Here at ESA HQ we have closed out 2016 and finalized our record keeping. And though we reported on the "state of the certification programs" during the Business Meeting a few weeks ago, I wanted to give everyone a sense of how we finished the year in terms of ACE and BCE certified individuals.
Let's review the BCE program first. I'm pleased to report that we had another solid year of growth - ending the year with 472 BCEs, a full 20 more than we had on the books at the end of 2015 (growth of 4%). Of those, 385 were full BCEs, 10 were Interns, 77 were Emeritus. BCE has grown annually since 2012.
ACE's growth was even stronger than last year. We recorded 118 more ACEs than we had when 2015 closed out, finishing the year at 1,018. That is a growth rate of 13%! On average, since the program was introduced in 2004, the program has grown every year at an average growth rate of 46% (full disclosure - some of those early years had huge percentage increases, but were less stellar in terms of overall numbers - 2004 had 14 ACEs and 2005 had 45 ACEs, a 165% jump). But, of note, ACE has grown every year.
Included in the numbers above for ACE are 14 ACE-International individuals. ACE-I was introduced in October 2014, but we did not have our first applicant pass until February 2015. We finished 2015 with a total of 5 ACE-I's and our 2016 total of 14 is thus 9 more than the year before, or a jump of about 180% (see what I mean about percentage increases!).
Also of interest, we had 10 people who hold both the ACE and BCE!
We hope that you continue to maintain your ACE and BCE. These certification programs help to build the professionalism of the industry and showcase our professionalism for the world.
Wear your ACE and BCE logos with pride! If you need a copy of the logo for your website, business cards, or email signature, please contact ace@entsoc.org or bce@entsoc.org.
On Wednesday the 21st of December, the ESA Certification Corporation hosted its second-annual virtual business meeting. As we posted on this blog last year for the 2015 Business Meeting, the annual meeting switched from a live meeting held in conjunction with the ESA Annual Meeting to this format in an effort to boost its reach, attendance, and staying power (by virtue of a recorded webinar).
We had 56 people register for the webinar and 31 who actually attended it. While this is a slight decrease from last year's 37 attendees, it remains a strong improvement over previous in-person meetings.
Dr. Zia Siddiqi, BCE (2017 Chair of the Certification Board (CB)) presided over the meeting with additional commentary provided by Forrest St. Aubin, BCE-Emeritus (2016 Chair of the CB).
The webinar is live on the ESA YouTube channel and can also be accessed by clicking on the video below. Selected questions that were submitted to the webinar that we were unable to answer during the session are also addressed below the video.
Questions and comments submitted during the webinar that were not addressed during the live event:
Question: Is there an ACE award application online? If so, where do I find it?
The ACE Award site is on the ESA Awards site. It can be found here: www.entsoc.org/awards/ace-professional-award.
Question: Will hiring a new certification manager affect our relationship with Chris Stelzig?
Yes, but only to the extent that the new manager will take over the daily operations of the program. Stelzig will continue to manage the program and oversee all activities, including attending some meetings, but the new manager will soon become a familiar face at many pest management conferences and meetings in the United States and around the world.
Question: RE nominating persons for an ACE Award -- It might be a good idea to involve the editorial staffs of Pest Control Technology (PCT) Magazine and PMP magazine, as well as appropriate NPMA faculty/staff members, to help promote the choice and submittal of ACE-credentialed co-worker and colleague names within the structural pest management industry.
Agreed! In the past we have used our social media platforms, our industry partners (like NPMA) and ESA's regular communication vehicles like eNews to distribute announcements. All ACEs and BCEs are encouraged to watch their inboxes for the awards announcements and distribute to their networks.
Question: Maybe ESA can explore a special registration option for ACE professionals who would like to attend Annual Meeting or Branch Meetings for continuing education without being ESA members.
Actually, ACEs already enjoy a discounted rate to attend the ESA Annual Meeting. It is not quite as steep of a discount as ESA members enjoy, but ... hey, it's an ESA membership meeting, what do you expect?
Question:I suggest that serious consideration be given to having webinars in specific areas that could also serve as educational resources for ACE and BCE. There are a lot of members who are academics and may have good material that could be presented online.
Thank you for the suggestion. We have investigated this option in the past and would still consider it for future expansion and resources that we can offer to applicants.
The ACE program crossed a milestone this month when the 1,000th person for the year earned his ACE. This is not the 1,000th person to ever earn the ACE, but the Rudy Ayala pushed our overall count of ACEs over 1,000 for the first time when he passed his exam on November 16 (the event was covered in the EntomologyToday blog). Please help us to celebrate all of the new ACEs and BCEs who passed their exams since mid-September.
