About us

Owner

Zack is a native of the Athens-Oconee area and grew up working outside with his dad, who taught him the values of hard work and integrity. Since he can remember, Zack had two ambitions for his future - firefighting and landscaping. As an active duty firefighter and a business owner, he is able to fulfill both passions... and stay very busy! After several years of developing other successful landscaping companies, Zack founded Southern Grounds Landscaping, as he was determined to deliver exceptional quality of work to consumers. In his eyes, any job less than perfect is not finished.

Sales Operations & Marketing

Jessie is a University of Georgia alumna who has assisted Zack with growing Southern Grounds since 2015. She traded in her white collar in 2021 to begin overseeing various operations full-time. Her professional experience in Sales and Marketing management helps ensure that we stay on top of all the moving pieces that come with operating a fast growing business. She also works closely with the team on launching and optimizing new and existing services to bring more value to our customers.

General Manager

Nate joined Southern Grounds with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Green industry. His journey started with certifications and degrees from University of Georgia and North Georgia Technical College in Turf Management and Horticulture. Armed with the knowledge to be successful, he was able to work a Golf Course Superintendent and Turf Manager for some well respected local Country Clubs as well as local government. He has also owned and operated his own Landscape Supply business. These experiences bring valuable insights to the Southern Grounds Team.

Lawn Maintenance Manager

Melki joined the team as Maintenance Manager with extensive history as a local business owner, general contractor, and former Southern Grounds Crew Member! Melki originally worked with Southern Grounds when we were a smaller company and left to pursue hard-to-pass career opportunities. He left on the best of terms and is back and ready to apply the knowledge he learned along the way. Melki’s 360 degree perspective on the industry makes him a perfect fit for the Southern Grounds team.

Director, Customer Success

Joe joined the Southern Grounds team with 15 years experience in Customer Success and a Graduate degree from Columbus State University in Organizational Leadership. He has helped multiple companies establish and develop policies/procedures to help drive value to customers. He truly believes that happy customers are a pre-requisite to building a successful business above all else and has been described as someone who is a “Persistent Customer Advocate”. We’re happy to have him on the team to help drive top tier quality in all areas to our customers.