What a difference a year makes! As I reflect on PCOC over the past 12 months, it is exciting to see this organization come back to life! The recent Board of Directors meeting in San Diego allowed me the opportunity to give a State of PCOC update. It’s clear that folks are getting the message that we’re up to the task of providing them an organization that is willing and able to speak forcefully and defend our issues while also building bridges to different stakeholder groups that might not always agree with us. Membership growth continues to be a priority, and under the leadership of Karen Grenz, our Membership Director, we will maintain aggressive outreach to new members who can only bolster our strength. It’s amazing to have many of you help with growing our membership, and I’ve always believed that current members are the best spokespeople for any successful association. 

Regulatory and legislative issues are front and center, and PCOC involvement is imperative on topics such as elimination of rodenticides, pyrethriods use and concerns related to California's waterways and the ability to use fumigation into the future. None of these issues are going away, and active engagement will be critical as we look to the future. The other thing to note is that in 2018, California will be electing a new governor, and there will be new appointed people to run agencies and departments that impact us, so we will be watching this closely as well.

Also, I want to acknowledge the new committee chairs this year for their commitment to PCOC, as they are important to policy formation, as well as leading the association on relevant issues that affect our members. Developing a deep bench is important to any successful organization, so the more involvement we can get at the committee level the greater benefit it will be for PCOC. At the end of the day, its great people that make it all work and we have that covered. "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” (Helen Keller)

Chris Reardon
PCOC's Executive Vice President