[PCT Leadership Winner] Steve Arnold

Some people practice a strong work ethic from an early age. Steve Arnold recalls that, as a child, he kept busy by delivering newspapers and mowing lawns. By entering sales contests, he learned to set goals and enjoy the rewards of a new baseball bat or bicycle.

Arnold’s entrepreneurial role model was his mother, who owned her own business, an answering service, in an era when it was highly unusual for women to own bus-inesses. She was able to instill the motivation to succeed in Arnold, the middle child of her five children.

Following high school graduation in 1965, Arnold first worked at Allied Engineering where he learned drafting. "I liked building things and seeing things develop from the ground up. I got a good feel for laying out subdivisions. There was a sense of pride to see the blueprints and then seeing the blueprints come to life," Arnold says. These skills were tapped later when Arnold designed his own company’s headquarters building.

Uncle Sam proved to be Arnold’s next employer. He was drafted and served in the 3rd Battalion, 37th Armor Tank Division in Germany. After his discharge in 1968, he planned to attend college to major in civil engineering. "My brother asked me to help out at Green Pest Control for a little while. I was married and I needed a job. I only planned to work a little while before heading to college," Arnold remembers.

A mentor named George Rasco soon changed his mind. In the role of service manager, Rasco taught Arnold the pest control business and educated him about certification. At that point, Arnold committed himself to the pest control industry.

"Once I committed to the industry, I made the decision not to go back to school because I knew I needed more than an entomology degree – I needed hands-on experience," Arnold says.

It was at this juncture that Arnold knew he would go into business for himself. He set a realistic goal of learning the pest control industry in 10 years and then starting his own business.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. When a promised promotion into upper management didn’t materialize, Arnold decided to leave Green Pest Control. Although this decision meant that Arnold would become an owner two years prior to his plan, he felt he was ready.

Arnold’s involvement at Green laid the foundation for Peachtree Pest Control, a company Arnold launched in 1976 in the Greater Atlanta area.

"My past experience at Green helped tremendously," Arnold says. "I not only observed, but I was involved in many aspects of the business. I had no formal training in accounting, but I was okay in math in school. I knew that profits drive business. I understood budgets and I had worked in sales.

"I looked at what was done at Green and in the marketplace as a whole, and I thought I could do it better," he adds.

Peachtree began with three employees, and Arnold sold his truck to raise funds. Networking attracted customers, and Arnold’s reliable service maintained and grew the customer base, ultimately leading to success.

LEADERSHIP STYLE. Arnold attributes his leadership style to his stint in the army. "Military experience teaches you to respect the routines and follow orders. Sometimes you don’t always know what the purpose is, but you learn to respect the end results. In my opinion, a military career as a basis for any leadership role is important," he states.

Ashley Alderman, the office manager of Peachtree, stresses his honesty and compassion. "He has an open-door policy. He always wants to get to the bottom of things. You may not always agree with him, but he will give you his honest opinion," she says.

Daniel Capron, director of operations, sums it up this way, "Steve is hands off when he needs to be and hands on when he needs to be."

The Norcross branch manager, Jim Reilly, explains further. "He’s built a quality team of people around him. He goes to people in management to throw out ideas along with his ideas. We don’t just do things his way. He trusts his managers to do the right thing," Reilly says.

Ten years after Peachtree was founded, Arnold married his current wife, Nell. She assumed control of all the financial aspects of the company. Currently, she serves as secretary-treasurer of the corporation.

Arnold acknowledges Nell’s contributions. "She is where the rubber meets the road. She has been instrumental in our success," he says. Indeed, in 1986, the yearly revenue of Peachtree was just over $580,000. Arnold expects revenue to reach nearly $7 million this year.

IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY. With their marriage, the Arnolds adjusted to a larger family size, comparable to the fictional Brady Bunch. Steve’s children by a previous marriage include Craig, Michael, Corey and Pepper, and Nell’s children are Donnie, Linda and Wendy. Ten grandchildren now round out the Arnold clan.

David Hooper, senior sales inspector in the Norcross branch, recently became a father. "He cares about your wives and kids. He’s been there to support us, and asks about the baby," Hooper explains. "He makes the effort to keep Peachtree family-oriented. I told him I’ll give him 110 percent everyday, but my family is most important to me. He’s always supported me in that aspect."

Alderman has known Arnold since she was 19. "He’s been like a father figure to me. He’s helped me with my life both personally and professionally," she states.

With Peachtree’s growth, the "mom and pop" atmosphere is facing challenges. "As we continue to grow we take on more of a corporate structure, but we are continually striving to maintain a family atmosphere," Arnold remarks.

Jason Field, the manager of the lawn care division of Peachtree, enjoys the camaraderie in the workplace. "It’s still a family environment. We’re a close-knit group of people."

Recognizing his employees’ accomplishments and rewarding their hard work is second nature to Arnold. "One of the key things he does is encourage people to be the best they can be," states Jim Hirtle, a former sales manager who recently left Peachtree to return to Texas. "He doesn’t pigeonhole people."

For example, although Field is in charge of the lawn care division, he has a graphic design background, so Arnold tapped him to work on the company’s termite training field guide. Field was part of a collaborative effort at Peachtree Pest Control to produce the guide, which is now available to other pest control companies through GPCA. Arnold says it was Peachtree’s way of giving back to the pest control industry.

