River City Six – Matt Urbanec

Meet Matt Urbanec, area district manager for Presto-X in Omaha and Sioux City, IA.

Tell us a little about your business.

We are a full-service commercial and residential pest control company that started in Omaha in 1932. We protect people, food, and businesses by controlling and eliminating pests. Our local team has a combined 160+ years of experience serving the State of Nebraska and Iowa.

How did you get started in the business?

It was by accident. The industry joke is that no one plans on getting into pest control. A friend referred me to Presto-X and it has been a rewarding 18+ years with the company.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?

I would say, currently, the COVID-19 pandemic—trying even harder to take care of our customers and at the same time take care of our employees’ health and well-being. We are considered essential contractors, allowing us to still service our customers, and we have been able to keep our staff working without any layoffs or furloughs in our district.

Tell us a little about your family.

My wife Sally and I have been married for 18 years. She is a registered nurse by trade and now works at Nebraska Total Care. We have two children: Elayna (14) and Rowan (9). As a family, we spend most of our days enjoying competitive sports—at least we did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?

Golf or anything to do with sports—whether it is watching, playing with my kids, teaching/coaching, or going to our favorite events.

If you could have a super power, what would it be?

Unlimited energy so I could keep up with everything from work to my kids’ activities.

If you could choose any other profession to be successful in, what would it be?

I was accepted into chiropractic school after I received my Bachelors of Science Degree from Briar Cliff University and deferred it to work for a while, but I never ended up going back to it. I sometimes wish I had pushed through it.

What is your favorite quote or the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Control the controllable. Life and work are difficult enough, so control what you can control and do not focus as much on what you cannot control. You have the choice to be positive each day or you can allow things in your day to bring you down, but it is your choice and up to you.

What local nonprofit organization(s) are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why?

Bennington Youth Sports Association. I help coach football, basketball, and baseball, and I participate on the Bennington youth football board.

What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?

I read many Jon Gordon books. I like his positivity and management style. I enjoyed his book, The Energy Bus and The Power of Positive Leadership, but they are all good.

What is your favorite TV show?

The Goldbergs. It reminds me of my childhood with all the things we did before all the technology and the rat race of life.

If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be?

I do not consider myself a Cubs fan but I met Ernie Banks once at the BMW Championship in Chicago in the 18th Green club tent. Then he pulled me aside and he spoke with my group and me for about an hour. It was a very surreal moment and he just spoke to us as if we had known each other for years. We got to talk a little baseball too which was real cool for me.

If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?

(402) 551-0524; mattu@prestox.com; prestox.com.