Much of the historical information contained here has been supplied by the Florida Pest Control Association, which compiled a five-part comprehensive history that was published in PCO magazine, the association's monthly publication.
One of the most loyal members of the Florida Pest Control Association is Dempsey Sapp Sr., who will tell you that he officially joined the association 47 years ago. In his years with the association, Sapp is probably the one person who has seen the convention through just about everything. He missed only one annual convention in 1950.
"I had a partner at the time and I had gone to the 1949 convention and it was his turn," Sapp explained. "He went and stayed a half day and came home. I'm sorry I didn't go and finish it up for him."
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS. Although Sapp wasn't one of the actual founding members, he was aware of the association's formation, which occurred while he was still a student in entomology at the University of Florida. Back then, in 1945, 35 pest control operators met in late April at the University of Florida in Gainesville. They and many others were invited by Dr. John T. Creighton, the chairman of the university's entomology department. Creighton, who is credited with founding the association, had been thinking and talking about the need for a state association for some years before this April meeting. He felt such an association would serve two purposes: It would be instrumental in passing a state law regulating pest control, and it would provide a forum for education and comradery among pest control professionals. Of those attendees, 24 PCOs signed up as members of the just-formed association. According to Sapp, there were a total of 143 pest control companies in the state at the time.
Within a year after the first 24 PCOs gathered and formed the Florida Pest Control Association, the constitution and bylaws were adopted, and the association was successful in defeating an unfavorable regulatory bill. This early success set at least one major tone of the association's focus through the years: a lively and healthy participation in the state's legislative and regulatory affairs. In 1947, the first state regulation of the industry was passed the Structural Pest Control Act. The law required pest control operators to meet certain standards. It also created a five-member Structural Pest Control Board (under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Health) to govern the industry. Dr. Creighton was named chairman of the board.
"Our primary concern was getting the law sort of straightened out to where we could live with it," explained Sapp. The Structural Pest Control Act was a major accomplishment for the industry, because it required that pest control operators be held to a certain set of standards and that they be licensed. It also allowed for fines to be imposed on those operators not following the provisions.
Within ten years of formation, the Florida Pest Control Association had grown to more than 70 members, and its attention to legislative and regulatory issues remained strong, as it does today. In the first decade, a lobbyist was hired, an attorney was appointed, and public relations efforts were developed. And to serve its members more effectively, the associationdivided the state into four regions, each of which had a regional director.
IMAGE-BUILDING. As the years passed, the Florida Pest Control Association became increasingly more concerned with improving the image of the pest control industry in the state. Many members also wanted more vigorous enforcement of the regulations. The first major revision of the law governing the pest control industry occurred in 1955. In that revision, it was determined that the Structural Pest Control Board would be composed of five certified pest control operators. The board members were to be appointed by the governor from a list of suggested members provided by the FPCA. In the revision, Sapp said, the association found a law that it felt was satisfactory and that most pest control operators in the state were comfortable with.
In late 1961, the South Florida Pest Control Association merged with the FPCA, leading to a much stronger and larger organization. And one year later the association hired an executive secretary to further raise the association's level of pro fessionalism. Furthermore, the association embarked on a letter-writing campaign to congressional members concerning the hiring of out-of-state PCOs for work being done at federal properties in Florida. An annual scholarship to the University of Florida was established in 1963, further cementing the association's long-standing commitment to education. The recipient, to be chosen by professors in the entomology department, would receive a $250 grant.
In 1969, a new state constitution called for drastic reorganizations among state government. As a result, the legislature abolished the State Board of Health and the Structural Pest Control Commission, and established a Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. The newly established Division of Health, created under this new entity, would now regulate the industry.
After the reorganization, the association began to branch out to attract new members, and it placed a continuing emphasis on education. Traveling workshops were initiated.
A major force in the activities of the Florida Pest Control Association was one man who was never actually a member. Dr. John Mulrennan Sr. headed up the State Board of Health, the original governing body of the pest control industry. (His son, Dr. John A. Mulrennan Jr., now heads up the Bureau of Entomology within the Florida Department of Agriculture.)
