National Pest Awards unsung Hero of the Year 2022
Syngenta Profesional Solutions is the Principal Sponsor of the National Pest Awards. Find out more about the Awards here.
Nominations for the Unsung Hero of the Year 2022 are:
Thomas Lindsay, Vergo
Thomas Lindsay lives on the west coast of Scotland and covers Argyll and large parts of the rural Highlands.
During his employment in the pest control industry, he has gained experience in all aspects of the job.
Thomas was nominated by Ewan MacKenzie, an area manager at Vergo, who said: “Thomas’s experience is invaluable when new starters join the industry.”
Thomas’s entry included five- star feedback from the daughter of a customer that had a mouse issue. The customer’s mother had dementia and she praised Thomas for “being fantastic with my mum on each visit”.
Thomas said: “I am delighted to be short-listed, but it was a shock; I wasn’t expecting it.”
Visuvalingman Patmanathan, Aberkil
Nathan, as he prefers to be called, is originally from Malaysia and is of Indian descent.
He arrived in Aberdeen as a young helicopter engineer, married a local girl and stayed.
Nathan joined Aberkil at the age of 67 just before the pandemic, as a part timer with the intention of carrying out contract visits. This turned in to full-time work during the summer as he volunteered when he saw the workload.
Nominating him for this award, Peter Stewart, Aberkil’s owner, said: “This was well above the call of duty as his age and ethnicity put him into a more vulnerable category.”
Nathan said that he was surprised to be a finalist.
“To win the award would mean a lot to me,” he said.
Laurence Barnard, Killgerm
Laurence Barnard is an area sales manager for Killgerm, covering South Yorkshire, East Midlands and East Anglia.
He was nominated for the award by Chris Courtney, director of Professional Pest Control in Nottinghamshire.
In his nomination, Chris said: “Laurence has hugely supported a vast number of pest control companies over the years, going above and beyond his job requirements.
“Over the past few years, Laurence has helped me get my business started from scratch.”
Chris said that Laurence is contactable at any time, including weekends, and is reliable and supportive. “He is not just a nine to five sales guy for a supplier like many others, and seems to genuinely care,” Chris said.
On being named a finalist, Laurence said: “I don’t think I do anything special.”
Dan White, Vergo
Dan started in the pest industry when he joined the business in October 2018, before which he worked for his local council in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Dan has progressed from a trainee technician, passed his RSPH level 2, and is now working towards his Level 3.
He spends hours recording rodents and studying their behaviour, adapting his control methods accordingly.
In the nomination, Thomas Atkinson, a service manager at Vergo, said: “Dan worked with a lady undergoing cancer treatment, who was struggling with a large rat infestation.”
Thomas received a letter of thanks to pass on to Dan.
"Dan said: “Getting this far is a massive achievement and I am chuffed to be a finalist.”
