the main source of business for the first several years. As time progressed, and with a lot of hard work and will power, Rick’s has grown into a full service tree company and firewood supplier. The business was officially incorporated in 2001. Our company consists of an amazing team of skilled and educated arborists, climbers, operators, groundsmen, and a multitude of state of the art equipment.
The company’s reputation speaks for itself. Approximately 85% of new clients are from referrals. The true secret of success is the compassion and knowledge of the owners and employees of arboriculture. We have been blessed with the best customers a company could ask for. Along with being awarded We love customer feedback and take pride in our work. Our customers are what drive us to do better every single day, and for that, we thank you.
Meet The Founders
Rick Horger, Founder & Vice President
As a child, Rick started working in the tree industry under his mentor and uncle, Scott Mason, owner and operator of a large tree outfit. As far back as he can remember, Rick has been in the tree industry. He started as a young boy handing out flyers and business cards. By the time Rick was sixteen, he was a foreman running his own crew. He worked for family, neighbors, and friends after school and on weekends. At only sixteen years of age, Rick was able to purchase his first truck. The above picture was taken by a homeowner in Crestmont Farms, Philadelphia that same year. This is a large, dead, diseased, and hollow tree removal he completed.
Being so ambitious and wanting to expand his business, Rick soon bought a second truck and stump grinder. He cannot remember how old he was when he felled his first tree, but he has been running a chainsaw as far back as he can remember and splitting firewood as young boy. Rick is a self educated arborist through on the job experience and reading textbooks on arboriculture.
Rick purchases, operates, and maintains equipment here at Rick’s Expert Tree Service, INC. He is also in charge of hiring employees. Rick believes in coming to a job prepared and with the right equipment to make it as efficient as possible. He believes in treating all clients with respect and treats every property as if it was his grandparents.
When Rick is not working, you can usually find him with his kids on the wrestling mats at a tournament. Rick is an extremist and enjoys spending his weekends with family, friends, and coworkers fishing, kayaking, surfing, biking, hiking, paddle boarding, quading, cliff jumping… in a nutshell: usually up for anything and usually the first to do it all.
Joan (Jodie) Horger, Founder & President
Joan started her career attending The Pennsylvania State University in Abington, PA and working full time for Chrysler Financial in Horsham, PA. As Rick’s business grew, the two decided to dive in head first and turn the business into a full time career. Continuing toward her goals of graduating college, Jodie kept her full time job for the first year, which paid for her degree in business at The Pennsylvania State University. Her full time job also gave a steady income while the business was getting on its feet. Taking business courses allowed her to focus on Rick’s Expert Tree Service even more by using her connections to help the business grow. She was able to use Rick’s for most of her school projects and reports and even did her internship at Rick’s Expert Tree Service. Joan graduated in January of 2002 on the dean’s list. Following graduation, she put her resignation in to Chrysler Financial and put all her focus on Rick’s Expert Tree Service, INC. The above picture was taken during a lot clearing job Rick and Jodie completed in 2000 in Bensalem, PA.
Jodie has always loved being outdoors, whether it be hiking, camping, and even tree climbing. She quickly got out on the field and grew a love for arboriculture. This caused her to decide to continue her education classes in arboriculture at Penn State, Rutgers, and University of Swarthmore Colleges. In 2006, Joan became an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. The following year, Joan became a registered consultant arborist at American Society of Consulting Arborist.
Joan runs the customer service, financial, estimating, consulting, education and safety programs here at Rick’s Expert Tree, INC. She also oversees the jobs from start to finish, making sure the job runs smoothly and is kept up to our high standards. Jodie believes in meeting, or exceeding, her customer’s expectations through knowledge, communication, exceptional service, and competitive prices.