Market Technologies Offers Investment Software & Career Opportunities

Building wealth by investing in financial markets can bring the reward of a secure future but there can be plenty of uncertainty along the way to that goal. For almost 40 years, Wesley Chapel-based Market Technologies has provided investors with trading software they can use to navigate the ebb and flow of economic factors influencing the stock, commodity, and currency markets, as well as their own investment portfolios.

According to Market Technology vice president Lane Mendelsohn, the company’s proprietary VantagePoint market forecasting software uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to track and analyze factors such as market reports, related market activity and government policies that can influence a particular stock or other trading investment, such as commodities like corn or copper.

A report by the financial services consulting firm Aite Group (cited in the June 2, 2016 edition of Forbes magazine) indicated that there are 54 million individual, self-directed market traders in the U.S. alone, who can manage their investments just about any time, anywhere, from their smartphones. To get VantagePoint software into the devices of as many investors as possible, Market Technologies is now hiring inside sales professionals to assist people calling to about the software.

Lane says software programs like VantagePoint analyze market information to give near-term trading forecasts. It’s an application of computer technology that has spawned new competitors for VantagePoint, which can trace its pioneering digital roots to 1991, a time before widespread consumer use of the Internet.

According to Market Technologies’ website, VantagePoint forecasts stocks, futures, Forex, and ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) with proven forecasting accuracy of up to 86 percent.

Market Technologies was founded by Lane’s father, Louis  Mendelsohn, who is still the company president. The company was the result of Louis’ quest for better returns on his own self-directed investments.

“He starting developing software for his own purposes so he could be a more successful, profitable trader and investor,” says Lane.

Lane Mendelsohn

As the senior Mendelsohn’s research gained notice through publications and television appearances, his personal project evolved into a company providing technical analysis trading software to individual investors.

“It was something he personally had a need for and later realized other people had that same need,” Lane says.

Louis Mendelsohn grew up in a Providence, RI, tenement building next to a freight rail line, and set his sights on moving away from that life of poverty. His first step was a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Administration & Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Louis’ childhood background led him to study social work, and he received his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He followed that up by earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Boston University in 1977 and moved to Tampa to work as a hospital administrator.

While making investments for himself, he realized he needed better tools than the calculator and pencil technology that prevailed in the financial services industry at the time. Louis knew about computers and software, so he combined his interests in finance, investing and computers to develop predictive trading software that would compute market trading technical indicators — like moving averages that give investors clues as to how a stock or commodity may behave.

A Company Is Born

Wanting to share his knowledge and success from his work, Louis started Market Technologies in 1979 as a company and released his first trading software for personal computers in 1983. He has also written books on the subject, such as Trend Forecasting with Technical Analysis: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Intermarket Analysis to Beat the Market.

Louis Mendelsohn

Building on his early research, Louis began focusing on the relationships between individual stocks, currencies and commodities and the global factors affecting all of them. He developed proprietary mathematical processes to recognize trading patterns across different markets, leading to the development of today’s VantagePoint software.

VantagePoint is advertised in trading industry magazines such as Traders, Stocks & Commodities and Your Trading Edge. The ads generate leads for the Market Technologies sales force working out of the company’s building just off Wesley Chapel Blvd., about 1.5 miles west of I-75 on Old Pasco Rd.

VantagePoint user Eric Hall expressed his satisfaction by awarding a Five-Star Google Review, writing “This is an amazing group of people that provide cutting edge software products to traders across the globe. No other product even comes close to what they provide. If you’re looking for an edge in the markets they can provide it to you!”

Opportunity Is Knocking…

For people more interested in reaping financial and personal benefits from rewarding work, Market Technologies currently is hiring people for inside sales positions, responding to individual traders who express interest in the high-tech Vantage Point market forecasting software.

According to Lane, applicants do not need financial industry experience but persistence, curiosity and a positive attitude are essential for success at Market Technologies.

“We’ve had people who didn’t have sales experience but wanted to help people and learn new things,” he says, adding that as the market for self-directed investment products grows, so do the opportunities for those who make them available to individual traders. “There is no better time for someone to join our company and ride that wave of success.”

