Author, Kate Spirgen, Lawn & Landscape®.

Back in 1999, when Yardapes was a small company, the seven or eight employees would get together about once a month to go golfing and let off some steam. “We used to call it the Hack Fest because some people could barely swing a club or hit the ball, so we’d just go have fun and then have a cookout afterward,” says Shayne Newman, founder and owner.