Christopher Wilson Email & Phone Number

Cement City, Michigan, Usa

Hallson Gardens was a Hosta and perennial nursery in Michigan, starting e-commerce in 1999 at perennialnursery.com, and was one of the highest rated mail order plant companies in the US for nearly 20 years. What made us different was our attention to detail, excellent customer service, a great website built around ease of use with great pictures and a wealth of information, and generous sized plants dug fresh to order.As the principal owner I had a wide range of duties from accounting, cash handling and bookkeeping, to hiring and supervision, to website, database, and inventory management, as well as customer service, supply chain, and all other aspects of business management. At the height of the business we employed a team of 8.From a business perspective the company was highly successful, running an annual profit margin ranging from 25 to 50% in an industry with historically low margins running closer to 5 to 10%.Professional achievements included the discovery of a plant virus infecting toad lily plants. This virus had gone unnoticed in the plant world and some cultivars were selected for the floral symptoms, not knowing it was a virus. My findings were confirmed through testing at the University of Minnesota and published in Fine Gardening magazine, No. 122, August 2008. I also was a leading expert on Hosta Virus X and worked diligently to educate others to slow its spread through the nursery industry. My research was collected and published in a DVD that was distributed to groups and organizations. I often gave presentations at clubs and workshops in the US and Canada. My most recent accomplishment was the discovery of a bacterial infection in hostas that for years had been mistaken as foliar nematodes.Computer proficiency includes the Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, MySQL databases and some php programming, HTML, Apache server management, accounting software, shipping software, and more.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Usa

As Team Leader of the order fulfillment department I supervised a group of 7 working to insure prompt and accurate processing of serial book orders for libraries at organizations including universities, hospitals, and global corporations. We worked in conjunction with customer service representatives in Boston, MA, and other divisions of the Faxon Company in Canada and Europe. During this time I was able to highlight my skills in problem solving, organization, time management, computer skills and data processing. At the same time I effectively balanced the interpersonal dynamics of our team to keep the department running smoothly.Highlights of my job here included changing the culture from one of claims management to proactive problem solving in order to get the job done right the first time. Under my leadership the group greatly improved order accuracy, increased order fulfillment turnaround times, and even resolved a two-month invoicing backlog down to one week.The global company dissolved all but the Boston operation in 1995, due to family circumstances, and I was enlisted with liquidating the Ann Arbor office after closing. They also offered me a position in Boston which I declined. I was given job hunting and other assistance. Faxon also paid for a business consultant who guided me in creating Hallson Gardens, which I ran successfully for nearly 25 years.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Usa

Working as the quality assurance engineer for a trace element analysis laboratory I processed, analyzed and reviewed the data for all samples being run by neutron activation analysis (NAA). Client projects were coordinated with the Toronto, Canada, office where they performed analyses for additional elements by other methods on the same sample sets. Results would then be reported to our global customers whom I worked with to answer questions, resolve issues, and discuss new and ongoing projects.Day to day tasks included working directly with the laboratory supervisor and lab technicians to insure prompt and accurate sample processing, making sure equipment was working properly, and ordering data reviews on selected samples to rule out anomalous results. I was also on call 24 hours a day to help in the event of any problems in the lab with equipment, computers, or to assist the lab technicians to insure laboratory operations were continuously running smoothly.One major highlight during my career with XRAL included cross calibrating the radiation detectors for all sample types. This allowed analyses to be done on any sample using any detector. Prior to this each sample could only be run on one detector continuously through all reruns which would mean working round the clock through multiple shifts for some sample sets, even when other detectors were idle. Ultimately this cross-calibration allowed reduction of the 3rd shift of technicians while increasing sample throughput. The company saw increased profits as well as an increase in sales as results were being delivered quicker.During my time here I enjoyed working on a wide variety of contracts including being the first in North America to analyze trace elements in organic ink samples using NAA; worked with a group to research trace metal content of ocean sediment to pinpoint shipwrecks in the Caribbean; and I worked on a project with a mining company to analyze the nugget effect of gold in sand samples.