PWIPM of NE, Arizona, host winter events

Heather Alonso, BCE, Target Specialty Products.

The Professional Women in Pest Management (PWIPM) of New England held its first event of the new year on Jan. 13.

The event was held on Zoom with Heather Alonso, BCE, the technical training manager for Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Target Specialty Products.

The topic was “How to Deal with Difficult Conversations.” The event had over 50 attendees for an hour-long discussion on how to hold difficult conversations with professionalism.

The discussion focused on how “we can all be terrible communicators at times. But having awkward or difficult conversations is part of being a professional…not to mention it’s essential for getting what you want out of work and life. We will dive into what makes these conversations so ‘difficult,’ and review best practices for handling these situations with tact and professionalism.”

You can view the recording of the training on YouTube.

Alonso is a board-certified entomologist with Target Specialty Products. She graduated from Clemson University in 2004 with a degree in agronomic systems. She has been in the industry for over 15 years in various roles that focus on technical training. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, AJ, and three children: Grace, Aiden and Zoey.

The next event for PWIPM of New England is its annual awards dinner on March 3. The group will announce the winner of the third annual Women of Excellence Award.

PWIPM raises awareness

Participants of the Stop Traffic Walk in Arizona. IMAGE: Dawn Marie Aguayo

In other PWIPM chapter news, over two dozen pest control companies, pest professionals, distributors and manufacturers in Arizona helped raise awareness to the

As a result, the Arizona chapter of PWIPM raised nearly $4,200 in four weeks for the Stop Traffic Walk.

“I am extremely blessed to be part of such an amazing industry,” said Dawn Marie Aguayo, Southwest region sales manager at Orkin. “Special thank you to all those that donated, helped and walked this evening.”

About PWIPM

With chapters worldwide, the Professional Women in Pest Management is an affiliate group of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Its mission is to attract, develop and support women in the pest management industry through educational programs, resources and peer networking.