New BCEs:
Mr. Paul M. Zarebicki, BCE, (State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife), Milford, DE USA. Certified on 9/15/2016
Mr. Wei Leong Chong, BCE, (Ikari Services PTE Ltd.), Singapore, Singapore. Certified on 10/10/2016
New ACEs:
Ms. Corinne Down, ACE-I, (Abell Pest Control), Cochrane, AB Canada. Certified on 10/24/2016
Mr. Juan Jose Higueros, ACE, (Orkin Pest Control), Anaheim, CA USA. Certified on 9/16/2016
Mr. William E. Reardon, ACE, (Royal Pest Solutions), West Chester, PA USA. Certified on 9/30/2016
Mr. Michael James Cook, ACE, (Ecolab), Mukwonago, WI USA. Certified on 9/30/2016
Mr. John Young, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Matthew J Wise, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Michael Biando, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Todd Kirk, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Tom Dunn, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Jason Pugh, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Jimmie D. McIntyre, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Brian Keith Doyle, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Dennis Ahchin, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Lance Van Zant, ACE, (Clark Pest Control), Lodi, CA USA. Certified on 10/5/2016
Mr. Micheal D. Dirks, ACE, (Dirks Pest Management Specialist), Royersford, PA USA. Certified on 10/6/2016
Mr. Rock T Thweatt, ACE, (Roberts Termite and Pest Control, Inc), Austin, TX USA. Certified on 10/19/2016
Mr. Thomas L Wright, ACE, (Pest Pro Academy), Carrollton, TX USA. Certified on 10/19/2016
Mr. William Jay Beems, ACE, (Ecolab), Bel Aire, KS USA. Certified on 10/25/2016
Mr. Robert David Lockwood, ACE, (Rentokil/Ehrlich), Milford, CT USA. Certified on 10/29/2016
Mr. Jeffrey Ryan Schmidt, ACE, (Copesan Services Inc.), Menomonee Falls, WI USA. Certified on 11/7/2016
Mr. Nicholas Brian Fowler, ACE, (Applied Pest Management Inc), Vallejo, CA USA. Certified on 11/9/2016
Mr. Bobby Mullins, ACE, (Terminix), Charleston, WV USA. Certified on 11/11/2016
Mr. Rudy Ayala, ACE, (Spearhead Pest Control), Ventura, CA USA. Certified on 11/16/2016
Please join ESA in congratulating these PMPs for earning their ESA certification.
Ms. Heather King, BCE, (American Pest Control), Athens, GA USA. Certified on 8/26/2016
Mrs. Kristen Coleen Stevens, BCE-Intern, (University of Florida), Gainesville, FL USA. Certified on 8/15/2016
Mr. Michael John Jaurigui, ACE, (Alert Pest Control), Daly City, CA USA. Certified on 9/8/2016
Mr. Paul Walton, ACE, (Ecolab Pest Elimination), Hughson, CA USA. Certified on 8/31/2016
Mr. Sean Thomas Hannon, ACE, (Dirks PMS), Collegeville, PA USA. Certified on 8/25/2016
Ms. Dusana A. Bondy, ACE-I, (Abell Pest Control INC), Barrie, ON Canada. Certified on 8/18/2016
ESA's Chris Stelzig meeting with attendees at
PestWorld East on August 29 in Panjim, Goa, India
I'd never been to India before, so was not sure what to expect from my first trip which was to attend PestWorld East at the Grand Hyatt in Goa, India on 27-29 August 2016. This meeting was a joint production of the Indian Pest Control Association and the NPMA.
To say that I was impressed is an understatement.
From the impressive array of speakers, cultural programming, delicious food, interesting tour opportunities, and the high level of the attendees at the conference, this trip was a win by any standards.
The IPCA had an incredible attendance of about 525 (last count I heard) interested, attentive, professional, and dedicated PMPs. I honestly don't think I've ever attended a pest management conference where the audience in the training sessions paid attention like this group did. The speakers included (too many to list them all) included many ESA members, such as Chow-Yang Lee (BCE), Jim Fredericks (BCE), Su Yee Lim (BCE), Faith Oi, and Dini Miller. Jim and I contributed to a session on professionalism in pest management and credentialing possibilities that exist -- including ACE, ACE-I, and BCE. There are currently no ACEs in India, but that won't last for long. Especially with talented and dedicated BCEs like Jayant Dandawate and Ruparao T. Gahukar to serve as proctors.
I had the privilege to spend some time with Anil Rao, owner of PCI and some members of his professional team and family. PCI is the largest pest management firm in the nation and it shows in the quality that they bring to their work. They take a science-based approach to pest management, even operating a laboratory in-house for product research and development.
ESA ran an exhibit booth that frequently had attendees lined up to visit. I quickly ran out of business cards and made nearly five times as many contacts as I would normally make at a professional conference like this. Next time I'll pack more cards!
The takeaway for me is this -- India is a country where the pest management industry is in great shape and is growing rapidly in professionalism. I look forward to having an opportunity to return.
ACE's growth was even stronger than last year. We recorded 118 more ACEs than we had when 2015 closed out, finishing the year at 1,018. That is a growth rate of 13%! On average, since the program was introduced in 2004, the program has grown every year at an average growth rate of 46% (full disclosure - some of those early years had huge percentage increases, but were less stellar in terms of overall numbers - 2004 had 14 ACEs and 2005 had 45 ACEs, a 165% jump). But, of note, ACE has grown every year.
