The Kforce Story: 50 Plus Years of Great People Delivering Great Results

That summer, the third member of the team came into the picture. Howard Sutter was working as a financial controller and had developed a relationship with Dick DeMayo in Romac and Associates’ Rochester, New York, office having hired several employees through them. During one conversation, Howard casually mentioned his growing boredom in his current position and, at Dick’s urging, sent him a resume. Noting that Howard had a financial background combined with a sales personality, Dick asked him if he’d consider getting into the staffing business. But Howard was looking for more than a job change; his entrepreneurial spirit was kicking

Like father, like son—Dave Dunkel achieved Rookie of the Year in 1981.

in and he was thinking of starting his own CPA firm. Dick then suggested he talk to Ralph Struzziero, president of Romac and Associates at the time, about purchasing a franchise. Howard’s wife had a sister in Orlando and Florida’s climate was appealing to the young couple from upstate New York. He quickly learned, however, that Al Dunkel had already purchased the franchise rights to Florida and he would have to work out something with Al. Howard flew down to Boston to meet with both Ralph and Al Dunkel. “I really liked both guys and I was really impressed with Al,” Howard recalls. “He had a great image. He was tall and well-groomed; he looked like he came out of an IBM environment.” Al suggested Howard talk with Dave about the opportunities in Florida. Despite his reservations over being in the middle of the father/son relationship, Howard arranged to meet with Dave during a scheduled vacation to Orlando. On the elevator ride to the eighth floor of a building that was about to be demolished, Howard had serious doubts about what he was getting into. He had also previously worked with Coopers and Lybrand in the Philadelphia office so when he met with Dave and Rich he discovered they had similar backgrounds as well as shared viewpoints on everything from politics to work ethics. Those similar backgrounds—both education and professional experience—gave rise to their hiring model of mirroring their own credentials. At Kforce’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, Dave recalled after that initial meeting, Rich thought Howard’s name rang a familiar note. He went to the files and found Howard’s name in a folder marked DHYB for “Don’t Hold Your Breath,” meaning they were unlikely to ever hear from him. However, timing is everything in sales as well as life and although Howard had a desire to move to Orlando the next day, at Dave’s urging, they headed down to Fort Lauderdale to check out the market. Upon his return, Howard’s wife Terrie was anxious to hear what happened. Howard’s response was, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is I think we may be moving to Florida. The bad news is it’s not Orlando—it’s Fort Lauderdale.” At the time, Al Dunkel had full ownership of the Florida franchise operation of Romac. “Al was a no-nonsense, straight shooter, very ethical individual,” Howard said. “He had a way of keeping things simple and didn’t get caught up in the fluff

21 The Next Generation