More than 50 members, plus several guests attended the Pi Chi Omega Membership Meeting on Tuesday, October 15th at the Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

The Awards Committee, chaired by Karen Furgiuele, selected three members to receive the Pi Chi Omega Award of Achievement, and one of those recipients to also receive the Generosity Award. Dr. Nicki Gallagher gave a heart-felt presentation of the Award of Achievement to Dr. Susan Jones, Glen Ramsey presented the same award to Dennis Judy and Cisse Spragins presented Dale Baker with the Award of Achievement and Judy Black presented Dale with the Generosity Award.

Board Elections were held during the meeting. The slate, presented by the Nominations Chair, Judy Black, was approved. There was one nomination from the floor by Douglas Seemann for a director seat. The Board will surely be reaching out to Douglas who was equally willing to serve as a committee member.

We are pleased to present the 2019-2020 Pi Chi Omega Board

Officers:
Mark Sheperdigian, BCE, President

Dale Baker, Immediate Past President
Dr. Cassie Krejci, Ph.D., MGK, President-Elect
Russ Ives, Rose Pest Solutions, Treasurer
Gene White, BCE, Rose Pest Solutions, Secretary

Directors:
Stephanie Hill, Ph.D., HomeTeam Pest Defense (two-year term)
Tom Mueller, Insects Limited (in the middle of his term)

Desiree Straubinger, BCE, CD-FS, Rentokil Steritech (one-year term)
Glen Ramsey, BCE, Orkin (two-year term)
Aaron Ashbrook (appointed)

Membership Chair, Dennis Judy, also presented four new nominations to be approved by the membership and one legacy member. All were approved. We are pleased to welcome active members Trent Kucherka, Beau Bridwell, and Mohammed El Damier, Ph.D., and student member Amanda Penicks. A special note of

recognition goes to Deni Naumann, a long-time member and supporter of Pi Chi Omega, who has retired from her position with Copesan. Deni now carries a Legacy membership in Pi Chi Omega.

During the meeting, Pi Chi Omega also rolled out two new programs that are in development that will allow our fraternity to give back to the Industry. The Junior Entomologist program will plant the seed of curiosity in elementary aged children and bring an appreciate of the important roll industry plays within our communities. The Pi Chi Omega Forum will host an online platform for members to connect with each other and to provide answers to difficult accounts, share research results, or solicit for insect populations or pest identification challenges.