Today we’d like to introduce you to Genma Stringer Holmes. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Genma Stringer Holmes is a highly recognized, award-winning Serial Entrepreneur, Media Influencer, and Editor-in-Chief. She is the owner of Holmes Pest Control, Executive Producer and host of Living Your Best Life Radio, and the Editor at GSH Media and Consulting.
With a heart for nonprofits and civic organizations, combined with ever-growing communications skills, Genma has won numerous awards from the International Association of Business Communicators, for projects as diverse as editorial work for print publications, digital communications, online branding, and social media management.
Genma is the creator and manager behind many social media campaigns for several prestigious organizations such as The Ohio State University; MD Anderson Cancer Center; University of Houston; Intercultural Cancer Council; the University of Tennessee at Memphis; Meharry Medical College; The Links, Incorporated; Black Ownership Matters; Rotary International; and the National Day of the American Cowboy, to name a few.
Genma has also been recognized for her various philanthropic endeavors. In 2015, Genma was honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as a Difference Maker Honoree on National Philanthropy Day for her work with military families. In 2017, she was a Nashville Business Journal Women of Influence Honoree, and she was chosen as the Brentwood Woman’s Club Member of the Year. In 2018, she was named one of The 25 Most Influential Black Women in America by The Network Business Journal in New York, and she received the President’s Choice Award from the Brentwood-Franklin Women’s Service Club for her work with the General Federation of Women’s Club of Washington, D.C.
The mother of a Marine turned Guardsman, Genma has received numerous accolades for her advocacy work for military families and the veteran community. She is the founding organizer of the Military Fund at the First Art Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. She has helped raise over $600K for military families during her annual Christmas #livingtogivenow social media campaign, and with her fundraisers that benefit veteran service organizations. For several years, Genma has proudly served in the Rotary Club of Nashville, the third-largest Rotary Club in the world.
She helped spearhead the club’s annual Veteran’s Day Program and helped secure notable speakers who made the Veteran’s Day program one of the club’s most attended events through 2019. In 2020, she became the publisher and founder of the award-winning Rotary’s District 6760 Magazine. In 2021, she received Rotarian of the Year for her award-winning communications implemented during COVID. In 2022, she received awards of Excellence and Merit from IABC for her work in communications which included her work with Rotary International, The Ohio State University, Black Ownership Matters, and Cerese D Magazine in Atlanta. She was the Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductee for IABC Nashville.
Also in 2022, she received the Inaugural Woman of Impact Award from the National Pest Management Association for helping shatter glass ceilings in the male-dominated pest control industry. One of her major contributions to the industry was being the founder of Minorities in Pest Management (MPM) in 2006. MPM helped open doors for minorities who work in the pest control field. During the height of the pandemic, she became a board member for Black Ownership Matters (BOM), an organization that mentors pest control operators and individuals wanting to become pest management professionals who are seeking to become part of the 20 billion dollar industry. She advises Black-owned companies on how to navigate contracts and access resources to help diversify their companies to keep their family-owned businesses in the family. In 2023, she won the Rising Star Award from the Nashville Business Incubation Center for securing multiple contracts with Major League Soccer Franchises.
For ten years, Genma was heard during December on the Tom Joyner Morning Show where she talked passionately about serving nonprofits locally, nationally, and internationally as Ms. Santa, a role she has loved for over 20 years. She was featured on News Channel 5’s Urban Outlook with the April Eaton annual holiday segment for eight seasons. In the Nashville market, she can be heard each weekend on the award-winning program Living Your Best Life Radio on WENO 790 The Gospel, and 104.9 FM. Genma has been featured in numerous publications like The New York Times, Pest Control Technology, Pest Management Magazine, Nashville Business Journal, The Tennessean, Style Blueprint, Essence, Black Enterprise, The Network Journal, Speakers Magazine, Family Business Magazine, Worthwhile Magazine, First Woman, Christmas Connections Magazine, and Huffington Post. Genma is a contributing writer to newspapers and publications throughout the U.S. In 2024, she will debut three books, the first one is titled African American Entrepreneurs Who Made Nashville the “It City.”
