History and Purpose

Meeting Needs, Changing Lives

In April of 1969 a franchise of Electronic Systems Personnel was purchased in New Orleans by a man named Bill Troth, who had moved from Birmingham, Alabama, initially to start a branch of a construction firm he was employed with. ESP concentrated their recruiting efforts in the area of what at that time was called Data Processing. The company also did accounting and finance placement. When the headquarters of ESP in St. Louis folded shortly after the founding of the New Orleans group, Bill changed the name of the company to Accounting Personnel Consultants.

In 1974, Bill Troth left the company to attend Dallas Theological Seminary for the purpose of pursuing what he sensed was a call into vocational Christian ministry. Today, Bill is the director of a ministry in Decatur, Alabama. When Mr. Troth left the company, he was succeeded by another Bill, Bill Fagan. Bill had earned an undergraduate degree from Tulane in both Business and Electrical Engineering. He also had a Harvard University MBA under his belt. Bill experienced a great bit of success at Louisiana Gas Company, but left there in 1973. Having met Bill Troth, Bill invited Mr. Fagan to start the engineering placement arm of Accounting Personnel under the name, Engineering Personnel Consultants.

During those years from 1974 to the end of 1981, the companies did well. But in 1982, mainly as a result of the downturn in the oil and gas industry, the business was financially crumbling. Mr. Fagan instructed his staff that as of March 15 he would be leaving the business and any interested group or person could purchase it from him. A staff of 14 quickly dissolved to two. Dawson Nesbitt and Frank Loria became the remaining 2 employees of the company, eventually purchasing it from Mr. Fagan. Dawson had joined the firm in 1980 and was placing accountants. Frank, who had joined the company in 1979, was responsible for the placement of Petroleum Engineers and Geoscientists.

The economy began to thaw a bit and Dawson and Frank added an Information Technology Recruiter as well as another Accounting recruiter, eventually starting the temporary accounting/bookkeeping staffing division in 1987. They even added a part time secretary!

In 1988, Dawson felt it was time to leave New Orleans, so he, his wife, Alice, along with their three children set out for the hills of North Carolina to settle in Winston-Salem. Frank found himself alone but with a vision for something that could make an impact.

Since that time the firm has grown from the three specializations of Accounting and Finance, Engineering and Technical, and Information Technology to include Attorneys and Paralegals, Sales and Marketing, Clerical and Administrative. Thus the change of names from Accounting Personnel Consultants and Engineering Personnel Consultants to a more inclusive and encompassing name, The Personnel Consulting Group.

The mission statement is very brief but to the point: "Meeting Needs, Changing Lives." It's PCG's history, and by the grace of God, it will be PCG's future.