What We’re Up To

Greenleaf events, appearances, and other relevant news.

Inside Perspectives from Ryan Munn, Greenleaf’s Operations Manager

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Q: What projects at Greenleaf Painters stand out to you? What makes them especially unique or rewarding? 

RM: The historical renovation projects are rewarding because there are so many moving pieces. Different details and factors come into play throughout the stages of a renovation, and seeing those types of complexities come together—and result in a happy customer—is a great feeling. That’s really true of every job we do.

Ryan Munn

I also enjoy working with repeat clients because you get to know people. As people continue to trust us to paint, beautify, and renovate their homes through different stages of their lives, we build ongoing relationships with them. That’s more than just a good feeling—it’s important, whether you’re on or off the clock.

Q: What originally drew you to this opportunity with Greenleaf Painters? 

RM: Previously, I worked for two smaller, independent businesses and I enjoyed being able to make a noticeable difference. Greenleaf felt like a natural fit, and that’s what this opportunity offered me—the chance to make a real impact on a daily basis. I also enjoy a good challenge, and learning a new role in a new industry is about as challenging as it gets.

Q: Since becoming part of Team Greenleaf, what do you most appreciate about the company?

RM: You just said it. It’s the word ‘team.’ It really all comes down to that. Here at Greenleaf Painters we go about our work as a cohesive unit. We pick each other up, we have each other’s backs, and we have great leadership thanks to Sean Carty and Frank Danser—our project managers—and to our owner and founder, Jonathan Shenk.

We communicate with each other, and every member of our group is responsive, respectful, and capable. When everyone is pulling the cart in the same direction—and has a positive, can-do attitude—a lot of good work can get done. That’s been my experience here.

Q: On a more personal note: What are some of your favorite family pastimes? 

RM: We try to watch a family movie with the kids on either Friday or Saturday night, if there is something new out. During the holiday season Home Alone is one that we’ve watched over and over, and it never gets old. Also, in general, just being active with my family is a great joy. I’ve always been a runner, but I’ve been sidelined with an injury for the last couple of years. That’s kept me from doing a lot of running, but I stay active by biking on the peloton, working out in my home gym, and hiking when I can. On the weekends, and when there’s time, the kids will come work out with me and that makes exercising a lot of fun. Those are special moments.

Q: What do you like/love about working in this area of the country?  

RM: Both Mercer and Bucks County are very beautiful places, and have a lot to offer people who live here. We particularly love that this is a great area to raise a family. I also think this is an area where people take great pride in their homes, families, and businesses. I love knowing that we are helping families and businesses to upgrade, and often transform, the look and value of their location.

Also, I’m a fan of spicy foods. I grow a variety of hot peppers and add them to dishes at home, and there are a lot of great places to eat around here. I can never get tired of the Spicy Drunken Noodles at Thai Noodle Fusion in Penndel, PA. They are delicious and carry some heat. There’s a lot to love about this area, and I’m glad to be here.

Ryan’s dedication and leadership help motivate us to strive for excellence every day! For your next project, call Greenleaf Painters at (609) 750-0030 or use our form at the top of this page!

 

Greenleaf Excels at Painting Historic Houses of Worship

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The team at Greenleaf painters thrives on projects involving historic houses of worship. As lovers of history, we take pride in revitalizing historic buildings, using our expertise to carefully brighten a building’s aesthetics, while helping it last for future generations.

Thanks to the word of mouth of our community, we have worked on many area historic churches and other religious buildings. Using our skillset of precision and care uniquely suited for historic building restoration, we utilize our knowledge of the latest paints from Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore to preserve and restore a structure’s look and feel.

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton
African Methodist Episcopal Church, Yardley

A Personal Background with Church Buildings

It’s no coincidence that our founder, Jonathan Shenk, is an ordained Presbyterian minister, with a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, NYC. Church preservation is in his blood, as he is a third-generation child of missionaries to East Africa. His grandfather, Clyde, was a Mennonite missionary who built churches, a health clinic and other structures in Tanzania.

“My grandfather was both a community leader and a talented builder,” says Shenk. “I never set out to walk in his footsteps, but I find myself walking a path that is interestingly similar!”

