NCPMA Graduates First Class of Premier Technicians

Eight pest professionals comprise the North Carolina Pest Management Association’s inaugural graduating class.


RALEIGH, N.C. — Eight professionals completed the North Carolina Pest Management Association’s (NCPMA) Premier Technician Program and became the program’s inaugural graduating class. 
 
The graduations were celebrated during the program’s two courses, March 24-25.
 
The new Premier Technicians are Christian Beane, Four Seasons Pest Control (Reidsville); Jason Choate, Pest Management Systems (Greensboro); Jason Keough, City Wide Exterminating (Locust); Wes McBride, Four Seasons Pest Control (Danville, Va.); Russ Millhouse, Wheeler Exterminating Company (Kinston); Bobby Reynolds, Clint Miller Exterminating Company (Mount Pleasant); Ross Rhodes, Wheeler Exterminating Company (Kinston); and Brandon Tilley, Go-Forth Pest Control (High Point).
 
The course is designed to elevate a pest management professional’s knowledge of the industry through the in-depth study of at least eight key areas, including ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, flying insects, occasional invaders/stored product pests, rodents, wood-boring inspection or WDIR accreditation and wood-destroying organisms. 
 
“We congratulate each of these individuals on this amazing accomplishment and are thrilled to welcome our new Premier Technicians to the NCPMA family,” said Marie Horner, co-chair of the NCPMA Premier Technician Committee. “The graduates began their Premier Technician journey in 2019, and their commitment to their field and the industry is to be commended.”
 
The program offers a continuous series of courses to help professionals develop a deeper and clear understanding of pest infestations from discovery to treatment. Individuals who complete the program must have worked in the industry for at least one year and must complete the wood-boring beetle/inspection course or have WDIR accreditation through NCPMA. 
 
“Each of these professionals have shown their dedication and commitment to their industry and to their careers, and we are proud to welcome them as our first Premier Technicians,” said Dylan Morrison, co-chair of the NCPMA Premier Technician Committee. “We are looking forward to welcoming other Premier Technicians to our industry in the coming months.”
 
In order to maintain the Premier Technician designation, professionals must continue to take at least one eight-hour course every two years.
 
The program is made possible through the contributions of its strategic founding partners: BASF, Bayer, Bell Laboratories, Corteva Agriscience, FMC and Syngenta.