Networking, Leadership Development Highlight NPMA Women's Forum

Editor's note: Click here to view more photos taken at the 2023 NPMA Women's Forum.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — “Once you’re in, you never leave”, and “It’s like joining the mafia,” were phrases jokingly expressed by speakers and attendees relating to the pest control industry at this year’s National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Women’s Forum, held last week in Charleston, S.C.

While jokes and laughs were shared about joining a mafia, most attendees agreed that once you’re in the pest control industry, you find yourself wanting to stay long term.

Kimberly Youngpeter, vice president of Rollins, said she believes this to be true because it’s a “people, relationship and family-leading industry.”

© Amanda Donchatz 

“Once they get in and they see what the environment is like, they realize how much is involved in it and how much [audience] reach it has,” Youngpeter said during a panel discussion. “People want to be a part of that and want to be a part of that family. They’re either going to stay forever, or they’re going to be out.”

NPMA CEO Dominique Stumpf welcomed more than 300 attendees to the third in-person forum. Glenn Matthews, Modern Exterminating, and president of the South Carolina Pest Control Association welcomed pest professionals to his home state. Brittany Bailey, Envu, shared some words of encouragement on behalf of Envu, the premier sponsor of the forum.

Bailey asked attendees, “What do leaders have in common?” She responded, “Self-confidence. Believe in you. At the end of the day, I’m going to bet on Brittany,” Bailey said.

Following opening remarks, PCT magazine Publisher Jodi Dorsch moderated the Impactful Women’s Leader panel, where speakers shared practical leadership advice to attendees. The panel included Rollins’ Youngpeter, Susan Douglas, vice president of finance at Terminix Service, and Aly Silva Mulgrew, Plunkett's Pest Control.

The panel all agreed that employee recruitment is their No. 1 challenge, but Mulgrew said one of Plunkett’s biggest challenges is creating a sense of community and connection across the 22 states the company operates in, to reach all employees on some personal level.  

“Even in our offices, we have a hybrid workforce, so it’s just building the connections to encourage people to feel a sense of belonging and community so they want to stay for a long time,” she said.

When asked “What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?” Mulgrew responded, “Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and ask for something,” and “Be more open to possibilities as they come.”

Douglas said she would tell her 25-year-old self, “Don’t give into the ‘no’ every time.”

“It really did take me a while to figure out that you can go back [to your supervisor] and ask for something different,” she said. “If I would have figured that out earlier, I would have been better off. I would encourage any [young professional] to do that.”

©Amanda Donchatz 

NPMA awarded nearly 90 women in the industry — ranging from technical/service, sales, management, or office staff — with Impact Awards for Women in Pest Management. Recipients had to be nominated for the award and each nomination was considered based on the merits of information included in the submissions.

Samantha Malone, president of Olympia Pest Management, Tumwater, Wash., was one of the many recipients of the award and said her company works with youth in the community to encourage them to consider pest control as a career.

“We try and get involved in our community as much as possible,” Malone said. “We have worked with the Girl Scouts on stinging insect education to show which ones are beneficial and which ones do harm.”

Malone said she attributes her success to those who have given her the confidence to take on more responsibility.

“Pest control is all about the people and making [connections] with customers and protecting their homes,” she said. “I think women bring a different level of empathy and understanding to the industry. I want to see more woman get into management roles in the industry because we are built for it.”

© Amanda Donchatz 

Denise Trad-Warton, CEO of Trad Pest Control and a second-generation owner, Jacksonville, Fla., has been working in pest control for more than 30 years and was also a recipient of an Impact Award.

Trad-Warton said her philosophy as the CEO has been, “If we take care of our [employees], and empower them and grow them professionally and personally, they will take care of our customers, and our customers will take care of us.”

Other highlights from the forum included:

• Following the awards ceremony, several breakout options were available to attendees with industry leaders across various companies: Jill Brindle, Enviroguard Pest Solutions; Melanie Matthews; Modern Exterminating; Sara Cromwell, Abell Pest Control; Ruby Swann, Rollins.; Dawn Marie Aguayo, Orkin Pest Control; Jennifer Fox, Rentokil Terminix; and Jennifer Gray, Waynes Pest Control Services.
• An interactive Leadership Awareness and Agility session led by Bevin Mugford , Inspired Partnerships Group, focused on creating a cognitive, emotional, physical and spiritual connections that take leaders to a place of perspective and growth within companies. Marillian Missiti, president of Buono Pest Control, Belmont, Mass., spoke to attendees following the session focusing on the four modalities of leadership: driver, pillar, advocate, and innovator.
• Kristen Hadeed, speaker and founder of Student Maid, presented on “The Future of Work” and redefining success in culture and leadership. Hadeed challenged the traditional management approaches that she believes are no longer working, and shared her vision of human leadership and why she thinks it is the answer going forward in the workforce.
• Attendees at NPMA Women’s Forum sang happy birthday to Faye Golden of Cook's Pest Control. Golden, along with Shay Runion of Arrow Exterminators, were on a panel about how a company's culture will attract customers and employees alike, setting ones company up for sustainable growth.