PCOC Scholarship Foundation Interview with founder Pat Clark

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

PCOC’s Scholarship Foundation has provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to 28 deserving students in the past three years.

This is just the beginning.

"We are past crawling, starting to walk and we can barely wait to soar," said Clark, the licensee of Clark Pest Control Company. "In five to 10 years, we would like to be giving out $10,000 scholarships at the upper end and $2,000 at the lower end."

Eventually, said Clark, who seeded the foundation with $3,000 in 1996 to start the long process of creating the charitable organization, "I’d like to see us establish a University Chair."

Today the Scholarship Foundation has almost $100,000 in principal and is shooting for $1 million or more in the foreseeable future.

Clark’s vision began with the conviction that the pest control industry needed to combat its image in schools in order to attract the best young people to the industry. "There is so much bad news generated about what we do and it starts in school," he said. "It starts with Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring). How do you beat that? How do you get recognition of the industry for the good things we stand for inside the schools and get public recognition?"

"The vision I had for the Foundation is that we could catch people fresh, before they went into the university, and let them know that we have a viable industry ready to take them in when they finish school," said Clark. "It all starts with a dream and a vision, and then you earn your stripes."

The PCOC Scholarship Foundation started with $3,000 seed money from Clark in 1996, and it took three years just to set up the charitable foundation.

"Lee Zusman helped get us through the process of setting up the foundation," said Clark, "and the attorney was so impressed with the idea that she donated her services in setting it up."

The first scholarships went out in 2000, and the money-raising technique caught everyone in PCOC – except Clark – by surprise. "I told Harvey (Logan) that I wanted to do a reverse draw for a Harley Davidson motorcycle," recalled Clark (a reverse draw is a drawing in which the last ticket drawn is the winner). "I said I would sell 182 tickets for $250 each."

"I told Harvey (Logan) it wouldn’t cost PCOC a thing because I would guarantee payment on the bike," said Clark. "Harvey just shook his head and said ‘Okay, it’s your funeral.’

The last 50 tickets of the reverse draw were picked at the induction banquet of the 2000 PCOC Convention, and the draw was so popular that they had to add eight tables at the last minute to the banquet. "We had people standing against the wall, just to find out who won," said Clark. "After the banquet, Harvey was so impressed he asked me what I had planned for the next year."

The reverse draw netted $25,000, and the foundation gave out three scholarships: one for $1,500, one for $1,000 and one for $750. And the foundation was able to begin building its principal.

The idea of the foundation is not to give out all of the money collected in the reverse raffle, but to keep most of it in principal so that eventually the scholarships can be given out based on the interest made. Thus, the foundation can continue giving scholarships without dipping into the principal.

Over the next three years, the foundation used the reverse raffle (once for a PT Cruiser, once for cash and once for a trailer and 2 sea doos) to add another $50,000 to the foundation’s principal.

"In addition," said Clark, "the Santa Clara District kicked in $20,000 that they raised and donated in the memory of Dale Cardiff."

In 2001, the Foundation gave three scholarships, for $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000, and from 2002 to 2005 it gave out $6,500 in scholarships.

The goal of the Foundation is to hold the number of scholarships at five, but increase the amounts of each scholarship as the Foundation grows. "While the scholarships we give are appreciated, given the cost of higher education, they don’t go far," said Clark. "We need to get them up to $5,000."

The only fundraiser for the Foundation is currently the reverse draw, but Clark said they want to eventually approach PCOs on their estate planning and wills to help boost the Foundation’s ability to give larger scholarships.

The requirements for scholarship applicants is extremely simple: they have to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, a high school senior or higher with a "C" average, and they have to be accepted to a college.

"We give scholarships ranging from community colleges to full universities," said Clark. "The stories these kids tell (on their applications) touch your heart and soul. Last year one scholarship went to a Branch Two licensee who is going to the University of Phoenix in the evening, pursuing a pharmacy degree. "While we have hopes that scholarship will consider career, it is not essential."

The Foundation gets 15 to 20 applications a year for the scholarships. Applications are generally available in December of each year and due by March 1st of each year.

"It’s up to district chairs to give applications to candidates they would like to see receive scholarships out of their own districts. That way they help with quality control because we are trying to promote the industry," said Clark.