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President………………… L. G. Peterson
President Elect………..… P. D. Greany
Vice President……….….. J. L. Capinera
Secretary………………… Stephanie Bloem
Business Manager……… T. DuChene

Past President………… J. Sivinski
Public Relations………. N. D. Epsky
Editor…………………… R. Baranowski
Member at Large……… J. Stavisky
Student Members……… K. Young, M. Toapanta

Program Chair………… P. Greany
Members………………. J. Stavisky, N. C. Leppla
Local Arrangements…… J. L. Capinera

Dr. John T. Creighton was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina on August 4, 1905, the son of Alonso and Elizabeth (Harmon) Creighton. He received his BS and MS degrees in 1926 and 1929, respectively, from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. degree in 1935 from Ohio State University. He was also a student at Clemson Agricultural College in 1922-4 and Cornell University in 1930.

Dr. Creighton was a very accomplished educator. He taught chemistry at Gainesville (Florida) High school, 1926-7; was a graduate instructor in entomology at the University of Florida, 1927-9; Instructor, Department of Entomology, 1929-31; Assistant Professor, 1931-7, and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Entomology, 1937-65. Dr. Creighton became a member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Florida on January 16, 1951. During his administration the first Ph.D. degree in entomology was awarded on June 11, 1962 (The Ph.D. in Entomology was approved November 6, 1958 by the Graduate Council, November 20, 1958 by the University Senate, and December 12, 1958 by the Board of Control, now Board of Regents). On September 28, 1967 the name of the major was changed from Entomology to Entomology and Nematology. During his career at the University of Florida, Dr. Creighton served as faculty committee chairman for 21 MA, 6 MSA, 13 MS and 7 Ph.D. degrees. During his career he authored 38 scientific publications.

Dr. Creighton contributed expertise and guidance to a wide range of organizations. For example, he served as a field agent for the Bureau of Entomology, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1930; technical advisor, (U. S.) Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, 1938-1939; head of the pest control division, University of Florida, 1932-65; entomology research consultant, Velsicol Corporation, 1946-9, Dow Chemical Company, 1947-8, Hercules Powder Company, 1947-8, Carbide & Chemical Company, 1946-7, Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Costa Rica, 1949-50, Standard Oil Company, 1948-9; member, Florida Structural Pest Control Board (Chairman, 1947-61); Special Technical and Economic Mission to Thailand, (Dr. Creighton organized the department of entomology at the national university in Bangkok.); member, American Association of Economic Entomology (many committees, President 1949-50); Entomological Society of America, Florida Entomological Society (Secretary, 1930), Florida Beekeepers Association, Florida Anti-Mosquito Association, Southern Shade Tree Association (President, 1942), National Shade Tree Conference (member, Board of Governors, 1942-3), Association of Southern Agricultural Workers (member, Executive Committee, 1949-50), Newell Entomological Society (organizer, faculty advisor, honorary member), Florida Pest Control Association (advisor and parliamentarian, 1945-50, honorary member), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Florida State Horticultural Society, Florida Soil Science Society, Sigma Xi, and Phi Sigma.

He perhaps is best remembered for his contributions to the field of structural pest control. He promoted organization of the Florida Pest Control Association, drafted vital legislation concerning structural pest control (Florida Structural Pest Control Act, 1947) and guided it through the Florida Legislature, established the standards and wrote the first examinations for certified structural pest control operators in Florida, developed a strong curriculum at the University of Florida relative to structural pest control, and is generally recognized as the person most responsible for the high standard of ethics and professional competency which characterizes structural pest control in Florida.

He was also a devoted husband and community leader. He married Myrtle Beth Cassaway on January 3, 1935. They settled in Gainesville where he was a Mason and Methodist. He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Creighton took special pride in helping the graduates of his department find jobs in the field of entomology. He organized the first placement service for students at the University of Florida in 1937. Dr. Creighton retired September 30, 1969 and continued to reside with his wife at their home in Gainesville. Following prolonged illness, he died at the University of Florida Medical Center on May 23, 1979. He was buried in Lincolnton, Georgia.

Mahlon Lewis Wright, Jr., was born in Sanford, Florida, on March 11, 1919, the son of Mahlon Lewis Wright and Blanche Johns Wright. His father was a celery grower. He was married to Mary B. Riskis on August 25, 1944, in Hollywood, California. They have three daughters: Gail, Pamela, and Dianne; all living in Winter Haven, Florida.

