Aces of Trades: Like father, like son at Kempton Pest Management
PROSPECT — It’s a father–son duo working together. They didn’t expect it, but they really like it.
“Being from a small town, there wasn’t much to do,” recalled Brad Kempton. “So I played baseball, and dreamt of being a locomotive train engineer in the mountains of West Virginia.”
“I never thought I would end up owning my own business,” said Brad, “and that being a pest control business.”
Together, the father and son run Kempton Pest Management.
“My dad and I thought we could run a business together and gave it try,” added his son, Cody Kempton.
“It’s been the best thing to work with my dad every day,” declared Cody. “I love our line of work. We get to make customers happy every day and get rid of their problems. Most of our work is outside, and it can’t get better than that.”
Both Kemptons grew up near Green Camp.
Brad, now 55, graduated from Elgin High School in 1985.
“I moved to Arizona right out of high school and worked heavy equipment throughout the western states," recalled Brad. "I moved back to Ohio in 1993 and worked as a utility operator, meaning I could run and operate any heavy equipment. My shoulders and body couldn’t take the wear and tear any more after over 20 years of operating heavy machinery so, in 2011, I made a career change from heavy equipment operator to pest control.”
“In 2017 my son and I discussed going into business for ourselves," he continued. "After a few months of discussion and looking into how to start our own business, we decided to take the plunge and do it.”
“My daughter came up with the slogan, ‘What’s buggin’ you today?’” noted Brad.
Cody, 28, graduated from Elgin HS in 2012.
“I always loved being outdoors as a child,” he said. “I loved baseball, hunting and fishing. I worked for seven years as a cook. Then I changed paths and got into lawn care for four years.”
Then came the change to pest control.
“I’m super pleased with how life’s path has taken place,” Cody stated. “To run a business together with my dad and be successful, and my family that I couldn’t do without — life has never been better.”
“We enjoy helping people with their pest control problems,” Brad concluded. “I was raised with a strong work ethic from both of my parents and that’s how we run our business.”
Kempton Pest Management LLC is located at 2356 Owens Road W. in Prospect. For more information, call 740-225-8425.
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Father-son duo run Prospect's Kempton Pest Control
