John Kingrey isn’t from Texas … but he got here as soon as he could. The North Carolina native, who owns Williams Street Nursery & Landscaping, spent 10 years in the Coast Guard, starting off in the Outer Banks before being sent to training school in Yorktown, Virginia. Kingrey later was stationed in the Houston area for five years.
“I went to San Diego, California, from there and trained as part of a law enforcement and terrorist team MSST 91109 (Maritime Safety and Security Team),” Kingrey said. “We were a deployable team that within eight hours could have our boat on a C-130 and then they could drop us almost anywhere we were needed. I finished up back in North Carolina, so I got pretty used to living the beach life.”
Kingrey got into the landscaping and nursery business at the request of a previous business partner, and working in the industry quickly sprouted the roots that led him to open his own business.
“I really like the Coastal Bend community and we have really great customers,” Kingrey said. “It’s a good area because of the climate — and it’s especially a great area because people support veteran-owned businesses.”
Kingrey said he takes pride in his service and applies the work ethic he learned in the military toward his own business, which offers a variety of services including landscape design, grading, tree trimming and sod installation.
“We have great customers, and I think when you do a good job for someone, they help refer us to other people who are thinking about what they need,” Kingrey said. “I have a core group of about four guys and we focus on quality above everything else. I’ve had people who work for me start their own company, and I like to help them out whenever I can.”
Contact:
Williams St Nursery & Landscaping | (361) 444-5145 | 5437 Williams St.