We’re only five days into 2026, and we’re pleased to present the first batch of split placements for the new year!

And starting the year with a split placement bang are Jim Sitek of FSN and Anna Race of Verus Recruiting Consultants, Inc. Jim and Anna placed a Vice President of Sales and Marketing to earn a recruiting fee of $33K.

Congratulations are also in order for two recruiters who recently made their first split placement in TE Network. Those recruiters are Dawn Belyeu-Long of NorthStar Career Directions and Wayne Miller of THR Partners.

One week down, 51 weeks to go . . . let’s make more placements!

As a friendly neighborhood reminder, here is the information that we publish with our placements:

• Names of the trading partners involved (with their profile photos, when available)
• Job title
• Overall placement fee (before TE Network’s 6% brokerage fee, of course)
• Fee percentage

Please note that the placements listed below reflect deals finalized in TE Network for the period from December 22, 2025 through January 4, 2026.

Remember, if you don’t want information related to your split placements published in The Pinnacle, please send an email to marketing@topechelon.com to that effect.

Once again, congratulations to everybody below for the split placements they made in TE Network!

This Week’s Split Placements

— — —

Job recruiter: James Grayem of Jamie Graham

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: ADULT NURSE PRACTITIONER

Overall placement fee: $10,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Robert Buss of Impact Solutions, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

Job title: WELDER/FABRICATOR – MIG & MATERIAL HANDLING

Overall placement fee: $12,480

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: James Grayem of Jamie Graham

Candidate recruiter: Kendra Arnold of A Plus Hire Right Search Group, LLC

Job title: ADULT/FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER

Overall placement fee: $10,000

Fee percentage: Flat

— — —

Job recruiter: Troy Randolph of Lea Randolph & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Kendra Arnold of A Plus Hire Right Search Group, LLC

Job title: HOSPICE SALES EXECUTIVE

Overall placement fee: $12,000

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: James Grayem of Jamie Graham

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: SURGERY CENTER ADMINISTRATOR

Overall placement fee: $24,750

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Troy Randolph of Lea Randolph & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: REGISTERED NURSE SUPERVISOR – DISABILITIES

Overall placement fee: $16,400

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Troy Randolph of Lea Randolph & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

Job title: HOSPICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Overall placement fee: $21,000

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Dawn Belyeu-Long of NorthStar Career Directions

Candidate recruiter: Jim Folger, CPC of One Source Technical, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR LITIGATION PARALEGAL

Overall placement fee: $14,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

Candidate recruiter: Randall Hardwick of Avalon Recruiting

Job title: MANUFACTURING ENGINEER 

Overall placement fee: $32,500

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

 

Job recruiter: Joe Cresci of Food Management Search

Candidate recruiter: Victor Lopez of Resource One International

Job title: NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER – FOOD SERVICE

Overall placement fee: $25,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Gino DiGuardi of Alari Search, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Mark Marshall of CRJ Search

Job title: VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Overall placement fee: $22,500

Fee percentage: 15%

— — —

Job recruiter: Jim Sitek of FSN

Candidate recruiter: Anna Race of Verus Recruiting Consultants, Inc.

Job title: VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING

Overall placement fee: $33,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Larry Prior of LFP Associates

Candidate recruiter: Philip Ringrow of Human Capital Ventures

Job title: MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

Overall placement fee: $14,560

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

Job recruiter: Wayne Miller of THR Partners

Candidate recruiter: Jim Strickland of BioSource Recruiters

Job title: SUSTAINING ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $23,750

Fee percentage: 25%

— — —

Job recruiter: Doug Boyce of Priority One Search

Candidate recruiter: Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group

Job title: PROCESS ENGINEER

Overall placement fee: $15,000

Fee percentage: 20%

— — —

If you’re a newer TE Network member and you’d like to enjoy more success in our recruiter network, then I encourage you to contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

Yes, Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting edged Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing for Recruiter of the Month honors in TE Network for the month of December.

