Pest Management Professional, October 2011

Glenn Sherzinger adds It was put up or close up time and Dad had the conviction to bet big on the industry He bought out the other investors and became majority owner of PCT Ed Scherzinger moved the operation from Cleveland to Cincinnati for tighter control and published the technicians guide through late 1980 when he sold it to the founder of Clevelandbased GIE Media The divestiture allowed Ed Scherzinger to concentrate on transitioning the pest management company started by his father Bernie B C Scherzinger in 1934 to a third generation of Scherzingers A man of conviction Steve Scherzinger past president of the National Pest Management Association NPMA and current president of fourth generation Scherzinger Pest Control in Cincinnati will never forget the moment he found out his father would be inducted into the pmp Hall of Fame at NPMAs PestWorld this year When pmp magazine called me on my cell phone with the news I had to pull to the side of the road Steve Scherzinger says It was a complete surprise It took me a while to compose myself Fortunately my wife Barbara was with me Dad didnt have the easiest of lives but he never let stuff such as his MS multiple sclerosis diagnosis in his early 30s get him down Steve Scherzinger adds Instead he taught the rest of us in the industry how to persevere and think and push through obstacles his son says in a crackling softening voice Steve Scherzinger says his fathers conviction to publish a technicians journal was a crucial investment in the education and ultimate professionalism of the industry Some old timers still talk about Dads Technicians Corner column ghostwritten under the byline Phillip C Traynor the alleged authors initials comprising PCT was no coincidence adds Steve Scherzinger And the publications monthly Bugmate piece featuring a close up photo of the pest of the month on one side and identification and control tips on the other was a reprints cash cow for years Mentor and marketer Ed Scherzingers entrepreneurial spirit didnt end with the printed word or with his time on earth It extends presently well beyond the trade publication rippling throughout the industry through his sons companies and the countless colleagues he lifted to higher ground by freely sharing his knowledge and experience Fellow pmp Hall of Famer Bob Dold Sr co owner of Rose Pest Solutions in Northfield Ill recalls how Ed Scherzinger held court many nights during Purdue Universitys annual Pest Management Conference In the evenings some of the industrys brightest gathered in Continued on page 46 Entrepreneur Ed Scherzinger taught others to think and push through obstacles together Eds example helped his son Glenn stand up and walk his daughter down the aisle after a ladder accident left him bed and wheelchair confined for five months Ed Scherzinger sold the publication in late 1980 Rumors of the divestiture circulated at PestWorld that year in New Orleans as it is this year mypmp net Pest Management Professional October 2011 45