As to how good a time it is to join the VantagePoint team, in addition to having a product that is of interest to a lot of people, Market Technologies was just named as a “2018 Top Workplace” by the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, a recognition based on anonymous surveys completed by employees collected by the research company Energage, LLC. According to a company news release, the survey placed “Market Technologies in the top 10 out of 50 companies with fewer than 150 employees.”

That recognition comes as no surprise to Gilbert B., who has been a member of the Market Technologies sales team for nine years. Gilbert says he has found workplace satisfaction and financial security working atop the VantagePoint wavecrest.

“There’s a great opportunity here but you have to work hard,” Gilbert says, adding, “The company cares about the employees.”

Benefits include fully paid insurance for all employees, including health, dental, life and long-term disability. There is a full description of job openings and benefits available at the Market Technologies website, SellingIsFun.com.

Market Technologies has a global reach, with customers in more than 120 countries, but its connection to the Tampa Bay area has been strong since its founding. In fact, part of the company’s philosophy is sharing its success with the local community.

Market Technologies’ charitable efforts include supporting Metropolitan Ministries and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program, among others. In fact, earlier this month, for International Children’s Book Day (Apr. 2), the company collected and donated more than 100 books to Shriners Hospitals for Children Tampa. Market Technologies also has hosted events for children being treated at Shriners and has supported the hospital with financial donations. “We decided last year we wanted to make Shriners a really big focus of ours,” Lane says.

He acknowledges that there are plenty of wealth-building products and programs in the marketplace for consumers to consider, but one way to distinguish among them is longevity.

“That’s something that really differentiates our company from so many others in the industry, that next year will be our 40th anniversary year,” Lane says. “So, for 40 years, we’ve been developing technology for traders and investors to help them achieve their goals and really empower them to be able to be successful and provide for themselves and provide for their families.”

Market Technologies is located at 5807 Old Pasco Rd. in Wesley Chapel. For more info, call (813) 973-0496. Neighborhood News readers interested in employment opportunities at Market Technologies can learn more by visiting SellingIsFun.com. To find out more about VantagePoint and get a free demonstration of the software, visit VantagePointSoftware.com, send an email to info@vantagepointoftware.com or call (800) 732-5407.

Vallarta’s Tampa Palms Is Gearing Up For Another Fun Cinco De Mayo!

EVEN THOUGH I’ll never try to convince you that Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant, located in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center, is the best Mexican food you’ll ever eat, I do enjoy the food (especially at Vallarta’s reasonable prices), the service and the atmosphere at this local chain of family-owned eateries.

Because I’m the adventurous type, I always try to sample something new whenever I visit Vallarta’s, skipping only the shrimp dishes that I’m allergic to, and I keep finding new favorites to go with my old ones.

On my most recent visits, I first tried the semi-spicy steak a la Mexicana and although the thin rib eye steak is a fatty cut, the blend of onions, tomatoes and sliced jalapeños definitely make it a flavorful choice for me. There also are seven other non-fajita steak dishes on the menu, all under $15, unless you get a steak and shrimp combo. I can recommend the batter-dipped steak milanesa and the Vallarta’s special steak, topped with grilled tomatoes, onions and peppers.

Next, I tried the pork chunks with onions, or carnitas, and found what truly is now my new favorite dish at Vallarta’s.

The pork is obviously marinated and the chunks literally melt in your mouth. Pedro, the general manager, says that the chunks are made from pork leg or butt. All I can say is that I’ll be sampling this one again. For the same price ($13), you can add salsa roja (red) or verde (green), but these beauties don’t really need any sauce. The carnitas are totally tasty as is.

Shrimp Avocado Rice

Vallarta’s no longer serves its fajitas sizzling on a metal dish, but they’re still pretty tasty and I prefer the chicken to the steak fajitas.

Starters at Vallarta’s include the cheese (queso) dip, guacamole Vallarta, a mushroom quesadilla and five varieties of nachos,  so whether you like them just with cheese ($6) or the nachos Vallarta (with grilled steak, avocado, onions and cheese, $11), you’re sure to find one that suits your fancy — just bring plenty of friends, as the nacho orders are huge!

And although I can’t eat the Cocktel de Camarones (shrimp cocktail, $14) due to my shellfish allergy, I saw someone enjoying it the other day. The large shrimp are served “swimming” in a tasty hot sauce, in a gigantic margarita glass. I also enjoy the Mexican chicken soup, which was perfect for those cold days we had in March.

