03/09/2005
You wouldn't expect the CEO of a company of more than 500 employees and 32 offices in five states (plus the District of Columbia) to be a vocal advocate for small business, but Bert Dodson Jr. knows the value of the little guy.
All his life, Dodson had a front row seat for lessons in entrepreneurship, community stewardship and political involvement. He studied at the side of his father, Bert Dodson Sr., who co-founded Dodson Brothers Exterminating Co. in 1944 with one of his brothers. While working to grow the fledgling business, the senior Dodson maintained an active relationship with his community.
"It's a challenge because you've got family obligations, business obligations, church obligations, civic obligations and government obligations," says Bert Dodson Jr., who took over the reins at Dodson Bros. in 1989, after the death of his father. "But my father taught me to give back to the community, and this is the way to give back."
Dodson is involved with a number of business, civic and philanthropic organizations, and he has spent the last seven years as a member of the Lynchburg City Council. He joined NFIB about 10 years ago after a sales representative paid a visit to his company.
"I saw the benefits of membership even though our firm was large," he says. "I know that small business is the backbone of our country. I also know that 80 percent of life is just showing up, and a large percentage of legislation is influenced by who shows up."
Dodson believes it is critical that small-business owners have a voice in their communities and their government, particularly local governments. He acknowledges, however, that they are often so involved in their businesses they don't have time to get involved outside their businesses. "But if you let someone else do it, they'll do it their own way," he cautions.
Dodson joined the NFIB/Virginia Leadership Council several years ago, and he has a reputation for staunch small-business advocacy on the Lynchburg City Council.
"I have upset some people who are not in business because I protect the interests of the business person," he says. "People who are retired or in government often don't recognize the potential impacts of their proposals. The synergy from my business and government experience allows me to see how they interrelate."
Dodson notes that a community to prosper -- to be stable, to grow, to have a good workforce, to have good schools -- the businesses rooted there must prosper. He adds that when local businesses prosper, they create jobs and pump money into the local economy, which fuels the schools, the workforce and the community resources. "The community needs to be business-friendly or the community will suffer," he says.
Maintaining his involvement in both his business and politics isn't easy, he concedes. "You work weekends and holidays, and it takes away from your family. But to gain something in life, you have to give something up."
"I make it my business to advocate for the small-business community, no matter what the cost. If you don't come to the table, you'll never get a piece of the pie; if business owners don't represent business interests, no one else in government will."
