[25th Annual Professional of the Year] Tommy Fortson

Since coming to his grandfather’s company more than four decades ago, Tommy Fortson has accomplished a great deal. He helped grow a five-branch Terminix franchise into the nation’s largest, providing hundreds of employees and their families with steady work. He’s helped pest management’s public relations arm grow its membership and its coffers. But, most of all, he’s earned the respect of an entire industry.

MANAGING AND FOSTERING GROWTH. Apart from leading the nation’s largest Terminix franchise, Fortson is credited with growing the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA) into a powerful presence in the industry. For the last four years, he’s been chairman of the organization, and has brought a level of respect and commitment that has kept it alive and vibrant.

“People don’t give to organizations. People give to people,” said Cindy Mannes, vice president of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association. “This industry is comfortable with him as the chairman (of PPMA), and he helps to really lead in his own quiet way. His pride in the growth of what he’s been able to accomplish — you can truly say it’s been because of him. He would never say that but it is. It takes a strong leader to keep the momentum going. Tommy’s there. He makes sure things happen.”

And after 44 years in the industry, with a resume and company many in the industry would envy, Fortson is anything but boastful.

“I’m just…I’m me,” he said. “A lot of people deserve recognition more than I do.”

FINDING A NICHE. Fortson came to pest control as a stop-gap solution. As a young boy, he remembered disliking his grandfather’s company — mostly because of the smell. “Frankly the chemical smelled strongly back then,” he said. “It just wasn’t a lot of attraction, honestly, to a young person.”

But, he was recently married, and needed a job to support his new family. So, he went back to his uncles, now running the business, and asked for a job.

The Terminix franchise then had five offices spread across South Carolina, and Fortson started dabbling in the company’s fledgling general pest control business. He started training other employees and, thanks to a bachelor’s degree in education, found his niche.

“Termite control has a very practical mission. You treat a house and you’re protecting somebody’s property. That’s admirable,” Fortson said, “but the thing about (general) pest control, to me, it has just a little more noble intent.” A self-described Southern Romantic, Fortson said the idea of protecting people’s health appealed to him. “It had an emotional draw that termite control didn’t have to me.”

A FAMILY BUSINESS, A FAMILY INDUSTRY. Now, Terminix Service has 51 branches in the Carolinas and Georgia, and Fortson credits the company’s — and the industry’s — success to its foundation in family. He said the recent National Pest Management Association PestWorld convention and tradeshow in Orlando was a prime example: PCOs from all over the country who know each other, and have forged lasting relationships came together for the event.

“They love each other in this agape sense, because they all believe they’ve got a common mission,” he said. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t even show up. They’d all do their thing, operate independently and we wouldn’t even have an association.”

And that easy-to-articulate idea — that the industry is just as important as each individual company — is what makes PPMA successful, he said.
PPMA board members credit Fortson with giving the organization much-needed stability, credibility and consistency — essential when communicating any message to the general public, and when trying to recruit more support.

“It has to be a constant beating of the drum,” said PPMA Vice Chairman Bobby Jenkins. “It’s a perfect fit having Tommy in that role. It gives us stability and credibility within the industry.”

After four years as chair of the PPMA, Fortson has proven his ability to lead without leading.

“It’s not as if he’s giving out all the orders to march to a certain drumbeat, but he’s marching there with us,” said Fortson’s longtime friend Norman Goldenberg, senior vice president of Terminix International. “His social skills, in conjunction with the time he’s been in this industry, have coupled to serve his company and our industry probably better than anybody I know.”

A HIGHER ORDER. True success, Fortson said, doesn’t come from browbeating competitors or fighting tooth and nail over a certain market. It comes from realizing that what’s good for one company is good for the entire pest control industry.

“The industry is just as important as my company,” he said. “I like the people in this industry. Every operator in this state, I can call my friend. I truly like them. And I’m proud for them when they do well. But because they do well doesn’t diminish what I do.

“I’ve got a little bit of a Romantic streak to me, and I just believe there’s always a higher order somewhere. I’ve just always believed that the best way to do business is to make friends with your competitors and share what you can,” Fortson said. “If they get better, you get better. I’ve always operated that way, and always tried to get that across to our people.”

The problem comes when younger managers want to pitch battles with rival companies. “What they need to do is join the local association or meet them and get to know them personally,” Fortson said. “Because you don’t say things about somebody you know.”

Fortson said companies need to focus on bringing in more customers, not fighting over the ones already interested in pest management services. That means selling the industry to the general public, and often selling the industry to fellow PCOs.

Companies can’t lose sight of the many niche markets available — commercial, residential, food plants, construction — all of which are noble places to serve.

“It’s not just selling the message outside. To me, it’s big on selling the message inside,” he said. “It sounds sort of corny, but it’s really not. In order for anybody to be successful, they’ve got to be part of a family. If you believe it, we can all go somewhere.”

The author is assistant editor at PCT magazine.

Keeping It In The Family

Fortson is the third generation of his family to run Terminix Service. His grandfather purchased the franchise in 1949, and his uncles Tom and Marion Knox ran it until Fortson and his cousin Lex Knox, now chairman, took over.

Now, Fortson’s sons Scott, vice president of operations, and Nelson, fleet manager, along with Lex’s son Trevor and Fortson’s nephew Rion, make up the fourth generation.

The company also has many second- and third-generation employees.

“When somebody’s father worked here, they have an emotional involvement in the company. That’s what, I think, helps us,” Fortson said. “A lot of our employees have an emotional involvement in our company.”

Seven PCOs Go Golfing In Ireland…

Fortson is an avid golfer, and a few years ago got the chance to hit the links in Ireland at the invitation of the Irish Pest Control Association with six other PCOs. It was to be a five-day trip, but on the first day, his hand was slammed in the door of the van they had rented.

Instead of immediately going to the doctor, he and his six companions headed to the pub, where he sat with his bloody hand in a bag of ice.

Ultimately, he had to have holes drilled in his fingernails to relieve the pressure. But after a half-day off, he was back on the links.

“It didn’t deny him playing time, I can assure you that,” said Goldenberg, who was on the trip. “His ability to bounce back and do things is just unbelievable.
“Tommy doesn’t usually quit and give up. He’s a go-getter. Not a lot holds him back. He’s sort of like the mailman: Neither rain nor sleet nor getting your hand caught in a door can prevent him from doing his golf rounds.”

Fortson’s other extracurricular activities include an ability to read the stars, speak Gaelic and studying architecture.

“It’s never dull hanging out with Tommy or talking with Tommy,” said Cindy Mannes. “He’s just so full of life and energy, and people get that. He continues to grow every day as a person, where some people don’t. I guess that’s why he’s so insightful.”

A Visit From The Orkin Man

Fortson’s commitment to the industry also extends across the aisle to rival Orkin. Glen Rollins, president and fellow PPMA member, said he visited with Fortson and other Terminix executives a few years ago.

“He just runs a fantastic business,” Rollins said “I really admire Tommy and Lex and the business they have together.”

And what would the president of Orkin and the president of the largest Terminix franchise talk about? “We just talked philosophy,” Rollins said. “I think he cares about the culture of his company, and thinks about the long term and cares about quality. (Tommy) is very passionate about life and (the) industry. He really keeps it simple: the customer and the service team. He doesn’t complicate it.”