Meet the Team at Oxbow
Alexys Garcia, Foreman
Alexys lives in Vallejo and he is a skilled carpenter and foreman. The project he is most proud of completing is a 2-level outdoor barbecue, which included constructing a support structure with precise details and angles.
His goal is to continue to grow with Oxbow Landscape Contractors. In his free time Alexys enjoys doing paint and bodywork projects on cars. Alexys is a big Raiders fan and loves Mana, the Mexican rock band.
Alfonso Ramirez Garibay, Foreman
Alfonso loves all aspects of landscape construction – electrical, carpentry, masonry, concrete, and planting. He especially appreciates all the training he has received at Oxbow. He lives in Concord with his wife and youngest son who is in college. He has three other children, 2 boys and a girl, now grown. His wife appreciates his talents around the house, including cleaning and cooking homemade pasta. He most admires his wife. They attended preschool together at age 7, and even then, Alfonso tried to impress her by doing her homework. And it worked!
Fast forward, and today they have been married for almost 30 years! Alfonso always takes pride in his job; he is thankful for Oxbow and it makes him proud and happy when his work is appreciated. He has known Chuck Haeuser for 20 years and even mentored Chuck in the beginning, teaching him the correct way to dig a hole on Chuck’s first day on the job! Today, the crew calls Alfonso “Crush” – meaning “work ’em hard!”
Aaron Gariepy, Sales, Estimating/Project Manager
Aaron lives in San Francisco with his girlfriend and their dog. When he is not spending time in the city, he enjoys trips to the Sierras for skiing, backpacking, & camping. His adventures mostly take him to the mountains whether it’s close to home in the Bay Area or a month-long trek in the Himalayas.
Aaron also enjoys playing golf and ice hockey. Sports and the outdoors are a welcome respite from his concentrated work as Lead Estimator at Oxbow. When he’s not climbing mountains, he’s playing or wrestling with his nephews and niece. He especially admires his brothers for being caring, successful and supportive husbands & fathers. His co-workers describe him as “reliable and honest.”
Chuck Haeuser, President
Chuck has a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture with a minor in Agriculture Business Marketing from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He feels most accomplished when building things and bringing projects to completion. He’s proud of his family, the company and all his employees with vast experience and expertise.
Chuck honors and recognizes each team member for they all contribute to the success of the company. “Everyone brings integrity and dedication to every single project,” he reports. His favorite band is the Grateful Dead and he and Hilary NEVER miss Bottlerock Music Festival in Napa Valley. They both love live music!
Hilary Haeuser, Bookkeeper
Hilary is wife of Oxbow founder/owner, Chuck Haeuser, and she also serves as Office Assistant. She has a BA degree and teaching credential. Major accomplishments? Hilary conquered her fear of heights and went up in a hot air balloon. She is the proud mother of five children.
Hilary’s favorite thing outside of work is watching her children play Lacrosse, soccer and basketball. She admires her father who was a construction worker when she was growing up, and appreciates that he is both hardworking and honest.
Erik Hurtado, Construction Field Supervisor
Family is his comfort blanket! Erik lives with his wife and five children in Vallejo. He likes playing sports and taking his 2 girls and 3 boys to the park. Erik is very proud of his well-behaved kids who have learned to say, “Please, thank you, and you are welcome.” He considers being a good father and husband among his greatest accomplishments, and he strives to provide a good life for his family.
He is very good with people and gets along well with anybody; he has compassion and always tries to listen; people confide in him and trust him. At Oxbow, he is “living his dream!” He is especially accomplished at building boulder walls to accommodate grade changes, a skill he learned from his father. Erik takes pride in building walls that people admire.
Rodney McNary, Irrigation Foreman
Rodney has 5 children, 1 girl and 4 boys, and the youngest are twins. They are now all grown and living throughout California and the great northwest. Rodney is especially proud of his kids; two served in the army, one for two tours in Afghanistan, and the other for two tours in Okinawa. One of his sons helped provide humanitarian aid and cleaned up after the Tsunami in Japan; his daughter graduated from Santa Clara University; and all have great jobs!
He happens to love designing irrigation, installing and having all the control wires perfectly straight! He’s ecstatic when a job is completed, it’s beautiful, and plants are thriving. His work has been featured in Home & Garden Magazine. Outside of work his passion is motorcycles, especially his Yamaha VStar 1300 T; he’s put 53,000 miles on it! He loves bike trips to the coast with his girlfriend.
Ronaldo Perez, Landscape Maintenance Foreman
Ronaldo came from Guatemala in 2014 and now lives in Oakland. His wife and young son and daughter are still in Guatemala, and he is working to bring them here as soon as he can. Ronaldo loves landscape maintenance, which he learned from his brother while working together with him. Ronaldo learned fast. He understands irrigation and enjoys being a foreman. Outside of work he loves to cook. Ronaldo most admires his brother who took care of him like a father and taught him all the right things, especially “if you learn, you go up!” He is especially good at residential construction, having learned the process firsthand by building his own house in Guatemala. He is proud of his family in Guatemala, who own their own grocery store and sell the coffee his mother produces.
Herson Ramos, Foreman
Herson lives in Vallejo with his wife, two girls and a baby boy. Herson makes sure all of his projects run smoothly. Outside of work, he likes to play soccer with his children. He strives to be a “good husband and good father, who teaches his children to show respect and be humble.” He wants to own his own home, give his children a good education, and make sure his children learn English! Herson left El Salvador at age 16 with his mother and brother to find a better life. The most courageous thing he has done is learn English. He worked in construction, beginning as a laborer and has now worked his way up to become a very competent foreman.
Jose Antonio "Tony" Tafolla, Foreman
Tony lives in Fairfield with his wife, son, and daughter. Outside of work he most enjoys spending time with his family. His father taught him how to be a mason and build things back in Mexico. He loves the building process from idea to a finished project, and always strives to improve his skills. His goal is to learn more about business and practice what he learns. “LEARN, PRACTICE, ACCOMPLISH,” he says! Bringing his family from Mexico was difficult, and it was hard to learn English. Attending school to learn a new language is one of the most courageous things he has done.
Carlos Alvarez
bio coming soon
