Congratulations to the Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

PCT and Syngenta have had the honor of bestowing the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award to a distinguished member of the pest control industry at NPMA PestWorld since 2014. Past recipients of this prestigious award, as selected by previous winners of the Crown Leadership Awards, include Norman Goldenberg, the inaugural honoree in 2014; Norm Cooper, 2015; Tom Fortson, 2016; Bob Dold, 2017; Dr. Austin Frishman, 2018; Victor Hammel, 2019; Gary Rollins, 2021; Cindy Mannes, 2022; and Bob Rosenberg, 2023. There was no award given in 2020. Profiles of each winner of this eagerly anticipated award are featured here.

Bob Rosenberg

Bob Rosenberg spent 27 years with the National Pest Management Association, primarily in government affairs. He also served as CEO from 2013 to 2016. Rosenberg joined NPCA (National Pest Control Association) in 1989 and became known as a consensus-builder who got the association more involved with groups like the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO) and Association of American Pesticide Control Officials. Under Rosenberg, Legislative Day grew in prominence. He was a renowned industry leader in the U.S. and globally. He was a PCT Crown Leadership Award winner, a member of the Pest Management Professional magazine Hall of Fame and a member of the ASPCRO Hall of Fame. He also served as a longtime member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee. Rosenberg graduated from the University of Florida in 1974 and later earned post-graduate political science degrees from Florida State University and the University of Chicago. He passed away in 2023 at age 72.

Cindy Mannes

Cindy Mannes retired as senior vice president of public affairs for NPMA and executive director of the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) at the end of 2022. At PPMA, Mannes was responsible for growing, protecting, promoting and defending the professional pest management industry. She also was responsible for the development of the national advertising and public relations programs, digital initiatives and all online efforts, as well as seminars and programs designed to elevate the professionalism of all individuals involved with the industry. Mannes was the initial executive director for PPMA from 2001-2008. Prior to rejoining PPMA and NPMA in 2015, Mannes was the chief marketing and strategy officer for Arrow Exterminators, Atlanta. Prior to her time at Arrow, Mannes worked for an industry manufacturer. Her knowledge of and experience with various stakeholders in the industry — PMP, supplier and association — were unique and virtually unmatched.

Gary Rollins

As chairman and CEO of Rollins Inc., Gary Rollins received 2021’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades supporting the industry. Preceded by his father, brother and uncle, Rollins is proud to have continued the family business. Originally, he was headed to a career in broadcasting, but a chance purchase of Orkin Inc., by his father O. Wayne Rollins in 1964 changed his course. Rollins joined the pest control industry two years later and never looked back. It was during this time he found his career path because he enjoyed meeting with customers and working with other Orkin employees. Rollins’ career has led him from service technician all the way to chairman and CEO. Rollins has spent more than 55 years helping Rollins (and its associated brands) and the industry grow through his incredible business acumen and industry knowledge.

Victor Hammel

Victor Hammel is chairman emeritus of Rentokil Pest Control, North America. The winner of NPMA’s prestigious Pinnacle Award in 2013, Hammel grew up in the pest control industry, bagging rodenticide baits as a child for J.C. Ehrlich Co., his family’s business. Before selling the company to Rentokil in 2006, he served as co-owner and CEO of the Reading, Pa.-based business. A graduate of Penn State University and the Harvard Business School Executive Education program, Hammel is past board chair of the Reading Health System, past president of the Jewish Federation of Reading and longtime vice chair of PPMA, as well as co-founder of PestSure Insurance Co. He was named PCT’s Professional of the Year in 2008 and was a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army.

Austin Frishman

Dr. Austin Frishman, owner and president of AMF Pest Management Consulting, is a legendary figure in the pest management industry. With a career spanning more than five decades, Frishman earned his undergraduate degree in entomology and his master’s degree from Cornell University, eventually earning a doctorate from Purdue University, where he was a frequent speaker at the university’s annual conference. In recognition of his career, Frishman received PCT’s Professional of the Year Award in 1993; was named to the Crown Leadership Awards Class of 1998; and in 2002, was inducted into Pest Management Professional magazine’s Hall of Fame. Frishman continues to devote his time and energy to industry education and training.

Norman Goldenberg

In 2014, veteran PMP Norman Goldenberg was named the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in entomology. Goldenberg worked for Orkin and held various management roles in the pest control industry before purchasing his own company in the late 1980s, Alert Lear Pest Control. Goldenberg joined Terminix in 1990, representing the industry’s interests at the local, state and national levels as vice president of government affairs. He is a past president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Florida Pest Management Association (FPMA), Project EverGreen and the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).

Norm Cooper

A past president of the National Pest Management Association, Norm Cooper was one of the industry’s most passionate advocates. A native New Yorker, Cooper launched Abby Exterminating Services in 1954, a company he owned until January 1971, when he sold it to ESCO (Exterminating Services Co.). He stayed on board at ESCO, eventually becoming president of the exterminating services division. He retired from ESCO in 1996 and launched a successful consulting business, Norman Cooper & Associates. Cooper served as NPMA president from 1991-1992 and during his tenure created the association’s “Guardians of the Environment” branding, an initiative many credit with improving the industry’s image nationally and throughout the world. He passed away in 2016.

Tom Fortson

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Tom Fortson is a longtime leader and beloved presence in the professional pest management industry. Chairman emeritus of the Professional Pest Management Alliance, Fortson has spent more than 50 years in the industry, currently serving as vice chairman of Terminix Service, Columbia, S.C. During his distinguished career, Fortson has served on the South Carolina Pesticide Advisory Committee, the South Carolina Regulatory Review Committee and the Clemson University Advisory Board. He also has served as past president of the South Carolina Pest Control Association and the North Carolina Pest Management Association, as well as on the NPMA board of directors. Additionally, Fortson is a nationally ranked master’s swimmer and is a veteran of the United States Navy.

Bob Dold

A graduate of Denison University, Bob Dold is CEO of Rose Pest Solutions, Chicago, Ill. A tireless supporter of the professional pest management industry, Dold has served as president of the Illinois Pest Control Association and Indiana Pest Management Association, as well as on the Purdue Conference Planning Committee. In 1984, he was elected National Pest Management Association president, spending more than 180 days on the road in support of the association during a critical time in the organization’s history. A devoted family man, Dold and his wife Judy raised four children and spend a significant amount of time with their grandchildren, while simultaneously running a successful family-owned pest control business. Bob and Judy Dold received the prestigious NPMA Pinnacle Award in 2017.