MIAMI – For 15-years, Buffy Butler has dedicated her life to ministry -- until recently. The chief operating officer for Antioch Missionary Church of Carol City, purchased a national human resources franchise, NEXTAFF, and will officially open for business September 5 in Lauderhill.

While Butler has dedicated her career to ministry, she says her decision to transition from church operations to owning her own HR business was a natural one for her. “HR was actually a suggestion from a business owner that I found a direct placement for,” she said. “Helping the community find employment is something that I have been doing for years through the church. It is something that I am deeply passionate about -- an extension of my work in ministry. It is gratifying to me to utilize my expertise and skill set to help those of the South Florida community,” said Butler.

Butler will focus on connecting business professionals with employers throughout the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami area. “We are excited about this new journey and know we will be able to make a difference locally,” she said. “This is an especially critical time for us to open our doors to the community. According to the New York Times, employee pay is the lowest share of GDP since 1947 and the gap between top wage earners and other workers is growing.”

The new business owner believes her experience in church operations will play a major role in the HR profession and running a business. “While our specific focus in the church is to minister, churches are multi-million dollar corporations. My 15-years experience in ministry, as a chief operating officer, is no different than the experience of any corporate professional overseeing a similar budget,” she explained.
Throughout her career, Butler served as her church’s point person in several high profile events such as visits by President Bill Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela; she was also instrumental in planning the memorial services at her church for U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown; and she served a congregation with a $20 million endowment used to benefit the community. She has nurtured relationships throughout the metro area and developed partnerships with Dolphin Stadium, Calder Race Course, South Florida Workforce (SFW), City of Miami Gardens, Miami Gardens Jaycees and many others.
But Butler feels her most noteworthy accomplishment was spearheading one of the largest job fairs in SFW's history by facilitating a partnership between Dolphin Stadium and SFW. “Over 4,000 attendees, 80 employers and 10 community-based organizations turned-out for this event,” she said. “It was incredibly rewarding to be a part of this endeavor.”
While Butler intends to reach-out to the church community in the form of lectures and coaching sessions, she will target municipalities in the area of temporary staffing and direct placement and will recruit mid-level-to-executive level HR and operations professionals. As a certified minority and woman business owner, she will also reach-out to the minority community of South Florida.

Butler has over 15-years management and operations experience as chief operating officer for Antioch Missionary Church of Carol City; church administrator for Coral Gables Congregational Church; and director of operations for Metropolitan Baptist Church. She attended Howard University where she majored in Sociology. Additionally, she studied at George Washington University in their management specialist program and at Emory University's National Institute of Church Finance and Administration. Butler is a member of the Miami Garden Jaycees; chair of the Miami Gardens Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; member of the National Association of Church Business Administration; member of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee in the City of Miami Gardens; and alumni of the Rotary Foundation's Group Study Exchange to South Africa in 2001.

NEXTAFF is a national hiring organization with professional capabilities, surpassing traditional job searches and placement to managing comprehensive, in-house HR departments. Combining over a century of industry expertise, NEXTAFF assists businesses with identifying, evaluating and acquiring talent to achieve any hiring task. Their unique blend of professional services, positions NEXTAFF to become a premier providers of human capital solutions in the Miami Metro.

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To learn more about NEXTAFF, go to www.nextaff.com. To schedule a media interview with Buffy Butler, call Valerie Jennings at 913.549.3117 or send an e-mail to info@jenningspr.net.