Pi Chi Omega enjoyed time at our old stomping grounds, where the roots of our organization were formed 62 years ago by a handful entomologists at Purdue University. Our membership and industry has certainly grown since that time, and to fulfill our mission to connect and enrich the urban pest management industry, Pi Chi Omega is branching out to industry meetings around the country. Expect to see us at a state meeting or industry event near you!  In an effort to branch out, Pi Chi Omega made our first debut at the Texas A&M University Urban Pest Management Conference where students and members met with Dale Baker, President, and Cassie Krejci, Director of Pi Chi Omega over a drink at Madhatters on Wednesday, January 10th. Membership information, scholarship applications and discussions about what Pi Chi Omega is, and why you should care were also shared with Texas A&M conference attendees. 

One of Pi Chi Omega’s strategic activities centers on connecting members by providing networking opportunities for each segment of our membership to interact and elevate the technical knowledge within our industry. Pi Chi Omega wants to “raise the bar” within our industry by connecting students, educators, technical professionals, manufacturers and PMPs. Training sessions and exhibit halls have their place, but nothing beats a casual environment among colleagues where ideas, knowledge and trends can be shared. At Purdue and Texas A&M, creating social time for this kind of interaction is what Pi Chi Omega set out to do!

At Purdue, Pi Chi Omega kicked off a series of social events at the Union Rack & Roll where more than a dozen members congregating in the basement of the Purdue Memorial Union for the first ever Bowling & Billiard Blast. Anyone arriving to the conference on Sunday was welcome at the event, where we bowled under black lights, dined on a pizza buffet and pushed the bowling norms by throwing in some challenges that included, hopping to the line, bowling with the wrong hand and bowling between someone else’s legs! Needless to say, lots of laughs were enjoyed by all and it was unanimous that this event should become an annual event! So next year, plan to arrive to the Purdue Pest Management Conference on Sunday night and join us in the Union Rack & Roll – everyone is invited, members and non-members alike!

On the first night of the conference, Pi Chi Omega hosted a hospitality suite for members. JT Eaton provided the food & beverage and Alabama and Georgia provided the entertainment on TV! Guests are always welcome to join a member at this event, which was well attended by members, guests, students and several nominees who would be approved by the membership the following day. Did you know that to join Pi Chi Omega you just need two Pi Chi Omega sponsors to support your nomination? In the past, new nominees could only be approved at Pest World and Purdue, but now the membership votes on memberships electronically in March and June. If you have been thinking about becoming a member of Pi Chi Omega, contact Andrea or Kristin Coron at the Executive office (office@pichiomega.org) to learn how.

Pi Chi Omega held a membership meeting on Tuesday evening in the West Faculty Lounge. This long-standing event has always mixed a little business with a whole lot of catching up with old friends and peers. This year was no exception as 33 Pi Chi Omega members and potential new members got together for dinner and talked about what they’ve done at Purdue, what they’ve been working on, or playing at, since the last time they were together! At least 10 Pi Chi Omega members made presentations at the conference this year, and no matter how many times you give a presentation everyone, even the most seasoned presenter, loves to get feedback from their peers. Conversations abounded about technical content, delivery style and ice-breaker jokes that engage the audience! During the event, Pi Chi Omega also holds a short business meeting that catches members up on the work of the organization and plans for the upcoming year. 

The membership committee has been very busy this year and the Board took the opportunity to recommend 23 new members to the membership, a nearly 6% increase in membership – all were unanimously approved! The Board also recommended that an honorary membership be conferred on Millard Oldham Jr. and Ada Oldham for their dedication and service to the industry. Pi Chi Omega’s membership also whole-heartedly approved this membership. 

During the meeting, Dave Mueller also let the membership know that we lost a long-standing member of Pi Chi Omega and our industry, Alain VanRyckegham. Alain’s family would like to preserve the memory of Alain’s work and contributions to the industry through a perpetual Pi Chi Omega scholarship made each year in his name. To establish this scholarship, a total of $50,000 in contributions must be raised. Insects Limited is committed to helping the VanRyckegham family get to this level by matching any contributions made in Alain’s name with $2 for every $1 contributed. Pi Chi Omega recently named a $2,000 scholarship in Dr. Austin Frishman’s name and has committed to raising that to a $3,000 scholarship if an additional $27,600 can be raised by June 30, 2018. 

Over the last several years, Pi Chi Omega has worked to become a more inclusive, less-segregated organization and to be more relevant to today’s industry. The membership committee put forth a proposal to the membership that would recategorize memberships based on function, rather than education. We have three subsets of membership; Educational, Industry and Long-standing, and each serve a role in meeting Pi Chi Omega’s mission. No one category is more important than another. As Pi Chi Omega dues have not seen an increase in more than 20 years, the committee also recommended a dues increase that would better enable Pi Chi Omega to operate at peak performance. This proposal will also be shared electronically with members, as the committee would like all members to consider the changes and make recommendations before making a formal recommendation to the Board. 

Pi Chi Omega recognized the work of several Board members who dedicated their time and talents to the organization. Tom Wright, Marie Knox and Tom Meyers all stepped off the Board in October after their terms ended and were recognized with a certificate for their service. Tom Meyers was present to receive his certificate, but we hope Tom Wright and Marie Knox will both feel the heart-felt appreciation of the members, staff and Board when they receive their certificates through the mail! Dale Baker, current president of Pi Chi Omega, also presented Judy Black a plaque recognizing her excellent leadership and stewardship of the organization during her tenure as president.

