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PCO a nominee for ‘Inside Tucson Business’ Best Boss Award

Bruce Tennenbaum, owner of Arizona Pest Control Co., was recently profiled in Inside Tucson Business for being a top nominee for the annual Best Boss award.

This year, Inside Tucson Business selected six top nominees to profile. The winners were lauded for caring about the people who worked for them, for recognizing that everyone has a life outside of work, a life that on occasion throws out a stumbling block that trips up the employee.

Tennenbaum was nominated by Ken Brandstatt, pest control division manager of Arizona Pest Control Co. "Bruce resolves personal problems that employees have," said Brandstatt. "He never fails to loan money to employees who need to get their cars fixed, pay unusual bills, or take care of sick children."

Showing he cares takes many forms for Tennenbaum. According to Brandstatt, if an employee at Arizona Pest Control wants to quit smoking or needs to lose weight, Tennenbaum will pay them to quit or trim down in order for them to become a healthier person.

Brandstatt believed so strongly in the atmosphere Tennenbaum provided that he left his branch management position at another company to work at Arizona Pest Control. "The move was complete with a huge pay cut," Brandstatt confessed, but he has never looked back. "Bruce probably wouldn’t admit it, but I truly believe he loves each and every person in this company and treats us all like family."

Tennenbaum said his philosophy is as straightforward as hiring the right people and believing in them. "Ken is a great employee, but for that matter, all my employees are great," he said.

Don’t know what to do with all your dead bugs? Bury ’em!

For those pest management professionals who have a guilty conscience about killing insects, writer/designer/photographer/lawyer David Barringer has something for you.

The Dead Bug Funeral Kit comes with an illustrated "Buggy Book of Eulogies" with a ribbon bookmark, casket, grave marker, white clay flower, burial scroll and a pouch of grass seed. The Buggy Book of Eulogies contains 15 eulogies and 15 buggy illustrations for your deceased ant, bee, beetle, butterfly, caterpillar, cockroach, cricket, doodlebug, fly, grasshopper, ladybug, lightning bug, praying mantis, spider or stickbug. Each book is handmade one at a time; kits also are assembled by hand.

"My mother and I came up with the idea for this project two years ago. I incorporated the idea into a short story last year and then thought, ‘Why don’t I actually make one?’ So I did. My mother did the illustrations and I did the rest," said creator David Barringer. "I gave the first two kits to my kids, and their positive response inspired me to make more. I make 20 or so at a time, and because I make them all by hand, I have not marketed the product. I’ve only just recently started to think that way about the kit. It isn’t carried by stores yet. It’s only available online."

The burial scroll comes tied with a ribbon and is deposited in the casket. The Burial Scroll gives instructions for conducting burial ceremonies. Mourners may bury their loved "ones" outside in the garden or inside the tin box itself, filled with soil and planted with the grass seed provided. "We hope the Dead Bug Funeral Kit will provide some consolation," according to Barringer’s Web site. "You may preorder this kit for yourself or a loved one. We are working as briskly as we can to make these kits, but there is a lot of grief in this world. And there are a lot of bugs. We appreciate your patience."

Each kit is $20 plus shipping or two for $35. For more information visit www.davidbarringer.com.

PCO Kent Hebert wins autographed copy of E.O. Wilson’s The Ants

PCO Kent Hebert was the winner of the PCT Online Store Ant Management Summit contest. Hebert, owner of Kent’s Pest Control, New Iberia, La., won an autographed copy of E.O. Wilson’s The Ants. Wilson was the keynote speaker for the PCT Ant Management Summit, March 10-12. (Editor’s note: Stay tuned to future issues of PCT magazine for exclusive coverage of this event.)

Hebert was randomly chosen from PCT Online Store customers who purchased an educational resource from Jan. 15-Feb. 15.

To order a copy of E.O. Wilson’s book, The Ants, or any PCT educational resource, visit the PCT Online Store at www.pctonline.com/store or call 800/456-0707.