A greener thumb

Kristen Owen

Staff Writer

Jul 11, 2017

Lowe’s employee welcomes customers with a smile and more than 40 years of live nursery knowledge and experience

project-authority-lester-To say that Lester Poole has a green thumb is an understatement. He’s been bringing plants to life for more than 40 years, and his career in orchid and live nursery production has spanned a couple of states and several companies. There’s no denying it … he’s got a gift.

His love of plants started early. He was raised on a farm in southern Georgia by adventurous parents. Poole said his father “always had something going on,” whether that meant owning a rare breed of rabbit, having tropical fish or grafting an unusual plant. Most of Poole’s time as a child was spent outside, trying new things. He bought his first orchid at the age of nine, and although the plant “promptly died,” Poole said with a chuckle, he was hooked.

lester-4-400x224After working at commercial grower operations, Poole came to Lowe’s, where for the last 20 years he’s used his amazing amount of knowledge and experience to assist hundreds of customers. He’s the “go-to plant guy” at Lowe’s 489 in Huntersville, North Carolina, and enjoys helping customers with their lawn and garden questions and projects. It’s a job he takes seriously.

iester-9-400x226“My purpose is to provide knowledge to people, to bring them into our stores and to set them up for success,” Poole said. “It’s important to me that they get the value they deserve.”

“My purpose is to provide knowledge to people, to bring them into our stores and to set them up for success.” —Lester Poole, Customer Service Associate - Huntersville, NC

And Poole is good at what he does. Most customers walk away with answers to their questions and solutions to their problems. Many of them return again and again to find Poole and each time they leave with the hope (as did this writer) that some of his green thumb skills rubbed off on them.

lester-5-400x224

Lester is just one of many project authorities at Lowe’s. Check back in the months ahead to learn more about the knowledgeable and talented people who work at Lowe’s.