About Go-Forth Services Inc.

Four Generations of Quality Pest Control in North Carolina

The Founding of Go-Forth

Go-Forth Exterminators Inc. was founded in 1959 in the city of High Point, North Carolina. The company's founder, Frank Goforth, was an avid fisherman and hunter, and was actively involved in his community through various civic and church organizations. He dreamed of starting a business that would serve his community by providing honest and professional services.

During the years that followed, Go-Forth Exterminators Inc. acquired a reputation for being a quality, affordable pest control provider. Much of the family worked for Go-Forth from time to time, giving the business a ‘family owned and operated' appeal that customers came to appreciate. Frank Goforth himself remained active in the company until his retirement in 1996. He and his wife Johnie were married 60 years prior to her death in 2000.

The Family Business Continues

In the early 1960's, Nancy Spillman (Frank's daughter) began to ‘learn the ropes' working along side her father. In 1961 she married Fletcher Spillman. The following year, he came to work at the High Point office, and remained there for almost a decade.

In January of 1970, Frank Goforth purchased Southern Exterminating, a pest control company based in Rutherfordton, NC. Three years later, Fletcher purchased the office from Frank and changed the name to what it is today: Go-Forth Services Inc. This office was located on Main St. in downtown Rutherfordton.

The business continued to grow as demand for pest control services increased throughout the foothills of western North Carolina. In 1980, an office was opened in Marion. Then, in 1989, a permanent office was established in Shelby on Royster Avenue. Since then, the three offices opened by Nancy and Fletcher have continued to thrive.

As the Spillman family grew, so did the family business. Fletcher and Nancy had three children, David, Scott and Kevin. Each one of them learned the business from the ground up - literally. The boys started out on the ‘dirtiest' job, as termite treatment technicians, and gradually worked their way up the ranks.

In 1996, Nancy and Fletcher put their oldest son, David Spillman, at the helm. Scott and Kevin Spillman went on to open and operate their own company, Innovative Pest Solutions, which is located near Raleigh in the eastern part of the state.

The Next Generation of Pest Control

Go-Forth Services Inc. has survived by providing honest and professional services that only an experienced, family owned and operated company can. According to statistics, the average lifespan of any business is 25 years. And what does this mean for a family business? In general, only 30% make it into the second generation, with only 10% stretching into the third, and even less making it into the fourth generation. At Go-Forth Services, the fourth generation of Spillmans - David's sons Ryan and Adam - are working with their father to carry on the family legacy.