Waltham Services’ Richard Berman Retiring After 44 Years

Myrna and Richard Berman at a retirement dinner in recognition of Berman's 44 years with Waltham Services.

WALTHAM, Mass. — Richard Berman, longtime technical director at Waltham Services, will be retiring at the end of May. Berman has been with Waltham Services since May 1969.

“I still love coming to work, but it was time,” he said. “I have a touch of arthritis in my knee. Plus, I wanted to do some traveling with (wife) Myrna, and spend time with the grandkids.”

Berman was recognized at a special dinner in his honor attended by colleagues past and present, including Clarke Keenan, former majority owner of Waltham Services, and Tom Walters, division president of Rollins, which purchased Waltham Services in July 2010. A company barbecue also was held in Waltham so that service technicians, sales reps and customer service reps could send their well wishes to Berman.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Berman was introduced to the industry by an apiculture (study of bees) professor, who was friends with Richard Keenan, longtime Waltham majority owner and president of Waltham Services.

“He hired me on May 26, 1969. Myrna and I were married on June 15, 1969, and he gave me two weeks paid vacation. I knew I was in the right place,” Berman recalled.

Colleagues past and present celebrated Berman’s retirement including (from right, counterclockwise): Richard and Myrna Berman; Sheila Haddad (Bell Labs); Manager Bill Burke; Manager Bill Harrington; Rollins Divisional President Tom Walters; Former Waltham Services Owner Clarke Keenan; Manager Brian Hanley; Administrator Melissa Lovequist; Michael Botte, VP and general manager, Waltham Services.

Berman came on board at an interesting time for the pest control industry. In 1972, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was revised, greatly expanding EPA’s authority to oversee the sales and use of pesticides. Participating in the pest control industry’s evolution the last 40-plus year has kept the job exciting, he said. So, has watching others succeed. “My M.O. has always been to provide internal support, and watching our customer sales and service reps and service technicians do well is what gives me a good feeling.”

Berman said he is working on an arrangement whereby he will work for Waltham Services as a part-time consultant and work on projects, working a few days a month starting later this summer.