Lewis Wright completed his primary education at Sanford, Florida, graduating from Seminole High School in 1936. In high school, he played the violin and viola in the orchestra and slide trombone in the band. Following graduation, he became an Eagle Scout and served as a scoutmaster for two successive troops in the Sanford area. He organized and directed an Audubon bird expedition to the Dry Tortugas (1938) where he banded more than 3000 juvenile sooty terns for the Department of the Interior. Roger Tory Peterson, eminent bird authority and naturalist, also attended one of the weeklong trips.

From 1937 to 1939, Lewis Wright attended Stetson University on a music scholarship, studied pre-med for two years, and played the trombone in the concert band and violin and viola in the symphony. He was inducted into the Kappa Kappa Psi honorary band fraternity and assisted in the science laboratory classes. During a college break, he worked in Sanford at the W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company.

Lewis Wright enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve Medical Corps in 1941, and served in the southwestern Pacific and California as a chief pharmacist mate. After the war, he directed a seed laboratory for W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for two years before attending the University of Florida. He received his BS (1949) and MS (1951) degrees with high honors and honors, respectively, both in entomology and plant pathology. He was inducted into the Alpha Zeta fraternity, Phi Sigma Honorary Society, and Newell Entomological Society. He worked as a laboratory assistant and conducted vegetable crop insect research with chlordane and methyl bromide for controlling cigarette beetles in wrapper tobacco bales.

After receiving his university education, Lewis Wright engaged in agricultural chemical research and development as a technical field representative for Florida Agricultural Supply Co. in Jacksonville. He developed the first chemical price list designed for the Florida pest control industry. He also furnished special custom pesticides for the mosquito control districts. He subsequently became the acting entomologist with the Bureau of Entomology, State Board of Health to enforce the Florida pest control law of 1949 (1955-1959). In 1956 Wright was legally declared a State’s expert witness in pest control by the State Attorney General for hearings held before the Structural Pest Control Board. He returned to the private sector as general manager and entomologist of a large pest control firm in Winter Haven and Clearwater, Florida (1959-1970).

Lewis Wright established his current business, Wright Pest Control, Inc. in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1970 and continued his active membership in the Elks Lodge, Lions Club, and Florida Southern College Beta Beta biological fraternity. He served as an adjunct Professor at Winter Haven Junior College, presented many talks on pest management, joined the national pest management association, and authored more than ten manuals for industry guidance and reference. He became a member of the Florida Nurseryman and Growers Association, Salvation Army Advisory Board, American Legion, Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, Pi Chi Omega fraternity, advisory committee for the Florida A&M University Department of Entomology, Associated Pest Control Services, Inc. (a special select group of about 65 national pest control persons), Florida Pest Control Association, Royal Entomological Society of London, and committee to establish a pest control research chair at the University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Lewis Wright is a pioneer in his profession, a community and industry leader, and an honored colleague. He has continued his leadership activities as an Entomological Society of America, Board Certified Entomologist, member of Kiwanis Club of Winter Haven, and supporter of Habitat for Humanity. He received the special Hixon Award for supporting the Kiwanis International iodine deficiency correction project and the Kiwanis Legion of Honor Award for over 40 years of service. He has held many high offices in most of these organizations to which he belongs and has been presented with numerous special awards for his dedicated service to entomology, the pest management industry, and society.

Mahlon Lewis Wright, Jr. is a distinguished member and past president of the Florida Entomological Society. He was the first president to conduct an international Caribbean Conference of Entomology, held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Lewis Wright was selected as the year 2000 Florida Entomological Society Pioneer Lecturer to honor Dr. John T. Creighton, first chairman of the University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology and one of his mentors.

Jeffory Head from Godby High School, Tallahassee, FL, won 1st place in the Behavior and Social Sciences Section for "Female House Crickets' Preference for the Male House Cricket Calling Songs".

Sonali Hippalgaonkar from Lake Highland Preparatory School, Orlando, FL, won the Florida Entomological Society Senior Section Award for "The Effectiveness of Alternative Pest Control Transgenic Methodology Using Bacillus thuringiensis".

Chris Reccinella from Baker County Middle School, Macclenny, FL, won the Florida Entomological Society Junior Section Award for "A Psychological Analysis of the Cognition of the Periplaneta americana Using a Simple U-maze" .

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7/26/00 Pat Greany and Richard Mankin