Jannah also recently found a new favorite, as she really enjoyed the chicken fajita salad, which also is available with beef or shrimp and served in a monstrous tortilla shell that is overstuffed with fajita chicken, plus grilled peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, pico de gallo, guac and cheese. It’s not served with dressing, but it honestly doesn’t need additional toppings, as Jannah ended up not needing to use her side of ranch dressing.

There also are plain grilled chicken dinners (pollo a la Parilla, $11) and a fried chicken breast (pollo Empanisado, $13).

And of course, Vallarta’s also has lunch and dinner-sized combinations of all of your Mexican favorites. So, whether you like hard or soft tacos, enchiladas, chalupas, burritos, tamales, tostadas, taquitos, flautas, chimichangas or tostaguac (I honestly don’t know what that last one is), you’re sure to find your favorites on this huge menu, with most lunch combos from $6-$9 and most dinner combos at around $10.

I’m not the biggest quesadilla fan, but they also are available for $8-$11 and the one I definitely will try in the future is the chicken, bacon and cheese variety.

Oh, and of course, even though I’m usually a chunky salsa kind of guy, Vallarta’s purĂ©ed salsa, served in wine carafes (you pour the salsa into a bowl for dipping), is highly addictive, especially with the restaurant’s fresh, hot, super-crisp tortilla chips.

Don’t Forget Cinco!

Another great thing about Vallarta’s is that it offers a full liquor bar with a variety of Mexican and domestic beers, a selection of top-shelf tequilas, as well as lots of margarita varieties that, according to the Vallarta’s menu, are “truly bigger than your head,” all at much lower prices than you’ll find at most sit-down Mexican eateries.

So, if you’re looking for a place to spend Saturday, May 5 — aka Cinco de Mayo — look no further. Vallarta’s will have music, food and drink specials and a big crowd for Cinco, although the place is crowded for dinner almost every day all year-round (and even many days at lunch time) and continues to receive lots of votes every year in our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest. In other words, when you serve good food at very fair prices, people will keep coming back for more.

And, speaking of more, there also are Vallarta’s locations in the Wesley Chapel Village Market, one near the Suncoast Pkwy. off S.R. 54, one at Collier Pkwy. at 54, one on S.R. 54 in Trinity/Odessa, plus Temple Terrace and Carrollwood. The family that started Vallarta’s also opened a more upscale San JosĂ© Mexican Restaurant on Land O’Lakes Blvd. (U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lutz), as well as the new El Pescador Mexican seafood restaurant in the New Tampa Center plaza on BBD Blvd. We plan to feature El Pescador in our next issue.

Vallarta’s of Tampa Palms is located at 16023 Tampa Palms Blvd. W. It is open every day for lunch and dinner. For more information, including some great regular coupon specials, visit VallartasRestaurants.com or call (813) 978-3761. The Wesley Chapel Vallarta’s is located at 5335 Village Market. For more info, call (813) 907-5161.

Family Of Christ Christian School Offers A Great Education & Life Lessons, Too

If you want to see smiles like these on your children’s faces, arrange a tour today to check out Family of Christ Christian School off BBD Blvd. in Tampa Palms, no matter what denomination or religion or your family may be.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Those words from Luke 2:52 (New Testament, New International Version) delivered in the First Century AD come alive today in the Family of Christ (FoC) Christian School mission statement, which commits the faculty and staff to growing the knowledge and abilities of their students “in a manner that brings honor and glory to God.”

Putting those words into action is the job of the school’s faculty and administrators, including Jennifer Snow, who has been the principal at FoC since 2005.

“The priority of the staff is to work as a team to help our students develop their hearts, minds and souls,” Snow says, adding that the joy of learning is part of the educational experience at FoC.

“If you walk through the classrooms, you see how happy they are while learning.”

But of course, plenty of learning goes on beyond the classrooms of the tree-shaded campus nestled between Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Tampa Palms Blvd. W. in Tampa Palms.

Recent class field trips have taken students to places like the Florida Keys to explore marine science and Washington, D.C., to see firsthand and up close how the American political machine operates and the history of our government. Snow, who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Education from the University of South Florida, says the students’ enthusiasm for learning makes it easy to give them a little more freedom in their pursuit of knowledge.

