Town leaders greeted the new franchise owners of Express Employment Professionals on Aug. 17 at the company’s offices in Miami Lakes. Shown above left to right are: Fred Senra, president of the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce; Edward Pidermann, Miami Lakes town manager; Jorge Alvarez, chair of the Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee; former Co-Owners of Express Employment Professionals and husband and wife, Gwendolyn Wood and Michael Huffaker; Yamina Izquierdo, front office coordinator, Express Employment Professionals; Rick Clementz, the new general manager of Express Employment Professionals; Inge Beeker, new Co-Owner, Express Employment Professionals and Caleb Wilson, new sales manager, Express Employment Professionals. Not shown is new Co-Owner Elizabeth Beeker.
Gwendolyn Wood and Michael Huffaker have helped 100s of companies in South Florida find quality employees, and matched an estimated 5,500 people with light industrial, office services and professional jobs.
After 13 years of building the business, they have sold their Express Employment Professionals franchise in Miami Lakes and will retire.
“I will miss working but that is overshadowed by the things I’ll be able to spend time on,” Michael
Huffaker, 73, said. “My wife and I very much enjoy traveling. We do hiking and skiing and we’d like to do more."
The company is at 16010 NW 57th Ave. in Miami Lakes.
The new co-owners of the franchise are also a married couple: Inge Beeker and Elizabeth Beeker.
General Manager Rick Clementz and Sales Manager Caleb Wilson round out the leadership team.
“We are very excited that Mike has trusted us with his franchise,” said Rick Clementz, the general manager. “Miami Lakes is an exceptional community and Mike has been passionate about his role in helping Miami Lakes.”
Huffaker opened the franchise in 2008 with his wife Gwendolyn Wood.
“One of my favorite successes was a homeless woman we placed as a temporary receptionist at one of Miami Lakes’ most prominent companies,” Huffaker said. “She eventually moved up through the organization to become executive assistant to the CEO.”
He also remembered a client who excelled on several assignments and was recognized as a national finalist for Employee of the Year for Express Employment Professionals, beating out more than 500,000 associates for the award, he said.
Huffaker has also been active in town activities. He served on the Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee for 10 years and chaired the group from 2017 - 2019.
Huffaker and Wood are looking forward to the next phase of their lives. They plan to eventually move to Colorado, where he is originally from.
Said Clementz, “We look forward to continuing [Mike’s] legacy in the community.”
The new franchisees will tackle a market burdened by the pandemic which also has more job opportunities than workers available to apply for jobs.
“We are in an unprecedented time with a nationwide workforce shortage,” Clementz said. “[We] feel confident that the processes we developed will help job seekers and employers match, to ensure that we are giving people life-changing opportunities while helping the businesses in our community fill their vacant positions.”
Huffaker turned over the keys to the business to the new owners during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 13.