Shannon Ralston might very well be performing in symphony halls around the country as a classical musician, if not for a change of mind during her senior year of high school.
Adept at playing the clarinet and oboe and having performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, Ralston was offered several music scholarships; but while volunteering as a candy striper she knew she wanted to care for the sick and elderly instead.
So she applied for and received a four-year ride to college on an Army ROTC scholarship to become a nurse. Although today she no longer tends to patients, Ralston is still very much associated with nursing.
As CEO and president of Angel Staffing Inc., Ralston, 36, has become the solution to major medical facilities seeking to fill positions for registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses and certified nurse’s assistants, as well as surgeons, obstetrician-gynecologists, urologists and other medical professionals.
Two of Angel Staffing’s biggest clients are Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Medical Center. At BAMC some 50 full-time Angel Staffing nurses are employed in the Burn Unit, while the company has 60 full-time medical transcriptionists and medical record clerks at Wilford Hall.
“We supply full-time equivalent nurses, and other medical professionals,” Ralston said. “At Wilford Hall, they have so many positions that can’t be filled by government service workers or active duty personnel, so they contract those full-time positions out to contractors like (Angel Staffing).
“We either bid on those contracts or are awarded them based on prior performance, which must be outstanding. We’ve never had a contract not be renewed,” she said.
For 2007, Angel Staffing reported earnings of $7.2 million, Ralston said, adding that the company has 14 administrative staff members, as well as 300 employees and 1,000 volunteers. The company has launched two new divisions: Angel Volunteers, which recruits and trains volunteer nurses for the Metro Health Department’s emergency preparedness program, and Angel Direct places medical personnel in doctors’ offices.
The Kentucky native did not always enjoy such sweet success. In 2002, she was a single mom struggling to make ends meet while working as a bone marrow transplant nurse at a local hospital and moonlighting at another for extra cash. One day the thought occurred to her, why couldn’t she start her own staffing firm, pay nurses what they are worth and be her own boss.
Her guardian angel must have been paying close attention because before long Ralston was working with the U.S. Small Business Administration to develop a business plan, and on Sept. 24, 2002, Angel Staffing became incorporated. It received its first contract and hired its first employee in January 2003.
“I started this business to make some changes in my life and to have a better life for my son, who was 2 at the time,” she said. “I also started my own agency to give nurses the benefits they need and wages they deserve.”
Success, however, has not come without adversity. In 2004, Ralston experienced a major setback when her former business partner attempted to take over the company. “I had to leave to bury my grandmother, and I came back to be locked out of my company,” she said.
What ensued was a six-month court battle to regain her company. It resulted in $100,000 in legal fees – and the loss of a $15 million contract.
“What I learned was you can’t truly enjoy success unless you’ve hit rock bottom,” she said. “That obstacle turned me into the businesswoman I am. There are a lot of people who are loyal, and if you are true to yourself you will find people who will support you. I’m a stronger person and realize the way you treat other people is a significant factor in how successful you will be for the rest of your life.”
In addition to BAMC and Wilford Hall, other clients include Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, Baptist Medical Center, El Centro Del Barrio, Laurel Ridge, Methodist Hospital, Kindred Hospital, North Austin Medical Center in Austin, San Antonio Orthopedic Surgical Center and others.
Jeff Fields, chief operating officer, has been with Angel Staffing for three years and said the company’s success can be credited to its CEO.
“Shannon does things a whole lot different than anyone else,” said Fields, a former 20-year Army nurse. “I think that’s where her success lies. To be a corporation and still have that small business-feel, and to reach out and care so much about other people, all that comes from her.”
Another achievement for Ralston was the purchase of the 2,200-square-foot office building at 1202 E. Sonterra, Suite 501, in Stone Oak Parkway; and the 37th Contracting Squadron at Lackland AFB recently named the company Contractor of the Year 2007.
“I’m extremely proud of her accomplishments,” said her 58-yearold father, Tim Ralston, the company’s executive vice president. “She’s gone through some hard times and has clawed her way up the hill. She has her strong points, and I have mine, so we complement each other. I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with her.”
Ralston’s father is not the only family member who works with her. Managing partner Shane Walls is the father of her 8-year-old son, Dakota.
“When she started her company, she took it to a whole different level versus other staffing companies,” Walls said. “She pays her employees better than others, and she always negotiates on their behalf. She’s such a good and caring person, but she’s also like an attorney. She’s smart and business savvy.”
Her other office companions are her canines Molly, 14; Sophia, 13; Maisey, 6; and Tony, 3.
“I love being with my puppies, and I’ve always been a huge animal advocate,” Ralston said. “They’re my goodwill ambassadors, and they all have name tags. Several of my employees bring their animals, too. It works out well. Everybody gets along.”
Angel Staffing boasts a less than 1 percent turnover rate, which the CEO attributes to the way the company looks after its own. A prime example involves Ralston’s director of staffing Jennifer Delgado. After she began working for Angel Staffing a year ago, another staffing company for whom Delgado previously worked accused her of violating a non-competitive clause.
“Shannon stood by me until we were out of the lawsuit,” Delgado said. “She had my back every step of the way – court dates, depositions, hearings, and here I am.”
True to her humanitarian spirit, Ralston is big on giving back to the community. During Hurricane Katrina, Angel Staffing volunteered to coordinate more than 750 medical professions and 7,500 hours to local shelters. For those efforts, the company received the Small Business Award by United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County in 2006 during its annual Volunteer of the Year Awards.
Although gone are the days of daily interaction with patients – including her favorite stint at the Veterans Administration Hospital, where she cared for one of the last surviving World War I veterans, who was 108 – Ralston admits she misses nursing.
“I still keep in touch with the families of patients who are deceased,” she said. “You get to know your patients in such wonderful and intimate ways. I hope all the nurses who work for me take advantage of that everyday.”
For more information on Angel Staffing please visit angelstaffing.net.
