Our Arborists
O'Neil's Tree Service employs six ISA Certified Arborists, with credentialed arborists on every crew. Our principal arborist, Apollo O'Neil, holds the ISA Board Certified Master Arborist credential, the highest professional certification issued by ISA. All credentials are verifiable through the ISA credential verification tool at treesaregood.org. We do not ask you to take our word for it.
Apollo O'Neil — Founder and Principal Arborist
Apollo O’Neil is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist and the founder and CEO of O’Neil’s Tree Service. He has been in the green industries since 2006, founded O’Neil’s in 2008, and has spent the years since building a company grounded in one standard: assess honestly, explain clearly, and do the work right.
Over that time he has encouraged and supported 15 members of his own team to become ISA Certified Arborists. The credential count on this page is a direct result of that investment.
In addition to field and consulting work, Apollo serves as an expert witness in arboricultural matters and has been a long-standing instructor and advisory board member for Pinellas Technical College and the UF/IFAS Extension program.
Credentials
-
ISA Board Certified Master Arborist: FL-6102B — 2018
-
ISA Certified Arborist: FL-6102A — 2009
-
TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualification — 2013
-
TPAQ — Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualified
-
NCCER Crane Operator — Telescoping Boom Fixed, All Terrain, Articulating Boom Rotating — 2019
-
Professional Mangrove Trimmer — FL Dept. of Environmental Protection — 2012
-
Green Industries BMP — FL Dept. of Environmental Protection — 2011
-
CTSP — Certified Tree Safety Professional (previously held 8 years)
Awards and Recognition
-
FL ISA Loren Westenberger Award — 2014 — for practicing the professional principles of arboriculture consistent with the mission and objectives of the Florida Chapter ISA, to better the environment for future generations
-
FL ISA President's Award of Merit — 2017 — for outstanding meritorious services in advancing the principles, ideas, and practices of progressive arboriculture
-
INC 5000 — 2019 — O'Neil's Tree Service recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States
Industry and Academic Involvement
-
UF/IFAS Extension — Commercial Horticulture Advisory Board Member — 2012–2019
-
Pinellas Technical College — Horticultural Advisory Committee Member — 2013–2018
-
Guest Instructor — Arboricultural Review Classes, City of Clearwater and Pinellas Technical College — 2011–2019
-
Florida TCC Competitor, Volunteer, and Instructor — 2008–2019
-
Trees Florida: Professionalism in Our Industry with Carson Smith — 2019
-
Expert Witness — Arboricultural matters
Carson Smith — COO and Consulting Arborist
Carson Smith is an ISA Certified Arborist and the Chief Operations Officer of O’Neil’s Tree Service. He came to arboriculture from active duty service as a Marine Corps Corporal, including deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, and brought the same standard of discipline and accountability to the craft. He has been climbing and performing production tree work since 2008, joined O’Neil’s in 2013, and has been running operations for over a decade.
Carson manages a team of 35-plus people, oversees the Safety Committee, handles complex crane-assisted removals, advanced pruning, and consults on many of our commercial and municipal plant health care programs. He is an advocate for prescriptive pruning and has spent the better part of his career educating crews, clients, and industry peers on ethics, proper standards, and what it actually means to care for trees.
He currently serves as President of the Florida Chapter ISA. That is not a ceremonial position. It means the person overseeing O’Neil’s daily operations is actively shaping how arboriculture is practiced across the state. He loves trees more than he loves people.
Credentials
-
ISA Certified Arborist — 2014
-
ISA Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist — 2014
-
TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualification — 2022
-
PPQ — Prescription Pruning Qualification (Instructor level) — 2023
-
NCCER Crane Operator — Telescoping Boom Fixed, All Terrain, Articulating Boom Rotating — 2019
-
Professional Mangrove Trimmer — FL Dept. of Environmental Protection — 2014
-
Green Industries BMP — FL Dept. of Environmental Protection — 2013
Awards and Recognition
-
FL ISA Loren Westenberger Award — 2025 — for practicing and advancing the principles of arboriculture consistent with ISA's mission
-
FL ISA President's Award of Merit — 2019 — for outstanding meritorious services in advancing progressive arboriculture
-
INC 5000 — 2019 — O'Neil's Tree Service recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States
Industry Leadership
-
President, Florida Chapter ISA — Current
-
Florida ISA Board of Directors — 2018–2020, 2022, 2023–Present
-
Florida ISA Climber Committee Chair — 2017–2018
-
Florida ISA Education Committee — 2016–2021
Public Speaking and Education
-
2025 — Prescription Pruning Qualification | Los Angeles Arboretum
-
2020–2022 — Instructor, Introduction to Climbing | Multiple Locations
-
2018–2021 — Instructor, Climbing Arborist Courses | Multiple Locations
-
2019 — Trees Florida: Professionalism in Our Industry with Apollo O'Neil
-
2019 — Organized Cranes in Arboriculture with Mark Chisolm, Mark Moeske, and Climber School with Rob Calley
-
2015–2019 — Guest Instructor, Arboricultural Review Classes, City of Clearwater and Pinellas Technical College
-
2015–2019 — Florida TCC Competitor, Volunteer, and Instructor
Roy Carter — VP Sales, Consulting Arborist
Roy Carter is an ISA Certified Arborist and VP of Sales at O’Neil’s Tree Service. Roy has been with O’Neil’s for 16 years. He handles consulting and estimating for plant health care, complex pruning, risk assessment, and structural work across our service area. His approach to every site visit: assess first, recommend second, explain everything.
