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August 2023
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President's Notes
In early July, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) contacted the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) detailing their plans to enter into an agreement with the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) to conduct a comprehensive study on current fumigant use in California and assess the available alternatives to these fumigants along with an interest in identifying current research on fumigant alternatives, and the challenges and research gaps around their development and their adoption in California. The agency requested PCOC’s feedback on this information as a valued stakeholder, noting that the study was expected to begin later this year and end in 2025. In our reply, PCOC provided written comments detailing essential information on the structural fumigant market in California along with the importance of sulfuryl fluoride which has been the primary residential fumigant after Methyl Bromide was discontinued in the late 1990s. PCOC also emphasized the importance of delivering a property with the designation of “termite-free” as part of a real estate transfer is critical for Californians. PCOC’s letter also stressed the importance for DPR to take note of the breadth and depth of our technical and practical expertise as well as institutional insights that are critical to ensuring that their forthcoming study is conducted with practical and scientific integrity. Given the significant impact that the findings of DPR’s study may have on future regulatory and policy decision-making, PCOC stated that “it is critical that this study design provide the basis for a robust and accurate assessment of the identified fumigants and potential alternatives especially because the identified fumigants provide necessary and unique services in California.” In its response, PCOC also raised concerns regarding CCST’s lack of specific experience in this field of research science and suggested that the University of California research system was best equipped to tackle such a multi-faceted study. To read PCOC’s letter to DPR, please click here. Michael E. Wilson Chief Executive Officer's Notes
As Pest Control Professionals, We Protect People, Property and our Food Supply. This is the motto of our entire organization. We are made up of a three-person staff that run the day-to-day operations of our Association. A BIG THANKS to Michael Wilson (CEO), Sarah Conrad (Operations Coordinator), and Donna Brown (Membership Coordinator). However, without our many volunteers, from every level of this Association we would not be as strong as we are today. It takes a village and we have one. We have a strong Executive Committee, that meets every other week to discuss pertinent issues within Pest Control. We are involved in all decisions and make ourselves available to each and every member. Our Committee Chairs provide the forums for discussions on key issues, with the primary focus to protecting our industry from legislative and regulatory challenges. Our District Chairs and officers do the work at the local level, working with membership, local politics, and relaying all information from the Board of Directors quarterly meetings. Our Affiliate members partner with us on events, regulatory and legislative matters, and serve on many committees. Every volunteer, every hour given, every dollar spent is used to make our association and industry better. Our future is bright because of YOU! So, for the companies who ask “why join?”, its really quite simple..How can you afford not to join? The more members PCOC has, the more powerful our voice throughout the State of California and beyond. I guarantee you that it will be the best money your company has ever spent and the most rewarding time as a volunteer. Mary Hernandez 
Upcoming Events
All Event Information can be found at WWW.PCOC.ORG/EVENTS
Legislative Update
It takes everyone to help defeat bad legislation. PCOC has been on the front line this year battling on your behalf to stop harmful initiatives that will hurt the financial bottom-line of your business. PCOC’s Legislative Committee and our legislative advocates in Sacramento have done a tremendous job beating back passage of these harmful measures. We are in the stretch run and every contact with a legislator is significant. AB 1322 is legislation that needs to be stopped! Please do your part today to help the professional pest management industry immediately! With two simple clicks, you can tell your Senator and Senator Portantino: we need these tools to protect the public health of all Californians; don’t ban rodenticides because of non-scientific rhetoric! If you remember legislative bill AB 1788 from several years ago. This new California measure would expand its impact and add Diphacinone to the list of banned chemicals in the State. The bill this year, AB 1322, is an essential ban all SGAR’s and Diphacinone, even if a DPR reevaluation finds no adverse impacts to ecosystems and non-target wildlife! If the Legislature chooses to ignore science and this bill is passed, it will not only have a devastating impact on pest control businesses, it will compromise public health and safety and will remove yet another effective tool for operators to keep rodent populations in check. This trend must stop NOW! Since the passage of AB 1788 in 2020, California has seen an explosion in rodent activity across the state. Analyses of Alameda and Orange Counties show that in the last 2-3 years service calls for rodent problems have reached an all-time high. Now more than ever pest control operators must make their voices heard and urge Legislators to vote “NO” on AB 1322. Please cut and paste this article to all of your friends, family, and co-workers! We still need to send out hundreds of more messages to make an impact!
