I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for six hours, but my daughter-in-law told me to eat in the kitchen.

them knew something my son had been trying to hide.

My name is Walter Finch.

I’m sixty-three years old, and I’ve spent most of my adult life building a landscaping and property maintenance business outside Knoxville, Tennessee.

I founded Finch Outdoor Services in 1991.

Back then, I owned one used lawn mower, an aging pickup truck, and a handful of residential maintenance contracts.

The first few years were difficult.

I worked from sunrise until the evening light disappeared.

I repaired my own equipment.

Ate lunch in my truck.

And sometimes worried whether I’d have enough money to cover expenses the following month.

But I kept going.

Eventually, I hired my first employee.

His name was Vic Ostrander.

He arrived looking for work wearing a jacket that didn’t even have his name on it.

What impressed me wasn’t his experience.

It was his attitude.

He asked intelligent questions about scheduling, weather