The dozen employees of Rusnak Gallant Ltd. are proud that the gardens they design and build are regularly featured in magazines, from Boulevard to Western Living.

This pride is enhanced by the fact that owners Illarion Gallant and Twyla Rusnak, who partnered twenty years ago, continue to run their company as though it were a family. They involve employees in all parts of the business, including Gallant's success as a sculptor of public art. This has enabled staff to work on an impressive array of installations around town, from the giant steel and aluminum flowers at the airport to the big canoe mounted in Bastion Square.

"We stress education," said Gallant, "and really push employees to get an education."

Many have taken this parent-like advice, becoming professionals in fields ranging from physiotherapy to hazardous materials management, and, of course, horticulture.

"A lot of the younger people that come to us don't have anyone pushing them," said Rusnak. "We sit down with them and say, ‘You're so smart, go for it.'"

Pam Gafencu, who used to manage restaurants and pubs, is enjoying her third season with the company. With the encouragement of Gallant and Rusnak, she is also in the second year of a four-year apprenticeship program in horticulture through Kwantlen University. She studies fulltime for a few months starting in November and then fulfills her practicum requirements by returning to work with Rusnak Gallant Ltd.

Gallant and Rusnak believe this flexibility with staff schedules is a necessary part of encouraging education and furthering the caring, family-atmosphere that surrounds their business. Their employees include a student who works part-time during the year and full-time during the summer, an individual who takes one day off each week, and Pam, who not only studies in the winter, but has, in the past, needed to take her daughter to and from school.

"It helps working in this environment that is nurturing and caring and flexible around my life," said Gafencu. "I don't have to stress."

Gallant and Rusnak also believe in the benefits of a hands-on education and often pair new hires with experienced employees.

We tend to get people who don't have the experience, but they've got an amazing attitude," said Gallant. "You can do a lot with an amazing attitude."

The company has taken many different routes to find such dedicated people. They have hired boys barely out of high school and a woman in her fifties. They have used the Work Source program, which helps individuals on employment insurance re-enter the workforce, and the Foreign Workers' program, which allowed them to employ a master of European horticulture.

Whenever they can, Gallant and Rusnak encourage employees to explore and share their individual areas of interest, from irrigation to leadership.

"I've been given the opportunity to grow and learn," said Gafencu, "and be the best I can be."

She has learned a lot and is taking on more and more responsibility.

"She's come a long way, and now has a large degree of confidence," said Gallant. "Our job is to enable employees with self esteem and self confidence, and the rest seems to fall into place."