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News Release
7-21-09
WVDA RETIREE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
INTERSTATE PEST CONTROL COMPACT
St. Albans resident Charles Coffman, Ph.D., has been named executive director of the Interstate Pest Control Compact (IPCC), an organization of 38 states that have entered a formal agreement to cooperatively combat plant pests.
Coffman served as Plant Industries division director for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) until his retirement in 2004 and had served on the National Plant Board’s IPCC Technical Advisory Committee while working for the WVDA.
“I won’t say that I haven’t thought about doing something professional again – not that I’m not enjoying my retirement,” Coffman said. “Eventually I decided I was going to give it a shot, and they selected me for the position.”
Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass said he was confident that Coffman was the right person for the job.
“Dr. Coffman was a consummate professional during his time here at the Department and I’m sure he’ll do a great job representing the Compact,” said Commissioner Douglass.
Dr. Coffman says he has a number of responsibilities and goals aside from the routine of managing and directing the Compact’s operations, including increasing membership, soliciting money for the group’s insurance fund and managing the Compact’s website.
The Compact is an organization of states that have joined together to bridge the economic and jurisdictional gaps among state and federal governments to deal with pest infestations or outbreaks.
Every year plant pests cause approximately $140 billion dollars in damage to the country’s agricultural and forest crops and products, not counting the losses to residential plants or the environment generally.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
“The Basis of All Wealth is Agriculture.”
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