News Briefs

Pest Control Operators of California

July 2016
EVP NOTES

The EXPO in Hawaii is now in the history books. I would like to personally thank everyone who helped us pull this event together, especially the staff at PCOC and the Executive Committee members. There were 177 participants, including 27 members from Hawaii that joined us. Although this was my first EXPO with PCOC, I was impressed with the sharing of ideas and involvement of everyone who participated. During this EXPO, we upgraded many of the extras, and the hotel responded with excellent food and service. I received many compliments from the members regarding the changes.

It is not too early to start planning for next year’s EXPO at the California Grand Hotel in Disneyland. Next month PCOC will send out information on the registration process. Please note PCOC has negotiated an excellent room rate for the California Grand, which will extend to additional nights for those attendees wanting to bring their families and reserve extra nights. Our room block is limited; mark your calendar, reservations will open mid-October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed Hardenbrook
Interim EVP

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

This year has produced one of the most challenging anti-pesticide bills introduced to the state legislature in the last decade. AB 2596 Bloom sought to ban the use of nearly all rodenticides in the state of California. Animal rights groups, lead by Poison Free Malibu, assert that the damage to wildlife from secondary poisoning (eating rodents that have consumed bait) is unacceptable and the only resolution is to ban the use of rodenticides throughout the state.

The Federal EPA and Cal EPA have looked very hard at rodenticides over the last 10 years and put in place several new guidelines for the use of rodenticides. The activists feel that these measures have failed and so they have pressured Mr. Blooms office to present a ban statewide.

PCOC has tried to engage the sponsors of the bill in a dialogue about improving the stewardship of rodenticides but we were told that only an outright ban would be satisfactory.

We then went to work with a broad coalition of pest industry and food and ag industry partners to convince lawmakers that this was a colossally stupid idea. The bill received so much opposition that Mr. Bloom decided to withdraw the bill for this year and regroup.

We expect to see the bill re-introduced next January or February. We are continuing to maintain our broad coalition and take some pro-active steps as a responsible industry. NPMA is putting together an online course that should be available to all California PCOs in September or October. PCOC is dedicating district meeting training in October to the topic of rodenticides, and we have also just established a brand new partnership with University of California Irvine to create a west coast rodent academy.

If this bill is reintroduced and is successfully passed next year the consequences WILL be devastating. We need to come together with the full strength of our combined industry to ensure success. For this, two things are needed.

#1 — Support PAPCO. PAPCO is our political action committee and the money end of our efforts. Donations to PAPCO help fund the donations that we make to politicians and support our professional lobbyist and supports important activities like Legislative Days. Please make sure that you make your Club 99 donations and support PAPCO fundraisers.

#2 — Plan on attending Legislative Days next spring. There is only one thing that speaks louder than money in the Capitol and that's the voice of voters. Make it point to come join us in Sacramento and carry this message first hand to the politicians from your home town.

Thanks for all of the hard work that you have done already. It's been a great year, but there is a tougher fight waiting for us next year and we need to rise up to this challenge.

James Steed
PAPCO Chair
Legislative Chair

 

IN THE NEWS

Everybody loves a good raffle, right? PCOC put together an excellent one for its recent Expo in Honolulu. The objective of the 50/50 Building Fund Raffle was to raise funds so that improvements on the PCOC headquarters building in West Sacramento could be performed – painting the exterior and interior, installing new carpeting, making a few other upgrades.

On Saturday, June 25, the final night of the Expo, the raffle was took place. Total ticket sales came to $14,100, and First Place winner Eric Magana of Fillmore, CA-based Eric’s Tree and Landscape Pest Services (Ventura District) received half of that, which came to $7,050.

The Second Place prize of two free registrations to the 2017 Expo at Disneyland went to Mike English of The Hitmen Termite and Pest Control, based in the San Francisco Bay Area (Vintage Coastal District), and the Third Place prize of one free registration to the 2017 Expo went to Grace Ruedas of Doctor Fume (Orange County District).

Congratulations to the winners!