Credentials :
-
ISA Certification Number: FL-6628A
-
TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualification — 2020
-
16 years at O'Neil's Tree Service
Daniel Swan — Arboricultural Consultant
Daniel Swan is an Arboricultural Consultant on O’Neil’s sales and estimating team. Daniel works closely with residential clients on plant health care programs, pruning assessments, and general property care recommendations. He has been with O’Neil’s for 1.5 years and is currently studying for the ISA Certified Arborist exam.
Credentials :
-
Currently studying for the ISA Certified Arborist exam
-
1.5 years at O'Neil's Tree Service
Phil Runyan — ISA Certified Arborist, Crew Leader
Phil Runyan is an ISA Certified Arborist and crew leader at O’Neil’s Tree Service. He has been with the company for 10 years and holds a Class A CDL, which supports O’Neil’s ability to mobilize heavy equipment for crane-assisted removals and large-scale operations. When he is not working, Phil spends his time gardening, cooking, and watching movies with his family.
Credentials:
-
ISA Certified Arborist: FL-10013A
-
Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
-
10 years at O’Neil’s Tree Service
Richard Yarbrough — ISA Certified Arborist
Richard Yarbrough is an ISA Certified Arborist at O’Neil’s Tree Service. Working in arboriculture has given him a deeper understanding of what makes trees so important to preserve, and that perspective shows up in how he approaches every job. Outside of work, Richard is driven by rhythm and nature, spending his time listening to music and being outdoors.
Credentials:
-
ISA Certified Arborist: FL-10012A
-
11 years at O’Neil’s Tree Service
Art Finn — Plant Health Care Manager
Art Finn is an ISA Certified Arborist and the Plant Health Care Manager at O’Neil’s Tree Service. He oversees soil diagnostics, nutrition planning, growth regulator applications, fungicide treatments, and long-term tree preservation strategies across the company’s client portfolio.
Before joining O’Neil’s, Art served as city arborist for both Safety Harbor and Dunedin. He was Safety Harbor’s first city arborist, hired after the removal of significant live oaks for a parking lot expansion prompted public demand for professional tree oversight on development sites. In Dunedin, he managed the city’s urban canopy and reviewed development plans for tree preservation compliance.
In Safety Harbor, Art developed the Trail of Trees, a mapped walking route highlighting 40 significant trees throughout the city, including the Baranoff Oak, Pipkin Oak, and Tree of Knowledge. He was directly involved in the Baranoff Oak preservation project, working alongside arborists Joe Saminick and Loren Westenberger to stabilize a declining 78” DBH live oak through soil restoration, structural support, nutrition programs, and lightning protection.
Art also led Safety Harbor’s Waterfront Park restoration, a 20-acre project that removed invasive Brazilian pepper, created a saltwater marsh habitat, and installed over 12,000 wetland plants with community volunteers and support from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
His municipal experience gives O’Neil’s clients direct access to someone who has managed urban tree canopies at the city level, reviewed construction development plans for tree preservation, and built long-term health care programs for heritage trees.
Credentials:
-
ISA Certified Arborist: SO-0311
-
Former City Arborist, City of Safety Harbor
-
Former City Arborist, City of Dunedin
Our Crew Standard
Every person who touches a tree on an O’Neil’s job site is trained to our crew standard. That standard includes weekly educational and safety meetings at our Palm Harbor shop every Friday. We review techniques, review jobs, and hold each other accountable.
We are one of the largest tree care companies in the Tampa Bay area and the most credentialed private tree-care-only company in the state of Florida in terms of industry-related certifications. That is a claim you can verify through ISA’s public registry, as well as TCIA, NCCER, and other credentialing bodies.
What ISA Certification Means
ISA Certified Arborists have passed a comprehensive examination covering arboricultural science, tree biology, pruning standards, soil science, disease and pest identification, and safety practices. Certification requires continuing education to maintain. It is the recognized professional standard in the industry.
Board Certified Master Arborist adds a second layer. It requires additional documented experience beyond standard certification, a separate examination, and a demonstrated record of professional practice. Fewer than 2% of ISA-certified arborists hold the BCMA credential.
Frequently Asked Questions
ISA Certified Arborist is the standard professional credential in arboriculture. BCMA is a higher-level credential requiring additional experience and a separate examination. Both are verifiable through ISA. For most residential tree work, a Certified Arborist is the right standard. For complex structural work, high-value consulting, or situations with legal or liability implications, a BCMA brings additional depth.
Ask for their ISA certification number and verify it at treesaregood.org. Legitimate certified arborists provide this without hesitation. At O’Neil’s, all certification numbers are on file and available on request.
Because tree work done incorrectly causes long-term damage. Flush cuts, topping, lion’s tailing, and over-pruning are common on jobs done by uncertified crews. The tree looks worked on, but the structural problems compound over time. A certified arborist knows the difference between a cut that helps and one that hurts, and they know why.
The Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture is the professional organization for arborists practicing in Florida. It oversees education, credentialing programs, and the Florida Tree Climbing Championship. Carson Smith, O’Neil’s COO, currently serves as its President.
