Wanted to write this note to acknowledge all those who assisted with the recent Ventura County Board of Supervisor decision related to expanding the California Coastal Commission oversight into pesticide use authority. The Board decision while not everything we wanted, clearly deviated from what the City of Malibu was proposing and kept DPR’s authority intact related to sales and use of pesticides in this state.
A special thank you goes out to our legal counsel Dale Stern and his team, Dom DiMare and Max Perry our legislative advocates along with Sylvia Kenmuir who did a terrific job representing PCOC in front of the Board during public comments. This issue isn’t going away and provided a road map for how to deal with this in the future.
Chris Reardon
PCOC Executive Vice President
chris@pcoc.org
(916) 372-4363
NPMA — THE WOMEN'S FORUM
November 29 – December 1, 2021, Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA
The Women's Forum is designed to empower female leaders and their male counterparts, while inspiring our businesses. The Forum will provide 3 days of unique interactive discussions, networking and leadership development!
REGISTER HERE
PWIPM Webinar Series: “Nourishing Greatness”
December 7, 2021, from 12:00-1:00 pm PST
Please join your fellow industry professionals for our first installment in the “Nourishing Greatness” Webinar Series. This bi-monthly lunchtime series hosted by the California chapter of PWIPM is geared to help strengthen and support our workforce.
Our next offering is on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, from 12:00-1:00 pm PST, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend!
The topic is, “Difficult Conversations” and presenting this program is the author of “Listen: How to Embrace the Difficult Conversations Life Throws at You”, Jen Dalton.
Dalton will share strategies on how to navigate difficult conversations to make them easier or at least be better at controlling our own reactions during them.
Five lucky attendees will win an autographed book!
Cost: $10/PCOC Member – $20/Non-Member
All proceeds are donations to the California PWIPM “Women of Excellence Scholarship Fund.”
Sponsored by: BASF, Bell Labs, and Target Specialty Products
Click here to Register (PCOC Discount code is PCOCmember21)
December Board of Directors Meeting — IN PERSON
Our meeting will be held at the Hilton Palm Springs December 9-10, 2021.
We will have our Golf Tournament on Thursday, December 9, 2021. Click here for the Golf Registration
Committee Meetings (8:00 am - 12:00 pm) and our BOD Meeting (1:00 pm - 4:00 pm) will take place on Friday, December 10, 2021 and will conclude with our reception at 5:30 pm.
REVISED
 CLICK HERE to access the PDF version of the Committee & Board of Directors Meeting Schedule.
We will have similar vendor opportunities as the September BOD. Click here for our Vendor Sign up sheet.
Looking Forward...(un)Leashed Leadership Program - STARTING January 2022!!
Sign up today! Click here for the Progam information registration form.
PestEd Series
- Southern California — Tuesday, January 11, 2021 — Quiet Cannon, Montebello, CA
- Northern California — Thursday, January 13, 2021 — Citrus Heights Community Center, Citrus Heights, CA
Termite Academy Dates TBD
April BOD Meeting & Legislative
March 7-9, 2022
Hyatt Regency — Sacramento
Golf — Course TBD — Mar. 7
Committees & BOD — Mar. 8
Leg Day Event — Mar. 9
2022 Expo 2022
June 8-10, 2022
Disneyland Hotel — Anaheim
Schedule TBD
Even when we thought things were not going to go anywhere, they do. AB 1346 (Berman) Air Pollution: small off road engines begins the phase out of small engines in this state. Now this should not come as a surprise to anyone that this is occurring, but we did not expect it to happen like this.
The author slid it through without much input from industry (well, any industry that uses small engines including landscapers). This resulted in a bill that is confusing and that may be unfeasible. However, it’s something that we may have to live with. The targets of this bill are small engines used for items like leaf blowers, lawn mowers, small engines used in our termite control rigs, and other pieces of application equipment that use gas powered engines (i.e. backpack mist blowers). The time frame for this bill is essentially to impact engines sold after 2024 so we have some time but that also means that we should begin to look at alternatives if you haven’t already. We will be talking a bit more about this in Palm Springs so feel free to attend the meeting to give your input and see how we can deal with this!
Darren Van Steenwyk, M.S., BCE
Director of Learning and Technical Services
Clark Pest Control
Office: (209) 368-7152 ext. 235
Mobile: (209) 224-4629
Fax: (209) 334-5040
darrenv@clarkpest.com
It is Open Enrollment for Medical Insurance Programs. Watch the video below to hear from one of our insurance affiliate companies, Ames Grenz Insurance Services.
If you have any questions, please contact Chris Vlautin at 310-804-0342.
Mental Health Recognized as Significant Workplace Issue
70% of employers report mental health challenges among their employees, 52% report substance misuse or addiction, and 72% say mental health stigma blocks care.
These are some of the findings in new research provided by The Hartford, a workers compensation insurance company.
While the national study showed employers have strived to support workforce well-being and foster a more compassionate workplace, employers and workers are divided in key areas about mental health in the workplace:
- 80% of employers said their company culture has been more accepting of mental health challenges in the past year, but only 59% of workers agree.
- 79% of employers said they have an open and inclusive environment that encourages a dialogue about mental health, compared to 52% of workers who agree.
