[Viewpoint] In appreciation of the industry’s silent partners

Like so many companies in the pest management industry, Bernie Spivack may have been the "face" of Bugs Bernie Pest Control, but wife Judi was the "heart and soul" of the organization, quietly working behind the scenes to make sure everything ran smoothly at the "one-man" operation based in Bensalem, Pa. Together they were quite a team, as Bernie chronicled in the inaugural edition of our "Five Questions" column, which debuted in the March issue of PCT magazine. "Although I’m the one who performs all the pest management services for the company, my wife Judi handles most of the internal office duties such as scheduling, bookkeeping, filing and paying the bills," he wrote. "We realized long ago that no money is generated if I’m in the office rather than out performing pest control services. Trust me, Judi has shared the aggravation and rewards of being a sole proprietor."

It’s a story repeated again and again in the pest management industry, husbands and wives working together in pursuit of the American dream, celebrating shared victories, struggling through business setbacks, supporting one another in both good times and bad. Bud and Lillian Snyder, founders of Palmetto Exterminators, Charleston, S.C., understand that special bond, a bond forged by putting one’s future — and marriage — at risk to launch a family pest control business. So does Andy and Patsye Mannino of Amco Ranger Pest Control, St. Charles, Mo., and hundreds of others in the industry. For these couples, marriage represented an extraordinary personal and professional commitment, a leap of faith that whatever the future would bring — success or failure — they would take the journey together.

That’s why, when such a partnership ends, as it did on February 28th for Bernie and Judi Spivack, it’s a tragedy. In notifying PCT of his wife’s passing shortly after the March issue went to press, Bernie wrote, "Judi deserves a lot of credit for representing our industry so well." That she does, as do all the women who have contributed so much to the fabric of the pest control industry in the past century, an industry founded on family values and personified by the life of Judi Spivack, the mother of two daughters, and co-founder of Bugs Bernie Pest Control, one of the country’s great "one-man" operations.

Judi will be missed, but the memory of the Spivack’s personal and professional relationship will endure, a marriage that didn’t produce a multi-million-dollar pest control business, but a partnership that generated an even more valuable currency — the good will of their customers, the respect of their peers, and the love of their children and grandchildren. It’s a story worth celebrating. So, here’s to the life of Judi Spivack, a woman who touched the lives of many, none more profoundly than husband Bernie. "While we didn’t have the best of everything, we certainly didn’t want for anything," he said.

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.