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TempStaff ’s
Carolyn Boteler & Jamie Higdon
Dani Edmonson
Making a difference can be a family affair.
Carolyn and Sidney Boteler, of Florence,
raised two daughters who chose careers that
involve helping others. Daughter Bethany
Sabins is a nurse practitioner in gynecologic
oncology at UMMC, while Jamie Higdon
co-owns and oversees the operation of
TempStaff along with her parents.
More than 40 years ago, Carolyn Boteler
ventured into a position with then-called
Norrell Staffing Company, now TempStaff.
After years of working her way up the ladder,
Carolyn, along with husband Sydney, bought
the company in 1991. It is here, as a child,
Jamie discovered her interest in office
management through tasks such as watering
plants, taking out the trash, and the now-extinct
art of filing paper.
Even while working on her undergraduate
courses, Jamie continued helping out at
TempStaff. “When I attended Mississippi
College, I became Carolyn’s college grunt for a
while, but then she kicked me out of the nest
and told me to find my own job,” Jamie
recalled. “I worked for a year at the Phi Theta
Kappa headquarters in Jackson,” at which
point an interesting opportunity presented
itself at TempStaff.
“A position came open in the accounting
department,” Jamie said. And since Carolyn
had always encouraged Jamie to focus on the
accounting aspect of her business major, the
decision to rejoin forces with her parents
seemed obvious. Twenty years later the familial
co-owners of TempStaff have found that the
secret to maintaining a working relationship
with anyone, especially a family member, is
simply trust.
“The previous owners trusted me completely,
which is something I’m very thankful
for,” Carolyn said. She learned this was one
important way to create an environment that
people wanted to work in. “The trust factor is
probably the most important thing. I don’t
ever have to be concerned that our company
will not be put first by every member of our
team. We both feel that way.” With their high
employee retention rate, it is clear staff
members believe they, too, will be put first by
Carolyn and Jamie.
Both women share a passion to help others,
and together they created a benevolence
mission that connects their workforce with the
community they love. Jamie explained that
over the years their staff has voluntarily
participated in an outreach program they call
The Sprout Initiative. “We wanted to ‘help
grow Mississippi through charitable giving’
with a focus on local non-profit organizations
and the name just made sense. We find local
nonprofit organizations that might be
struggling to meet their goals. Whatever our
staff chooses to donate toward this effort, we
match dollar-for-dollar,” she said. Over the
years, they estimate their collective efforts have
given out more than $40,000. “We feel the
need to give back because our community has
helped us to reach 40 years.”
Both women heap compliments onto the
other, but they admit making it work all these
years meant they had to “trust” their personal
and professional instincts regarding working
together. “When Jamie came into the business,
it was a big adjustment to both of us because
she sort of wanted to tell me how to do my
Hometown RANKIN • 43