However, not only was Amy part of the Largest Split Fee of the Month for December, but she was part of the top two fees during the month!

First, Amy placed an Equipment Design Engineering Manager with trading partner Chip Yaggi of Chip Yaggi to earn a recruiting fee of $56,250 at 25%. Second, Amy also placed a Senior Manager of Human Resources (with, incidentally, Brad) to score a $41,250 fee, also at 25%.

So while Amy didn’t win the Recruiter of the Month award, she still has plenty to celebrate . . . as do all of the recruiters listed below!

As a friendly reminder, Top Echelon determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its TE Network split fee recruiting awards in four distinct categories:

1.) Recruiter of the Month
2.) Largest Split Fee of the Month
3.) Recruiter of the Quarter
4.) Largest Split Fee of the Quarter

We only announce the winners of these awards in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. We do so usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each month and/or quarter.

So congratulations to everybody on the list below for scoring some BIG placement fees during the month!

Largest Split Placement Fees – December 2025

— — —

First Place:

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Chip Yaggi of Chip Yaggi

The position for this split placement was an Equipment Design Engineering Manager and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amy was the job order recruiter and Chip was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $56,250.

— — —

Second Place:

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing and Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting

The position for this split placement was a Senior Manager of Human Resources and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Amy was the job order recruiter and Brad was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $41,250.

— — —

Third Place:

Janis Mitchell of Precise Resource, Inc. and Krishonna Williams of She Recruits, LLC

The position for this split placement was a Senior Business Analyst and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Janis was the job order recruiter and Krishonna was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $37,500.

— — —

Fourth Place:

Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC and Adam Krueger of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Product Engineer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 30%.

Maria was the job order recruiter and Adam was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $36,000.

–— — —

Fifth Place:

Erin Frommeyer of Aspire Talent Solutions and Adam Pantelli of AJ Search

The position for this split placement was a Senior Product Development Engineer and the fee percentage associated with this placement was 25%.

Erin was the job order recruiter and Adam was the candidate recruiter.

The fee for this split placement was $35,000.

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiting network, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

We have the top recruiters in TE Network for December, the final month of 2025!

And as was often the case last year, Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting was the Recruiter of the Month for December. That’s because Brad was part of 11 split placements during the month, and his cash-in total for those 11 splits was $98,426.

Close on Brad’s heels was Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing. Amy was part of five TE Network split placements, and those five splits brought her $91,062. As you can see, it was one of the closest races for the Recruiter of the Month award during all of 2025!

Here is the information that we include with the Recruiter of the Month feature in TE Network:

1. The top five (5) recruiters for the month.
2. The cash-in total for each recruiter during the month. (We base the order of the recruiters on their amount of cash-in dollars, as opposed to the number of split placements they’ve made.)
3. The number of splits that the recruiters made during the month.
4. The number of splits each recruiter has made during their TE Network career.
5. Each recruiter’s cash-in total for their TE Network career.

With this format, it’s more likely that there will be ties among recruiters, especially with those TE Network members who have made split placements with each other.

Once again, congratulations to the recruiters listed below . . . and congratulations to every TE Network member who made a split placement (or multiple splits) during the month!

Recruiters of the Month – December 2025

— — —

First Place:

Recruiter: Brad Dodge
Agency: iLocatum Recruiting
Placements: Eleven (11)
Cash-in total: $98,426.07
Career Top Echelon placements: 246
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $2,021,570.45

— — —

Second Place:

Recruiter: Amy Chapman
Agency: Key People Staffing
Placements: Five (5)
Cash-in total: $91,062.50
Career Top Echelon placements: 112
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $1,421,492.91

— — —

Third Place:

Recruiter: Adam Pantelli
Agency: AJ Search
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $40,420.00
Career Top Echelon placements: 20
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $207,847.55

— — —

Fourth Place:

Recruiter: Jim Strickland 
Agency: BioSource Recruiters
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $31,801.14
Career Top Echelon placements: 246
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $1,950,441.36

— — —

Fifth Place:

Recruiter: Chuck Cole
Agency: Cole Professional Search
Placements: Three (3)
Cash-in total: $27,581.56
Career Top Echelon placements: 57
Career Top Echelon cash-in: $699,513.62

— — —

If YOU want to make more money through Top Echelon’s recruiter network, then contact Director of Network Operations, Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

You can reach Drea by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

December is typically a slow month in the recruiting profession . . . but not in terms of membership in TE Network last month!

