Pest Management Professional, December 2009

Newsmaker Callof the wild Scott Steckels passion for helping others drew him into this industry and guided the NPMAs Wildlife Division to successful growth By Pete Grasso Managing Editor T he exhibits are abuzz with conference attendees talking to vendors and each other The coffee flows freely as many in attendance ready themselves for a day of learning In the adjoining room a smiling Scott Steckel is all business As chairman of the National Pest Management Associations NPMAs Wildlife Division a post hes held for more than six years Steckel is talking with the days first speaker and going over final preparations for the start of the NPMAs Nuisance Bird Wildlife Management Conference Its the second year for the conference and attendance is on par with last year Its a testament to Steckels leadership that the conference even exists let alone shows signs of success Hes humble though and refuses to take credit for the crowd gathered in Indianapolis Im the chair of the committee and we put together the plans for this conference but I take no credit for its success Steckel says The committee as a whole selected the topics and decided on speakers location and everything Steckel is quick to deflect any praise for himself instead giving his thanks to NPMA liaisons Gene Harrington and Alexis Wirtz about whom he says Without them this event would not have happened Thats just the way he is humble with very little ego Its why perhaps Steckel has been at the helm of a committee thats seen tremendous growth during his tenure With him everyone gets his or her say Flying High At first glance Steckels story is not unique in the pest management industry Like many in this business he grew up in the industry and didnt plan on making it his career Steckels grandfather Henry started out in this industry in 1902 on the manufacturing side with Tornado Manufacturing After World War II Steckels father Jim joined the business as it evolved into one that provided service as well Thats when the manufacturing slowed down and it became a full service pest termite and wildlife business until it was sold in 1989 Steckel says Growing up however Steckel had his sights set much higher Born and raised in Columbus Ohio a natural hero of Steckels is former astronaut and senator John Glenn I wanted to be an astronaut Steckel recalls John Glenns advice to elementary school children who wanted to be astronauts was to get good grades so I focused my attention on getting good grades Steckel followed Glenns advice on becoming an astronaut to a tee In junior high school he was already making plans to attend the U S Naval Academy the U S Air Force Academy or Stanford anyplace with an aviation program He was admitted to the U S Air Force Academy and graduated in 1984 Following a year of flight training in which Steckel finished in the top 10 percent of his class he was able to choose his next assignment John Glenn said you needed to be an instructor to really gain an understanding of everything so thats how I choose my next assignment Steckel says Immediately following student training for a year I got to come back for a five year assignment as an instructor 58 PEST MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2009 www mypmp net