All in the family

Instead of partying like it was 1999 — Chris Maroun, president and CEO of Miracle Farms Landscape and Property Management — was busy that year establishing his fledgling company after a change of scenery brought him to Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

“I started in the landscape business in 1985 in Connecticut,” Chris says. “My brother and I had a business there which we co-ran for quite a few years. In 1998, at the end of the season, my wife and I decided to move to New Hampshire. We wanted to raise our kids in a more rural environment.

“I started this company and 1999 was our first year in business,” he adds. “I’ve been up here ever since then and we’ve really just taken the business while trying to offer quality customer service, and just do everything right.”

All in the family

Nearly 20 years later, Miracle Farms is a true family affair with Chris working alongside his wife, daughters, son and son-in-law every day.

That little company has also come a long way revenue-wise as well.

“In 2018, my son-in-law joined the business and so did my son,” Chris says.

“When they joined the business, we really had a great opportunity to grow it and expand it — so we did. We started to focus on more things. I was able to delegate and share some of the responsibilities with those guys.

From there, we’ve really grown and have been fortunate to go from about $6 million in 2018 and this year we’re budgeting to do about $29.8 million.”

While he’s now COO of Miracle Farms, Hayden Maroun, Chris’ son, says he’s been working in the business as long as he can remember.

“I joined the company full-time in 2018, but before that, I worked for the company basically as a summer job from middle school all the way up through high school and even into college,” Hayden says.

“I’ve worked here really my whole life. I grew up in the company. I’ve known a lot of the guys since I was a little kid and have spent a lot of time with them.”

But what makes Miracle Farms a Best Place to Work is how they transcend that family-first approach throughout the entire company.

Justin Kronewitter, lead landscape designer with the company, says he’s only been onboard for a little over a year, but he’s grown to truly appreciate the atmosphere and family nature of Miracle Farms.

Before starting here, Kronewitter says he’s worked a number of green industry jobs, but his favorite was with a boutique landscape design company that was eventually bought out by a bigger business.

It was shortly after that acquisition that Kronewitter knew he needed to find a new place to call home.

“It doesn’t feel like a bunch of timecard punchers here, he says. “Everybody is invested and into what they do. It’s a good team and just a great place.

“The culture here is like something I’ve never been a part of,” Kronewitter adds. “From the top down, everybody is tight knit and says good morning to each other. On Fridays we wear red to support the troops and every Wednesday in October we wear pink for breast cancer awareness.”

A culture of collaboration

Kerry Seely, director of construction and excavation and Chris’ son-in-law, says that while the company has continued to grow, Chris and the rest of the management team are determined to keep that tight-knit family leadership style.

“On paper, we’re a very large company for the area, but we really maintain that family business feel,” he says.

“Chris, with his 30 years of experience, is just a wealth of knowledge and he’s a guy who you can pretty much get ahold of, either face-to-face or by phone, pretty much any hour of any day. I feel like with some companies you don’t get that. The leadership team isn’t always as accessible as we are here.

“It just makes sense as owners — it’s your baby and you want to be there to help people make the right decisions because obviously if they succeed, you do,” Seely adds.

“Every morning we’re all there to greet the guys — we shake hands and say good morning — and it just sets the tone for the day. That face-to-face time makes a huge difference for camaraderie and morale. Spreading that across 165 employees makes a big difference.”

Seely says its all about knowing that the person next to you, above you or below you on the career ladder is still willing to lend a hand and help get the job done.

“It’s an extremely united culture,” he says. “There’s a big sense of teamwork here. Everyone is willing to jump in the hole and help the next guy.

“It starts from the top — but that’s how I’ve always managed. I’m not going to tell anybody to go do anything that I haven’t done or wouldn’t do. The best way to present that is to do it. For our new guys, it gives them a good sense of seeing their supervisor hands-on and it brings them up a little faster.”

Kronewitter says he’s seen this play out countless times since starting with Miracle Farms.

“Everybody is just tuned in and the camaraderie is great. Everyone is willing to help the other person out and no one is just worried about themselves. Everyone is focused in on the team goal and the big picture,” he says.

“I’ve worked for a lot of people…(Hayden and Chris) are in the trenches with us. It’s great they’re so involved. They’re kind of leading from within as opposed to your usual top-down approach. They’re right there next to you as opposed to leading from their high horse.”

Chris says when he first started Miracle Farms, it was his chance to correct some past mistakes and really focus on what he wanted to with this next business venture — culture.

“I had an opportunity to review what I had done during the first iteration of my landscaping career, and I tried to fix all of the things I thought needed fixing when I came up here,” he says.

“We want to make sure they get what they need to succeed in life. That’s another thing I’ve always believed in — if your employees have what they need, then they will help you to get what you need. We just believe that that’s where it all starts. We’ll go to the end of the world to help the people that work for us. Because we realize we really are nothing without them.”

The farm feels like home

Because of the rural area they operate in, Chris notes finding labor can be difficult at times, so Miracle Farms started looking for employees who live in Puerto Rico and come to New Hampshire for seasonal work.

“They come to New Hampshire to work and they’re leaving their homes and leaving their families. That’s obviously a difficult thing in itself, but then they’re also coming to a place where most people don’t speak the language they speak,” Hayden says.

That’s why the company is so focused on making sure they feel appreciated and part of the family. Hayden and Chris say not only does Miracle Farms provide housing and transportation, but they also ensure the work staff has help at doctors’ appointments, banking or whatever else they need.

“There’s a lot to it outside of just landscaping in an effort to get the guys and girls who come to work for us situated and feeling comfortable,” Hayden says.

“We want to help them with whatever it is they need. We really go the extra mile to make them feel at home and feel comfortable. We put a lot of emphasis on that, even if it eats into work time or production because we really try to prioritize our people more than just at work.”

Chris adds that words gotten out over the years about how well his company treats its employees, which has caused others to migrate over from his competitors.

“We’ve seemed to be able to attract good labor, and I think it’s because of the way we treat people. We have people coming from other companies and talking about how they’ve heard about us and asking if they could work for us,” he says.

“At times, it’s difficult because we are a small community, and we don’t really want to be taking people from other competitors, but at the same time — if they’re going to leave, I’d rather have them come work for me then go work for someone else.”

How well they treat their employees is even evident to Miracle Farm’s customers.

Steve Holtzman says he’s had the pleasure of getting to know not only Chris and his family of team members, but some of the Puerto Rican staff members as well.

“Chris Maroun is as honest as the day is long,” Holtzman says. “The next generation has his moral values. They are completely focused on high quality and customer satisfaction. They’re incredibly responsive and the quality of their work is just fabulous.”

He adds that while he may not speak fluent Spanish, he and the crews who maintain his lakefront property have shared some smiles and laughter the past few summers.

“It’s delightful to interact with them,” he says. “The majority don’t speak English but they always have someone who can so you can communicate with them. They’re just really good young men. We laugh and have fun with them even though we’re fighting language barriers.”

Overall, Chris says being recognized this year as a Best Place to Work is humbling and shows that his employees really do appreciate his family as much as they appreciate them.

“It’s really rewarding to me,” he says of the honor. “I feel like my employees are our most valuable asset and I’ve always tried to focus on helping people and providing them with a good place to work. I’ve tried my best to help bring people up with me as we’ve gotten better.”

The author is Senior Editor with Lawn & Landscape.