The exterior of Trenton Friends Meetinghouse
Trenton Friends Meetinghouse
interior of church
Trenton Friends Meetinghouse

Our Work in Painting and Restoring Historic Churches

Jonathan and the team have worked to help restore and update 20 churches and other religious buildings in Eastern Pennsylvania and Central New Jersey. Not only are these buildings houses of worship, but they’re historical landmarks in their respective communities. Playing a part in keeping them up-to-date and making sure that they endure is an honor and a privilege.

Some of our work has even saved churches from being torn down. Ewing Presbyterian Church, built in 1867, had fallen into disrepair over the years, and was deemed structurally unsound. Greenleaf partnered with Schulte Restoration (now Alloway) to bring the historic church back into good structural standing, as well as giving it fresh paint and plaster, allowing it to remain open and continue serving the community and its parishioners.

The sanctuary of St. Alphonsus.
St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Hopewell
Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville - exterior
Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville
Exterior of Kehilat HaNahar.
Kehilat HaNahar, New Hope

We’ve worked on a variety of projects, some of which include the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church (where Jonathan was an associate pastor for six years). Here is a list of the houses of worship and yoga centers we have worked on over the years. Most but not all are historic:

St. Alphonsus Church, (Catholic) Hopewell
1867 Sanctuary (Presbyterian), Ewing
Nassau Presbyterian Church
Trinity Church (Episcopal) Princeton
Friends Meeting House, Trenton (Quaker)
African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, Yardley
Kehilat HaNahar, New Hope, PA
Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville
Princeton Baptist Church
Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church
Hopewell Presbyterian Church
Kingston Presbyterian Church
A Jewish Center in Mercer County
NextGen Church, West Windsor
Liquid Church, Princeton
First Baptist Church of Hightstown
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton
Khalsa Healing Arts & Yoga Center, Yardley
Studio Zen, Yardley
Integral Yoga Institute of Princeton

See some more of our work:

Princeton Baptist church
Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church, Christian Education Building and Nursery School
Exterior of Nassau Presbyterian Church
Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton
trinity-church
Trinity Episcopal Church

Need Your Historic Place of Worship Updated? Contact Greenleaf

Are you associated with an area house of worship that needs to be restored, maintained or finished? Although we’ve been discussing historic preservation here, we want to point out that we also paint new construction and everything in between! Let us know if we can help you.

Steeple with scaffolding, Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church
Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church, West Windsor

 

Shout-out to a Solution Maker

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We are proud to be part of this community during these challenging times; goodwill is everywhere we look, as people and businesses aim to help.

We want to give a special shout-out to Sourland Mountain Spirits, a Hopewell, NJ company that began producing hand-sanitizer. Their first batches went to fill the needs of the local medical industry.

“Within two weeks, our grain went from helping people celebrate life to helping save it,” said Ray Disch, the company’s founder, in a Planet Princeton article.

Since they’re making so much, we’re able to refill our crew’s personal hand sanitizer bottles — without spending hours on the hunt. Thank you, Ray! We raise our glass to you for helping keep our spirits up! 😄 (Jonathan Shenk, owner, pictured here with recent purchase). 

As we remain open, we are also grateful for customers who have allowed us to work on painting their home or office, so we can keep our craftsmen working. 

For the safety of everyone, our crew members: 
— wear personal protection masks
— practice social distancing
— have their own bottle of hand sanitizer 
— communicate with customers without physical contact.

This week, we are finishing up painting this lovely home exterior in Princeton.

Helping Run a Painting Company from Home – While Parenting

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Operations Manager Ryan Munn and his daughter working from home during Covid-19.
Operations Manager Ryan Munn and his daughter working from home during Covid-19.

By Ryan Munn

There are a lot of new situations I’ve found myself in while both my wife and I work from home with our two children, ages five and two.  For the most part over the last three weeks, we’ve been able to juggle each other’s conference calls and take turns watching the kids while trying to stay productive and focused.  

The “mute” function on our phones is a much-used feature as our 2-year-old is quite unpredictable.  We definitely have to be strategic and get creative.  Sometimes we’ll jump on the computer before they’re up or stay on a little later to finish something if there were extra distractions during the day.  For the most part we make it work! 

There are a lot of times we just need to occupy their time, so I don’t feel like I’m a better parent for it. We’re doing the best we can and try not to beat ourselves up over it too much. We try to have them do different things like play with playdough, color, practice writing, but their go to is the iPad. Aiden will play on the iPad and watch YouTube videos all day if we let him! He’s definitely getting more screen time during the week, but on the weekend that gets squashed. We’ll go out for a walk, have the kids ride scooters, and play games with them.

