There's no shortage of good causes to support, so when people ask why we specifically back the Travis Manion Foundation here in West Chester, Downingtown, and Malvern, the honest answer starts with who we are before it gets to what TMF does.
Monster Tree Service of Chester County & Philadelphia Mainline is a veteran-owned business. Kris served as an Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army with deployments to the Middle East. Hunter is a Naval Academy graduate who served as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer in the Western Pacific and Africa. Pat served in the Marine Corps Reserves. None of us got into this business to leave service behind; running these crews and taking care of this community felt like the natural next place to put that same sense of responsibility.
The Marine behind the mission
The Foundation carries the name of First Lieutenant Travis Manion, who grew up in Doylestown, wrestled at LaSalle College High School, and went on to the Naval Academy before commissioning as a Marine. On his second deployment to Iraq, his patrol came under ambush in Fallujah on April 29, 2007. Travis led a counterattack that drew enemy fire off his wounded Marines, and every one of them made it out. He didn't. He was 26. He now rests at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 60, next to his Naval Academy roommate and best friend, Navy SEAL Lieutenant Brendan Looney.
Before he deployed that last time, Travis said something to his family that has outlived him by nearly two decades: "If Not Me, Then Who..."
Turning a family's grief into a national mission
That phrase became the foundation of an organization built to train veterans and the families of fallen heroes to mentor young people in character, resilience, and leadership. Programs like Character Does Matter and Operation Legacy have carried that mission far beyond Doylestown: over 78,000 veterans and survivors supported, and more than 800,000 young people reached through TMF programs nationwide.
What sponsoring TMF means to us out here
West Chester, Downingtown, and Malvern are a bit removed from Doylestown, but Travis Manion's story belongs to this whole region, not just one zip code. A share of what we earn on every job across Chester County and the Mainline goes toward TMF's work, because supporting a fellow veteran's legacy shouldn't stop at a county line.
We got to come home from our service. Sponsoring TMF is part of how we honor the ones who didn't.
Visit travismanion.org to learn more or get involved. And if you've got trees that need attention, that's what we're here for too.
Monster Tree Service of Chester County & Philadelphia Mainline — veteran owned and operated, serving West Chester, Downingtown, Malvern, and the surrounding communities.