David All · UA '97

I grew up in Upper Arlington—starting on Chester, moving to Henthorn for middle and high school, and finally Ashmore. My roots here go back generations: my grandparents, the Seegers, raised my father and aunt on Wesleyan and were founding members of UA Lutheran Church.

I returned to Upper Arlington after my father passed away to manage his estate. Walking past Jones and Barrington, I found myself moved by the ancient Oaks—the living vision of the stewards who built this neighborhood. I realized that while my career had taken me all over the world, my roots remained here. I am the one who stayed to tend the ground.

I spent my youth under one of the tallest oak canopies in the city. In middle school, I wrote a poem called 'Tree Heaven' that was published in the UA News. My parents planted trees everywhere we lived in UA; today, those trees are thriving.

What I brought back to UA wasn't just a business plan—it was a practitioner's path. I apprenticed under men who taught me that a tree is a patient, not a project. From the old-growth forests of the Olympic Peninsula to the heritage apple orchards of Pennsylvania, I learned the surgical precision of the craft: antiseptic tools, clean angles, and the nightly walk to see what has changed.

Arlington Tree Co. is just an honest way to make a living, but the work itself is a devotion. I’ve traded synthetic chemicals for ancient, natural remedies to help our local canopy thrive. I work the streets I grew up on, using a few razor-sharp tools from my grandfather’s collection to care for what’s been here longer than any of us.