“We have such well-behaved students that you can kind of go out of the normal classroom realm a little bit and just have fun,” she says.

Snow adds that, in addition to a focus on core academic subjects such as science, language and math, FoC also provides instruction in art, music, computers and physical education and is an active participant in the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS).The school measures student progress by administering the Stanford Achievement Test each year for grades 1-8.

The genesis of FoC was almost two decades ago, at the end of 1999, when Family of Christ Lutheran Church embarked on its mission of bringing high-quality educational opportunities based on Christian values and beliefs to the New Tampa area with (at that time) Pre-K and Kindergarten instruction. The school took a gradual approach to growth, adding one grade at a time until it achieved its current K-8 status , now with 180 enrolled students.

The classrooms at FoC features staffers like Lindy Evans, a language arts teacher for middle school (grades 6-8), who says the emphasis in her class is on learning to live by high standards, as well as learning with high achievement. 

“We aren’t primarily focused on test scores,” Evans says. “We are more concerned with producing academically strong students, with a solid Christian foundation, who will be positive members of our community.”

And when FoC alumni transition to high schools, middle school science teacher Melissa Gembarowski expresses confidence that the graduating Family of Christ 8th graders will be well prepared for all of the challenges awaiting them.

“Our students are successful, whether at private or public high schools, due in part to the confidence and Christian foundation that is instilled in them during their years at Family of Christ,” Gembarowski says.

Graduating eighth-graders also can get a headstart on their high school educations by earning credits in advanced science, algebra and Spanish language courses at FoC that can be applied to a high school diploma.

Living Up To Its ‘Family’ Name

It’s an educational formula that FoC parent Yamira Soto says has benefited her children.

“We have been a part of the Family of Christ Christian School family for the past 8 years,” Soto wrote in her email. “Our school has the perfect combination of a superior curriculum, the best educators and a faith-based, nurturing environment.”

Similarly, Tom and Lori Lahart have experience as a long-term FoC family, with their two children attending there for nine years.“Mrs. Snow delivered on her promise to provide a safe, nurturing, fun environment while putting a world-class education as their primary focus,” the Laharts wrote in an email. “Our two children have now graduated and are flourishing in high school, thanks to the strong foundation they received at Family of Christ.”

While the school is affiliated with Family of Christ Lutheran Church and is accredited by the National Lutheran Schools Association (NLSA) (and by the district of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod), enrollment at FoC is open to anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation.

“There are Christians and non-Christians; there are Catholics, Baptists and non-denominational families here,” says Snow. “We have (children from) a variety of denominations that go to different churches but still come here for school.”

Snow adds that FoC’s “inclusivity” is based on common interests and helps the school achieve its purpose.

“To me, it’s about God’s word and what we can do to work in (and have) a positive effect on the community,” she says.

Some of the community projects the school has undertaken include feeding the homeless through Metropolitan Ministries and donating financial offerings to charities such as the Red Cross.

Further Expansion On The Way?

In the 13 years since Snow joined FoC,  its enrollment has increased from fewer than 80 students to its current level of 180, which is just about the capacity of the current facilities. Snow says she hopes expansion will occur, but that there are no firm plans to do so at this time.

“We don’t have a lot of spaces to give, but we want people to know we are here,” Snow says, adding that the school is tuition- and fee-based, but there are scholarships available to help in some situations.

For families with infants or toddlers through age four, their Christian school relationship can begin at Family of Christ’s Child Development Center, which was part of the original church mission that brought forth the school as a K-8 institution. In addition, Family of Christ Lutheran Church is hosting a Vacation Bible School (VBS) July 16-20, with a theme of “Rolling River Rampage.”

Athletics also are part of the FoC experience, with students in grades four through eight participating in a variety of sports, including flag football, golf, cross country, volleyball and basketball. The FoC Knights compete against other Christian schools throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Snow, who has more than 25 years experience as an educator, including as a teacher at Hunter’s Green Elementary when it first opened, says that she and her colleagues at FoC are committed to doing their best at this special career they have chosen.

“This is the most important job God could have given any of us, and that is to work with kids,” she says. “Our staff at Family of Christ is the school heartbeat and, daily, they go above and beyond their jobs.”

