William F. Helms 

 in Brief 



After graduating from Auburn Univer- 

 sity, Bill Helms joined APHIS in 1958 

 and worked for PPQ in field offices in 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. He 

 was assigned to headquarters in 1980 as 

 the associate deputy administrator for 

 PPQ and was subsequently promoted in 

 1986 to be deputy administrator, the 

 highest ranking position in his division 

 and the position he retained until his 

 untimely death in 1990. 



Bill was an active proponent for change 

 and management improvement. He also 

 looked for better ways of doing business. 

 Through many organizational changes, 

 he never lost sight of the people element 

 and the worth of the organization's most 

 valuable asset, its people. An example of 

 his feelings is reflected in a comment 

 made after a major reorganization in the 

 late 1980's: "There's been some skepti- 

 cism about the reorganization — many 

 people are resistant to change no matter 

 what. But I believe that it doesn't make 

 any difference how many boxes you 

 have on the chart, how many people you 

 have, how many interrelationships — if 

 you have good, dedicated people, you're 

 going to get results. I think that's why 

 APHIS has succeeded over the years." 



The William F. Helms Student Scholar- 

 ship Program continues the legacy Bill 

 worked hard to establish and is further 

 evidence of the agency's continuing 

 commitment to support and hire the 

 best and brightest young people with an 

 interest in the mission of PPQ. 



What Is PPQ 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 

 (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

 Service (APHIS) is the agency responsible for 

 protecting America's agriculture base — in 

 essence, its food and fiber — from exotic 

 plant pests and animal diseases. Plant Pro- 

 tection and Quarantine (PPQ) is the program 

 within APHIS that deals with plant health 

 issues. 



PPQ employees not only keep destructive 

 exotic plant pests out of the United States 

 but also work to control the infestations of 

 such common pests as grasshoppers, boll 

 weevils, and gypsy moths. PPQ employees 

 monitor the distribution of pests in the 

 United States through an extensive surveil- 

 lance network and conduct integrated pest 

 management programs on designated pests 

 in cooperation with State and other Federal 

 agencies and private farmers and ranchers. 



