Well, here it is; another Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year signaling the end of another year of whatever it is we do. For my wife and I it highlights the birth of our first grandchild, the wedding of our son, the remembrance of challenges and triumphs of everyday life, the ups and downs that come to most extended families, and most of all a thankfulness that, through it all, we are in a good place and very blessed. I hope you can say the same. For The Pest Professionals, I am extremely thankful for everyone that has contributed to another year of successful growth; for the employees that work with our customers everyday, caring that our customers get the best service available. I can honestly say this is the beset group of workers I have ever been associated with and I’m proud that they are my employees. They are too numerous to mention here by name but as you call our references of past customers you will no doubt hear about the quality of our employees. So let me just finish up by saying hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!
Rick

In June 1992, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a decision by the lower courts authorizing local towns and cities to enact and enforce their own laws concerning pesticides. The town of Casey, Wisconsin, had passed ordinances that were stricter than federal standards and that had been immediately challenged in court by the chemical companies. When Casey finally prevailed in the Supreme Court, trade associations (including the National Pest Control Association and the Professionals Lawn Care Association of America) joined to create a new organization called the Coalition for Sensible Pesticide Policy (CSPP). A trade journal, arguing passionately for this cause, listed measures for companies to take if “legislation is rearing its ugly head in your community.” Industry groups have had bills sponsored in the Senate and the House that would preempt the Supreme Court ruling, disallowing local legislation of toxic pesticides. When Missoula, Montana, tried to pass a referendum calling for tighter controls on local spraying of chemicals, trade associations, along with Ciba-Geigy and DuPont, spent over $50,000 to deafeat it.

We do not nor will not support an organization that places their interests above others, including those of the community, the state, and the environment. As one business guru once said, “We are neither in pursuit of money nor popularity but excellence. Markets are unknowable while excellence is obvious to everyone. Chasing money or popularity is a fools gambit. The relentless pursuit of excellence is the sure path, though likely indirect, to business success.”

That’s “The Pest Professionals” stand.

This book alone reshaped how I think about everything. It is a narrative dialogue between a gorilla and a naive, disgruntled young man. The man represents a common cultural icon, the kind we all know too well: unhappy, hopeless and confused. The gorilla: wise, challenging and viewing the world of humanity from an animal’s perspective. Ishmael, the gorilla, takes the narrator onto a journey of humanity while challenging the him to see humanity, and its role on this planet, in a way never before told. What’s more is that everything Ishmael brings out is confirmed by the work of anthropologists, philosophers, biologists and ecologists, and, unlike others who question humanity’s position in life, Ishmael questions whether we need prophets. A new way to live is more on his agenda, and it may follow the model lived by humans for millions of years: the tribe. This book is touching, easy to read and difficult to grasp.

Most likely, this book really will change your life. It changed mine. It doesn’t say things, which are way out there, but rather things we already know. Daniel Quinn will help you to put the pieces of the puzzle together in this insightful novel about our culture.

Just read it!
PS  Feel free to tell me what you think. Always looking forward to hearing your opinion, whether positive or negative.

About a month ago, my wife and I started our own joint checking account at the local bank and made our first deposit with the cash and checks we recieved from our wedding day. The girl gave us our receipt and we happily went on our way. So Thursday night my wife answers the phone and it is the branch manager from the bank. After introducing herself, she asked my wife if we were aware of a mistake regarding our deposit, which naturally my wife replied no. She then informed her that the cash was never deposited into the account. Evidentally, the teller accidentally forgot to collect the cash envelope and unbeknown to us we left with the cash in one pocket and the receipt in the other confirming the full amount of the deposit. The manager went on to say the bank is writing it off as a loss until further investigation. As for the sweet, young teller who helped us, her job was on the cutting block as you can imagine.

So what do you know (true story!)…the next day as I jumped in my truck to head off to work I find the envelope full of cash in my left jacket pocket. What a miracle right? Just so happen to put on my coat that day as they were calling for a drop in temperature later in the day (which by the way I didn’t wear all week). So the first thing I do is immediately call the bank to tell the manager of the good news. To say she was happy is an understatement. She thanked us repeatedly for our honesty and told us that we just made the teller’s Christmas holiday a whole lot merrier. I told the manager the teller was more than helpful and deserving of a raise for her great customer service.

A few hours later after reflecting back on the whole incident, I couldn’t help but imagine what life would be like if I never called the bank back to tell them I found the money. The more I thought about it though, the more I knew I made the right decision and the better I felt about myself. Although it was a bit tempting, I like to believe most other people would have done the same thing in my situation. Nothing’s worse than waiting for karma to come back and bite me in the butt. Trust me, it usually does too.