In The Zenith In the zenith of his life, Richard Stevenson Sr. receives Crown Achievement award for CPT magazine. (Photo Stevenson)

Long-time resident and Boothbay Region High School graduate Richard "Dick" Stevenson Sr. is the president of Modern Pest Services.

Dick Stevenson grew up in Boothbay. His father, Howard, before him went door-to-door selling small household goods. One day, in the 1940s, Howard Stevenson knocked on the door of a home where the lady of the house was very frightened by a mouse. It was then that what we now know as Modern Pest Services began.

Recently, Dick received the Crown Achievement Award, an award given by a company called Syngenta and written about in its publication, Pest Control Technology. This magazine showcases professionals in the pest control industry, annually highlighting four outstanding heads of national pest control companies. Candidates are chosen by their peers. Richard Stevenson was chosen as one example of a person who upholds the highest standards of industry ethics and personal integrity.

The PCT magazine showcases some of Mr. Stevenson's qualities… `Like many entrepreneurs, Richard Stevenson Sr. is highly motivated. That's one of the reasons he has been so successful in growing MPS into oneof the largest, most respected companies in all of New England. Stevenson's keys to success are(here listed are a few)… 1. If on Saturday, after a hard week at work, you can't wait for Monday to get here, you're on your way to success.2. I figured that if I worked one hour per day more than my competitor, I'd beat him.I figured he worked 72 hours per week. 3. onsales, I figured I'd get a new commercial client for every 15 doors I knocked on.Every "no" meant I was getting closer. 4. It is far easier to keep a client than to go out and find another…

Richard followed his Dad into business; his father retired when he was 65.

"He was a great influence being in the business for 30 years," Dick says. Dick is planning to retire this year after 30 years as well. His three sons will succeed him in the 60-year-old business; Scott and Douglas have their master's in business and finance, and Richard Jr. is an entomologist. All three sons play an integral role in the success of the family's company.

An advocate of hard work and long hours, Dick has continued to develop his father's endeavors into a successful corporation. After graduating from BRHS in 1961, Dick was drafted into the Navy's submarine service during the Vietnam War and was stationed at Holy Loch in Scotland. After being honorably discharged from the Navy, he started his own pest control business in Canada called Dominion Pest Control Ltd. After five years, he sold his company and purchased Modern from his father.

"There was never any question in my mind that I would succeed. My father instilled so much confidence in me that it never occurred to me that I might fail," Dick says. Modern, with its main office in Brunswick, employs 120 people in six locations, servicing Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Other than his father, Dick credits a teacher as also making a difference in his life.

"I had a history teacher at BRHS who taught for 2-3 years and then went on to get his master's at Columbia. He was fantastic, he made us work. His dedication and attitude towards work inspired me and made me wish to excel. He had a hard nose way of teaching, but I liked him," he says. Fellow classmates, Becky and Al Roberts said, "John Hadden was a very inspiring teacher. He left in our junior year and we asked him to come back and speak at our graduation, we thought so much of him."

Working with chemicals in the pesticide business infers risk-taking and environmental issues. Dick states, "Most pesticides are so benign today, they pose very little hazard. We use a crushed lime product today whose jagged particles scrape bugs' skeletons. Studies are also being done now on the extract of lemons which will be effective and meet legal toxicity levels as well. And yes, there are cockroaches in Maine."

Dick Stevenson lives in Boothbay with his wife, Bonnie, who is active in the Boothbay Region Garden Club. He enjoys his family, plays tennis, likes to sail and travel, but considers the Boothbay region home.