When the state government was reorganized in 1970, Mulrennan became the director of the Division of Health, and six years later he retired. Although during his tenure the regulatory struggles between Mulrennan and the association were trying at times, much of the progress made by the FPCA, as well as by the pest control industry in the state, was directly attributable to Mulrennan.
As had become tradition among its members, a united stand helped the Florida Pest Control Association win many legislative battles. When the Florida constitution was reviewed again in 1982, the association began its preparations a year in advance. Later that year the association formed its own political action committee, PEST PAC. Through PEST PAC, the association felt it would have a stronger impact and improved communications with politicians. At the same time, the association hired Ken Plante, a former state senator, as a full-time lobbyist.
The Florida Pest Control Association headquarters was moved to Jacksonville in 1977, after the hiring of its third executive secretary. In 1978, the headquarters was moved to Orlando, and Toni Caithness, an experienced association professional, was hired as executive director, a position she still holds today. Caithness worked out of her home until 1983, when the association felt it needed larger, more professional office space. So the office was moved yet again, from the Caithness household to the Rosemont office complex, also in Orlando.
RECENT CHANGES. The fifth decade has been turbulent at times, but also one of great progress for the FPCA, bringing still more challenges, and still more change. The association decided to build a permanent headquarters, located in Orlando, and the association moved there in July 1987. Then in 1989, the members encountered what was probably their biggest loss. In August of that year, the association's president, Robert E. Dixon Jr., died after a battle with cancer. He had held office for only a few months.
The new building cost the FPCA more than $500,000. A four-year volunteer fundraising campaign had raised $400,000. The balance of $260,000 came from member donations, many in memory of Robert Dixon. Thanks to the generous support of members, the entire mortgage was paid off within three years.
The first official FPCA Legislative Day was sponsored in 1991. It enabled members to work with state senators and legislators to pave new ground. This successful event is now continued each year.
Major Florida Pest Control Association accomplishments of the fifth decade include a statewide termite study which tackled the recurring termite problems experienced throughout the state. The association also made a more formalized public relations effort. Gayle Gannaway, chairperson of the Public Relations Committee, hired Melissa Reeves, a veteran public relations consultant, to communicate important messages to local and national media, as well as to the association's membership.
As part of the Florida Pest Control Association's continuing commitment to education, the association also started a $400,000 fundraising campaign for an Endowed Professorship at the University of Florida. The endowment is to be a permanent account in the University of Florida Foundation. The interest earned will then be used as the university sees fit. According to FPCA President Jerry Williams, for every $100,000 increment raised by the association, the state will contribute $50,000. The association is also currently working on a technician accreditation program. Another future direction for the association, Williams said, is to foster more of a grass roots lobbying effort among members.
OLYMPIC-SIZED ASPIRATIONS. Today the FPCA has more than 1,100 member firms in 13 regions. For the upcoming annual convention, to be held in late June, the association will celebrate its golden anniversary in a more or less "Olympic" style. The convention's theme is "Go For The Gold: 50 Years of Progress," and as Williams explained, it commemorates the 50 years while also drawing a parallel to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
At the annual meeting, to be held at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, the association plans to commemorate the 50 years by creating a museum of old pest control artifacts donated by members. Some items to be displayed include old Yellow Pages advertisements, photographs, antique dusters and sprayers, and even one or two original route vehicles. The convention will also feature a "Dancing Through the Decades" party, to which attendees can come dressed in attire from any of the past five decades, and the band will play music to match. There will also be a "media montage," Williams said, a continually running slide show of images from past conventions, meetings and other people, places and events from the past 50 years. The slide show will portray how radically different the association and the industry are today.
"Fifty years ago, we were just doing blanket treatments," Williams said. "Now everything is very precise. We're using much less product, but we're putting the product where it needs to be to control pests."
The conventions, too, have certainly changed in the past 40 years, according to Sapp. In the early years, conventions were primarily centered around education and legislation. "We, the leaders in industry and the association, were trying to acquaint the membership with the various needs that we felt we could accomplish by going to the legislator and also trying to get people interested in educating themselves," he said. "But then the years went by and we began to split education with entertainment."
