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The 2026 PMP Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony took place Oct. 19 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. This year’s inductees are Mark Boyd, founder of Control Solutions Inc.; Bobby, Raleigh and Dennis Jenkins of ABC Home & Commercial Services; Frank Meek of Rollins; and the late Gene White of Rentokil. Visit the PMP Hall of Fame website.
Frank Thomas Meek Jr., BCE, PHE, PCQI, has been so synonymous with pest control training and expertise in this industry, one might think he was born with a clipboard in one hand and a hand lens in the other.
But that is not the case. His degree is not in entomology, but in physical science and mathematics. In 1986, this Montgomery, Ala., native was 23, married to his high school sweetheart, LeeAnn, with a baby on the way. When he applied to Orkin, inspired by seeing a “we’re hiring” sign at an Orkin office near his apartment complex in College Park, Ga., it was just supposed to help with medical insurance until he could find a “real” job.
After following directions to “get a haircut” before showing up for his first day, Meek joined the Rollins Inc. team 40 years ago this month as a termite sales inspector. When he retires in December, it will be as Senior Technical Advisor and Entomologist. Meek has flown more than 4 million miles to help pest management professionals (PMPs) learn and troubleshoot on every continent but Antarctica.
Meek’s natural curiosity has served him well over the years. He credits the late Paul Hardy, a fellow PMP Hall of Famer (Class of 2005) and Orkin colleague, with getting him out of the termite sales side and more into the technical side while the latter was helping Etex Ltd. to fine-tune its Electro-Gun in the late 1980s.
A second mentor Meek is grateful for is then-Orkin technical director Dr. Harlan Freese, who pushed him to study, take classes in entomology, earn his board certification in entomology (BCE) and get published — which even led to a monthly technical column in Pest Management Professional (PMP) for several years.
Sharpening his skills
From 1988 through 1998, Meek advanced through various branch, regional and divisional leadership roles across multiple territories — at one point overseeing operations throughout the Caribbean.
Meek transitioned to Orkin’s technical services department in 1999 as technical manager for commercial operations, earning a promotion to technical director in 2003. In that role, he oversaw product and equipment selection across all Orkin branches, evaluated emerging chemistries and control concepts, and delivered technical support to more than 400 North American locations and international units.
In 2008, Meek was named Orkin’s international technical and training director. He returned to Rollins’ U.S. technical team in 2020, supporting Orkin alongside Rollins’ broader family of brands.
An industry spokesman
Throughout his career, Meek has been a prominent voice across the industry, presenting at national, regional and international industry association meetings. On the consumer side, he has been quoted by the likes of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN and MSNBC and appeared on TV news programs for ABC, CNN and NBC. Other bona fides include:
2001: Earned board-certified entomologist (BCE) credentials
2005: Co-authored the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Recommended Practice Guide for the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES)
2010: Authored the “Occasional Invaders” chapter for the 10th edition of the Mallis Handbook of Pest Control, originally created by fellow PMP Hall of Famer Arnold Mallis (Class of 2007)
2015: Appointed an advisor to the Scientific Committee for the Chinese Pest Control Association
2021–2022: Earned his Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) designation (2021) and Public Health Entomology (PHE) certificate (2022)
2022: Received the inaugural International IPM Achievement Award (Practitioner) from the International IPM Symposium for outstanding leadership in sustainable IPM adoption
An industry pioneer
Over the course of his career, Meek has collaborated closely with manufacturers to advance control protocols. This includes introducing Maxforce cockroach gel bait into Orkin’s IPM strategies — ensuring technicians did not treat the new technology of gel bait as a silver bullet, but rather a component of a broader strategy of finding and eliminating food, moisture and harborage areas.
Meek also remains active in a variety of industry organizations, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), the Entomological Society of America (ESA), industry fraternity Pi Chi Omega, and the Georgia Pest Management Association. He has also served on the ESA Entomological Foundation Board, the NPMA’s technical and commercial committees, and the steering committee for Oklahoma State University’s Stored Product Pest Research program.
Focus on the future
Meek is known for his excellent communication skills, which led him to over 60 different countries, providing initial training and orientation to local staff. Perhaps this goes back to his days at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, where he was part of the drama club, the Lanier Singers and the Thespian National Honor Society.
Meek is more than “just” a highly regarded PMP, however. This Boy Scout, who knows his way around the bagpipes, is a devoted husband, father of two (Dori and Owen) and Popi to three (Piper, Syrus and Sylvie). He’s looking forward to spending more time with his family after his many years of being on the road.
While he might miss what he calls the “people-pleasing, problem-solving” business after retirement, Meek is hanging up his wand sprayer secure in the notion that today’s generation of PMPs will continue to learn new methods and technologies to protect their customers from pest infestations. After all, he has had a hand in training quite a few of them.
Gooch can be reached at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net or 330-321-9754.