That’s because 23 recruiting agencies joined the Network as new members in December of 2025. This represents a great way for both them and us to start the new year on the right foot. Because more recruiting agencies = more recruiters = more job orders and candidates = more split placements = more money.

And really, that’s the math equation they should have taught you in high school.

So please, take a moment to look at the list below. Then reach out, introduce yourself, and start a conversation with these recruiters, especially with those whose specialties align with your own. You never know when a quick message or shared search might spark your next trusted trading partner . . . or your next successful split placement!

We run the names of recruiting agencies applying for membership in the Network Dashboard section of the TE Network software. We list the names of new Network members, as well.

However, we also list our new members in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. This list typically includes the:

• Name of the agency
• Industries and/or specialties in which the agency operates
• Names of the recruiters working at the agency
• Geographic location of the agency

So I’d like to take this moment to congratulate the recruiting agencies listed below and publicly welcome them to TE Network. I look forward to helping them make split placements!

(Note: If you have any questions about reaching out to new members or about your membership in general, please contact me. My contact information is listed at the end of this blog post.)

New Member Agencies – December 2025

— — —

Brickell Personnel Consultants
Industries: Human Resources, Banking, Insurance, Sales, and Administration
Recruiters: Nidia Torres
Location: Miami, FL

— — —

Caraway Connected Sourcing
Industries: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Warehouse Operations, and Accounting/Finance
Recruiters: Matthew Pustolski
Location: Lynnwood, WA

— — —

CMM Talent Partners, LLC
Industries: Healthcare, Technology, Professional Services, Operations, and Government Sectors
Recruiters: Melissa Casiano
Location: Austin, TX

— — —

Connection Recruiting
Industries: Technology and Industrial
Recruiters: Matthew Langan
Location: Scottsdale, AZ

— — —

Elevated Hires
Industries: Mortgage Loan Professionals
Recruiters: George Klimis
Location: Largo, FL

— — —

Empyrean Consulting, Inc.
Industries: Nuclear, Utilities, Renewable Energy, and Oil & Gas
Recruiters: Melanie Kirk
Location: Dallas, TX

— — —

ESG, Inc.
Industries: Defense, Intelligence, IT, Cybersecurity, Engineering, and Commercial
Recruiters: Marpleh Baker
Location: Reston, VA

— — —

Flex Staffing Resources
Industries: Cyber Security
Recruiters: Norris Hanes
Location: Waldorf, MD

— — —

Hire Consulting Services
Industries: Manufacturing, IT, Sales/Marketing, Operations, and Finance/Accounting
Recruiters: Mark James
Location: San Marcos, CA

— — —

JMR Services, LLC
Industries: Manufacturing, Engineering, and IT
Recruiters: David Guiliani
Location: Oakland, NJ

— — —

K. Jacobs Executive Search
Industries: Construction and Engineering
Recruiters: Oleg Goltsov
Location: Merrimack, NH

— — —

Keenbee Talent Solutions
Industries: Defense/Space, Gaming/Hospitality, Finance, Technology, and Biotech
Recruiters: Gwen Lewis
Location: Albuquerque, NM

— — —

Kingsley-Rose Executive Search
Industries: Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Construction, and Finance
Recruiters: Joe Huffine
Location: Fishers, IN

— — —

Poelman Resources, Inc.
Industries: Oil/Gas, Mining, Pipelines, Commercial Construction, and Roads/Bridges
Recruiters: Constance Poelman
Location: Calgary, AB

