VIEWPOINT: A Tribute To J. Edwin Sameth

It has been a bittersweet year for the staff of Western Pest Services, a family-owned pest control business with a remarkable record of success throughout much of the past century. The company is in the midst of celebrating its 75th anniversary, yet at the same time mourning the loss of its founder and moral center, J. Edwin Sameth, an extraordinary man who created something truly special through a combination of hard work, a selfless dedication to his employees, and a commitment to excellence founded upon the highest ethical standards.

In a touching eulogy earlier this summer, Western Pest Services President Bob Sameth described his father as a humble man who loved people. “I never heard him speak unkindly about a person. He was always the same, whether talking to a caddy at the golf course or to a Chief Executive Officer. He set a wonderful example for all of us at Western to follow. Whenever there was a difficult decision for us to make, it was always easy to know what to do because we simply had to answer the questions: What is the right and fair thing to do? Is this the way we would want to be treated ourselves?”

They seem like such simple questions, but as in all things in life, the key is in the execution. And J.E. Sameth, by all accounts, performed flawlessly in the “execution” of his life, as evidenced by the outpouring of love and respect expressed by family and friends who attended his funeral. “Each of us would like to think that we will leave this world just a little bit better place than when we entered it because of how we have lived our life,” Bob Sameth said. “I’m sure that all who knew dad would agree that he has certainly fulfilled this goal. He was truly a very special human being, who was blessed with many gifts. We thank God for giving us Ed Sameth, and for all the good things he did for so many people during his remarkable life.”

As a tribute to J.E. Sameth, one of the patriarchs of the modern-day pest control industry, we’re pleased to present a series of articles about Western Pest Services in this month’s issue of PCT magazine, as well as additional coverage of the company on our Web site, www.pctonline.com. We hope these articles capture the unique corporate culture created by this extraordinary man and nurtured to this day by his children — Bob, Richard and Jeanne L. Burke, all executives at the firm.

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Despite significant improvement in the quality of pest control services provided to American consumers, the industry continues to be the target of media criticism. The latest example appeared in the August issue of SmartMoney magazine, which took the industry to task for everything from its guarantees to its treatment techniques. If you would like to provide a rebuttal to the article, write: Letters to the Editor, SmartMoney, 1755 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Only by responding every time we are unjustly portrayed in the press will PCOs begin to change long-held stereotypes, as well as other misconceptions about our industry. 

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.