What’s the best way to celebrate our 36th birthday? By celebrating YOU, our customers, of course!

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by publishing some of the stories that recruiters have submitted to us regarding their experience as members of Top Echelon Network.

While there is only space for a few stories here in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, this is but a mere sampling of the success that recruiters have enjoyed in our recruiting network during the past 36 years.

So without further adieu, please enjoy these recruiter stories from the history of Top Echelon Network!

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“Making 33 split placements totaling nearly $1 million ($962,873) for years 2022 and 2023 combined that I never would have achieved sourcing on my own certainly tops the list. But [I’m] also appreciative of the many great partnerships built, which is the magic behind those numbers.”

Amy Chapman of Key People Staffing

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“In June of 2023, I made a placement with a TEN recruiter. In November of 2023, the candidate again applied for the same recruiter’s position I had posted on Indeed and got hired, generating two split placements in under six months!”

Sara Alexandroff of Sterling St. James, Inc.

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“I was asked by a client to fill a VP position in a discipline out of my wheelhouse and geographical area. I called Drea [Codispoti] and asked him if there were any TE partners who worked in that discipline, and he gave me a few names. I partnered with one of those recruiters, got the search, and made a 95K placement fee, which up until earlier this year was the largest in TE history. If not for TE, I probably would not have gotten the search or the final placement.”

Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates

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“One of my children thought that what I did for a living was pretty easy, so I said, ‘Okay, here’s a CFO search. You fill it.’ So, my 12 year-old child surfed the Internet, contacted someone by email, got a resume, made a Q&A email, and then presented the candidate to the job order recruiter as me (with my permission). [It was a] $35K fee! I never told the job order recruiter, but this is a true story.”

Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.

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“The greatest [story] is that I was one of the original users of Top Echelon Contracting and because of the Network, I was able to attract large contracts from Big Pharma. Everyone prospered: TEN/TEC, many CRAs, and Med Exec International.”

Roseanne Christopher of Med Exec International

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“Watching Mark Demaree line dance in Nashville.”

John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.

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If you have a Top Echelon Network story that you’d like to share, we want to hear it! (Or read it, as the case may be.)

Send your story to marketing@topechelon.com.

Okay, so maybe we prioritize cash-in over placements. But don’t judge. After all, you probably do, too.

Enough throwing stones! Let’s get down to business, namely publishing the list of Top Echelon’s All-Time Active Placement Leaders.

And as you peruse the list below, you might notice a couple of things. First, some of the same names that are on this list are also on the list of Top Echelon’s All-Time Active Cash-In Leaders list. The reason for that should be rather self-explanatory.

Second, there are more ties on this list than there were on the other. In fact, there weren’t any ties on the other list.

Everybody on the list below has made at least 103 placements during their time as a Top Echelon Network member. We’re talking about a staggering amount of success, and we are certainly glad that we were able to play a part in that success.

So put your hands together once more for everybody on the list below. May there be many more placements in all of our futures!

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#20 (tied)—Deb North of Deb North in Topeka, Kansas (103 placements)

#20 (tied)—Gary Schultz of Work 22, Inc. in Gary, Florida (103 placements)

#20 (tied)—Veronica Snyder of Career Professionals, Inc. in Morristown, Tennessee (103 placements)

#19—Bob Millman AutoPro Technical Recuriting in Oak Park, Michigan (107 placements)

#18 (tied)—Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates in Manalapan, New Jersey (108 placements)

#18 (tied)—Larry Gallin of Gallin Associates in New Port Richey, Florida (108 placements)

#18 (tied)—Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting in San Diego, California (108 placements)

#17—Michael Agen New Solutions Group, LLC in Camillus, New York (115 placements)

#16—Angela Marasco of A. Marasco Recruiting, LLC in Bellbrook, Ohio (116 placements)

#15 (tied)—Mark Udulutch, CPC of Markent Personnel in Portage, Wisconsin (117 placements)

#15 (tied)—Kristy Staggs of Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc. in Waterloo, Iowa (117 placements)

#14—Brenda Wylie Biggs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana (125 placements)

#13 (tied)—David Wood, CPC of The David Wood Company in Vancouver, Washington (127 placements)

#13 (tied)—Nick Stoia, CPC of ASAP Search in Irmo, South Carolina (127 placements)

#12—Steve Schroder of Stratus Staffing in San Juan Capistrano, California (128 placements)

#11—Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems in Orange, California (130 placements)

#10—Lawrence T. Ploscowe of EXEK Recruiters, Ltd. in Rochester, New York (137 placements)

