[NPMA Convention] Pest Control in Paradise

For the first time in 10 years the National Pest Management Association returned to Hawaii for its the annual PestWorldconvention.

In October, more than 3,400 attendees, which included more than 2,500 pest management professionals, attended the four-day event, which was held at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. There also were more than 40 countries represented by 600 international attendees.

"PestWorld 2004: Hawaii far exceeded our expectations," said Rob Lederer, NPMA executive vice president. "Our attendance was up 20 percent across the board, and our packed tradeshow floor, general sessions and educational sessions reflected that."

Bayer Environmental Science sponsored the show’s opening ceremony, which included Hawaiian island dancers and flame handlers.

At the opening ceremonies, Bayer and NPMA also presented scholarships to their "Young Scientist of the Year" honorees. The program was a scholarship and grant program for graduate students to acknowledge and financially support research that advances the pest management industry.

The "Young Scientist of the Year" scholarship of $2,500 was presented to Chad Gore, while finalists Donnie Oswalt and Marc Fisher were each presented with scholarships of $1,500 and $1,000, respectively.

In addition, a $1,000 scholarship will be donated to the general scholarship fund at the schools attended by each of the three finalists. A panel of university and industry professionals determined the awards, and the three finalists presented their research at the convention.

Dow AgroSciences sponsored the opening general session on Thursday, Oct. 21, which featured Captain Gerald Coffee, a former seven-year Vietnam POW. Attendees also heard from Stephen Johnson, deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

FMC Corp. sponsored Friday’s general session, which featured John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted TV show.

BASF Corp. sponsored the final night banquet, which had record attendance, according to NPMA.

Next year’s convention and tradeshow will be held Oct. 14-17, 2005, at the Opryland Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. For additional information, contact NPMA at 703-352-6762 or visit www.pestworld.org.