SOUTH CAROLINA — The South Carolina Professional Women in Pest Management (SCPWIPM) chapter gathered virtually on March 8, International Women’s Day, to hear from two industry leading women on how they landed in the pest control industry, obstacles they’ve overcome, how the pest control industry has changed and their advice to younger women pest management professionals (PMPs).
Sheila Haddad started back in the early 1990s as a customer service manager for Waterbury Companies. Now, she is the vice president of sales, east and southeast for Bell Laboratories.
Haddad received the NPMA Women of Excellence Award at PestWorld 2022, where PCT interviewed her about this recognition.
Marie Horner, A.C.E., vice president of government affairs & industry stewardship at Arrow Exterminators, joined the U.S. Air Force out of high school. She landed a job with Steritech in the 1980s after her two-year contract with the Air Force ended.
Horner was recognized as the fifth PestVets ‘Veteran of the Year,’ during the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Legislative Day in 2020.
Read more on Haddad and Horner’s extensive pest control career from the March 8 panel:
Q. How did you land in the pest control industry?
Sheila: “I started back in the early 1990s. I was right out of college and I decided I needed a change in my work direction. I left college and was going into a direction of business management and I hit a spot in my job that made me look into a new direction. An agency was looking for a customer service manager at a company called Waterbury Companies and I applied for it and became the manager. I joined Bell in 2003 and I’m currently their vice president of sales. Working in this industry by chance was the best career move I could have ever made.”
Marie: “I grew up in a very poor family. My father was in the U.S. Marines, so we traveled a lot and didn’t really have roots anywhere or had any money. I wanted to be a lawyer when I was in high school, so I went into the U.S. Air Force out of high school thinking that was my way into college. This was in the 1980s and I had a two year contract. So, when I got out I started looking for a job. I didn’t know anyone in the pest control industry, but I was just looking for something that would help me pay our bills. I was going through the newspaper and there was an ad for sales with Steritech. I did not know for about another six weeks that I joined the pest control industry with the help of some American cockroaches. You pretty much don’t have to know anything or anybody, but you can be successful in the industry if you fall in love with it and build relationships. I’ve been through every job in the industry to get to this place.”
Q. What obstacles have you faced as females and how did you overcome them?
Sheila: “We’re women in a male-dominant industry in most areas. When I joined, I was young and didn’t have any of the experience. I didn’t come from a family business. Coming into this without any of the family help was really difficult. I had to work twice as hard to prove myself 30 years ago. It wasn’t easy, but I persevered. Waterbury really wanted me to go into outside sales, so I applied and this one interview I had gone on, people dressed up for interviews and you’re a female with a dress on and nails polished, and were asked, ’Are you able to get down and dirty if you’re a service manager?’ and we were looked upon a little different. Today, it’s very different then what it was years ago, and I think those are some obstacles we’ve had to face and overcome. One of the things you had to earn was trust and the knowledge was factual. People then trusted you and knew who you were. I had to overcome the fear of being rejected until I earned that respect.”
Marie: “Being a female in a male-dominated industry, being brave enough then and even now to find yourself and get the respect. I’ve always been respected by men and it’s setting those boundaries right from the [beginning]. The people around me are all like my brothers. Being able to be comfortable in that environment and not let it hold you back and have conversations with your support structure [is important].
Q. How has the pest control industry changed for women during the time you have been in it?
Sheila: Let’s start with PWIPM on a national level. I think 30 years ago when we first were here, I remember walking into a room with 10 to 12 women in a room with two tables. Today we have a breakfast at PestWorld with over 200 women for breakfast. We now have local [state] chapters for PWIPM. We have a local 5K with women in the industry and their spouses raising money. Keep that momentum going and we’re going to do great things.”
Marie: “Technology has changed so much with artificial intelligence and the way we do a service with marketing. The technology that’s changing, more and more women are getting into pest control in roundabout ways. Companies have more [social media] presence. I started in the field crawling under houses and now I’m doing lobbyist work. The advancement in technology has opened side doors for us that are bringing women in.”
Q. What advice would you give someone who has just joined the industry?
Sheila: “Find a mentor, or mentor someone, and learn from them because it’s a career path you can grow in with or without a college education. This [industry] is something you can start as an office person and end up being a technician, or if you want to learn more about bugs and get your A.C.E. or B.C.E. You can really make and change somebody’s life in the industry.”
Marie: “Anytime you’re at any event or meeting, you [should engage with others]. Walk in, be brave, grab a seat on the wall and just listen and hear what’s going on, no matter what your role is. You don’t know what the next one is going to be. Have a little bit of understanding on how the business operations work. Being able to understand what the service is, how the company gets paid for it, the vision and mission of the company. The operations is what drives it and allows the doors to open for all of these other career opportunities.”