An 81-year old from Kent has been heralded the unsung hero of the pest management industry at national trade body awards.

Ken Vigar, of Safeguard Pest Control and Environmental Services, was crowned the winner of the Unsung Hero of the Year accolade at the British Pest Management Awards, organised by UK trade body the British Pest Control Association (BPCA).

Held at ExCel London, the award ceremony formed part of the BPCA’s esteemed biennial exhibition and conference PestEx, the UK’s pest management show.

Ken has worked for nearly two decades for Safeguard Pest Control and Environmental Services - a commercial and residential pest control company covering London, the South East and South West.

Nominated by Pennie Gadd, Managing Director of Safeguard Pest Control and Environmental Services, the award recognises the positive impact Ken has had on the company since his arrival and his continued hard work.

She said: “Ken originally worked in the City of London for a large insurance corporation but retired to take up a part-time job, so that he could look after his wife Maggie who was suffering from ill health.

“He saw an advert in the local paper for a storeman/odd job man and as the only applicant, he immediately got the position.

“At that time our stores were a disaster, with over-orders, under-orders and lots of rubbish kept that we would never use again.”

When Ken joined the company, it had a turnover of £2.2 million with 28 employees and at present, with recent acquisitions, the turnover is just below £6 million with 87 staff.

Pennie added: “Ken has completely changed the stores and runs our entire operation, ordering, distributing and negotiating for the entire company.

“Ken is a wonderful man who is kind, funny, accurate and never misses a day’s work - in fact, he’s had only one day off due to illness since he joined us.

“Everybody absolutely adores this humble man, and as an employee he goes above and beyond his duties without causing a fuss.”

At the event with the team when he was announced the winner, Ken went up on stage to be presented with the award.

He said: “It feels quite surreal to have won and it’s so unexpected, because it’s such a vast organisation and I really am only a part-time worker.

“I only work four days a week, so it’s extra special that they consider me an important part of the team.”

MORE INFORMATION

More about Safeguard

More about the British Pest Management Awards

More about PestEx 2019

Source: Online