Courtesy of Van Wagner
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — After seeing a gap of resources available to individuals in the pest control industry who experience tragedy and face financial hardships, several PMPs rallied together to start the Hands United Foundation.
The foundation aims to provide financial assistance to either members of, or family members of, those that serve within the pest management industry.
The founders of this organization - Kim Kelly Tunis, Nisus; Van Wagner, Arrow Exterminators; and Wally Holden, Rentokil Terminix - identified this need after experiencing their own challenges and recognizing that there were few resources available within the pest management industry to help those in a time of need.
Wagner, current president of the foundation, said the pest management industry is a unique group of people that work together to protect their people and communities they work and live in.
“Regardless of the name or brand of the organizations that we all work for, we have always felt the need to support each other,” he said. “We feel that as part of the pest management industry, it is our responsibility to give back to an industry that has benefited us for several years.”
The foundation has been able to support several industry members financially over the past five years, Wagner said.
“A single mother with cancer was out of work for several months with little to no relevant income, but the bills continued to come in. She is now a cancer survivor and during her time of struggle we provided financial support,” he said. “An industry member passed away unexpectedly and left his young wife and children with financial setbacks. We were able to support the family of a young girl that was fighting cancer.”
Wagner said although growing the foundation has been a challenge, many pest control companies have provided generous donations from its inception. With the support of the Georgia Pest Control Association and the Certified Pest Control Operators organization, the foundation has been able to slowly increase the level of funds available to all those that apply for financial assistance.
“We will continue to build the foundation and are working hard to expand our reach throughout the country in the coming years,” he said.
Applicants for assistance must be active members in the pest management industry, have suffered an unexpected catastrophic event beyond their control, in a state of financial distress and have already used up other forms of help.
The current Board of Directors are:
- Wally Holden, Past President and Advisor
- Kim Kelly Tunis, Past President
- Van Wagner, Current President
- Johhny Jury, Vice President
- Juli Fogg, Secretary
- Brandon Sartain, Selection Chair
- Faye Golden, At Large Member-Selection Committee
- Ron Combs, At Large Member-Selection Committee
- Melissa Manns, At Large Member Selection Committee & Legal Support
- Connie Rogers, At Large Member-Selection Committee
To contribute to the foundation, visit https://handsunited.us/donate/.
