From bugs to bicycles: CEO of Cooper Pest Solutions cycles for charity
By Ashley McKenna
FOR THE TIMES
LAWRENCE — When he’s not running his bug extermination company, known all over Central Jersey for its distinctive green cars, Phil Cooper, CEO of Cooper Pest Solutions, may be spotted training on a bicycle for one of his charity rides.
Though he passed the age of 50 a few years ago, Cooper has only recently made cycling for charity a passion, at a time of life when many people put aside heavy-duty athleticism for gentler pursuits
Cooper now trains for and participates in multiple charity rides, though it all started with a pledge he made to himself years ago — and only recently fulfilled.
Cooper celebrated his 50th birthday on July 11, 2012, while trekking 3,780 miles across the United States from Yorktown, Va., to San Francisco. Traveling through nine states in the span of two months, Cooper and his fellow riders raised $50,000 for Bike the US for MS and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The cycle ride transformed into “Phil Across America” and Cooper describes it as a life-changing event. It wasn’t the destination — it was what happened along the way.