Opportunities: Do they “appear” or do you “create” them?

Opportunities: Do they “appear” or do you “create” them?

Eighteen months ago, BR&D was given an opportunity. We received a call from the Colorado Chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation about whether we were interested in creating a sensory garden as a Make-A-Wish for a child. Julia, or Jules as we now know her, is a child so aptly referred to by her parents as “born with possibilities”. They don’t refer to her as handicapped and have never closed the door on her potential. Jules needed a place to play that was safe for her, her dog and her family; a place that would give her opportunities to learn about sound, touch, and frankly just to explore the world! We were so excited! We quickly came up with ideas in the office, networked with the Senior Foreman who had additional ideas, planned, contacted vendors to see how they might help, crunched some numbers, and, with Make-A- Wish’s approval, we began the work! After a whirlwind finish in which our crew laid over 3500 square feet of sod in 45 minutes, the yard was revealed: a little water feature just the right size for Jules, things that made sound, features that could be played with and touched, all part of a special oasis for the child with possibilities.

Jules was given an opportunity by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but for so many more this was an opportunity only if they used it to create one of their own. I’m sure some of the people involved didn’t give this project a second thought. Some even grumbled about it. Others took the project, giving to it and in return gained an open heart to give to and receive from others. Ten months later one of our foremen left BR&D; in his exit interview he said that the Make-A-Wish project had made the most impact on him. He had used the gift to Jules as chance for him to give to others and give to himself.

Fast forward to September of 2016, Make-A-Wish called us about Christian! Christian was another opportunity given to us. Again, we worked with Make-A-Wish and others to help fulfill a wish for a deserving young man facing exceptional difficulties. Christian is much older than Jules and has different obstacles in his life to deal with, and with that came a different type of wish. Instilled with a love for cooking, Christian wanted an area of his own that he could flex his culinary muscles in. Of course, Make-A-Wish had a plan in mind!

The house Christian’s family lives in had a tired, old, warped wooden deck just outside the door to the back yard. Make-A-Wish’s vision was to toss that old deck out and replace it (with our help) with an outdoor cooking space, complete with a wood-fired pizza oven, smoker, grill, prep counter and seating! Our guys went to work again, tearing out the old deck, laying down a concrete patio, and helping to get the components installed (including a fire pit!). When it was all finished, Make-A-Wish got some cooks from California Pizza Kitchen to help Christian learn all about his new pizza oven; everyone ate very well that day!

We all have the option to take the opportunities that are given to us every day. We are in control of how we embrace moments in our lives. In business, we get calls in the office from morning and closing. Often times it rings late at night and on the weekend when the office is closed. Each time the phone rings, it’s an opportunity for us: to serve, to help, to solve, to create, and every once in a while, to serve a child “born with possibilities” and a young man who has dreams, and we are so grateful for each and every one of them. Thanks Jules and Christian!

Published On: June 8, 2021

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My family and I were looking to do something different with the hillside portion of my landscape. It was nothing other than native grass, difficult to maintain, and really just lacking any backyard appeal for the size of landscape that I have. We were leery of Colorado landscapers. One company wanted to remove and or move existing shrubs and plantings to move in equipment (for some reason, they refused to use the readily available open space). Other companies refused to itemize their quotes and tell us exactly what they were planning to put in our backyard (to me it seemed like they didn’t want the customer to see how the amount of product lined up (or didn’t line up) with projected costs). I basically just halted the process and waited an additional year to move forward on the construction of a pond. When I did move forward it was with BR&D.

I found BR&D from Aquascape. They came highly recommended, and seemed like a good local company to partner with. When I first met Brett (Owner) and Tyler (Senior Foreman) at my home, I was extremely relieved at not getting a lofty sales pitch. They were much more interested in what they could carve out in my landscape, what I would be happy with, and actually went into detail about the maintenance involved in the various options we talked about for about an hour and a half. I hired them on the spot, and I couldn’t be more happier with the results. The company is very detail oriented. Tyler is a perfectionist. There was always a senior member of the company present on my project; everyday, without fail. The products that were used, were as promised, and the installation of those products was checked, double checked, and checked again, daily, until closeout of the project. We do a lot of landscaping ourselves and hence was pretty much in the landscape on a daily basis while the pond construction was in progress. Rather than get annoyed at that, BR&D seemed to get more excited about the project and used the time to give us tips, and further explain details of remaining phases of construction. My pond has run consistently without fail for a year now. That includes through the winter where temperatures dropped to around -20F in my area. I am the only person in my neighborhood that has had a pond running consistently through fall, through spring, through summer, and completely through winter.

I’d also like to point out that communication with the company has been nothing short of A+. This is a busy company, but they make you feel like you’re their highest priority when you have an issue. The company has responded to my queries on weekends and times that I would consider outside of standard business hours. One thing I’ve never heard from BR&D is “it’s your fault”. This company has never accused me, the customer, of doing anything in an effort to remove themselves from a situation. They have simply addressed all of my concerns – in some cases in less than 24 hours. As a new pond owner I’ve definitely made mistakes, but BR&D, have offered encouragement, and education on how to keep a stocked pond thriving, without any attempts to sell services. They turned a rather large useless portion of my landscape into something spectacular. They are into the art and science of what they do; the group deserves good clients, that are serious about what they want to build. I would highly recommend contacting and contracting BR&D for your landscaping needs. In my experience, they are a rarity in Colorado.

Joseph Lawson

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