THOMAS TURFGRASS: LIVING THE DREAM By Cecilia Brown
Tomas Turfgrass is a longtime, well-known sod producer and installation business in Wharton, Texas. Te sod company prides itself on its family operation and pleasing customers throughout the entire process of purchasing new grass.
Emory Tomas is the owner of Tomas Turfgrass, managing the operations of four sod farms spanning the area around Wharton, Austin County, and Bastrop County. In high-seasons, they have roughly 70 employees and in the low-season, they have somewhere around 40.
Emory was in junior high when his dad started the company, Tomas Brothers Grass. He said he saw it then the same way as he does now, an opportunity for him to work together with his family. Emory and his three brothers worked together with their dad to help run the sod business. In 1990, their dad sold the business and signed a noncompete agreement.
Emory and his wife, Sandy Tomas, started Tomas Turfgrass in 2002. Emory Tomas is owner of Tomas Turfgrass.
He complimented his employees’ positive attitude towards work and said it is what makes running a sod farm and business so rewarding. “It’s a good way to make a living. Te fact that I can work with my family and that we have a great team to work with,” Emory said. “It’s just my happy place out on the farm growing grass and solving problems. It’s a dream come true.”
History
Emory’s father, Emory Augustus (E.A.) Tomas Jr. started the sod business back in 1969 after one of the family’s lifelong friends in the area convinced E.A. and Emory’s grandfather it was a good way to make a living.
Te Tomas family had been involved in the dairy industry for years, but Emory said when Lake Granbury, a reservoir in North Texas, was created it took away most of their grazing land for their cows. Te Tomas family planted turfgrass on what remained of their land and this began their sod farming operation.
“I liked it a whole lot better than the dairy business and there seemed to be more opportunity in the sod business. I really enjoyed it. To be honest, it was and is a lot of work but it’s very rewarding in my opinion,” he said.
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In 2002 Emory and his wife, Sandy Tomas, started Tomas Turfgrass as a sod installation company. Emory explained he saw this as a new opportunity for him to work with Sandy, Seth his son, and Traci his daughter.
At the time, Seth was in high school and Traci was in college at Baylor University. Emory knew that running a sod business required a lot of effort and hard work, so he didn’t know if his children would get involved when they graduated. “I always wanted them to become part of the business, but I wasn’t trying to force them to be part of it. Either way was fine with me, but I’m thankful that they decided to do so,” he said.
When Traci graduated college, she began looking for a job. Tomas Turfgrass had plenty of positions available and she became involved with the wholesale store near San Antonio as their sales associate covering San Antonio and Austin. Since then, her role has changed and Traci is heavily involved in the company’s marketing, handles their H-2A Visa program, and coordinates their health insurance plans.
Seth joined the company when he graduated from Texas A&M. Emory said that he was pleased that both of his children decided to join the family business. “Tat’s what makes it fun to me, we have our differences from time to time, but we seem to be able to iron those out and it works really well. Basically, I’m living the dream,” he said.
TPI Turf News May/June 2021
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