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Darlene Furst: A rewarding life
By None
ROCKFORD WOMAN
Dec 20, 2007 @ 01:00 AM
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Darlene was born and raised near Lanark in Carroll County and moved to Rockford in 1968 with her husband Tom. In 1971, they opened what has become FurstStaffing and FSG & Associates (Furst Search Group). Darlene manages the six FurstStaffing offices and Tom is with the executive search and outplacement consulting firm called FSG. The couple started and then sold a business unit now called Furst Group MPI, which has become a national company specializing in medical careers.
Age: 68
City of residence: Belvidere
Family: Husband, Thomas. Son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Carina, Rockford. Daughter, Jennifer, Chicago. Grandchildren, Thomas, 6, Alexander (Xander) and Isabel, 3
Education: Graduated Lanark High School
Career: When we started the business, I did some accounting and bookkeeping but worked part-time when our children were young. In the early 1980s, I took over the FurstStaffing part of the business and, in the 1980s, the whole temporary staffing business took off and grew. We did, too, and now have offices in Rockford, Belvidere, Chicago, DeKalb, Stockton and Darlington, Wis.
Most rewarding part of work:
In our industry no two days are the same so there are always new situations. I think of myself as a “hands off” manager, letting staff make decisions. I have an open-door policy; managers know they can ask for my advice and feedback. It is rewarding to sit in a meeting with a client and listen to a manager who is self-motivated make a presentation in a thorough, detailed and professional manner. Our business is about making a good match between the candidate’s skills and our customers’ job requirements.
Role models:
An elementary school teacher named Mrs. Esther Haugh back in Carroll County. She was strict but you felt she really cared about you succeeding. And a temporary staffing company owner, Sue Glaab, from Lancaster, Ohio, who retired from the business many years ago. She was a reserved, quiet person but whenever she gave her opinion, you knew it was sound advice and you wanted to listen.
Accomplishments:
In 2002, FurstStaffing was selected as one of the “Top 100 Companies” by Rockford Magazine. I was one of two female CEOs in that top 100 list of companies. In 2005, I was the Rockford Chamber of Commerce Woman Business Owner of the year. I have served on the board and been president of TempNet, an association of independently owned staffing firms in North America and later, my daughter, Jennifer Furst, did the same, the first time a second-generation achieved that in the organization. I was elected president of the Rockford Rotary Club 2003-2004, the second female to hold that position. In 2006, my husband, Tom, and I received the “Spirit of Caring” award from Crusader Clinic.
Current commitments:
On the Dean’s Council of the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford; MILL Foundation board of directors; and secretary of the board at Wesley Willows Corporation. Past board service includes Community Foundation of Northern Illinois; Northern Illinois Hospice Association; Rockford Rotary Club; Rockford Symphony Orchestra Auxiliary; Rock Valley College Foundation; the MILL board of directors; and women’s board of the Rockford Art Museum.
What would you like to be remembered for?
That I was a caring person with integrity who helped make a difference in the quality of life for others.
If you had been born now?
I would be smarter, have more technical ability and have exposure to many things at an early age.
What do you love to do but hardly ever do?
I enjoy cooking and entertaining but hardly ever take the time to do it.
Three things you do to relax:
Reading, visual arts, time with family.
Comment from Sandi Uram, who nominated Furst:
“Darlene leads women to places they never imagined they would stand and she stands with them, because her greatest reward is giving of herself. Not only does Darlene volunteer to make the community better, she achieves results in doing so. She has spent more than 30 years serving our community as a good citizen, effective corporate leader and generous volunteer known for her imagination and resourcefulness. She never seeks the limelight, and her favorite cause seems to be any people in need.”
