Exmark Manufacturing Lending a Helping Hand

BEATRICE -- February 14 -- Founded in 1983, Exmark Manufacturing was one of a handful of companies that helped establish Beatrice as the ‘the lawn mower capital of the world.’

With more than 400 employees during peak production periods, Exmark is one of Gage County’s largest employers. It is also one of Gage County’s largest donators. Finance Director Patty Kaufman said the employees of Exmark want the company to be known as a place the community can turn for a helping hand.

“We want Beatrice to be able to count on us for community service. ” Kaufman said. “People can count on us for donations and those types of things. We want to be a good corporate citizen in Beatrice, Neb.”

Exmark has been giving back to the county for years, but it was the company’s 25-year anniversary in 2008 that sparked an increased passion for giving among Exmark employees.

“When our anniversary came along we put together a committee to celebrate our 25 years,” Kaufman said. “That was the start of our community giving committee. We got together and said ‘What could we do? We could have this big party, we could do fireworks.’ Someone came up with the idea of giving back and doing something really cool that the community will remember.”

That idea materialized in the form of Roszell Exmark Park. Located in the Glenover area of Beatrice, the park features basketball and tetherball courts, a playground area, a water fountain and a shelter with picnic tables.

“At the time, the park was out of code,” Kaufman explained. “It had a lot of very worn playground equipment. We tore a bunch of that out and put a bunch of new playground equipment in. We did a complete renovation of the entire area.”

Since that initial project, Exmark has donated funds to renovate a number of parks and playgrounds across Gage County.

“We did a renovation of Charles Park that included benches, Kaufman said. “We donated irrigation and all of the period lighting. In the Wymore Athletic Park we did a renovation to make that handicap accessible and built a retaining wall. They had some issues with the deterioration of a hill. Prairie Playground is the playground at the YMCA. We donated $25,000 to that in the first year of their fundraising. We really kick started their fundraising, and now they’ve been able to raise well over $100,000 for the renovation of that park.”

Exmark was a major contributor to the House of Orange, donating $50,000 to the new athletic complex. The company is also Gage County’s largest contributor to United Way.

“We actually provide them with over half of their total budget,” Kaufman explained. “We were able to give them $72,000 this year. That is phenomenal not only because we place such an emphasis on it, but that money is our employees’ money. It’s not just Exmark writing that check, that is our employees giving of themselves to the community.”

In addition to these large projects and contributions, Exmark also serves a number of smaller fundraisers and organizations, including food drives, ball teams, the Beatrice Mary Family YMCA and the Gage County Fair.

“We place a lot of emphasis on (the fair) because it’s probably the largest event of the year in Gage County,” Kaufman said. “One of the things we started doing years ago was to produce a T-shirt. Our graphic designer here does a design, and we give those away free to every 4-H and FFA member. We also have employees out there every morning picking up trash at the fair. We have people setting up the stage, doing judging or setting up State Fair Square. We’re really involved with that, and we encourage all our employees to be involved.”

Kaufman said much of Exmark’s passion for giving comes from its parent company, Toro.

“That’s really where we get our spirit of giving,” Kaufman explained. “It’s really embedded in their corporation. They’re actually celebrating 100 years this year. They provide us with several programs that we’re able to give to our community.”

Exmark’s latest community service project was the construction of a healing garden at Beatrice Community Hospital. Kaufman said the garden is beneficial for patients, visitors and hospital staff.

“We went to (the hospital) with this idea because we saw some things in the news how green space and beautiful outdoor spaces with flowers and butterflies and birds can really enhance a person’s stay at the hospital,” Kaufman said. “This space has benches and a gazebo. There are two water features with a bubbler and a huge rock where water comes over to create soothing sounds.”

Toro has a number of incentives put in place to encourage community service. One of those incentives is Dollars for Doers, a program where Toro will donate money in exchange for volunteer hours.

“This is a great Toro program where if an employee gives 30 volunteer hours to an organization, then Toro will write a $300 check to that organization,” Kaufman explained. “We have checks going out to volunteer fire departments, area schools and the Beatrice Backpack Program.

Kaufman said Exmark’s sense of community service is truly driven by its employees, whom have a great passion for giving back to their communities.

“There’s so much pride of our employees in these projects. We see this continuing for many years to come.”

Austin Buckner      www.beatricedailysun.com