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not! One of the many challenges I faced through the years was seeing future trends before they became popular. That can be a lonely place and I was often misread. Hoping to stay to true myself and still be a ‘producer of innovations,’ I learned to put time, energy, and my own money into researching an idea before I ever presented it to anyone. Criticism has been harsh, but without it, I would not have worked as hard to get it right.
Almost every endeavor has been like that it seems. But with each project I have undertaken, the more folks laughed, snickered, or sneered, the more successful the project has been. From radio to publishing, to freelancing to running pest control, all were met with negativity that was baffling to me. But I have learned that beginning ahead of the pack with my thinking prepared me for the next venture. And each venture has been an adventure for me.
By the time everyone is consuming or catching on to the work I have created, I have moved on. With a smile and not a care in the world.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
This is the most wonderful time of the year for me in my role as Ms. Santa. I work hard throughout the year in my job as the owner of Holmes Pest Control and CEO of GSH Media Group so that I can spend the last quarter of the year serving veterans, visiting military families with deployed loved ones, and giving back to non-profits that serve our youth.
For over two decades, I have been a Christmas Performer. Ms. Santa is known around the country. I started portraying Ms. Santa to honor my grandparents who were unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Era. Their generosity and love for others were known far and wide beyond our small town in Mississippi. They were my Santa and Mrs. Claus because they represented love and never missed an opportunity to give back even though they had very little.
When I started visiting schools and daycares as Ms. Santa who was a customer of Holmes Pest Control, it was my way of thanking the schools for being customers but also meeting the needs of children and families who were experiencing hard times or needed to see a Santa (in my case Ms. Santa) that looked like them.
Since many of Holmes Control Customers are influential decision-makers who believe in servant leadership, I would put on my Ms. Santa Christmas hat and ask them to help me with lists given to me by schools, daycares, or VSOs. No one has turned me down all these years!
When my youngest son became a Marine, he immediately connected me with Toys for Tots. I am a huge fan of the organization. As my relationships grew in the business community, I was able to do more for those in need. That is what I am most proud of today. We started giving back when we had nothing to shout about and wondered if we would keep the doors open. We are still giving today nearly three decades later!
At some point, I realized, that the first wave of children that I served years ago had become adults and parents. They are now bringing their children to sit on my lap for photos or booking me for events at corporations they leading! I love the seeds that were planted with them because I see many of them serving in the community, and leading companies, and have no shame telling the world they love the holidays.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
During the holidays, I want no child to go without toys, warm clothes, and necessities. Christmas represents joy. But in reality, some of the hardest times of the year for families can be during Christmastime.
With homelessness among women WITH children steadily rising, it is not unusual for me to hear a child tell me they wish they could sleep in their bed. That’s why my #livingtogivenow social media campaigns have been so meaningful to me. My campaigns have highlighted agencies that are doing the heavy lifting serving our most vulnerable populations.
I try to be a resource to families not only at Christmas but year-round. I celebrate the spirit of Christmas 365 Days a year. I am constantly picking up toys, clothing, and household items for families. I have storage units filled with items to give to others in need.
I am seen in my red suit during holidays but I am Ms. Santa every day. I keep a running list of stores that need after-holiday items cleared away. I am in touch with managers who are looking to hire year-round. And, I work with ‘elves’ disguised as advocates for veterans who may need help navigating the VA system.
Many members of the military help with travel. You can see me dashing through airports to catch a plane. My luggage is filled with toys from one stop to the next. I am not on rooftops with reindeer. Military and veteran families get the inside joke.
I am always looking for extra help. Every little bit makes a difference. It is not always about toys. And every kind deed goes a long way. Picking up a member of the military who has to come home for a family emergency from the airport is a regular day for me. Seeing me in my Ms. Santa suit in March has gotten me a few funny looks but I surely will put a smile on the face of the person I am picking up.
You can follow me on:
www.instagram.com/bugsact
www.facebook.com/livingtogivenow
www.facebook.com/livingyourbestliferadio
www.facebook.com/genmastringerholmes
www.linkedin.com/genmaholmes
I love sharing good news on all my channels.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mssantanashville.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bugsact
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/genmastringerholmes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genmaholmes/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/hpcbugs
- SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/genmaspeaks
- Other: www.instagram.com/hpcbugs
Image Credits
Lydia Carlise and Ms. Dig Photography/Nora Canfield
