The National Pest Management Association reflected on a busy year and looked forward to future opportunities for the association and its members.
HONOLULU — As part of the opening ceremonies during PestWorld 2010, the National Pest Management Association’s annual convention and exposition, NPMA Executive Vice President Rob Lederer reflected on a busy year for the association and its members.
During the past 12 months, NPMA and its members have been in the spotlight as a result of the national bed bug epidemic. For example, this past summer in the span of eight days, the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), NPMA’s consumer education arm, gave 400 interviews, resulting in 44 million web impressions.
Also during this past year, NPMA raised its profile with its largest international outreach effort – relief trips to Haiti to assist the citizens of this earthquake-ravaged country.
In addition to reflecting on this busy year, Lederer reviewed several exciting new NPMA services, including:
- The relaunch of NPMApestworld.org
- A downloadable Pest Guide App that assists members with the identification of more than 200 pests.
- The launch NPMA’s OnDemand webinar series.
Following Lederer’s opening remarks, attendees were treated to the sounds and rhythms of an awe-inspiring Kahiko performance followed by Hawaiian sensation, Taimane Gardner, known locally as the “Female Carlos Santana.” Gardner played variations of songs by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin and Carlos Santana to Beethoven and J.S. Bach. The opening session was sponsored by Bayer Environmental Science.
Attendees also had a chance to check out the latest product innovations during exhibit hall hours.
Other highlights from this year's conference included:
The opening general session, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, was presented by photographer/creativity expert, Dewitt Jones, who shared with attendees his answers to questions such as: How do we take our lives to the next level? How do we summon the passion to keep “raising the bar”? How can we make our life less of a struggle and more of a joy?
During Friday’s General Session, sponsored by BASF, attendees heard from Colonel Mark Tillman, who served as commander and pilot of Air Force One from 2001 until 2009. Most notably, he protected the President and his staff the day of September 11, 2001, by providing two urgent needs for the President — complete safety and constant connection to the nation’s first responders.
 NPMA's Rob Lederer (left) presents an appreciation plaque to Bayer ES's Chris Pienaar. |
 An awe-inspiring Kahiko performance kicked off the opening ceremony. |
 Taimane Gardner, known locally as the “Female Carlos Santana,” played variations of songs by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin and Carlos Santana to Beethoven and J.S. Bach.
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 FMC's Chris Bowley (right) talks with attendee Luigi Bazzolo from Italy. |
 Ray and Tammy Johnson, Johnson Pest Control, Sevierville, Tenn., were among PestWorld attendees. |
 Paragon's Steve Diaz (right) was among vendors who chatted with attendees. |