John and Karla Etheridge’s lives are a lot like a smooth-running car. They can shift gears in a moment’s notice from their highly successful business to the myriad passionate volunteer efforts they embrace.
The Etheridges, longtime Fountain Valley residents and owners of Huntington Beach-based Seashore Pest Control, are fixtures in the communities where they live and work.
John is president of the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame, a board member for Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, president of the Kiwanis Club of Huntington Beach (again) and is a member of the Fountain Valley Kiwanis Club. He is a longtime member of the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors and is the incoming president of the Huntington Beach Police and Community Foundation.
Karla has stepped up for the Miss Fountain Valley Scholarship competition for years and is always right alongside John in his various volunteer efforts.
But changes are on the horizon. “This is my swan song,” John said. “We’re moving to Tennessee in October of 2025.”
Why? “My life is changing rapidly,” he said. “We now have a grand child and I’ll have two more in the next five months.”
You see, the Etheridges have three grown daughters. Oldest Kaylin is moving to Franklin, TN with her fiancé, Mickey Duarte, and their 7-month-old grand-daughter, Hadley. They're due with baby No. 2 on July 15.'
Daughter Kira and her husband Dane Gunderson already live in Franklin, and they’re due again on March 5.
Kira is a licensed esthetician. She and her younger sister, Karoline, both attended the same beautician school. Both are licensed estheticians and Karoline is also a full-time nanny still here in California. They're hopeful that she'll choose to land in Tennessee eventually as well.
John and Karla have plenty of roots here. They moved into the Fountain Valley house in 2000. Seashore Pest Control is now in its 20th year. John started the business by himself. He bought a truck, bought the chemicals and equipment as a solopreneur.
“I did everything myself – the treatments, the calls, the billing, and paperwork. We gradually started bringing people on. Just before COVID we peaked at 18 employees,” he said. Four years ago, he moved his office on Go thard Street to a larger location, also on Gothard, where his crews man six trucks. A faithful man, John gives God all the credit for Seashore's success.
But the move to Tennessee is a logical step for the close-knit family.
“It’s because of my daughters and my grandkids,” he said. “I’m going from 0 to 3 grandkids in 12 months.”
And there is no intention to slow down. John and two friends are partners in a company called Toolshed USA Underwear, which creates and sells high-performance underwear designed for athletes.
“I’ll go full-time in underwear,” he said.
And volunteer? “I don’t want to stop,” John said. “Karla and I enjoy it. It keeps us connected to our community. We get to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening with our friends and neighbors around us.”