Just announced -- Georgia approves CEUs for ESA's Under the Lens course.

The state of Georgia will grant CEUs for PMPs to attend the Entomological Society of America's training day, "Under the Lens: The Science of Urban Pest Management".

The day will consist of 8 sessions including breakfast and lunch. Attendees should expect fast-paced education. We're going to cram two days of learning into a single day, since we know how busy most PMPs are and understand how a day away from the office is a day's lost wages.

The following day ESA is offering an ACE Prep Course for those who are seeking certification as an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE). This program, which has been featured in PCT and other industry publications, is rapidly becoming the mark of a true professional in this industry.

Click here for the PDF of the registration form for Under the Lens.

Certification is like an umbrella

I just came back from a great week in Boston at NPMA's PestWorld. Shows like this are great for me as a way to get to know some of the names I see on ACE and BCE applications that come across my desk every week.

Working at the booth on the exhibit floor, so many people would come up to me and say "I'm a BCE (or ACE) and it's the best thing I've ever done for my business development" (or something like that). But what I found was that so few people actually had put their ACE or BCE moniker on their badges for the PestWorld show.

Earning your Certification is a tremendous professional achievement and I would encourage you to shout this from the highest mountaintops. ESA can help you promote your certification by sending you copies of logos, helping you to draft a press release to announce your certification, and more, but you have to do some of this yourself. Follow these simple tips to get the most professional marketing mileage out of your BCE or ACE:

• Whenever you are interviewed by the media, whether the trade press or not, be sure to let the reporter know that you are a Board or Associate Certified Entomologist
• Any conference you register for, be sure to put your certification beside your name (e.g., "Mrs. Jane Doe, ACE") 
• Put the BCE or ACE logo on your work vehicle, your store window, your uniforms, your business card, your advertisements, your website .... and so on. Anywhere that you are promoting your business is an appropriate place to tell people that you are certified.
• Ask ESA for help if you need it. My email is cstelzig [at] entocert [dot] org.

Certification is a bit like an umbrella. An umbrella is something you can carry with you daily and (at least if you have one of the small collapsible ones) it can provide a sense of security and nobody even knows that you have it. But an umbrella, much like your certification, only works if you use it. 

Take some time and review your materials. See if you're using your certification to its fullest advantage. And if not, email me and I'll help you out.

Under the Lens - Earlybird deadline is today

ESA's annual meeting has been known for literally decades as a source of great entomological training. There are dozens of symposia (almost 100 this year) and many of these focus on structural pest management. The Medical Urban and Veterinary Entomology Section (MUVE) has these Symposia planned:


• A Celebration of the Life and Scientific Contributions of Carl Jones
• Advances in Spatial Analysis of Global Disease Vectoring Arthropods
• Bed Bug Research: Catching Up With The Global Bed Bug Resurgence
• Highlights of Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology
• If the Epi Triad is Host, Pathogen and Environment, Where Are the Vectors?
• Military Entomology: A Partner in Global Public Health
• The Return of Insurmountable Opportunities: More Novel Statistics for Entomologists

But even beyond the ESA meeting itself, the new educational program, Under the Lens, is a day of great information for anyone in the structural pest management industry. This is a new program offered by ESA. Attendees who add this meeting on to their ESA meeting experience get a tremendous discount.

The following day is the ACE Prep Course. A person does not need to be an ACE applicant to take this class, though most are. ACE certification is rapidly becoming the certification standard for the pest management professional.

Registration can be completed online if you have an ESA username and password. Or click here for the PDF form and fax it in to 410-741-3784. But hurry ... earlybird registration pricing ends today, October 15th. After that you can still register, but the rates go up.