FIRST PLACE

ERIC MAGANA

Eric’s Tree and Landscape Pest Services (Ventura District)

$7,050

SECOND PLACE

MIKE ENGLISH

The Hitmen Termite and Pest Control (Vintage Coastal District)

Two free registrations to 2017 Expo at Disneyland

THIRD PLACE

GRACE RUEDAS

Doctor Fume (Orange County District)

One free registration to 2017 Expo at Disneyland

 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Board of Directors Meeting- September 21-24,2016
Red Lion Hotel Redding, Redding, California

PAPCO Golf Tournament- September 22,2016
RiverView Golf & Country Club, Redding, California
Golf Tournament Registration 

Board of Directors Meeting- December 9-10, 2016
Hilton Palm Springs, Palm Springs, California
 
Central Life Sciences
Comings and Goings

Welcome to a new section of Newsbriefs! Here, we will give news from our members: new hires, retirements, etc. If you have some news you would like to share, please send a short sentence or two to breann@pcoc.org.

 
Univar USA, Inc.
MEMBER VALUE PROGRAM
PCOC Insurance Program, credit card service, etc.

Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/cpc-nwl/pdf/Directory_2016_MVP_listing.pdf to view the full article online.

 
PCOC MONTHLY INSURANCE/SAFETY TIP

Submitted by: Paul Lindsay, EPIC Program Solutions

Stress-Relief Exercises for Smartphone Users

Love them or hate them, Smartphones are here to stay. With that, health practitioners are noticing increased incidences of repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) due to smartphone or tablet use. Using a smartphone or tablet for extensive reading can force users to hold their arms and wrists in awkward positions for long periods of time. In addition, the small screen size often makes users slump over the screen to see it better, causing strain in the muscles of the head, neck and shoulders. And finally, relying on thumbs to type for extended periods can cause "BlackBerry thumb." In this repetitive strain injury, overuse and awkward positioning cause the tendons at the base of the thumb to become inflamed.

The following exercises can help energize the body and relieve muscle tension...which may reduce the risk of RSIs. You can train employees to do these simple exercises and encourage them to do them periodically throughout the day.

Hand Stretches: Separate and straighten your fingers until you feel the tension of a stretch. Hold 10 seconds. Relax, then bend fingers at the knuckles and hold 10 seconds. Repeat the first stretch once more.

Wrist Stretches: Place your hands palm-to-palm in front of you. Move hands downward, keeping your palms together, until you feel a mild stretch. Keep elbows up and even. Hold 5-8 seconds.

Eye Stretches

Palming: Cover your closed eyes with your hands, so that the palms are over (but not touching) your eyelids. Your fingers should overlap above your nose on your forehead. Take several deep breaths and take in the complete darkness (or visualize a relaxing setting). After 20 seconds or so, uncover your eyes and allow them to refocus.

Refocus Routine: Identify two objects that are roughly 20 feet away and relax. Comfortably focus on one object for approximately 10-15 seconds, then focus on the other object for 10-15 seconds. Return your focus to your monitor and continue working. Repeat routine regularly throughout the day.

For more information, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program Department of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com. Also check out: www.pcocinsurance.com

Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

 
NEW MEMBERS
FULL NAME
COMPANY
DISTRICT		 MEMBER TYPE JOIN DATE REFERRED BY
Mr. Steve Magruder R 6/3/2016 
SAM Termite, Inc.
SBARBARA
Mr. Chris Burkett S 6/7/2016 
Clark Pest Control
SANCLARA
Mr. Michael Parker S 6/15/2016 
Clark Pest Control, Inc - Lodi
MIDCAL
Mr. Ryan Neff S 6/7/2016 
Clark Pest Control, Inc - Lodi
MIDCAL
Mr. David Scanlon S 5/18/2016 
Clark Pest Control, Inc - Lodi
BIGVALLEY

 
FREQUENTLY REQUESTED INFORMATION

*NEW* NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP

LOGIN: Email or Personal ID 

PASSWORD: npma

Department of Fish & Game
www.dfg.ca.gov

Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov

Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
www.cdpr.ca.gov

DPR on Facebook
www.facebook.com/capesticideregulation

DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations)
www.youtube.com/user/californiapesticides

DPR on Twitter
twitter.com/ca_pesticides

Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
 
Mega Fume, Inc.
BASF
Nisus Corp