[ViewPoint] NPMA’s Annual ‘Family’ Dinner

Former NPMA President Kevin Kordek remembers the first time he and his wife, Mary Beth, attended NPMA PestWorld a number of years ago. "I wasn't sure what to make of it," he said. "Everyone seemed to know one another, so at first we felt a little like outsiders. But once we started talking to people and attending various events at the convention, we realized it's just the way this industry is. Everybody is hugging one another because they're so happy to see their friends. It's like one big family."

That's why I always look forward to attending the final night banquet at NPMA PestWorld. The theme of this year's event, sponsored by BASF Pest Control Solutions, was "The Big Event in the Big Easy." When reserving my seat for the banquet, I always make it a point to sit at one of the tables ringing the ballroom floor because that's where I get to meet many of the core readers of our magazine, the folks who may not play a leadership role in the association on a national level, but who contribute so much in other ways to the industry on a daily basis.

My tablemates at the NPMA PestWorld banquet (left to right): Valerie and Jeremiah Ryden, Gunter Pest Management, Kansas City, Mo; Karen and David Bulk, Rhodes Chemical Co., Kansas City, Kan.; Carrie and Blair Dooley, Old Island Pest Control, Victoria, British Columbia; and  Shawn Van Gorp, Menninga Pest Control, Pella, Iowa.

While industry dignitaries sit at the front tables marked "reserved" — a well deserved place of honor for the key roles they've played in leading the National Pest Management Association over the years — it has been my experience that the hundreds of folks seated at the surrounding tables offer unique insights about the day-to-day challenges and opportunities that exist in the pest management industry. And that's "gold" for a trade magazine journalist. For the most part, they go about their jobs quietly and without much fanfare, but they're passionate about what they do, no less passionate than the "movers and shakers" in the industry, although their businesses are typically more modest.

Such was the case this year when I had the privilege of sharing a meal with seven PMPs (see photo at right) who represent the finest qualities the industry has to offer. Without exception, these industry professionals and their spouses take pride in their work, aspire to provide the highest levels of customer service and share a common decency that, while not unique to the pest management industry, is a hallmark of the profession. A case in point: In covering the final night banquet for our magazine, shooting photos and interviewing PMPs throughout the evening, I was frequently in and out of my seat between courses of the four-course meal. In each case, upon my return, even if the other dishes on the table were removed by our servers, my new found colleagues made sure the previous course was waiting for me upon my return. It may be a simple act of kindness, but it's the kind of act that speaks to the shared values of this industry. Nothing flashy. Nothing showy. Simply individual acts of human decency that, when combined with other modest acts of kindness, translate into an industry culture that reflects the shared values of its members.

Kevin and Mary Beth Kordek can relate to each of the people at that table last month because it wasn't that long ago they were one of hundreds of couples seated in a sea of PMPs in a hotel ballroom in a faraway city who, despite their initial reservations, decided to take a chance and invest their hard-earned financial resources in a trip to NPMA PestWorld. The result has been more than they ever could have hoped for — dozens of new ideas to strengthen their business, scores of industry colleagues eager to offer advice or provide a helping hand should the opportunity arise, and perhaps most important of all, lifelong friendships they will cherish long after they retire from the day-to-day management of their business. And isn't that what being part of a "family" is all about?

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.