In addition to giving technicians these types of additional opportunities, Arnold encourages employees to become certified. "We have a higher percentage of certifications than any other company. Steve encourages it and pays for it," Capron states.

He further adds that some companies resist certification of their technicians, because they fear the technicians will leave to start their own companies.

"If I walk down the hall and say I want to start my own company, Steve will give me any advice and help I need," Capron says. "His philosophy is if you go out and start a company and do stupid things, it reflects badly on our industry.

"Since I’ve been here, two people said they wanted to start their own companies," Capron explains. "Steve helped by giving them copies of contracts and forms, answered questions and gave them supplier information and told them the prices that the suppliers should be charging. He’ll also give the name and number of his attorney."

INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT. This attitude reflects Arnold’s passion for the pest control industry. "I made a commitment to make our company a part of the industry and to shape it. I had others help me along the way to help me understand what it’s all about. I want to return that," Arnold comments.

To that end, Arnold is deeply involved in the Georgia Pest Control Association (GPCA). One example that typifies his commitment involves EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems). This is basically a synthetic building material that resembles stucco, and it became very popular in the early 1990s. Builders would attach it at or below grade level, and termites found it to be an easy conduit into the wood inside the home. Pest control operators were sued, because it seemed their pre-treatments were faulty.

Arnold became a leading expert on this issue, and along with other PCOs, researchers and regulators, worked to adopt a change to the Southern Building Code, which is also the national building code. Their work mandated a six-inch gap between the ground and the bottom of the EIFS.

"You can’t be involved a little. Either you’re involved or not. I don’t mind standing up. I’m brassy and opinionated. Our industry had been used as a guinea pig and as a result, we’ve had lawsuits and problems," says Arnold.

"When I first came into the pest control industry, it had a very poor reputation among the general public. But there’s not a single part of this industry that does not affect the American way of life. From the time seeds are fumigated and planted, to the time food is harvested and processed through all the stages of production, pest control plays a vital role. I’m proudest to have seen the changes in this industry through the years," Arnold concludes.

---------------

What’s In a Name?

An important person in Steve Arnold’s life is Hal Mintz, a fellow pest control technician at Green Pest Control. The two had discussed plans to forge their own company, and over hamburgers at Wendy’s one day, started brainstorming for names.

“I liked the name Atlanta Pest Control Company, but it was already taken. Hal suggested Peachtree. I liked it. It is a recognizable symbol and name in Atlanta. It made it sound like we had been around for a long time,” Arnold remembers. When Arnold did leave Green to start his own company, he adopted Peachtree.

Peachtree wasn’t Mintz’s only name suggestion that Arnold liked. Mintz said if he had a daughter, he wanted to name her Pepper so that she would be Pepper Mintz. “Hal’s wife said no to that name, but I liked it and I named my daughter Pepper,” says Arnold.

------------------

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

If Andy Warhol was correct when he stated in the 1960s that everyone would enjoy 15 minutes of fame, Steve Arnold figures he’s used his allotted time. He appeared in Episode 42 of Cartoon Network’s “Space Ghost, Coast to Coast.”

For the uninitiated, this 15-minute program takes images from the 1960s cartoon show “Space Ghost,” about a caped super-hero fighting various villains, and sets them in an outer space talk-show format. The guests appear on a television screen, seemingly conversing with the animated Space Ghost. His sidekick is Zorak, a large mantis who still craves to return to his criminal roots.

Arnold’s appearance was predicated by the episode’s theme of honoring Zorak in a “Here is Your Life” montage. The producers of the show decided to interview an entomologist and a pest control professional. Since the show originated in Atlanta, Maxcy Nolen, a professor of entomology at the University of Georgia, was contacted. Nolen had served with Arnold in the Georgia Pest Control Association, and recommended him to the producers.
Armed with inside information from Nolen, who had already taped his segment, Arnold spent a day at the studio, sitting in front of a green screen, trading witticisms with an interviewer. “I honestly didn’t know what they’d use,” Arnold says. One exchange had Space Ghost ask, “Anything cool you say just before you whack them (the pests)?” Arnold replies, “Take this.” Space Ghost asks if he can adopt that phrase, to which Arnold answers, “It’s yours.”

Six months after the show was originally aired, Arnold ran into a friend and his eight-year-old son. They had seen the show, and the boy, wide-eyed, asked, “Do you really know Space Ghost and Zorak?” Arnold put his hands on his hips, and replied, “Why yes I do, son.” Then Arnold gave the boy his only souvenir, a Zorak coffee mug.

-----------------------------

More Than a Mission Statement

Prominently displayed to all Peachtree employees is the mission statement adopted by Steve Arnold. It reads:

Here at Peachtree Pest Control, our mission statement is more than just a mission statement. It is a way of doing business and is based on our National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and Georgia Pest Control Association (GPCA) code of ethics.

As a member of NPMA and GPCA, our responsibilities are:
 • To uphold the standards of these associations.
 • To hold our industry in high esteem and strive to enhance its prestige.
 • To maintain high company standards of moral responsibility, character and business integrity.
 • To practice fairness, frankness and honesty in all transactions with the  general public and businesses.
 • To render pest control services safely and effectively in keeping with the most modern practices and techniques and to observe them both in spirit and letter.

We hold these principles in high esteem and commit ourselves and our company to their implementation.