Pi Chi Omega Membership Numbers and Scholarship Funds on the Rise

Outgoing Pi Chi Omega President Cassie Krecji noted that during the last two years the pest control fraternity has added 81 members and given out $26,000 in scholarship funds.


HONOLULU – Pi Chi Omega, the national pest control fraternity, met at NPMA PestWorld in Honolulu and outgoing president Cassie Krecji shared with members a number of important updates.

Krecji noted that Pi Chi Omega is in excellent financial shape and that membership is growing. “We’ve added 81 new members during the last two years, and I really attribute all of that success to all of you taking the message and saying you should join us,” she said.

One of the organizations main objectives is to provided scholarship funds to students studying entomology. Desiree Straubinger, chair of the Pi Chi Omega scholarship committee, shared that Pi Chi Omega awarded $13,000 in scholarships this past year.

• John Osmun Scholarship awarded to Madison Gits, University of Florida for $3,000
• Founders Endowment Scholarship awarded to Isabelle Lucero, University of Kentucky $2,000
• Alain VanRyckeghem Memorial Scholarship awarded to Simona Principato, University of Kentucky for $2,000
• Austin Frishman Scholarship awarded to Ben Grady, University of Kentucky for $2,000
• Norm Ehmann Scholarship awarded to Morgan Wilson, Virginia Tech University for $2,000

• R. Randall Rollins Memorial Scholarship awarded to Jacob Winkles, University of Georgia for $2,000

Another important Pi Chi Omega success story in 2023 was getting the Pi Chi Omega Industry Grant Program fully funded. The program, introduced to the industry at PestWorld 2022, provides grants that can be used by industry professionals already working in the field to advance their careers. After seed money contributed by Trécé in 2022, the grant was fully funded Hawx Pest Services and renamed the Daniel A. Baldwin Industry Grant. Pi Chi Omega announced in September that the first grant was given to Sarah Latyn, the technical training manager of Rest Easy Pest Control and a technical consultant for White Mantis Consulting. 

At the conclusion of the Pi Chi Omega, Alison Wagner and Erin Bishop from the Hawaii Ant Lab gave a presentation about a pair of invasive pests – the rhinoceros beetle and little fire ants. Bishop shared that rhinoceros beetles can damage palm tree leaves. Bishop noted that the lab doesn’t have the tools to stop it from spreading but the group is trying to prevent it from wildly establishing throughout the islands. To that end, one activity PestWorld attendees can take part of while at PestWorld is building LFA test kits.