You can learn more about Family of Christ Christian School by calling (813) 558-9343 to arrange a tour of the school and its campus, located at 16190 BBD Blvd. com. For more info, see the ad on pg. 38 of this issue or visit FOC-Knights.com.

Bartell Foundation Pasta Dinner Is Saturday

Congratulations to my friends Jamie, Paul and their son James Bartell, who will be hosting their fourth annual Pasta Dinner to raise money for the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation. Sean — Paul and Jamie’s younger son — passed away in 2014 from a rare disease called toxic epidermal necrolysis.

The Sean Bartell Foundation Pasta Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 28, 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m., at Trinity Church of Wesley Chapel (33425 S.R. 54). All of the food — lasagna, meatballs, salad and bread — will again be donated by my (and the Bartells’) friends Carl and Jessica Meyers of Little Italy’s Family Restaurant. There also will be a cake to commemorate what would have been Sean’s 20th birthday.

The tax deductible donation for dinner will be $15 for adults, $8 for children 6-12 and free for those age 5 and under. To-go boxes will be available.

In the past three years, the Foundation has awarded 17 $1,000 Scholarship Grants to local Seniors at Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills high schools and 30 $100 Teacher Grants to teachers at many local schools, for a total of $20,000. “We plan to grant between 3-5 $1,000 grants to local seniors coming up in May, with more Teacher Grants to come in August,” Paul says.

Purchase “Will Call” Tickets at SeanBartell.org by clicking on “PayPal Donate” (please note the # of tickets), by visiting the Foundation’s Facebook page, or email spbfoundation@hotmail.com.

Organic Safe Lawns Lives Up To Its Name & Its Promise To Keep Your Lawn Healthy

Jim Schanstra and his dog Angel want to keep your lawn safe for your pets, too.

Consumer demand for organic items, whether it be food, healthcare products or even lawn care items, has grown by double-digits nearly every year since the 1990s.

According to a 2015 report by the Organic Trade Association, sales of organic products have increased from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $43.3 billion in 2015.

Jim Schanstra, the owner of Organic Safe Lawns Inc., is well aware of the trend. He says his past experiences working with chemicals and his wife’s battle with cancer have helped shape his current business into one where he and his crew work hard to safely make sure your lawn will stay healthy, green and free of pests, while also making sure your family and pets are protected from harmful chemicals.

“When I started in this business, places like Whole Foods were just starting to creep into peoples’ awareness,” Schanstra says. “Now, we’re seeing significant growth, with people seeking us out.”

The products — fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides — used by Schanstra and Organic Safe Lawns are certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute or OMRI, an independent testing company that certifies organic products. He says the products use a proven technology that was originally designed for fruits and vegetables, although Organic Safe Lawns deals strictly with lawns and ornamental plants.

Schanstra says there are many advantages to going organic. One of those is the most simple — it is simply better for the lawn and plants, and better for the people and pets who touch them. It’s may not be equally effective with regard to weed control, but Schanstra says it is more effective with regard to fertilization.

Using chemical fertilizers and pesticides may lead to greener lawns — due to a higher concentration of nitrogen — but it also can lead to the same typical lawn problems so common here in Florida. Lawn problems like fungus and disease, chinch bugs, webworms and mole crickets are often found in high-nitrogen soils.

“We found that by reducing the nitrogen level (in the products used), we almost eliminate fungus and pests,” Schanstra said. “The cheapest way to get green grass is with high- nitrogen fertilizer.”

Schanstra says he uses an application of chelated iron and manganese to get a deep green color, if Home Owner Associations are strict about the lawn’s shade of green.

Sustainable Growth

Schanstra also says that high-nitrogen fertilizers push top growth and weaken root structure. Over time, the root system can’t sustain the foliage.

“A weakened root structure is like candy to bugs,” Schanstra said. “After using our treatment, you’ll see the bugs moving over into the neighbor’s yard.”

The nitrogen in Schanstra’s fertilizers is derived from chicken urea, a natural source. With synthetic fertilizers, inorganic salts accumulate in the soil, causing it to “bind up.” Schanstra says the soil can get so full of salts that it won’t grow anymore.