#9—Keith Cornelison of Personnel Resources in Tipp City, Ohio (144 placements)

#8—David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio (145 placements)

#7—Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana (149 placements)

#6—Al Katz, CPC of First Search in Elgin, Illinois (185 placements)

#5—Jim Strickland of BioSource Recruiters in Wilmington, North Carolina (237 placements)

#4—Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC in Tiffin, Ohio (256 placements)

#3—Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group in Willoughby, Ohio (513 placements)

#2—Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc. in Hollywood, Florida (522 placements)

#1—Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group in Cornelius, North Carolina (1,289 placements)

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Remember, you can keep track of the Top Producers on a 12-month rolling basis in the Main Dashboard of the Members’ Area.

The top 10 recruiters can be seen on the left-hand side of the Members’ Area. You can also access the entire list by clicking the “See All Top Producers” link at the bottom of the list.

And now you can also reorder the list by the past month, the past year, or all time (which, incidentally, is how we created the list above). You can reorder the list by clicking the drop-down box in the upper right-hand side of the screen.

As you may already know, this is the Birthday Edition of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog. We’re celebrating our 36th birthday in a lot of ways, including by publishing the top 20 active recruiters I terms of all-time cash-in!

As you may also already know, we determine the monthly, quarterly, and yearly awards in Top Echelon Network in terms of cash-in dollars, as opposed to the number of placements the recruiter makes. (Not that we have anything against placements, mind you. We love them. We just love cash-in dollars a wee bit more.)

The list below is in descending order, which means we started with #20 on the list and worked our way all the way down to #1. So you can read the names and numbers in the voice of Casey Kasem if you want. It’s certainly not mandatory, because how would we know if you didn’t?

So happy birthday to us, happy birthday to YOU as a recruiting network, and congratulations to everybody on the list below!

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#20—Deb North, CPC of Deb North in Topeka, Kansas ($809,606)

#19—Mark Udulutch, CPC of Markent Personnel in Portage, Wisconsin ($898,918)

#18—Bob Millman of AutoPro Technical Recruiting in Oak Park, Michigan ($918,649)

#17—Larry Gallin of Gallin Associates in New Port Richey, Florida ($938,853)

#16—Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting in San Diego, California ($987,407)

#15—Al Katz of First Search in Elgin, Illinois ($1,000,632)

#14—Kerry Boehner of KOB Solutions, Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ($1,003,569)

#13—Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc. in Hilliard, Ohio ($1,008,345)

#12—John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc. in Glen Ellyn, Illinois ($1,010,895)

#11—Steve Brody of Steve Brody in Orange, California ($1,040,987)

#10—Nick Stoia, CPC ASAP Search in Irmo, South Carolina ($1,065,095)

#9—Lawrence T. Ploscowe of EXEK Recruiters, Ltd. in Rochester, New York ($1,188,025)

#8—David Wood, CPC of The David Wood Company in Vancouver, Washington ($1,198,939)

#7—David M. Sgro, CPC of True North Consultants, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio ($1,285,412)

#6—Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana ($1,291,970)

#5—Jim Strickland of BioSource Recruiters in Wilmington, North Carolina ($1,788,885)

#4—Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC in Tiffin, Ohio ($2,096,837)

#3—Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group in Willoughby, Ohio ($4,002,735)

#2—Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc. in Hollywood, Florida ($4,893,467)

#1—Trey Cameron of Cameron Craig Group in Cornelius, North Carolina ($10,392,099)

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Remember, you can keep track of the Top Producers on a 12-month rolling basis in the Main Dashboard of the Members’ Area.

The top 10 recruiters can be seen on the left-hand side of the Members’ Area. You can also access the entire list by clicking the “See All Top Producers” link at the bottom of the list.

And now you can also reorder the list by the past month, the past year, or all time (which, incidentally, is how we created the list above). You can reorder the list by clicking the drop-down box in the upper right-hand side of the screen.

Friday is Top Echelon’s 36th birthday. But of course, as many of you know, not only are we turning 36 years old, but we’re also starting our 37th year. (The birthday celebrates the successful completion of a number of years, and then the following day, you’re on to the next one.)

And sure, we could point you to the very first Pinnacle article or to a blog post that we published a few years ago titled, “27 Little-Known Facts About Top Echelon.” (And actually, Matt Deutsch has already done that.)

