[Back Talk]

Judy Black: Deserving Award Winner

I read the article in the September issue of PCT magazine about Judy Black at Steritech winning the PCT/Syngenta Professional Products Crown Award for Technical Excellence and had some comments.

My name is Rich Goff and I own Bug-Goff Exterminating in Pittsburgh. I have been fortunate to have made it 28 years in our industry and over the years have had some great experiences. I started my trek with Orkin (as so many do) and along the line, found my way to Terminix. I served as a branch manager for both and have many good memories from the two.

It was at Terminix that I met Judy Black, although, back then I knew her with a different name. I’m the guy who hired her and introduced her to this industry. That, by the way, is all the credit that I’ll take. I did my best to show her and the others I hired, the ropes in a good and honorable way. Some had great talents for selling, some for service. In Judy, I recognized her talent for organization and her ability to quickly grasp the technical side of the business. Thankfully, I was able to impress that upon the folks higher up who found a place for her in the technical end, otherwise, this industry might have lost out on a shining star such as Judy.

Well, it looks as though I was right. Judy has become a true shining star and I’m very glad for her success. In an industry that had few women involved when I started, she has flourished and I couldn’t be happier for her. I played a small, insignificant role in Judy Black’s success. But make no mistake — it was Judy’s hard work that got her where she is today. Good job, Judy!

Rich Goff
Bug-Goff Exterminating Co.
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Promoting Green Responsibly

I love PCT Publisher Dan Moreland’s editorial in the October issue of PCT. I think he did a fabulous job summarizing the issue of “green” pest management and putting it in perspective. Even more importantly I appreciate the message he had regarding manufacturers developing “green” products and the responsibility they have to promote their products in such a way as to not reflect poorly on our industry. I hope some manufacturers in particular pay close attention to that because there are several that are coming dangerously close to doing so if they have not already.

The PCT team consistently does a phenomenal job and we all appreciate the good work you do very much!

Emily Thomas
COO
Arrow Exterminators
Atlanta, Ga.

More on the Take-Home Truck Debate

It was with great interest that I read PCT’s well-written article “Take-Home Debate” in the December issue. Your article touched on several of the issues that I have come across, although your article did not really get into the concerns from a regulatory perspective.

I am a regulator with the state agency that has responsibility for pesticide enforcement in Wisconsin. Specifically, I am one of the field investigators who works with the industry and I have been performing field work for the department for almost 30 years. Let me share a recent situation that provides another aspect of this issue.

Our department received a complaint from a homeowner in a relatively small town about a pest control firm’s employee who lived next to her daughter’s duplex. The complainant alleged that this employee was storing pesticide containers in the driveway, he left empty pesticide containers in the area and there was a very strong odor whenever the truck was parked in the driveway. When I met with the individual at his residence, indeed that was the situation, just as the complainant had cited. The odor was a very strong organophosphate and manure odor (this technician was primarily performing fly-spray applications in dairy barns).

In that particular neighborhood, the houses are very close together, and children were running all around, across yards, etc. The lid on his sprayer unit in the back of the truck was not secured, and there were opened containers in the back of the pick-up. The employee agreed to put the pesticide containers in his garage, and found a storage area in a barn outside of town to park his truck. I also contacted his supervisor and told him of the problems with keeping his truck and pesticides in a residential area.

The company’s employee was issued a written warning notice for several code violations, but my major concern was the apparent lack of awareness or concern by this employee of his pesticide-handling practices. Whether you call it lack of common sense or failure to properly train employees or inadequate supervision, it was a hazardous situation that was brought to our attention by a legitimately concerned homeowner.

Jeff C. Saatkamp
Environmental Enforcement Specialist
Sr., ARM Division
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture,
Trade & Consumer Protection

Questionable Language in Print?

In response to your “Cockroach Comics” in the November issue of PCT magazine, we found the foul language to be in poor taste and out of place in this magazine. Throughout PCT magazine, professionalism in the pest control industry is stressed, as it is in pest control meetings, etc., and this does not promote professionalism.

Shirley Boulanger
Co-Owner
Sentry Pest Control
Eureka, Kansas

Editor’s response: Thank you for making us aware of your concerns. We received comments from three PCT readers following publication of this particular article. We were aware of the four-letter words in the comic that was featured and we apologize if any of our readers were offended.