Sapp, who was president of the association in 1958, said it was also about that time that families began to get involved in coming to the conventions.
THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. The Florida Pest Control Association has long been known for its forthright stance with regard to the image of the pest control industry in the public eye. "We have always tried to be creative and to answer questions," Williams explained. One example of the association's involvement with the community has been its participation in such local programs as the Special Olympics. And about five years ago, the Gainesville region created a program called "Good Bug, Bad Bug" to educate children on beneficial insects and pest insects.
Throughout the years, as the Florida Pest Control Association has strived to increase its membership, other small, independent associations or "splinter groups," as Sapp refers to them have formed in various regions of the state. "A group of people would get disenchanted with what the Florida Pest Control Association was doing," Sapp explained.
Sapp, who is now retired, is still active on the association's legislative committee, which has been his main interest over the past 47 years. He and his son Dempsey Sapp Jr. own Florida Pest Control & Chemical Company, headquartered in Gainesville. Along with all of the association's legislative efforts have also been struggles among members, which is one reason, Sapp says, that the various "splinter groups" have formed. But he's not concerned they will grow to overshadow the FPCA.
"It's been going on ever since I've been involved with this thing," Sapp said. "It's disgruntled people who just say, `I disagree with what you're doing and the way you're doing it.'" But, Sapp says, disagreements have been a necessary part of the functioning of the FPCA for its entire history. It is how these disagreements have been solved that has made history and has made the association successful.
"I've been to meetings where we've beaten things around for hours, very heatedly, the pros and cons of a piece of legislation," said Sapp. "I remember one particular instance when the vote was 21 to 20, and that was how the group was divided. But the 20 people went along with the 21. That's democracy."
Sapp predicts that future member concerns will continue to focus on the regulation of pesticides and on finding a happy medium. "We have one group in government that wants to strenuously regulate the use of all pesticides," he said. "On the other hand we have another group that wants to water down the regulations."
While Sapp still wants to stay involved with the association's proceedings, he says this may be his last year as an active member. Instead, he is exploring the possibility of serving as a historian for the group. After all, he says, he is "old-fashioned," and there are new people, new players at the helm. Whether or not this is true, one thing is sure: For the FPCA, there is still more history to be made.
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THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION: STILL NIFTY AT FIFTY |
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The Texas Pest Control Association is on its way to celebrating 51 years of existence. Formed from a group of about 25 PCOs who wanted to fight proposed state legislation, the Texas association was officially established in 1945. Like other associations, it was formed to play an active role in the development of legislation. But as time went by, the association became more concerned with education and with growing its membership. Today the Texas Pest Control Association has close to 900 members, a number that is almost double what it was five years ago. Much of the recent membership boom is due to some proactive efforts conducted in 1990. In that year, the association came up with a strategic plan. "That was a plan where they decided to break off from their management association and hire their own staff," said TPCA Executive Director Beth Brooks. "They had never had their own staff before." Another part of the plan, Brooks explained, was a chapter-state merger program. This two-year process involved contacting all of the regional associations around the state, which previously were not affiliated with the TPCA."We got commitments from all the chapters," Brooks said. "In fact, we reorganized the whole state and came up with 17 chapters." Currently, each chapter has its own president, who communicates with the state association regularly and then passes that information along to the regional members. Now the Texas Pest Control Association headquarters handles all dues collection and record-keeping, and a portion of the dues is rebated to each chapter. Another benefit of the new structure, Brooks explained, is cultivation of the leadership pool. "They know who the movers and shakers are," Brooks said of the chapter members, "so when we look for committee members or people to serve on our board, that's who we look to." The biggest focus now for the Texas Pest Control Association and for President Larry Klinke is to fine-tune some of the changes made. "One of our president's focuses this year is concentrating on coming up with new member benefits," said Brooks. This means helping them to become better business people, as well as trying to understand what members need from the association. The Texas Pest Control Association differs from many other state pest control associations, Brooks says, simply because of its size. "To get all of us together is really hard, and that's why it's so important to have the chapter-state merger," Brooks explained. "We have to be able to communicate in some way besides just all getting together." Lisa Josof is associate editor of Pest Control Technology magazine. 
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