Long-time Friends and Mentees of Schulte Family to Carry on Founder’s Legacy Through the Transition
Press Release from All Points Public Relations: Ohio– Spherion Staffing and Recruiting (Spherion) announced today that the Bellefontaine, Dayton, Findlay, Lima, Sidney and St. Marys offices are now under the leadership and franchise ownership of existing Spherion franchisees Tom and Elizabeth Pentenburg. The Pentenburgs first became Spherion franchisees nearly two decades ago and own ten successful offices throughout Indiana and Kentucky.
Spherion has been a staple in the northwestern Ohio communities it serves since former franchisee Bob Schulte and his wife Grace opened their first location in 1962. They expanded their network of Spherion offices across eight locations and stayed active in local operations until Grace’s passing in 2016 and Bob’s in 2022. Together, the couple were considered legends among the Spherion community for their ambitious and generous spirit. They earned Spherion’s L.E. Dettman Founders Award and Owner of the Year Award multiple times, as well as other sales honors.
Karen Schulte Grothouse, one of their daughters, has been heavily involved in the business since her parents' passing. She will ensure a seamless ownership transition to her parents’ long-time mentees and friends, the Pentenburgs.
“It’s important to our family, as well as Tom and Elizabeth, that we never lose sight of the impact that my parents had on these communities and our team,” Grothouse said. “My parents had a lot of pride in their business, so I’ve made it my mission to ensure Spherion continues to grow and build a positive reputation among job seekers and businesses in the areas our offices serve.”
Tom and Elizabeth invested in business ownership with Spherion in 2009 when they opened their first office in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Since then, they have expanded to nine additional locations across Indiana and Kentucky with the help of their four children, who all have active roles in the company. With these Ohio location acquisitions, the Pentenburgs will have 16 total Spherion offices in their portfolio.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue Bob’s legacy at Spherion and in northwestern Ohio,” said Tom. “My team and I are looking forward to upholding the positive impact he made across his six markets through matching job seekers with meaningful employment opportunities.”
Tom and Bob had a close relationship, with Bob often sharing with family and trusted business associates that if anyone were to carry on his legacy outside of his family, he would want it to be Tom. Bob and Grace supported Tom and Elizabeth during their early years of Spherion ownership by sharing business strategies, potential clients, and financial support to attend professional development events. In return, Tom served on the Schultes’ advisory board for their businesses. The Pentenburgs have been top-performing Spherion franchisees for many years and look forward to the challenge and opportunity of upholding the Schultes’ legacy of investing in Ohio’s local employees and businesses.
"Tom and Elizabeth have consistently proven themselves as respected and invested leaders in our Spherion franchise community and in the communities they serve. We will miss having the Schulte family be a part of our franchise system, but we know that their legacy is in good hands with the Pentenburg family, and they all have our company’s unwavering support during this ownership transition," said Kathy George, Spherion’s executive vice president of franchise development and growth.
Throughout this transition, existing team members are excited to remain in their roles under new leadership. The Pentenburgs also plan to invest in additional staff and resources to better serve the needs of job seekers and clients in each market.
Spherion brandishes the “power of local” through a network of independent and empowered franchisees like Tom and Elizabeth Pentenburg. Each Spherion franchisee enriches their communities by connecting and facilitating employment opportunities every day—and when they’re successful together, their investments flow back into the neighborhoods where they live and work. The power of Spherion is in its local roots.
For more information about Spherion in Bellefontaine, Dayton, Findlay, Lima, Sidney and St. Marys, Ohio, or anyone else in the United States, please visit spherion.com.
About Spherion
With more than 75 years of staffing and recruiting experience, Spherion stands out as a leader in the industry, leveraging the power of local to support its vast network of independent franchisees. True to its tagline, Let’s Get to Work, Spherion provides temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and managed hiring services to more than 4,000 businesses nationwide across its 200+ locations. With a 4.8/5 star Google review score and recognition as a Top 100 Staffing Company to Work for by World Staffing Awards, a Top Franchise by Franchise Business Review, and ranking in the top 15% on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list, Spherion has a proven ability to cater to the ever-changing demands of America’s workforce. Backed by the world’s largest talent company, Spherion provides superior staffing and recruiting solutions through its General Staffing franchise model and Professional IT model.
