NEPMA Presents Annual Awards at March Program

The New England Pest Management Association recognized four individuals at the March 3 training event in Taunton, Mass.

 

Benjamin Burke, Professional of the Year Award: Benjamin Burke of Modern Pest Services received the 2022 Professional of the Year award. This award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the pest management industry through their work performance, service to their community or industry, technician training, or other notable accomplishments in pest management. 

 

Burke ’s favorite part of working in pest control is the chase. “Nothing beats finding that elusive link between what a client is reporting and what the pest is doing. Then being able to solve that issue for the client,” he said. Burke never planned on becoming a pest control professional, but he followed the advice of his friend, a Modern employee at the time, and applied. “And it has been an absolute blast!” he said.

 

Hope Bowman, PWIPM of New England Women of Excellence Award: PWIPM of New England awarded the 3rd Annual Women of Excellence Award to Hope Bowman, BCE of Waltham Pest Services. Bowman joined Waltham Pest Services in 2019 as the Technical, Training, and Quality Manager covering the New England Market. She is a Board-Certified Entomologist and has been on the Board of the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania Pest Management Association and the New England Pest Management Association. 

 

The regional honor is open to women across the pest management industry – PMP’s, manufacturers, research organizations, etc. who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and have made notable contributions to the development and growth of the profession and their companies. Nominees may be nominated by more than one person. Nominees should reside and/or work in at least one of the New England States: Connecticut, Maine Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont. 

 

Her nominator, Christian Weppert wrote, “She has truly earned the reputation as one of the most respected, accomplished, and influential women in our industry.”

 

Molly Moran, Vendor of the Year Award: Molly Moran of Forshaw Inc. received the 2022 Vendor of the Year award. The NEPMA Vendor of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has helped member companies grow and is a supporter of the Association. Moran has been immersed in customer service and warehouse work for over 4 years as a pest control technician and field sales representative. She’s an avid team player and goes above and beyond to help her customers and team members. 

 

“Molly is very responsive and helpful when orders are placed for products we need. She goes above and beyond to see if products can be acquired even if they are not directly in the warehouse in Mass or easily accessible. The supply chain issues have been a challenge for all of us, but Molly and Forshaw have gone above and beyond to help keep our businesses going smoothly”, said Hope Bowman BCE of Waltham Pest Services and recipient of this year’s Women of Excellence award.

 

Nick Spigler, Mark Weintraub Scholarship Recipient: Nick Spigler, a senior at North Harford High School in the Natural Resources in Agricultural Science Magnet Program has been chosen as the recipient of the 2022 scholarship. Each year NEPMA awards a $3,000 scholarship in honor of Mark Weintraub. This scholarship was started and first funded by Rod Kreimeyer in 1994. Rod named the scholarship in honor of Mark Weintraub of Astor Terminix who was a founding member of NEPMA and Rod’s employer and mentor. This scholarship is awarded to the student connected to an NEPMA member who best exemplifies the spirit carried forward by Mark Weintraub. 

 

Spigler’s primary passion is birds, as he has focused his studies thus far in this field by volunteering at a local bird banding station to work toward earning a banding sub-permit, analyzing 40 years of bird banding data for his Senior Captone Research Project, and sharing his passion with other members of the birding community through participation in Harford Bird Club. Nick prides himself on his exceptional academic record, maintaining a 4.77 GPA and is hopeful he will graduate in the top 3% of his class in June. While Nick has been accepted to many 4-year colleges for this fall, he is still carefully considering his decision as the last few acceptance packages arrive in March. He plans on pursuing a degree in Environmental Science, and possibly eventually working toward a master’s degree.