Franchisee Spotlight: Kristine Bernard of Mosquito Joe

Kris Bernard was born and raised in New Hampshire and is enthusiastic about opening Mosquito Joe to serve her home market. She has remained a local throughout -- from her childhood to her adult life -- and it's where she was married and has begun to raise a family. 

After opting to spend time at home with her children when they were first born, Bernard eventually returned to school to become a dental hygienist. Along the way, she and her husband Dan had always dreamed of running their own business. As fate would have it, Dan and Kris came across a Mosquito Joe advertisement in an in-flight magazine. From there, they did some research, decided to meet the Mosquito Joe team, and here we are today. 

Kris is confident that Mosquito Joe’s services will be a great fit for her community, especially as the area experiences has become frustrated by mosquito-infested springs and summers, making the outdoors uncomfortable for regional families. The Bernard's children will be involved with the business, too, with eldest son Matthew working as the lead technician, middle son Jacob helping out on sprays, and daughter Emma helping with some of the local marketing efforts.

Can you tell us a little more about your background?

I grew up in Nashua and am the youngest of seven children. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1992.

Dan and I were married in September of 1992 and we have three children: Matthew (age 20), Jacob (16), and Emma (14). After staying home to raise my children, I went back to school to become a dental hygienist. I graduated from New Hampshire Technical Institute with an Associate of Science in Dental Hygiene in 2009. Dan works full-time as a commercial lender and will be continuing to do so -- I will be the day-to-day contact for Mosquito Joe.

How did you hear about Mosquito Joe and why did you choose to get involved?

Dan and I had always wanted to own our own company and said we would do so someday. About a year ago, when we were on a flight, Dan saw an ad for Mosquito Joe in on of the magazines. We did some research on the brand and were extremely interested. After meeting with the corporate team we fell even more in love with the concept.

We are excited to launch this business as a family, too. We feel it’s important to teach them how to run a business and develop a strong work ethic which will help them become successful in life. Our entire family will be involved with the business. My eldest son Matthew will likely be our lead technician. He has very high-functioning Asperger's syndrome and has always loved working with his hands and fixing things. He is currently in HVAC school. When he was 4-years old he asked for a backpack leaf blower for Christmas, so he cannot wait to strap on that mosquito spray backpack and get started with us.

Our middle son Jacob will be spraying as well, and our daughter Emma will help with some of the marketing efforts.

We have a typical "Maine camp" on Maranacook Lake in Winthrop, Maine, that we spend every weekend in the summer at. It is our happy place. We’re very outdoorsy with sports and activities, so we’re looking forward to making our neighbors' outdoor spaces fun again.

What’s next for you and your business?

We have purchased our first territory to open in spring of 2017 in the Chester region. Next spring, we put a deposit down on another territory which will operate in the Seacoast part of New Hampshire.