[PCO Profile] Reaching Up Reaching Out

When Linda Prentice was in high school, her classmates called her a nature freak. What would those same classmates call her today, more than 25 years later with as many years of pest control service under her belt? Prentice says, “a passionate nature freak.”
In the spring of 1981, Prentice was working at a local lumberyard in Jacksonville, Fla., when a neighbor recommended she apply for a job at Bug-Out Service, a local pest control company. They were looking for young, motivated women interested in the environment and the outdoors to get involved in the pest control industry. “I thought this sounded like a great opportunity for me,” Prentice says. “I am passionate about the environment, I love the outdoors, I enjoy working with people and I love science.”

A NEW CAREER. Except for a brief hiatus working for a distributor, Prentice has spent the last 26 years with Bug-Out Service. She spent the first five years of her career as a pest control technician running a route. The following six years, she continued in regular pest control operations but also became more involved with sales. Through her entire career, she has sought out opportunities for personal growth, advancement within the company and additional educational opportunities. She was one of the first women to ever write a wood-destroying organism (WDO) report at the company, moving seamlessly into termite work at Bug-Out Service. Prentice performed termite inspections and took on a supervisory role within the organization, getting involved with training and education.
Bug-Out Service President Paul Felker said Prentice has always taken the initiative to learn everything she can about the pest control industry. “Everything she’s accomplished, she has done on her own,” he says. “Linda is the type of person who not only attends conferences, but stays after to have a direct conversation with the presenters. She’s always looking for ways to improve and that has a direct impact on our company.”
With Prentice’s eagerness to learn, it was really no surprise that she so eagerly sought out and earned her A.C.E. (Associate Certified Entomologist) certification.
“A colleague mentioned the A.C.E. certification to me and I thought it sounded like a perfect opportunity,” says Prentice. “I filled out the application, studied hard, took the test and passed.” Ray Meyers, president of RJM Contracting, mentored and coached Prentice in preparation for the exam.
The Entomological Society of America, long the industry leader in certification, first launched the A.C.E. program in May 2004. The A.C.E. test is a stringent exam that assesses a pest management professional’s knowledge of structural pest control and entomology. Prentice says this certification was exactly what she was looking for. “I was at a point in my life where it wasn’t really practical for me to go back to school for a degree in a field where I already had more than 20 years of experience and training. With this (A.C.E. certification), I feel like the industry has acknowledged my participation, contribution and hands-on experience — making me more of an equal to my peers who are Board Certified Entomologists.”

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Prentice acknowledges there is a lack of women in the pest control industry, but she says those who choose a career in pest control are almost always successful. “Women who choose a career in pest control do so because of their love for science, the environment and people,” she says. When they are doing something they love and they stick with it, the sky’s the limit — anything is possible in this industry — especially for women.” Prentice finds that many of her customers actually relate better to women pest management professionals. “Most of the time, women have a more nurturing demeanor than our male counterparts. Usually, when calling on a client, it’s the woman in the household who’s handling the situation so it only makes sense that she would prefer talking to a woman with experience equal to that of her male colleagues.”
In addition to the compassion Prentice expresses to customers, her  status as an accomplished professional in the community has a lot to do with her success, she says. “I am a veteran in this market and I can tell my clients not only the history of the neighborhood, but most times, the history of the actual house they are living in.” Prentice remembers one client who was relieved to know that she was familiar with the problems the homeowner was having. “I was able to tell my client that the two previous owners had the same problem, and I knew how to keep it under control.”

KNOWLEDGE SHARING. In her cur-rent role as a training coordinator, Prentice has the unique opportunity to pass on not only her knowledge but also her love of the industry to others. “I still get excited about learning new things and in this industry there’s always something new (to learn). Pest control is the perfect example of metamorphism — it’s always changing. Every day there are new bugs, new scientific studies, new technologies — not only do I love learning it, but I really enjoy teaching others.” Prentice adds, “In the pest control industry there is a concern not only for people and the environment, but also for the quality of life people have in their environment. The ability to have such a positive effect on our world is something that makes me feel really good about what I do each day.”

The author is president of Compelling Communications, St. Louis, Mo. She can be reached at jvanklaveren@giemedia.com.