It was the worst year of The Great Depression. Unemployment averaged 25.2%. President Franklin D. Roosevelt intoned during his first inauguration speech the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
The year was 1933. Thankfully, Al Cossetta and FDR were on the same page regarding fear. In January that year, Cossetta launched Exterminators Log, the predecessor to today’s Pest Management Professional (PMP), while he was an employee of National Extermination Products Co. in Kansas City, Mo.
“I was told I would lose my shirt if I were foolish enough to put out a publication for this industry,” Cossetta wrote in a 1958 column celebrating the 25th anniversary of then-named Pest Control. “Today, this publication is recognized as one of the top-notch trade magazines in the whole country.
“The launching of Exterminators Log was a milestone in the early history of the structural pest control industry,” added Cossetta, who owned the magazine and served as its first editor. “Appropriately enough, the page-one editorial in the magazine’s first issue was titled, ‘At Last We Have It.’”
Eighty years later, we still have it — and we’re more committed than ever to growing it.
PMP is stronger than ever — evidenced by our 160-page September show issue (10 times the size of our inaugural issue in January 1933), as well as our accompanying 108-page collectors edition commemorating the 80th anniversaries of PMP and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).
We thank our good friends at the NPMA for partnering with us on this special project. Congratulations on 80 years of industry education and advocacy. We love NPMA’s new logo, prominently displayed throughout our anniversary issue, and new tagline: “Our Mission is Your Protection.”
We owe our rich histories to countless faithful servants who have gone before us. We’re simply the trustees of these gems. You’re the real owners. Together, we pledge to continually advance these industry treasures and the wonderful professional pest management business we’re privileged to serve.
Last but not least, PMP thanks its loyal and growing family of readers and advertisers for being true partners in our success. You make it all possible. Thanks for serving as co-engineers in the design and delivery of our market intel.
Here’s to 80 more years of growth and partnering! pmp
You can reach Stoltman at kstoltman@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3740.
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