“I started in the pest management business at age 14, doing grunt work in crawlspaces. I worked my way up to the point where today, 40 years later, I’m still in crawlspaces!”
Billy Tesh, Owner, Pest Management Systems Inc. (PMi), Greensboro, N.C.
EDUCATION
Class of 1977
Smith High School
Greensboro, N.C.
Class of 1979
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, N.C.
Associate’s degree, structural pest management
ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP
1987
President, North Carolina Pest Management
“At NC State, I was privileged to learn from some of the best, including PMP Hall of Famer Dr. Charles Wright.”
July 2014-June 2015
President, National Pest Management Association
WORK EXPERIENCE
1969
Paperboy, Greensboro Daily News
1971-1973
Owner, one-man lawn-cutting business
1974-1977
Serviceman, Holland’s Gulf station, Greensboro
1974-1984
“I was hired to pump gas and clean up, but before long I was working on cars. I love to see how things work, to take them apart and put them back together.”
Technician-turned-GM, Tesh Pest Control, a Greensboro business owned by his uncle
1984
Co-Founded Pest Management Systems Inc. with his wife, Laurie
1995
Founder, Groundworks
1999
Co-Founder, PestOne
2006
Founder, CrawlSpace Care Technologies
2011
Co-Founder, Crawlspace Depot
CLOSING THOUGHT
“Initially, our company was called ‘PMS,’ but we quickly changed it to ‘PMi’ after fielding a few calls from people struggling with premenstrual syndrome — no joke.” Photo: ©iStock.com/kingjon
“My mom is the Energizer Bunny, still going strong at age 87. I’ve been told I’m a bit like her.”
All photos except for telephone courtesy of Billy Tesh.
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