What an exceptional year for our industry and our members. Throughout this report, you’ll see that reflected in the highlights of NPMA initiatives and the outcomes of the efforts of our hundreds of volunteers and dedicated staff. Because of this, our community remains as solid as ever and I’d like to touch on just a few of our successes from this last year.
We saw continued growth for our member companies and responded to your labor needs. With industry data showing an increase of almost 8% in annual billings across pest management, our members have a corresponding need to fill the labor gap with a workforce of the future. NPMA’s ongoing Workforce Development initiative is meeting that call. Through our job board, pestcontroljobs.com, our internal toolkit of member resources, and our external efforts to promote the many benefits of a career in pest control, we are addressing your workforce needs head-on.
We made significant gains in our advocacy for the industry. NPMA continued to lead the industry in engaging with regulators and legislators at the local, state, and federal levels. We saw our strongest efforts to date through our championing of Congressional bill H.R. 7266, a bill that would codify federal pesticide preemption, ensuring that states, and not localities, are the sole regulators of the sale and use of pesticides. NPMA members came out in full force, meeting with their representatives both at our annual Legislative Day, during in-state visits throughout August, and throughout the year using the messaging and resources provided by our public policy team.
We identified opportunities to include and recognize all stakeholders in pest management. Over the course of the last year, our Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Task Force outlined key priorities for the coming year, beginning with the involvement of our members. Established in September 2021, the Board of Directors charged the task force with assessing the industry’s IDE needs and work towards implementing solutions that improve the inclusivity of the pest control industry to reflect the diverse communities in which they serve. In addition, the task force was tasked with enhancing the industry’s ability to attract diverse prospective professionals in the highly competitive and diverse labor market—a need we have heard loud and clear from our membership. You’ll see these priorities coming into fruition over the course of this year and beyond.
I am particularly proud of the launch of our Impact Awards for Women in Pest Management. We issued a special call for nominations and the response did not disappoint. We were overwhelmed with stories of our members and how they had served their companies, their customers, and their communities and were thrilled to recognize 69 of these outstanding women at our May Women’s Forum in Nashville.
As we approach our 90th anniversary in 2023, we are proud of all that was accomplished, not only in this last year, but throughout our long history. We look forward for what’s to come.