- 77% of employers said leadership at their company encourages conversations about mental health, compared to 56% of workers who agree; and
- 78% of employers said workers have flexibility in their schedule to get the mental health help they need, but just 58% of employees agree about this flexibility.
These divergent perceptions indicate the pervasiveness and power of stigma, as well as the continued need for education and communication about mental illness and addiction.
Stigma’s Economic Cost
The research also showed the economic impact of untreated conditions due to stigma. One-third of U.S. employers (31%) said the strain on employee mental health is having a severe or significant financial impact on their company, a 10-point increase from the March 2020 survey. The Hartford’s claims data demonstrates that untreated mental health and substance use disorders can lead to unplanned absences and prolonged disability. Mental health conditions are among the top five reasons for U.S. workers to file a short-term disability claim, according to The Hartford’s disability claims data (excluding pregnancy). A person diagnosed with a primary injury or illness, along with the presence of mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression, takes two to three times longer to recover than someone with similar injuries or illness without those conditions.
“The recent research from The Hartford is encouraging and shows U.S. employers are concerned for their employees’ mental health,” said Daniel H. Gillison Jr., CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). “We are acutely aware that the need for mental health services is only increasing and reducing stigma in the workplace is paramount to improving the lives of employees. Mental health support in the workplace is a win-win for both workers and businesses.”
How to Be Stigma-Free
To help foster an open and inclusive work culture, The Hartford and NAMI recommend employers and workers:
- Learn more about mental health conditions and substance use disorder. Nearly half of adults with a substance use disorder also have a mental illness.
- Use respectful and first-person language to talk about mental illness and addiction, avoiding harmful words that perpetuate stigma; and
- Offer support if you think someone is having trouble. The NAMI Helpline at 800-950-NAMI provides information regarding available resources. If someone is in a crisis, text "NAMI" to 741741 crisis support via text message available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Employers can also:
- Provide mental health training to managers and senior leaders that includes information about mental illnesses, potential warning signs, and stigmatizing language guidelines.
- Offer an Employee Assistance Program, as well as sleep management, mindfulness, or other programs that help improve mental and physical health; and
- Communicate often, year-round about benefits and programs that support overall well-being. With additional communication, employees can more easily access the benefits and resources when the need arises.
“We are encouraged our survey showed a majority of employers and employees think mental health will become less stigmatized in the workplace as a result of the pandemic,” said Christopher Swift, Chairman and CEO of The Hartford. “Mental health matters now more than ever. Together with NAMI, we remain committed to eradicating stigma that threatens human achievement so that more people can prevail.”
For more information and help, contact the Insurance professionals of the PCOC Insurance Program. Call us at: 877.860.7378.The ProPest Insurance Authority: "Focused on You."
Paul Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Principal, Programs
EPIC Program Solutions
10877 White Rock Rd. Suite 300 Rancho Cordova, Ca 95670
paul.lindsay@epicbrokers.com
916.576.1545 direct | 877.222.0000 | 916.952.1609 cell
epicbrokers.com | ca license 0B29370
Frequently Asked For Websites
3 Quick-Fix Tips to Improve Your Website Today
As technology grows each day and industry design trends fluctuate, the opportunity to improve your Website is always there. To help narrow down where you should be placing your attention, focus on these key items:
Trim the Fat from Your Homepage
A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that leave or “bounce” from your site after viewing one page. Keeping that bounce rate in mind, many companies are often guilty of overloading their homepages with their mission, services, and specials. Long paragraphs of essay-style text can overwhelm Website visitors, prompting them to visit another Pest Control site.
The average attention span of someone online averages 6-8 seconds. At a glance, does your homepage clearly indicate what your company does, how to contact you, and why you are the trusted experts in your service area?
Ask someone who isn’t familiar with your Website to try this. If they are having trouble answering the above questions, review your content for ways to refine your message.
Highlight the Next Step
You can certainly capture the attention of your site’s visitors with photos of your work, details of your offerings, and lots of good reviews. But this won’t mean much if they aren’t aware of the next step to hiring your pest control services.
Do you do business over the phone? Is there an online booking system they need to use to schedule an appointment? Should they identify the type of insect or rodent they are having problems with?
Ask yourself these questions and update your site accordingly. Businesses that do most of their scheduling over the phone should have a “Call Now” button on most of their pages and their phone number in the header, which will appear no matter the page one is on.
Callouts, otherwise known as a Call to Action, eliminate uncertainty for your prospects and help to guide them to becoming a paying customer.
Keep Things Updated
Keeping your content fresh and updated – even in small ways – can be an excellent strategy for your site’s appeal to prospects AND to Google. This can be adding new testimonials to your Reviews page, adding information on the new type of solution you have for rodent problems, or updating content across the site seasonally.
Pests in California tend to be more active during certain times of the year. By adding a blogpost, for example, about the increase in cockroaches being found around the home due to the hotter weather, Google will take notice. One tip is to update your content based on the current pest trends happening in your area. By placing current information on your Website, Google will identify it has relevant during a user’s search into that pest.
No matter how small the change, you are letting Google know that your site is up-to-date and is representative of your business today.
Take some time today to look at your pest control Website and identify the areas for growth. When you take your Website seriously, search engines and prospects do the same. If you need any help in taking your Website to the next level, contact Market Hardware, and we’d be happy to discuss the layout of your site.
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