Chris Frank

Biography

Chris Frank, the company's president, has been an arborist for over 35 years and is committed to learning more about the rapidly developing field of arboriculture. Chris originally entered the University of Massachusetts with a degree in engineering in mind. After deciding that working indoors was not for him, he decided on a new career path. While thumbing through the UMass course catalogue, curiosity led him to the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and its arboriculture program. While at Stockbridge, Chris did his required placement training at the Northampton office of the Frost & Higgins Company, a Boston-based company. It was founded in 1896 and was one of the oldest tree care companies in the country. Frost & Higgins helped to develop some of the modern arboricultural practices still in use today. Chris purchased the Northampton office of the company in 1986, nearly a hundred years after the company's establishment. While committed to upholding the same level of expertise and professionalism as Frost & Higgins, Chris strives to ensure that his crews are educated, properly trained and adhering to the industry's safety standards. Chris's passion for trees, combined with his old-fashioned work ethic, are the perfect elements in setting the tone for the company that has proudly served many clients throughout Western Mass since the 1960s. He is one of a select few registered consulting arborists in the American Society of Consulting Arborists, as well as a certified arborist in the Massachusetts Arborists Association. Chris is also a life member and a certified arborist in the International Society of Arboriculture. He holds a Massachusetts Pesticide License with specialty categories in Shade Trees and Ornamentals, Right of Way, and Turf. Chris loves spending time maintaining his own landscape, which includes experimenting with a wide variety of plants, and quality time with his loving wife, Stephanie, and their six mischievous grandchildren. His oldest son, David, also graduated from Stockbridge with a degree in Arboriculture and Community Forest Management and from UMass with a degree in Urban and Community Forestry. David works in the green industry supervising vegetation control crews throughout New England. Chris, the middle son, is a West Point graduate and an active-duty major in the United States Army. His youngest son, Bill, graduated from Stockbridge with a degree in Turf Grass Management and from UMass with a degree in Plant and Soil Science. He now works as a superintendent for a golf course. 

Research Interest

Interested in experimenting with a wide variety of plants.