Walking the Walk

Yesterday I spent the day walking the walk of an ACE aspirant, attending an ACE Prep course hosted by the Virginia Pest Management Association. This was a great way to get a real hands-on feel for the daily needs of a PMP. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not an entomologist (I don't even play one on TV -- though I have been known to be a little less than forthcoming about my job when I speak for Career Day at my boys' schools).

From what I can see, a PMP has a fascinating job, dealing with biology, math, chemistry, structural knowledge, entomology, history, and even a dash of psychology now and then.

The class was taught by Dr Dini Miller (Virginia Tech) and Jim Fredericks, BCE of the National Pest Management Association. The first section was led by David Townsend of the Virginia Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  All were outstanding and did an excellent job of preparing the class for their recertification credits as well as prepping 7 of the 20+ students to take the ACE Exam the next morning.

All seven who took the exam passed!  My congratulations to our seven newest ACEs:  James Bruckelmeyer, Nicole French, Mark Male, Nicholas Castaldo, Jason Ferrell, Mark Davis, and Kristi Crutchfield.

VPMA President Jeff Johnson, ACE has said that he would like to double the number of ACEs in Virginia by the end of his tenure. Based on today's results, it will only take a few more prep courses and he'll more than meet his goal.

Envy ...

I'm envious of Neil Parker, ACE. A man who is running a respected pest control company and still managed to study for and pass his ACE exam this year. As noted in PCT, he and some friends are now going to bicycle from Canada to Louisiana. What a great opportunity to see the States and share some time with friends. All from the saddle of a bicycle.  Neil, you're who I want to be when I grow up.  Ride safely.

Prep Course Prep

I'm looking forward to a drive to Richmond, VA this week. The Virginia Pest Management Association is hosting a prep course for the ACE program. After years of working with the program and talking to applicants about the learning process, it will be a great opportunity to see first-hand exactly what the applicants go through as they spend a day recapping their knowledge on Wednesday and then taking the exam on Thursday morning.  This will be my first ACE prep course. Best wishes to those taking participating!

Our congratulations go out to seven pest control professionals who became certified as Associate Certified Entomologists (ACE) in the month of April, 2012. This brings the number of new ACEs to 48 so far for the year 2012. Our new ACEs are (in no particular order):

• Stephen Dexter Forrester – Ball Ground, GA (Daniel and Lawson Pest Control)
• Keith A Lee – Cumby, TX (Campbell Soup Company)
• Jerry English – Chicago, IL (Jesse Brown VA Medical Center)
• Todd Andrew Johnson – Mooresville, NC (Dodson Brothers Exterminating)
• Timothy P Baumgarten, Sr., Donald Joe Foster, and Derek L Johnson – Greenville, SC (Gregory Pest Solutions)

Well done gentlemen!

Welcome to the new blog for the Entomological Society of America Certification Corporation. We will use this space to focus on the good work that BCEs and ACEs are doing in the communities that they serve and post information that is relevant to the certified entomologist community.  And we'll hope to have some fun as we do it!  If there are topics that you think would be of interest to our readers, please send them to me.  So let's get started ...