PCOC Leadership Lens
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” - Walt Disney You may have never heard the above Disney quote until now. And while we as an association never recited it out loud, it kind of summarizes the past few months. As you may know, this past quarter has been somewhat pivotal for us. As we were preparing for Expo, it was more important than ever that it go well. Our relationship with our affiliates is extremely important, and we wanted to deliver on an Expo that was enjoyed by all, provided adequate attendee exposure for our affiliates, and helped us accomplish the core tenets of our Mission Statement. “Through environmental stewardship and legislative advocacy, we protect people, property, and our food supply.” I’m happy to say that we were able to accomplish all of the above. Huge thanks to everyone that attended, and made the Expo such a success. If you didn’t make this one, you can start planning now for the September BOD (Sept. 28th- 30th in Temecula, CA) and even start making plans to attend next year’s Expo in Tahoe, June 19th-21st, 2024. We really do need your support to be as effective as possible. Here is a list of some of the other items we’ve been working on and finding success with: PCOC Office is open and looks great! If you were unable to make the open house, and have not yet been able to check out the new office, I’d suggest trying to make it by when you have a chance. It really does look amazing and professional. So, next time you are in Sacramento, be sure to stop by. Our staff is now back to working in the office, so the doors should be open Monday-Friday, 8-5. Please call ahead so we can get you any needed codes to enter the main building. Michael, Sarah, and Donna would love to see you. Great new hire- Donna Brown has joined us at our PCOC office. She started July 5th, and has been helping out with research, outreach, and helping make our association stronger. We look forward to watching her continue to succeed as we move forward. Money is invested- We have an Investment Committee that has been charged with finding the best investment vehicle for $650,000. In the meantime, this money is now in a money market account, earning approximately 5% annual interest. We have moved a total of $882,494.73 into this interest bearing account and have already earned almost $5k of interest. Who doesn’t like a party? The Big Valley District recently met at the PCOC office for a Calling Party. Thanks Vince Scoville, Jim Steed, and Sean Bradley for the great idea. We had around a dozen or so people show up and we called non-members for about 1 ½- 2 hours. Some of our amazing affiliates brought some doughnuts and breakfast, and it was a great time had by all. We signed up 7 new (or returning) members, and we have several more that are potentially interested. If you’ve never done this with your district, I highly recommend it. Jim Steed put together some great talking points (Thanks Jim!) for all of us to use and Sean Bradley put together a Google Doc for all of us to track our progress. It was definitely a great investment of time. You can do this as an ‘extra’ meeting, or even have it be one of your regular District Meetings, whichever you prefer. Will you let your voice be heard? You may have seen the Voter Voice requests recently. If not, you can go here: We Need Your Help NOW to Protect Public Health in California! (votervoice.net). You may remember AB 1788. We have a new CA bill (AB1322) that would expand its impact. It is essentially a ban on all SGAR’s and Diphacinone, even if a DPR reevaluation finds no adverse impact on ecosystems and non-target wildlife. Please take a few minutes today to let your voice be heard. This is being heard 8-21-23, so please respond today. Moving Forward- We still have lots to do. We want to get staff more involved with reaching out to potential new members. We will continue to look for ways to fulfill our Mission Statement and provide value to our members. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our association. Please let us know if you have any great suggestions. We also have an upcoming Strategic Planning meeting in November that we are looking forward to. Sharing of Ideas- What are some of the things you and your District have been doing that are working well? Feel free to email them to me at tmickel@clarkpest.com and I’ll be glad to include them in the next Leadership Lens. One of our greatest strengths is the sharing of ideas, and I’d love to see us use that more often. One of the greatest opportunities any leader has is to add value to the lives of others. Whether that is in your business, in your family, in your church, or right here in PCOC, we can find some of the best fulfillment of our lives when we are purposeful and intentional about finding ways to help others. As we invest in others and seek to positively change lives, the life that is typically changed the most is our own. We have an amazing association, and it will only get stronger as we continue to do the right things right. Here are 7 action items you can do to help:
Working together, we can all help lead our association to an even better place. If you have Leadership ideas you’d like to share, or a topic you’d like to see explored in a future PCOC Leadership Lens, I’d love to hear from you.
All the best! Frequently Requested Information
Frequently Asked For Websites
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