“I have tried all the best, with no results,” one customer, John from South Tampa, posted on Organic Safe Lawns’ website. “With large oaks, I thought it was impossible to keep St. Augustine (grass in my yard). Organic Safe Lawns proved they can grow St. Augustine in difficult conditions.”

Chemical-based fertilizers are designed to be absorbed through the leaf (foliar absorption). All of the organic fertilizers that Schanstra uses are absorbed through the roots. And, he adds, they are all water-soluble liquids that are safe for pets, wildlife and humans.

Typical fertilizers are granular and come in two types of encapsulation. The first is water-based, meaning the fertilizer is released by coming into contact with water. The second is a polymer, or plastic encapsulation. Its releasing agent is heat. Erratic Florida weather — too much rain or too much heat — can sometimes cause the release of a month’s worth of fertilizer in a week or even a day. Schanstra says this is what causes run off and those nasty algae blooms in lakes and ponds.

With an organic, liquid fertilizer your plants and grass will absorb what they need, when they need it.

Exposure To Harmful Chemicals

Top-coated lawns treated with synthetic pesticides and herbicides puts people and pets in danger. Why do applicators of pesticides wear rubber boots? Because, Schanstra says, they don’t want to get any of the application on them.

Why would you want you or your pet to track that into your house?

“The dog goes over into the neighbor’s yard to pee, and they’re chewing on their paws when they get back,” Schanstra said. “Kids crawl around and play on the grass and absorb it when they walk in it.”

The chemical herbicide Atrazine is used widely across the U.S. and Florida to prevent pre- and post-emergence of broadleaf weeds. Schanstra says that Atrazine was banned by the European Union in 2003, and has been studied to determine its carcinogenic effects on humans and other mammals. It was found by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases (ATSDR) to have adverse effects on the endocrine system of mammals and likely contribute to some birth defects.

“A lot of lawn companies will blanket your yard with Atrazine,” Schanstra said. “It costs five dollars for a 600-gallon mix. They use it because it’s cheap.”

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, was used in the U.S. in agriculture as a pesticide and as a household insecticide in the 1940s and 1950s, only to be banned in 1973. Schanstra suspects that exposure to DDT as a youth had something to do with his wife Julie developing non-Hodgkin’s large cell lymphoma cancer.

Thankfully, Julie’s fight with cancer was won with the help of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. But, it was a constant reminder to Schanstra of the potential effects of chemicals used in the environment.

In 2006, just before a scheduled sales meeting with an organic fertilizer manufacturer, Schanstra says that one of the associates said that he’d read a recent news article that stated, “Florida uses more chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides on residential properties than the rest of the United States combined.”

“This statement hit me like a lightning bolt,” Schanstra said. “It was in that moment that I decided to do something about it. That was the conception of Organic Safe Lawns.”

In January of 2010, Organic Safe Lawns became a corporation.

Schanstra’s three licensed technicians don’t spray weed killer, either. Instead, they rely on a healthy root system to suppress weeds and when needed, they go with the good ol’ fashioned yanking them out.

“We are about the process and the materials,” Schanstra says, “as opposed to harmful chemicals with regard to weed control.”

He notes that it takes time and regular application to have a weed-free, organic lawn in a way that’s safe for people and pets. That’s why Organic Safe Lawns recommends treatments every 30 days. Schanstra says his property has been on the Organic Safe Lawns service for nine years, and that if he gets three weeds in a month, it’s a lot.

“We had Tru-Green before, with absolutely no results, and what a hassle to terminate their contract,” says a client named Lisa. “After just six months, our lawn is thick and healthy and the weeds are gone! No hidden charges. We recommend Organic Safe Lawns.”

It’s also prudent to treat the lawns or ornamental plants around your property, including those that may closely border your neighbors. That’s why Organic Safe Lawns offers a referral program. Every referral made by a current customer will earn that customer one free month of service.

“The concept is to create a safe environment and a chemical-free buffer zone around it,” Schanstra said. “We’ve found that the best way to pick up new business is with existing customers.”

Organic Safe Lawns services Tampa, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes. For more info call (813) 393-9665, email organicsafelawns@verizon.net or visit OrganicSafeLawns.com. Existing customers can pay their invoices on the website, too! Prospective customers can fill out a contact form on the site to get a free estimate and $10 off their first treatment.