There are a lot of positives too.  For one letting the kids sleep in instead of dragging them out of bed to go rush off to daycare.  I’ve enjoyed having the kids come downstairs and give me hugs every morning and they really love being in their PJ’s 24/7.  

We have a little more quality time with them but not a lot. During lunch one day, we planted sunflower seeds, and the other day they sprouted. Another day we made gingerbread men that were left over from a Christmas project that never saw the light of day.  Needless to say, the kids are enjoying more time around Mom and Dad too.

“During lunch one day, we planted sunflower seeds, and the other day they sprouted.”

I know there are so many people that don’t have this freedom and are either on the front lines helping the sick, or supporting the economy during this difficult time, or even worse are out of a job.  I feel very fortunate to be in my position and hope things get back to normal sooner rather than later.  

I’m gardening as my stress reliever, though it’s not too much different from every other Spring season. Although I might actually kill my plants from over-watering and giving them too much attention!

Here’s hoping everyone stays safe and that we all pull through this together. 

Five Principles for Building a Successful Business

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Greenleaf’s owner, Jonathan Shenk, had the incredible opportunity to speak at Kampala University in Uganda, East Africa, in 2018, on the lessons he has learned in building his company. He shared these same principles in a talk at the Princeton Corridor Rotary Club in 2019. Now a year later, we want to share them with you because they apply not only to business but to life in general. You may also learn more about Jonathan and this company in the process. Here is a condensed version of his talk.

Jonathan speaking at Kampala University in 2018

1. Every person has inherent dignity and worth.
We live in a diverse part of the world. It is not our place to judge someone’s culture or faith or to envy their wealth or to criticize their choices. It is also important that we don’t even entertain those thoughts in our heads because our attitudes influence our relationships with our customers. People can feel judged without any words being said. Therefore, it is much simpler to avoid judging in the first place.

2. Every company has a soul.
Each company is like a living, breathing eco-system. And the company’s soul flows through each employee. It also flows through the company’s work space and equipment. Whatever values a company lifts up will be experienced by anyone who interacts with the company. And the company will only function properly if every part of the company is in agreement with those values.

The audience at Kampala University during Jonathan’s talk.

3. Words have meaning.
Words are powerful and need to be aligned with our actions and attitudes. It is important to hold to the commitments we make to our customers and to each other. Words also create and shape our reality. Do our words suggest an attitude of despair or of hope? Do they suggest an attitude of weakness or of strength?

4. Take the long view.
A company’s principles and values take priority over the bottom line. They take priority over making profits on a particular job. In many businesses there will be profitable seasons and un-profitable seasons. There will be profitable jobs and un-profitable jobs. It’s important to take the long view and focus primarily on doing a great job.

“If your team is terrified of making mistakes, then they are less likely to aspire to their full potential.”

5. Practice gratitude and humility.

–Humility: we are all fallible human beings. We make mistakes. Sometimes we don’t know what choice to make or we don’t have all the information or knowledge we need to make the correct choice. The best leaders and the best companies take a team approach. And they demonstrate compassion and kindness when mistakes are made. If your team is terrified of making mistakes, then they are less likely to aspire to their full potential.

–Gratitude: it is important to walk with a spirit of gratitude as a leader, and to focus on the good things that are happening. It is a choice one needs to make, a choice of perspective and attitude. There are many challenges and difficulties that go along with leadership. It would be easy to fill one’s day with worry and anxiety. That will usually lead someone down further and further into fear and despair. It is better to choose to focus on the good things that are happening.

Thank you for reading!

Addition to the Greenleaf management team!

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Francisco Branco (center) recently joined Greenleaf management team as the new Project Manager.  He joins Project Manager Sean Carty (left) and Operations Manager Ryan Munn (right).  Shown below: the three managers represent Greenleaf at Pennington Day in May 2017.

Greenleaf Featured on “The Voice of Real Estate”

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Jonathan Shenk, owner of Greenleaf Painters, was thrilled to be interviewed by Debbie Lang on her podcast, “The Voice of Real Estate,” on 920 The Jersey.  They discussed the ideal time to paint your home, as well as trends in color, decor, “green” practices and more.

Give it a listen by clicking the play button below.

Debbie Lang is of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services / Fox & Roach, Realtors, Princeton.

debbielangheadshot