I serve as Director of Governmental Affairs for Cook’s Pest Control with headquarters in Decatur, AL. Prior to joining Cook’s in 2013, I worked for more than 15 years in the Pesticide Management Section of the Alabama Department of Agriculture.
I am active in several national and state associations:

• National Pest Management Association (NPMA)
  o Board of Directors, Treasurer
  o NPMA Diversity Committee, Immediate-Past Chair
  o Public Policy Committee
  o Professional Women in Pest Management Committee

• American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE)o Board of Directors, Immediate Past-President
  o By-Laws Committee

• Georgia Pest Control Association Public Relations Committee
  o Education Committee

• Georgia Pest Control Association Public Relations Committee
  o Education Committee
  o Government/Legislative Committee

• Mississippi Pest Control Association
  o NPMA Vice- State Policy Affairs Representative (former)

• Tennessee Pest Control Association o Vision Committee, Chair (former)
  o Vision Committee, Chair (former)

My participation in these associations provides me an opportunity to connect with members and build lasting friendships. I get to celebrate personal and professional awards and milestones, and I am also there when a member is faced with challenges in their life. For those reasons, I am a member of Hands United Foundation (HUF). HUF provides support across the pest management community in Alabama and Georgia to meet the needs of pest control operators and/or their family when facing life-changing and catastrophic event.
I am the proud mom of an amazing son, Kerry Tuck. I live in my hometown of Wetumpka, AL. 

I began my career in pest management as a 19 year old college student in Indiana. It wasn’t my first choice in a career, but one that I have never regretted. Along the way, I have met a number of people working in this industry that I have been lucky to learn from. Even though I may have worked for a competitor, everyone I have met has always found the time to share best practices, training materials, ideas, and even tips from their own personal experiences. Over time, those acquaintances turned into friendships, where conversations quickly turn from discussions about business to discussions about family. It was these friendships that I relied on to help me get through one of the most difficult times of my life.

I don’t remember much after I was told that he was unresponsive. How could this happen, he was only 47 and in good health? All I could think about were my 13 and 15-year old children! It was January 21st and I had become a widow and a single mother in a heartbeat. I had just relocated to Atlanta less than three years earlier and the closest family member lived at least 4 hours away.

That’s when my friends in the Pest Control Industry stepped in! They immediately mobilized, working to get me the help I needed, working to bring my family into Atlanta where they could assist with my children and arrangements, and providing both physical and emotional support when I needed it most! My children and I could not be more grateful for everything that they did and continue to do.

Hands United is my opportunity to give back to an industry that has given me so much! I know that I am not the first person to find myself in this situation, and I won’t be the last. The Hands United Foundation was developed to help those who may find themselves in a similar situation and are struggling to find a way out of the lowest point in their life. As an industry, we work every day to serve our customers and help make their lives better. Through the Hands United Foundation, we can help to make the lives of our pest management family better.

Melisa has spent her career advocating on behalf of highly regulated, service provider organizations. Moving from the private security industry into pest control, she has worked to grow companies by assessing and minimizing legal and regulatory risks, building strategic relationships, and facilitating transactions. She gained extensive experience of the pest industry while previously serving 18 years with Terminix. She joined the company as Corporate Counsel and was promoted through various levels of leadership, including her work as Chief Ethics Officer and Vice President, General Counsel most recently focusing on government and industry affairs.

Melisa is a passionate advocate for the pest industry seeking to leverage relationships and policy to positively impact the companies providing these services. She firmly believes in the industry’s mission of being an essential service in maintaining public health.

Melisa also eagerly builds networks promoting the opportunities that a career in pest management provides particularly for underrepresented communities and entrepreneurs. She was the founding chairperson for the women’s network at each of her companies and currently mentors emerging talent helping them find their voices and grow their executive leadership skills. Considering its purpose and mission, serving as a director with the Hands United Foundation is a seamless match for Melisa’s dedication to helping others and public service.

Melisa is an honors graduate of The University of Memphis receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance summa cum laude and later her Juris Doctorate degree. 

I have just over 42 years of experience as a pest management professional. I have worked from the ground up beginning as a Termite Field Technician Assistant to an Owner/Operator of a Franchise Pest Control Company. I began working for Terminix International in 2001, where I currently serve as a Technical Manager. In my position, I provide field technical support for our commercial accounts with difficult pest issues, consult on termite treatments, and work with our training department in development of practical field training. I am a certified training facilitator conducting field, in-person, and on-line virtual training, I am an industry-trained Board-Certified Entomologist and hold licenses in Georgia & Louisiana.

As one of the co-founders of Hands United Foundation it is more than an opportunity to serve, it is a passion to see it grow to serve others as my family has been served by our industry in our time of need. In January of 2017 my granddaughter drowned in a boating accident while night-fishing with her father and as we watched search teams, helicopters, and divers seek to recover her body on a frigid Sunday on into Monday night when her body was recovered. During that night and the rest of the week as we prepared for the funeral our pest control family embraced us with their loving support financially and prayerfully lifting a load of burdens from our shoulders when we needed it the most. My vision in co-founding this foundation with others who have had similar experiences is that every member of our pest control industry feel the warmth and security that they are not alone when life happens. 

After completing his military commitment with the United States Air in 1985, Van secured a job in pest management until as he says “ I could find something better”. Thirty-seven years later he is a certified pest control operator in three states, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and currently a Senior Manager with Arrow Exterminators.

Van is a founding member of Hands United Foundation, and is passionate about the Pest Management industry, and believes strongly in giving back to that industry, and to the communities where we do business.

Van currently lives in Evans GA. With his wife Nannette. They have three grown children, and three grandchildren in Florida and N. Carolina. Van is an avid sports fan and enjoys cheering for the Florida Gators and Miami Dolphins. He also loves spending time in the N. Georgia mountains as well as the west coast of Florida.