The gathering ended with the drawing of the 50/50 raffle. A big thanks to everyone who purchased a ticket which raised funds to support Pi Chi Omega’s four annual scholarships totaling $9,000. The pot for the 50/50 raffle totaled $1000. The winner of the drawing was Judy Black, who donated $400 of her winnings to the Alain VanRyckegham Scholarship fund. If you would like to make a contribution to either the Alain VanRyckegham or the Austin Frishman fund, please contact the staff at office@pichiomega.org.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — PCT announced the addition of the following label training modules from BASF: Trelona ATBS Annual Bait Stations and Selontra Rodent Bait. Access the new modules from PCT’s Distance Learning Center or via Univar’s online ProTraining platform.

How it works?
Created by Board Certified Entomologist and consultant Stoy Hedges, the courses use photographs, video clips and reference materials to challenge users’ knowledge, experience and problem-solving skills for a wide range of products and pest problems.

Accessible by PC, tablet or smartphone, Distance Learning Center training is presented in modules designed to take a half-hour to an hour to complete. Their brevity gives individuals the opportunity to fit this education in whenever their schedules allow — even during breaks or lunchtime. And if a user needs to stop while taking a course, no problem: He or she can close the program and pick up at the point left off later.

 

Each label course is designed around reading and interpreting a specific pesticide product label, covering all aspects of the label — from trade name, target pests, hazards and first aid to areas for treatment and directions for use. As the user takes the course, he or she will be required to identify pests or treatment sites by photograph and determine whether such pests or sites are included on the label and/or interpret how that product may be used to treat the pest according to label directions.

Training is divided into sections with three to seven related questions, and upon selecting the correct answer(s), an explanation of the correct answer is provided, sometimes with a tip on where the pest professional can find the answer in the reference materials. These explanations help to improve the user’s understanding of the topic materials.

Visit https://training.pctonline.com to get started, and return frequently as new label training modules are being added monthly.

MCDONOUGH, Ga. — Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the largest healthcare provider for children in Georgia and one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, will join McDonough, Ga-.based Active Pest Control in sponsoring the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 24.

The Active Pest Control 200 Benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta will cap off the only same-day, same-track doubleheader on the 2018 NASCAR national touring series calendar.

"We are thankful to Active Pest Control for including us in their sponsorship of this exciting event benefiting Children's," said Scott Hodoval, vice president of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. "As a nonprofit, we rely on the generous donations of our community in order to meet the needs of the growing pediatric population in Georgia. Thanks to community partners like Active Pest Control and events like the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, we are able to achieve our mission of making kids better today and healthier tomorrow."

With three hospitals, Marcus Autism Center and 27 neighborhood locations, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has been 100 percent dedicated to kids for more than 100 years. A not-for-profit organization, Children's is dedicated to making kids better today and healthier tomorrow. Children's offers access to more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs and is ranked among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Active Pest Control first signed on with Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2016 as the sponsor of its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying night before stepping up to sponsor the Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta's annual NASCAR weekend last March. By joining Active Pest Control, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta becomes the third entitlement sponsor of Atlanta Motor Speedway's rare Saturday double-feature.

"The Active team is thrilled CHOA is joining us as sponsors of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway," said Tony Carder, Active Pest Control CEO. "Partnering with CHOA is a small way for Active to show our support for the community and the good work the CHOA team does for the children of Atlanta every day."

Family-owned since its inception in 1985, Active Pest Control is a full-service pest control, termite, wildfire removal and exclusion, attic insulation and crawlspace encapsulation company serving more than 40,000 customers daily in both Georgia and Houston, Texas.

For more information visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Philanthropists and community leaders Harvey and Carol Massey announced today a $3 million gift toward the construction of the second phase of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The gift is the couple’s third donation to the arts center and brings their total contribution to $5 million since 2009.
To commemorate the gift, the arts center’s staircase will be named the “Harvey and Carol Massey Family Grand Staircase.”

“We are very pleased and proud to provide this gift to the arts center,” said Massey Services Chairman and CEO Harvey L. Massey, before a group of invited guests, donors and arts center board members. “The arts center is significant to us for several reasons, but most importantly is the educational component it will have on our children,” Massey said.

The $3 million gift is the single largest gift ever donated by the Harvey and Carol Massey Foundation and helps close a financial gap in what the arts center must raise to complete construction of its Phase 2. Already underway and expected to open in 2020, Phase 2 includes Steinmetz Hall, a 1,700-seat, multi-form acoustical theater, and The Green Room, a contemporary space for artists to hone their craft, record music and perform for smaller, more intimate audiences. 

“We couldn’t be more grateful to Harvey, Carol and the whole Massey family,” said Dr. Phillips Center President and CEO Kathy Ramsberger. “We are a stronger organization thanks to Carol’s leadership on our board and Harvey’s unwavering support over the years. Our whole community is lucky to have the Massey’s.”

The arts center used today’s announcement to kick off the final leg of its capital campaign. Ramsberger said that with the $3 million Massey donation and several additional gifts received over the holidays, the Dr. Phillips Center is now within $10 million of its goal.

“We are so close, and yet ‘$10 million-to-go’ is a very big goal,” she said. “Our intent is to use today’s announcement to reignite a real sense of excitement and purpose among our donor base and help us reach those who’ve not yet contributed.”

Projected total costs for Phase 2 of the arts center are $237 million, including $66 million from philanthropic donations; the total cost of the arts center is expected to be $604 million.