People, September 1997

Van Waters & Rogers Inc. has reorganized its Professional Products & Services business unit. Bevan Cates, vice president of the unit, continues to lead the business from an overall management perspective; however, many of the day-to-day responsibilities have been turned over to John Bolanos, who has been named general manager. Bolanos has been VW&R’s Pacific District manager, and he will continue to oversee the Pacific District, in addition to his new duties, until a replacement is assigned. Bolanos is a 20-year sales and sales management veteran of VW&R. He graduated from the University of California at Davis.

In addition, Steve Jaworski has been named to the newly created position of director, regulatory operations. Jaworski resides in Houston, where he was previously the Southern Region regulatory manager for VW&R. A graduate of the University of Houston, Jaworski has been with the company for 12 years, serving in a variety of regulatory and management positions.

Art Leasure, a 33-year employee with DowElanco, celebrated his retirement at a party at the Florida Pest Control Association’s Convention and Exposition held this June in Ponte Vedra, Fla. At one time, Leasure sold the entire line of DowElanco products, from agricultural products to fumigants, to every region of Florida. Today there are 14 individuals selling DowElanco products in Florida. Leasure doesn’t plan on slowing down at all, however; he recently purchased a motorcycle and will help his son Arthur "Bud" Leasure Jr. run their pest control business, Progressive Pest Management, in Tallahassee.

In other FPCA convention news, Pi Chi Omega, a professional pest control fraternity, presented Dini Miller with a $1,000 scholarship during the annual meeting. Miller, a doctoral student in entomology at the University of Florida, presented her research on enhancement of insecticides using German cockroach fecal pellets at Pi Chi Omega’s summer meeting in Jacksonville, which was held in conjunction with the FPCA Convention. Miller said she plans on using the money toward her continuing research and educational expenses.

Lesco Inc. has named Richard Judy technical support specialist in structural pest control. Judy is responsible for providing training, product information and technical support for pest control operators across the United States. He is based in Rocky River, Ohio. Formerly, Judy was a loss control supervisor for S.E.C.U.R.E. Insurance in Reading, Pa., and training director for McCloud Pest Control in Schuamburg, Ill. He is a graduate of Purdue University.