High Fives and Compromise

Sitting across the table from me, a recently unemployed mom of two, was a full-on firecracker named Sharlene Massie. What I didn’t know at the time was she was about to change my life. Of course, like thousands of others, she put me to work and my professional trajectory soared. More importantly, she became a cherished friend.

It’s been over twenty-five years since our first meeting and I can still see her in my mind’s eye – stylish, enthusiastic, warm smile, hearty genuine laugh and oozing with confidence. As I have watched her navigate life’s curve-balls, many of which you will read about in the coming pages, I can attest that she remains all of those things today: simply put, this is Shar. However, her list of attributes would be incomplete without mentioning a foundational driving force – unrelenting resilience.

I have walked beside Shar as a friend and have also worked with her from both sides of the desk, as a employee seeking placement and as an employer seeking direct hires. In all aspects of her life, my experience has been that she embodies the cultural pillars she established for About Staffing so many years ago, “sincerity, loyalty, enthusiasm, stability”.

An entrepreneur at her core, Sharlene has ‘chosen her own path’ and demonstrated she has the grit to take great risk. In doing so, it hasn’t been easy – in fact, there have been times when even I wondered if she would get back up again. Yet, every single time she has! Learning along the way and ultimately reaping a great reward. Never underestimate her.