On Wednesday, November 14th , the Training Department’s Scott Svenheim (Dir. Of E-training) passed his ACE exam. Fellow BCE and long-time acquaintance Norm Ehmann, was his proctor.



The new certification program began in 2004 and is the culmination of several years of planning by the Entomological Society of America (ESA), which sponsors the new Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) program as well as the established Board Certified Entomologist (BCE) program.

Most BCE's are entomologists with college degrees in entomology or related fields, who conduct a lot of training and research. The testing and professional maintenance requirements for BCE's are quite rigorous, and different from what most PMP's do for a living.

In order to certify under the new ACE program, Scott had to provide proof of at least seven years of work experience in the industry (Scott has 21 years), be licensed in pest control in at least one state (Scott holds 8 out of 10 in AZ and PC in Texas) agree to a code of ethics and pass a rigorous qualifying exam. In order to maintain his ACE status, the new program only requires him to maintain his certified applicators license, pay a yearly renewal fee and abide by the Code of Ethics. I do not believe Scott will have a problem abiding by their Code of Ethics as I have found him to be an ethical person.

Besides the credibility that comes from certification, use of the distinguished letters ACE with his name, successful candidates receive a high quality frame-able certificate, uniform patch, vehicle decal, an online subscription to the ESA newsletter and a discount to attend the Annual Meeting hosted by the Entomological Society of America.

The ACE program joins the older BCE program offered by ESA since 1992. Formerly known as the American Registry of Professional Entomologists, the BCE program is the most diverse entomology credentialing program in the country. The BCE program offers certification in general entomology, urban & industrial entomology, medical/veterinary entomology, pesticide development, analysis and toxicology, plant-related entomology and regulatory entomology.

The ACE program evolved after the Certification Board realized that most practicing entomologists in the pest control field weren’t comfortable getting certified under the BCE program. Only a handful of the 370 or so entomologists currently certified as BCE's, lack an entomology or biology degree. Rather than change the BCE program, the Board decided to design an entirely new program specifically tailored to the PMP. Currently there are only 120 ACE's nationally and Scott is Truly Nolen’s FIRST!

Is the qualifying exam hard? According to Svenheim, “Because of its broad scope -  the exam is not the kind of test you just sit down and study for in one night. You have to know your stuff. It’s quite challenging and fairly difficult, but I think it was a good test of a person’s pest control experience.” According to Svenheim, recommended study materials and the detailed list of standards for ACE's are posted on the ESA website.
 
Truly "U" attendees from Florida the week of November 11 were the first people to join me in congratulating Scott on this great accomplishment; they also were interested in doing it themselves.  Therefore, anyone wanting to sample the test can also take an online practice exam. To learn more about ACE credentialing, or to apply for certification, go online to www.entsoc.org/BCE or contact the ESA Membership Services Department at 703-234-4052.


CONGRATULATIONS Scott – Well Done!

Lillian A Sherman
National Director of Training
954 802 0696 or 1-888-731-8235