Instead, though, I’d like to relay a story that we’ve mentioned previously. It’s a parable that illustrates the true nature of Top Echelon and the essential way that the Network operates. It’s called the Long Spoons Parable, and a text-based version of that parable is as follows:

An old woman is nearing the end of her life. As she closes her eyes one night, she sees a bright light and is transported to another realm. She doesn’t pass away just then. Instead, she returns to the living world to find her family gathered at her bedside. She smiles and whispers to her children, “I have seen the great hereafter.”

“The great whereafter?” Her son asks.

“Heaven and hell. I have seen them both.”

The old woman goes on to explain, “I came upon a door, and behind it was hell. What I saw there confounded me. There was a dining hall filled with rows of tables, each table teaming with a magnificent feast. It looked and smelled delicious, yet the people seated around the tables were emaciated and sickly, moaning with hunger.

“As I came closer, I realized that each person held a very long spoon. With it they could reach the feast, but the spoon was too long. Though they tried and tried again, they couldn’t bring nourishment to their mouth. In spite of the abundance before them, they were starving.”

She continued, “I left this horrid place and opened a new door, one that led to heaven. Inside, I was surprised to see that very same scene before my eyes, a dining hall filled with row upon row of tables, and on those tables, a marvelous feast. But instead of moaning with hunger, the people around the tables were sitting contentedly, talking with one another, sated from the abundance before them.

“Like those in hell, these people were holding very long spoons. As I watched, a woman dipped her spoon into a bowl of stew before her, but rather than struggling to feed herself, she extended her spoon out and fed the man seated across from her. This person, now satisfied and no longer hungry, gave thanks and returned the favor, leaning across the table to feed the woman.”

“I suddenly understood the difference between heaven and hell,” the old woman said to her family. “It is neither the qualities of the place, nor of the abundance of resources, but the way people treat each other.

“In hell, we are selfish. We would rather go hungry than give the people we don’t care for the pleasure of eating.”

“But in heaven, we feed each other. We put trust in those around us, and never go hungry.”

When you feed other recruiters in Top Echelon Network—your trading partners—you don’t go hungry. No matter what’s happening in the economy or on the other side of the world, there’s no reason to hoard everything on your recruiting desk, especially if you have a long spoon and you’re having trouble feeding yourself.

If you need something, ask your trading partners. Then ask your trading partners what they need.

If you have what your trading partners need, then give it to them. If they have what you need, then they’ll give it to you.

This is the essence of membership in Top Echelon’s recruiting network. Don’t be like the first group of people in the parable above. Strive to be like the second group.

And remember: “It is neither the qualities of the place, nor of the abundance of resources, but the way people treat each other.”

It’s been a great 36 years, and we’re most definitely looking forward to 36 more!

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun!

And we’ve certainly had plenty of fun these past . . . how many years has it been now? I might need a calculator for this . . . and . . . it’s been 36 years!

On March 8, 1988, Top Echelon co-founder Mike Kappel sent out the first issue of The Pinnacle newsletter, and he did so via Pony Express. (Kidding . . . I’m just kidding!) No, Mike sent the first Pinnacle newsletter via the United States Postal Service, which is pretty much the same thing these days. (Once again, I’m kidding!)

Of course, that’s because there was no Internet 36 years ago. Imagine that with me for just a second. You can’t, can you?

Anyway, a few years ago, we re-published the very first article in The Pinnacle newsletter. You can read it by clicking HERE.

A few years ago, we also published a Pinnacle article titled, “27 Little-Known Facts About Top Echelon on Its 27th Anniversary.”

You can view all 27 little-known facts by clicking HERE.

Last year, we also paid homage to the very last Charter Member of Top Echelon Network, Steve Brody of Executive Resources Systems. You can read that article by clicking HERE.

We also asked long-time member and Al Katz of First Search about the secret to success in Top Echelon Network. And of course, he shared said secret. You can read that article by clicking HERE.

And of course, we have some facts about the year 1988, courtesy of the website mybirthdayfacts.com. In 1988, the:

• Number-one pop song was “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.
• Number-one movie was Good Morning, Vietnam.
• Median new home price was $108,900.
• Price of a new car was $13,761.
• Price of a gallon of gas was 96 cents.
• Price of a loaf of bread was 59 cents.

We also want to recognize and thank everybody who has been a Network member over the years, including current Top Echelon recruiters. You have been the driving force behind our success for the past 36 years, and we’re very glad that you are with us, that you trust us, and that we will forge a new path into the future together. (For 36 more years? Well, sure . . . why not?)

Congratulations to everybody who is a member of our recruiting network right now, and yes, that means YOU. Without you, there would be no Top Echelon, no Network, and no 36th birthday.

Now . . . let us eat cake!