PestWorld 2017 brought together 3,700 industry professionals in Baltimore, Maryland. The National Pest Management Association’s annual convention and exposition focused on connections, inspiration and information.

Fitting right in with the inspiration theme, Dow AgroSciences sponsored the PestWorld opening general session, bringing in speaker Doc Hendley. Along with being the founder and president of Wine to Water, Hendley was named a 2009 Top 10 CNN Hero. Hendley had a dream to fight the world’s water crisis ― and that became a reality. More than 500,000 people now have clean water through the Wine to Water community.

Attendees were inspired by Hendley’s personal story and how Wine to Water grew from one man’s mission to a movement for clean water. You may be wondering what clean water has to do with the pest management industry. Well, Hendley brought it back home at the end of the session to remind everyone about their careers as pest management professionals.

Here are some live tweets from the Sentricon^® system during the session:

Erin Goode, a sales representative for Sentricon in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia, reflected on the opening session. “Being in the pest control industry, means we have the opportunity each and every day to connect with and serve people. That’s what we’ve been called to do. Pest control is vital for our everyday lives. We’re protecting the comfort, safety and health of people.”

She continued, “Doc’s session was so inspiring. I loved learning about his life story, knowing where he started and where he is now changing lives here and abroad. Doc’s story was a great reminder that we are in the people business and have the chance to touch and change people’s lives every day. Everyone can make a difference.”

Following the opening session, Hendley was in the Dow AgroSciences booth to meet attendees. Dow AgroSciences also purchased 100 water kits for booth visitors to assemble. Each water kit provides clean water for a family of four for up to 10 years.

Want to learn more about Doc’s session? Check out PCT magazine’s article.

See you in Orlando next year!