The Pest Management Professional (PMP) Hall of Fame was established in 1997 to recognize and thank those who’ve led the pest management industry to new heights. This year, four industry icons — Ed Bradbury, Gene Harrington, Don Reierson and Dempsey R. Sapp Sr. — join the ranks of 75 other PMP Hall of Famers. Though they need no introduction, here’s the Class of 2014:
Ed Bradbury founded Viking Termite & Pest Control in 1980 with his wife, Eileen, and has since grown it into one of largest and most respected pest management companies in North America — with more than 200 employees in five states. Bradbury — six-time president of the New Jersey Pest Management Association (NJPMA) — has been instrumental in creating educational programs for Rutgers University and helped develop new regulations with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Additionally, Bradbury has served on numerous National Pest Management Association (NPMA) committees, including as a board member as Region 1 Director. He’s also served as a board member for the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA).
In 1994, Gene Harrington responded to a job listing for a manager of government affairs post with the then-National Pest Control Association (now NPMA). Two decades later, he’s still with the association as vice president of government affairs. Using his Capitol Hill experience and knowledge of entomology, Harrington has spent his tenure with the organization shaping industry-related legislation and regulations. He’s helped develop and implement pest management public policy throughout the U.S., and played a key role in the defeat of legislation banning the use of pesticides on various federal properties in 2000. In 2009, Harrington helped create a workable measure affecting the treatment of pests on planes; it became law in 2012. Most recently, he spearheaded the passage of a 2014 law retaining the food uses for the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride.
Donald Reierson veered from plans to teach high school science by taking a job as a student assistant to fellow PMP Hall of Famer Dr. Walter Ebeling (Class of 2003). During his years in the graduate entomology program at the University of California-Los Angeles, Reierson studied mosquitoes and other insects. Now he conducts research for the industry on a part-time basis for the department of entomology, University of California-Riverside with his fellow PMP Hall of Famer and friend of more than 30 years, Dr. Mike Rust (Class of 2007). Their research areas include urban insect pests, integrated pest management, insecticide resistance and field control strategies. Reierson serves as a mentor to next-generation researchers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from UCLA and a master’s degree from California State University, Long Beach.
Dempsey R. Sapp Sr. is widely considered a founding father of the pest management industry. In 1949, Sapp earned a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Florida (UF). Two days after graduation, he opened Gainesville, Fla.-based Florida Pest Control & Chemical Co., now one of the biggest family-owned pest management companies in the U.S. The Florida Pest Control Association (now Florida Pest Management Association, or FPMA), elected Sapp president in 1958. Sapp also helped steer pest management regulation by concurrently serving three years on the Structural Pest Control Commission of Florida. In 1999, he and his wife, Margie, created the Margie B. and Dempsey R. Sapp Sr. Distinguished Endowed Professorship in Structural Pest Control and Urban Entomology. At the time, it was the first UF professorship funded exclusively by a PMP.
Finally, we thank our PMP Hall of Fame sponsors for partnering with us to recognize these industry icons:
■ Platinum Sponsor: Bug Off Pest Control Center
■ Cocktails Sponsor: J.T. Eaton & Co.
■ Gold Sponsors: BASF, Control Solutions Inc. (CSI), Marathon Data Systems, Purdue University, Rockwell Labs Ltd. and Service Pro.
You can reach Nepper at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3775.
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