NPAworldwide is saddened to inform the membership that longtime former member, Dave Small, passed away earlier this week.
Dave owned Scientific Placement in Houston, Texas. He served on the board of directors, including a term as president, and was the co-recipient of the inaugural Chairman's Award in 1996. Dave was the leading voice in pushing NPAworldwide to move into an electronic sharing system and away from paper distribution of candidates and jobs. He led the charge to develop our initial sharing tool (4D) and our later FileMaker Pro replacement, and was an early adopter of Apple products. Some of Dave's friends in the network have commented:
"A former President / Chair of NPA, Dave always had our Board and Organization on the cutting edge and forefront of our industry. In my mind he took the Placement industry from what at one time was viewed as little above a Used Car dealership and transformed the stature and image to one of professionalism, integrity, and respect." --Jim Gifford, J. Gifford, Inc. (#5515)
"Dave brought us all into the electronic age of recruiting and conversing with clients when many of us were resisting change and not understanding the virtues of office computerization." --Mike Pettit, Channel Personnel Services (#5722)
"I’m not sure I would still be in NPA and maybe not even still be in business if I couldn’t have picked up the phone back then and said, 'Houston, we have a problem.' " --Lora Lea Mock, Professional Recruiters (#6656)
If you would like to share a memory of Dave, please contact Veronica Blatt at NPAworldwide. Our thoughts are with Dave's wife, Jane, and their family during this time.