Class of 2007
It took six months of daily calls to the general manager for Roy E. Ashton to finally land a technician position at Western Exterminator Co. – yet, somehow, within just six months of being on the job, Ashton had managed to get himself called into the company founder’s office.
“Carl Strom himself called me into his office and said, ‘You’re not smiling. Why not?’” Ashton said.
“I told Carl that I had a personal problem,” Ashton continued. “Then, ‘the boss’ actually asked if I wanted to talk about it. After some hesitation, I admitted to him that my wife, who was pregnant at the time, and I were about to be evicted from our home. We had just 35 days because the owners of the home we were renting from were returning from New York to reclaim the house.”
At the time, Ashton could not afford the down payment for another suitable house.
“Carl asked how much I needed, and I told him $600,” Ashton said. “Carl reached into his pocket, pulled out his checkbook and wrote me a check for $600. When I told him I had no security, Carl replied, ‘You are my security.’ It was at that moment I decided to stay with this family business for good. You know what: We – my wife of 54 years, Nena, our daughters Diana and Carole Jean, and our son Michael – lived in that house that Carl helped us get for 22 years.
“I share this story with new employees because it lets them know what this company is all about,” Ashton added. “We’re all about helping others with their problems.”
Paying it Forward
Strom never asked for a penny back, but Ashton’s the type of guy who made it his business to pay back Strom. So, Ashton paid his employer $80 a month from education benefits he received for serving in the U.S. Navy 1951-55.
Ashton meant it when saying he decided the second that Strom wrote that $600 check that he was a Western Exterminator man for life. Fifty-one years later, Ashton’s still at Western Exterminator.
Not surprisingly, even the way Ashton’s path crossed with Western Exterminator is poetic and people-driven.
Working for Standard Oil, pumping gas in the mid-1950s, a Western Exterminator employee whose tank he was filling advised Ashton to apply at Western Exterminator because it was a great family company in a great and growing industry.
So Ashton came a callin’, and a callin’ and a callin’ – every day for about half a year, until Western Exterminator finally opened its doors to him on March 6, 1956 – a day for which Ashton, the entire Western Exterminator family and our industry will be eternally grateful.
Life is What We Make It
Ashton worked his way up Western Exterminator’s corporate ladder, advancing over his half-a-century of service from route technician to vice chair and chief operating officer, positions he holds today.
It wasn’t all Easy Street, Ashton said, noting the transition from technician to sales had its share of speed bumps.
“After now-Chairman John ‘Ole’ Anderson put me in sales, being somewhat religious, I began to pray immediately…and often,” Ashton recalls, referring to Strom’s nephew. “At first, I prayed, ‘Lord, don’t let them answer the phone.’ Thankfully, Ole saw me struggling and suggested I practice my people skills in front of a mirror. I practiced every day and soon became pretty good at it.”
Active as ever within the company and pest management industry, the humble Ashton said he still learns every day: “It’s a bit of a paradox, but the older we get, the more we realize we don’t know everything.”
A proud grandfather of six and great-grandfather of one, Ashton turns 75 in 2008 – the same year this magazine and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) celebrate our 75th anniversaries.
Known for his habit of “getting up before the sun,” Ashton’s not just a great leader. He’s also “a doer” – problems aren’t problems once they’re handed off to Ashton.
Perhaps most notably, Ashton has made a lifetime of putting other people first. Whenever a coworker or industry fellow needs help with his or her day-to-day work, career or personal life, Ashton is there with listening ears, a heart bigger than The Little Man’s hammer, and sometimes a checkbook as open as Strom’s was.
“It’s really been a short road,” Ashton said in a softening voice crackling from decades of fond memories. “It seems like just yesterday that I started out in this industry. I have the same enthusiasm and drive as I had back then. It’s the people around me that really keep me interested.
“This is a people business,” Ashton added. “Without our people, we don’t have businesses.”
Ashton’s Army
Western Exterminator Co.’s management team loves their longtime leader, Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer Roy E. Ashton. Here’s just a sampling of the good things they and one of their distributors had to say about Ashton.
“Roy shines. He gets things done. He’s tenacious, but at the same time he’s a real people person. He has a unique ability to talk to, and relate to, all people. He’s a mentor of all of our employees.”
— John O. “Ole” Anderson, Western Exterminator Chairman
“Roy’s always looking for ways to help. He’s a father figure to all of us. We’re especially grateful that Roy’s retirement is not on the horizon. We have a lot more to learn from him.”
— Michael Katz, Western Exterminator President
“They don’t make ’em like Roy anymore. Things that most of us would run away from, Roy stands up and suddenly, magically, they’re settled – and to the betterment of all involved. He has a huge heart, and he’s full of energy. He gets up before the sun and gets things done. Everything Roy has touched has been successful, and because of this Western Exterminator has been very successful. All is well when Mr. Ashton is around.”
— Bob Strom, Western Exterminator Vice President
“Roy is the kind of guy who’s always working hard behind the scenes. He’s not one to be on the cover of anything, but he’s always behind the people who are on the covers of magazines or who are featured in the magazines’ people stories. Western Exterminator reflects Roy’s integrity and great character. The two are one in the same.”
— Lon Records, Target Specialty Products President
“I started on the financial end, and Roy really worked with me over the years to help me understand that though the numbers are important, the people are the most important part of any organization. He’s Mr. Enthusiastic, Mr. Energetic. I’ll never forget the day Roy and I drove five hours, worked all day, and then drove straight back at night. I slept in the car, while he drove and sang the whole way home. He’s still running circles around me today.”
— Debbie Byrne, Western Exterminator Vice President & General Manager
“Roy’s greatest asset is his true love of people. It comes across in everything he does. When I started here 32 years ago, I took pride in keeping my truck really clean. Roy noticed it, came up to me, gave me $20 – which in 1975 was a lot of money – and said, ‘I want you to take your truck Monday morning to Service Center 1 in Los Angeles, park it in the lot and go in and tell the manager to come out and take a peek at it.’ I asked why, and Roy replied that I had one of the oldest trucks in the fleet, yet it was one of the cleanest, and looked and ran great. The point is that Roy really notices all of the things that people do right. It’s easy to criticize. Not many people take the time to pay a compliment when one is due.”
— Tom Anorfa, Western Exterminator Vice President & Assistant General Manager
“Roy treats everyone with the same respect. Everyone is an important person to him. He’s always focused on the people aspect. Because of Roy, our company reacts to each situation with the overriding question: ‘What’s best for our people?’ A number of times I’ve seen Roy intercede behind the scenes when someone has been in need, say suffered a personal tragedy or a financial setback. Roy has made a life out of quietly taking burdens off others’ backs.”
— Nancy Ringman, Western Exterminator Vice President of Communications