How in the wide, wide world of sports is it already the end of August? Wasn’t it June 1 just a few weeks ago?
Oy vey . . . time flies when you’re having fun. And time certainly flies during “Top Echelon’s Epic 95 Days of Summer”! (Are you having fun? We’re having fun.)
And part of the fun is announcing those recruiters and recruiting agencies that have earned a prestigious place in the Top Echelon Hall of Fame. And as you might expect, we have another batch of TE Network members ready to be enshrined this week.
Who are they? Well, once again, what’s the fun of telling you that up front. It’s more fun to make you read this blog post. Or scan/skim this blog post . . . whatever the case may be.
In any case, let’s get down to business. Here are your Top Echelon Hall of Fame inductees for this week:
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SHEER JOY: There are some recruiters who bemoan the ups and downs of the profession. Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana is not one of those recruiters.
Although you could not blame her if she was. After all, she’s been working in the profession for 40 years. She’s seen the good, the bad, and the ugly—of both the profession and the economy overall. Through it all, Pat has embraced recruiting (and her membership in Top Echelon Network) with unbridled energy and enthusiasm).
The result? She has made 148 TE placements since joining the Network 30 years ago. And she’s been part of one of the most successful recruiting agencies in the history of Top Echelon.
Like many of the recruiters being inducted into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame this year, Pat entered the profession during an era when there was no Internet, no email, no smartphones, and no artificial intelligence.
“When I first started in our industry, all of our processes were manual,” said Pat, who works all disciplines within the Manufacturing industry. “TEN introduced Big Biller [recruiting software], which changed my life. And TEN has continued year after year to improve its ATS to help me be a more productive recruiter.”
Pat is a huge proponent of face-to-face networking, as she tries to attend as many of the Network’s conferences and conventions as she can. Building and nurturing trading partner relationships has been integral to her success within TE.
And of course, so has her love of the profession and the aforementioned energy and enthusiasm with which she greets each workday.
“I love being a recruiter,” said Pat. “I feel so blessed to have spent most of my career helping my clients hire top talent and changing the lives of the candidates I have placed. Thanks to TEN for being an integral part of my journey.”
We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of Pat McCombs into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!
“To be included in Top Echelon’s 2024 Hall of Fame class is a great and very unexpected honor,” said Pat. “To say that TEN has made a significant contribution to my career as a recruiter is a huge understatement! TEN has time and time again played a major role in the successes I have had.”
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TWO OF A KIND: For the first time, we at Top Echelon are inducting two individual recruiters from the same agency into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame!
Above, we announced the induction of Pat McCombs, CPC of KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And now? Pat’s fellow recruiter, Brenda Wylie-Biggs, CPC!
Like Pat, Brenda has made more than 100 TE placements during her time as a member of the Network. In fact, she’s made 118 Top Echelon splits.
Also like Pat, Brenda loves being a search consultant and definitely has a passion for the recruiting profession.
“I never envisioned myself as a recruiter, but I am undeniably passionate about this profession,” said Brenda. “Our industry is unique in its ability to positively impact countless lives—both job seekers and employers. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have made a contribution to this meaningful work. It has been a privilege to connect talented individuals with fulfilling careers.”
While Brenda has not been in the profession quite as long as Pat has, she’s been a search consultant for nearly three decades. Twenty-three of those years have been spent as a member of Top Echelon Network. According to Brenda, who also specializes in the Manufacturing industry, she is grateful for every minute of those 23 years.
“I owe a significant debt of gratitude to Top Echelon for their unwavering support and innovative tools,” she said. “Their commitment to equipping recruiters with the best resources has been instrumental to my success. The emphasis on collaboration and the power of partnerships within our industry has been a cornerstone of my career.”
We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of Brenda Wylie-Biggs into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!
“I am profoundly honored and humbled to be inducted into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame,” said Brenda. “To be recognized among such esteemed industry pioneers is truly inspiring. Thank you again for this extraordinary honor!”
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JUGGERNAUT: It should come as no surprise that KB Search Team, LLC in Fort Wayne, Indiana is the second agency to be inducted into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of our inaugural 2024 class.
After all, the Hall already contains two of its recruiters: Pat McCombs, CPC and Brenda Wylie-Biggs, CPC. Pat has made 148 TE placements during her time in the Network, while Brenda has been part of 118 TE splits.
KB Search Team joined Top Echelon Network in April of 1990, when it was known as Nationwide Interchange Service (NIS). While many recruiters have worked for the agency down through the years, Pat and Brenda, along with President and CEO Cathy Rogers, have been constants.
Other members of the agency who are currently active in Top Echelon’s recruiting network include Rhonda Dove, Susie Kaiser, and Sam Didion.
Over the course of the past 34 years, KB Search Team, LLC has produced 342 placements in Top Echelon, one of the highest totals for a Network agency ever. According to Top Echelon President Mark Demaree, KB Search Team has been a pillar of productivity down through the years and a major contributor to the success of the Network and also the success of its recruiters and trading partners.
“Recruiting is a tough profession, and the recruiters of KB Search Team are to be commended for their elite status not only within Top Echelon Network, but also within the profession in general,” said Mark. “KB Search Team has been a juggernaut in Top Echelon for the past 35+ years, and we expect them to continue being successful for many years to come. KB Search Team is the epitome of a Hall of Fame recruiting agency within TE Network.
We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of KB Search Team, LLC into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member agency of the 2024 class!
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WISE INVESTMENT: While other recruiters may have made it to 100 TE placements more quickly than Brad Dodge of iLocatum Recruiting in San Diego, California, it might be more difficult to beat Brad to 200 TE splits.
That’s because Brad has made 162 Network split placements since his agency joined Top Echelon in April of 2018. And at his current pace, he will hit 200 TE splits long before iLocatum Recruiting celebrates its 10th anniversary in Top Echelon.
Brad started his agency in 2015, and three years later, iLocatum Recruiting joined the Network. According to Brad, the decision to do so has been more than justified.
“Joining Top Echelon is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” he said. “Such a great group, from the leadership to the members. Mark, Todd, Tyler, River, Drea, and the whole TE team do the impossible every day; they take what would seem to be akin to herding cats and somehow make it work. With Drea’s consistent leadership, judgement, and use of the ‘But For’ rule, everyone gets along and things run smoothly. The TE members are amazing; they are talented, hard-working, and truly nice people! The longer I’ve been in the Network, the more I’ve enjoyed it.”
Brad has won numerous accolades within the Network, including multiple Recruiter of the Month awards and Recruiter of the Quarter awards. With four months left in 2024, it appears as though he will earn his first Top Echelon Network Recruiter of the Year honor.
As a Top Producer, Brad knows that the Network is NOT a “magic money-making machine.” It’s like any other resource. Recruiters must make an investment into their membership in order to receive a return on their investment.
“One of the best things about Top Echelon is also the simplest,” said Brad. “The more you put into it, the more you get out. Having a thousand or so recruiting partners to reach out to and work with is like a limitless resource. Combine that with the rigorous TE screening procedure, guidelines, protocol, and leadership, and you have the ideal foundation for a split recruiting network.”
We at Top Echelon are pleased to announce the induction of Brad Dodge into the Top Echelon Hall of Fame as a member of the 2024 class!
“I’m very grateful to be selected to the Top Echelon Hall of Fame!” added Brad.
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Be sure to check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog—as well as Top Echelon’s official LinkedIn account—for future announcements regarding 2024 inductees into Top Echelon’s Hall of Fame!
