59TH ANNUAL PCO CONFERENCE
JANUARY 5-7, 2005

by
Roger E. Gold, Ph.D.
Professor & Endowed Chair
Urban & Structural Entomology

The 59th Texas A&M University Urban Pest Management Conference and Workshop was held January 5-7, 2005 in the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University in College Station. It has been over 15 years since the conference has been held on campus, and many of the 467 people who attended the conference were pleased to return to Texas A&M. This was particularly true for all of the former students who appreciated the opportunity to relive some of their memories of campus life.  Most people could not comprehend the growth of the campus in terms of the new buildings and facilities. Some even remember the early days when only a few thousand Aggies were on campus. The concept of over forty thousand students was very revealing to them.

This particular conference was one of the largest sponsored by Extension. The workshop serves to provide updates in new technologies available to these pest management professions, as well as completing the requirements for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) required for them to maintain their licenses and certifications. A total of 26 certification credits were offered during the two and one half day program. It is estimated that over 5,000 CEUs were earned by those in attendance. These offerings allowed each participant to earn all the CEUs in all categories for the entire year. In addition to meeting the requirements of the Texas Structural Pest Control Board, we were able to cross list several of the presentation for those needing CEUs from the Texas Department of Agriculture for both commercial and private applicators. In a separate but related part of the conference, Dr. Don Renchie provided a day long course for those preparing for their technician licenses. After the first day, most of these technicians then attended classes on subjects ranging from control of rodents and termites to integrated pest management in schools, and fumigation.

The conference began with a welcome from Dr. Roger E. Gold, Professor and Endowed Chair in Urban and Structural Entomology. Dr. Gold then introduced the program including welcomes from Dr. Kevin Heinz, the Department Head of the Department of Entomology, and Errol Cohen, representing the Texas Pest Control Association. A plaque was then presented to Clyde Butler who was instrumental in establishing the C.R. Butler & W. J. Patrick Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Endowed scholarships help us recruit the quality of students we need to keep our program competitive. We appreciate all those who continue to contribute to the Endowed Chair and to the graduate student scholarships. Errol Cohen also presented a donation to Dr. Gold for support of the “Friends of the Chair” fund to help in supporting on going research.

The Ivey Memorial Lecture was presented by Dr. Bobby Corrigan. This lecture is funded through a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Mark Ivey of Cyprus Creek Pest Control in memory of Mark’s parents. The Ivey family also provided a $500 scholarship to Molly Keck, in remembrance of Van Bock. Van was a friend of the industry and worked as Chief Inspector with the Texas Structural Pest Control Board.

During each of the rest breaks, several of the 33 companies that had exhibits at the conference met with workshop attendees and discussed new products and services. The exhibition hall was busy, and we were pleased that the vendors also participated in an exhibitors forum where they were given 5 minutes each to present to the audience their new products.

For many, the sessions held on Friday were the highlight of the conference. Research vignettes are presented by graduate students and researchers from TAMU. This gave the students an opportunity to report on their research, to thank those who provided the endowed scholarships which supported them, and to answer questions about how their research results will be of use to the audience in their businesses. It also gave the audience an opportunity to see the results of research before it is published, which helps them to see what is coming in the future in the way of technologies and approaches to the management of urban pest populations. As a result of this part of the conference, several of our students have been recruited to work in the industry in various capacities.

The planning process for the 2006 60th Texas A&M Conference and Workshop is already underway. It is tentatively scheduled for January 4th through 6th in College Station.

We express our appreciation to the conference committee, the staff and students from Urban Entomology for their hard work. We also recognize the work of the 33 exhibiting companies that supported the conference and helped to update us all on new products and technologies.