— — —

Primary Talent Source
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Cindy Fischler
Location: St. Petersburg, FL

— — —

Professional Dynamics, Inc.
Industries: Manufacturing
Recruiters: Dave Hirsch
Location: Cuyahoga Falls, OH

— — —

Ridgewood Fractional Recruiting
Industries: Generalist
Recruiters: Lonnalee Anderson
Location: Littleton, CO

— — —

Selective Search Group
Industries: Technology
Recruiters: Eileen Ebright
Location: Santa Ana, CA

— — —

Snelling Recruiting and Executive Search
Industries: Manufacturing
Recruiters: Katrina Sellers
Location: Loveland, CO

— — —

Talent Match Recruiting
Industries: Nuclear, Engineering, Manufacturing, Construction, Healthcare, Technology, Logistics, and Corporate Operations
Recruiters: Renee Ray
Location: Minneapolis, MN

— — —

The Quest Organization
Industries: Family Offices, Real Estate, and Construction
Recruiters: David Rosenblatt
Location: Manhattan, NY

— — —

Upswing Talent Acquisition
Industries: Oil & Gas and Energy
Recruiters: Mark Jensen
Location: Chemainus, BC

— — —

It doesn’t matter if you’re a newer member of our split network or an established member. If you want help making split placements with other Network recruiters, then I encourage you to contact me.

You can do so by calling 330.595.1742 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

While we celebrated quite a few things during the recently completed holiday season, we have yet more things to celebrate in TE Network.

Namely agency anniversaries in TE Network for the month of January!

And none are bigger than the anniversary celebrated by Markent Personnel in Portage, Wisconsin. That’s because the agency is celebrating 37 years as a TE Network member.

That accomplishment is all the more impressive when you consider that Top Echelon will be celebrating its 38th year of existence in March. So, in essence, Markent Personnel has been with us almost since the beginning, when we were called Nationwide Interchange Service. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

When recognizing Network agencies for their anniversaries, Top Echelon includes the name of the agency; the length of the anniversary; and the location of the agency, including the city and state.

So congratulations to all of the agencies celebrating anniversaries in our split fee recruiting network during the month of January!

— — —

37-Year Anniversary

• Markent Personnel in Portage, WI

— — —

19-Year Anniversary

• Ives & Associates in Columbus, OH

— — —

14-Year Anniversary

• Sun Recruiting, Inc. in Glen Ellyn, IL

— — —

9-Year Anniversary

• CRJ Search in Springboro, OH

— — —

8-Year Anniversary

• JSR Associates, LLC in Goodyear, AZ

— — —

5-Year Anniversary

• Corporate Strategic Resourcing in Chicago, IL
• The Timberline Group in Sullivan, MO
• Work Horse Temps, LLC in Orlando, FL

— — —

4-Year Anniversary

• FSN in Wake Forest, NC
• HG Arias & Associates in El Paso, TX

— — —

3-Year Anniversary

• Bay Colony Search in Boxford, MA
• Breezeway Corporation in Lynchburg, OH
• Eden Capital Careers in Scottsdale, AZ
• She Recruits, LLC in Desoto, TX
• Source Financial Staffing in Atlanta, GA

— — —

2-Year Anniversary

• McBride Executive Search in Scottsdale, AZ
• Staffing IT in Shamong, NJ
• The UrbanHall Group in Clarkston, MI

— — —

1-Year Anniversary

• Alliance Consulting Company, in Cambridge, ON
• PeopleWise in Albany, NY
• RJR Executive Search Inc. in Houston, TX
• Technical Staffing Essentials, LLC in Grandville, MI
• VG Recruiting in Houston, TX
• Vortek Systems in Osgood, IN

— — —

Thank you to all of these agencies and the many others that have joined TE Network over the years. We look forward to many more anniversaries and split placements in the years ahead!