PestWorld is an eminently suitable occasion for the annual US National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Industry Awards. Key among these from an international perspective is the Global Ambassador Award, which, this year, was awarded posthumously to Killgerm Groups Jonathan Peck.
Making the announcement NPMA president Chuck Tindle explained that Jonathan’s passion for the industry was clear to anyone who met him and he said: “In 2013 the pest management industry lost a genuine supporter.”
| Accepting the Global Achievement Award on Jonathan’s behalf were Killgerm managing director Rupert Broome and Sabra Everett, group marketing and public affairs director. Rupert explained how Jonathan had started his journey in pest control in 1976 with one small business, in one place: “That business now operates on four continents through seventeen operating companies. He could have sold it for millions of dollars but instead he chose to leave it in an employee benefit trust so that his legacy is a company that continues to benefit of all its employees. Commenting on the Award, Rupert said: “Jonathan was never prouder than when he was supporting the NPMA which he viewed as a true leader in the world of professional pest management. It is a great honour to receive the Global Ambassador Award on the behalf of Jonathan, and a tribute to the fantastic legacy he has left both to the Killgerm Group and to the industry.” |
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Bryan Cooksey (centre) alongside Sabra Everett and Rupert Broome who collected the Global Achievement award presented posthumously to| Pinnacle Award Industry consultant Norman Cooper received the NPMA Pinnacle Award for his contributions not only to the success of the NPMA but to the industry as a whole throughout his career. It was a third ‘lifetime achievement’ award in as many years. In 2014 he collected the first ever Global ambassador lifetime achievement award at PestWorld in Orlando and last year, when the event was in Nashville, he was honoured with the Crown Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award, by the leading US professional pest management publishers, PCT, and Syngenta. A poor kid from Brooklyn Norman Cooper embodies the American dream. In 1975, after a stint in the army he set-up his own pest control business. In the first month he billed $35. Fifteen years on and he was running one of the biggest pest management businesses in New York. For 28 years he ran Exterminator Services Corporation stepping down in 2002 to form his consultancy, Cooper Associates. Throughout his career, Norman has submerged himself in the pest management industry He is a past president of NPMA and has supported the association in so many ways over the years. He has represented the industry in a professional and positive light domestically and internationally – speaking on the industry’s behalf in countries all over the world. |
 Norman Cooper (left) is presented with the NPMA Pinnacle Award from NPMA president, Chuck Tindol |
As Benjamin Gomez explained when awarding the global ambassador lifetime achievement award in 2014: “When he started in the pest management industry he guided his own technicians with the premise that if you’re not going to be the best, leave – because we are going to do whatever it takes to be the best.”
Other award recipients
Women of Excellence Award: Shay Runion, Arrow Exterminators
Young Entrepreneur Award: Luke Rambo, Rambo Total Pest Control
PestVet of the Year: Marty Overline, Aardvark Pest Management
2015/2016 Committee of the Year: Fumigation Committee
2015/2016 Committee Chair of the Year: Chuck Tindol (Succession Planning Committee), Allgood Pest Solutions