[2006 Technician of the Year Awards - Commercial] Commercial Grade

Paul Morton of The Steritech Group surpasses the challenges he faces with his commercial accounts to become the 2006 Commercial Technician of the Year.

By the very nature of commercial accounts, pest control situations must be handled and solved by yesterday. Timeliness and correctness drive decisions facing health care facilities, food processing plants, restaurants and research facilities. In addition, IPM methods utilizing the least amount of chemicals are sought in these delicate environments.

One 18-year veteran in the pest control industry earning accolades from his company and customers is Paul Morton. The Steritech Group Inc., was formed 20 years ago in Charlotte, N.C., and has since expanded operations to 42 states, served by more than 25 branch offices.

The current branch manager of the Knoxville, Tenn., office, James Brockman, recalls that Morton was referred through a mutual friend of Frank Barscz, general manager of Steritech’s Nashville, Tenn., office. With no pest control industry experience, Morton nevertheless possessed the qualities inherent for the position.

In fact, Morton had graduated from the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Okla. He jokes, "I went from working on large fuelages with huge wing spans on airplanes, to small bodies with small wings on insects."

THE EARLY YEARS. Originally, Morton was hired in Nashville, but after six months, was transferred to Knoxville to help start operations in the eastern Tennessee market. At this point, Steritech was a start-up company and each employee was trying to contribute to its growth.

"Paul has done a little bit of everything with the company," explains Brockman. At various times in his career, Morton has filled in as service supervisor and service manager and even participated on the sales side.

"However," Brockman adds, "Paul is happiest when he is focused on providing pest elimination services directly for his clients."

TRAINING AND EDUCATION. Morton immediately immersed himself in his new field, completing Steritech’s Integrated Pest Elimination course and exam after he was hired. Through the years, he has completed additional training, including the AIB Food Plant Sanitation correspondence course, the AIB Voluntary Certified Quality Control Sanitarian exam, the Purdue Pest Control Technology correspondence course and the Purdue Food Plant Pest Management correspondence course.

"You should never stop gaining knowledge," Morton says. "Anyone can invent a new technique."

His depth of knowledge is amazing," Brockman says. "He is the go-to person with any problem that others cannot solve."

In fact, if another specialist is having a problem with an account, Morton is called. He will walk in, assess the situation, and quickly begin offering suggestions. More often, he will stay and help.

Morton easily translates his knowledge into mentoring for younger specialists. "I can become a second set of eyes to help with problem-solving," he says. "Everyone helps everyone."

MASTER SPECIALIST. Steritech offers structured training units each month, and Morton conducts the Knoxville branch training. "Paul is more than a commercial technician, he is a Master Specialist," Brockman said.

Only two specialists at Steritech have attained this level and Morton was the first. In order to become a Master Specialist at Steritech, Morton passed four exams dealing with advanced pest identification, equipment, construction and pesticide usage protocols. "Even if we didn’t have this title, Paul would still be a Master Specialist," says Brockman. "He deserves this."

In addition, in 2004 Morton received the Steritech Achievement Award that honors the company’s top employees from administrative, management, sales and service. Less than 2% of Steritech’s specialists win Achievement Awards each year (the awards were begun in 2003).

HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. Morton serves all commercial accounts, but prefers to work in health care settings. "They’re a bit of a challenge really," he says. "There’s less emphasis on using pesticides and more emphasis on other procedures."

Brockman acknowledges that Morton approaches his health care accounts with gusto. One particular service call was extremely critical. An operating room in a small eastern Tennessee hospital, the only operating room for miles, was experiencing an outbreak of small flies. "It didn’t take Paul any time at all to identify the problem," says Brockman. "There was a problem in the roof and he was able to work with the maintenance department to get it fixed."

IDENTIFICATION EXPERT. One of the talents that Morton possesses is the ability to identify pests from a distance. "Paul has the ability to quickly survey an entire area and deduce which species of small fly is likely to be present in that environment," Brockman said. "There are few people who understand the nature and biology of small flies like Paul."

One particular situation left Morton stumped. He could identify the pest as phorid flies, but he could not find the source. After four weeks, he finally solved the problem. "Never give up," he counsels.

WHAT LIES AHEAD? The unique challenges he faces keeps Morton motivated. "I love seeing something I’ve never seen before," he says. "No one knows it all."

Currently, Morton services between 45 and 50 commercial accounts, many that he started himself. As with any commercial account, a certain amount of work is performed at night, and Morton incorporates this into his schedule. "As a branch manager, I spend absolutely minimal time supervising Paul," states Brockman. "I have the highest amount of trust in him, and he makes it a pleasure."

He continues, "Paul cares, he absolutely cares about his clients and it shows. We’re blessed to have him. He’s a good employee and a good person."

Maybe Brockman doesn’t articulate the meaning of life, but, in the very least, captures the essence of the meaning of career in regard to Morton: "To do something successfully for a number of years takes passion, and Paul has it. He’s been able to maintain that passion and it has benefited everyone."

The author is a Cleveland, Ohio-based writer and frequent PCT contributor.