Charleston Celebration

In June, representatives from more than 40 PCT Top 100 companies traveled to Charleston, S.C., to attend the fifth biennial PCT Top 100 Awards Ceremony and Executive Summit. The every- other-year event was co-sponsored by Univar Environmental Sciences and Syngenta Professional Pest Management.

The two-day event provided attendees opportunities to hear from speakers especially chosen for the Top 100 audience, as well as ample time to network with one another.

On June 12, attendees were welcomed to the Francis Marion Hotel in South Carolina by Scott Fortson of Columbia, S.C.’s Terminix Service.

Keynote speaker Janine Driver of the Body Language Institute discussed with PMPs how they can better understand non-verbal and verbal communication cues, which can assist owners with attracting and retaining the best and brightest candidates for their pest control businesses.

PCT Publisher Dan Moreland gave a “State of the Pest Control Industry Labor Market,” report prior to a welcome reception to end the first day.

On day two, attendees heard a keynote presentation from Shawna Suckow, The Buyer Inside, who discussed “How to Market to Today’s Buyers — Successful Strategies for Customer Engagement.”

Dan Gordon, PCO Bookkeepers, followed Suckow with a talk on how PMPs can manage their business for continuous improvement and maximum profitability.

To wrap up the educational programming, Top 100 companies heard a panel discussion titled “Leveraging Technology for Competitive Advantage Discussion,” which featured various Top 100 companies. On the panel were:

• Ben Walker, president, and Khori Brewton, IT director, Gregory Pest Solutions
• Forrest Vodden, IT director, Guard- ian Pest Solutions
• Jeff Buhler, senior vice president of customer service, Massey Services
• Kevin J. Smith, chief marketing offi- cer, Rollins

   

A cocktail reception, dinner and the Top 100 Ceremony & Awards Presentation was held at the Historic Rice Mill that night.

The PCT Top 100 list, which ranks pest control firms by revenue, was featured in PCT’s 17^th annual Top 100 issue in May.

Photos at the awards presentation are by Rick Dean Photography.