The Select Group UAH donation

Sheldon Wolitski, Founder of The Select Group and former UAH hockey player on the 1992-96 teams pledged $500,000 in support of the Charger hockey program on Jan. 27. The announcement at Spragins Hall also included a $10,000 donation for the Coach Ross Suite there. Couch Doug Ross was influential in bringing Wolitski to UAH and lead the 95-96 team to a National Championship. (Michael Mercier/UAH).

(Michael Mercier)

By Jennifer Statham

Sheldon Wolitski, the founder and CEO of the multi-million dollar company The Select Group, attributes much of his success to his time playing for the Chargers hockey team at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

However, Wolitski says his time in Huntsville was almost finished before it began, when he ended up in the hospital in 1992 after fighting off two would-be robbers.

As a freshman at UAH, having been on the Chargers team mere weeks and far from where he grew up in Alberta, Canada, Wolitski says he escorted two girls to their apartment to protect them in a "bad neighborhood."

"Two guys broke into the apartment and they didn't know I was there. I walked into it with the girls screaming, and one of the guys had a knife to one of the girl's neck, and the other guy had the other girl pinned," Wolitski said. "A big fight ensued and I started fighting the two guys. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with 80 stitches."

He was ready to pack up and head back to Canada until his teammates convinced him this was not a usual happening in Huntsville.

"Everyone rallied, the team, the boosters, the coaches, everyone rallied around me and that was the reason why I stayed. If I didn't have that I would have probably went home," Wolitski said.

Wolitski ended up graduating from UAH in 1996 with a degree in marketing. He played hockey at UAH from 1992 to 1996. In his last year, he was on the school's first NCAA Division II Hockey National Championship Team.

Sheldon Wolitski (8) of the University of Alabamaa in Huntsville goes for a shot against the Bemidji State Beavers during the Division 2 Hockey Championship March 9, 1996, in Huntsville. Huntsville defeated Bemidji State 3-0. (Mark Davis/NCAA Photos)

"What a lot of people don't know is that as I was looking at different schools to go to get a scholarship. Huntsville, or UAH, was the only school that took a chance on me because my grades were not the best coming out of high school, focusing on only hockey," he said. "Doug Ross, the coach, he knew that going into it and he still gave me the opportunity where no other school would do that for me. I don't know where I'd be in life if they didn't give me that chance to prove myself."

Wolitski went on to start his own staffing company in 1999, called The Select Group. Today, the company has 13 branches across the U.S. and Canada, and in 2016 brought in $131 million in revenue. The Select Group, "provides managed services, direct placement, and contingent staffing services" to a variety of industries.

Wolitski got to give back to UAH and Huntsville in January when he donated $500,000 to UAH. He wants to help solidify the hockey program at UAH, in the future, possibly helping to fund a center on the UAH campus geared towards "student life," supporting the hockey and basketball programs, as well as the performing arts at the school. Wolitski also gave $10,000 toward the renovation of the coaches suite at Spragins Hall on the UAH campus.

Wolitski said helping to strengthen the hockey program at UAH and giving back to Huntsville has been a long-time dream. He said, "I want my kids to play there one day, you know."

Recruiting economic fuel

Wolitski brought The Select Group's 13th branch to Huntsville in January.

"I know that I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for the years that I spent in Huntsville. It's just so many defining moments in my life," Wolitski said. "I've always wanted to find a way to come and give back, in multiple ways, not just with the donation to UAH but also to bring some economic fuel to the community."

What Huntsville needs, Wolitski said, is trained recruiters, who live here and can talk about the progress being made in the area and industries, who can sell the opportunities in Huntsville.

"We place some of the top technical talent in the U.S. and Canada," he said. "People are looking for top talent. They're looking for a place to raise a family, a good cost of living, great companies, a technology hotbed, and Huntsville has that. We want to be able to bring some of that talent into the Huntsville area."

The Select Group is committing to the creation of 500-plus jobs for the Huntsville area within their first three years here, Wolitski said, to be generated through companies that have positions open, or jobs that The Select Group brings through "outsourced managed service projects."

The Select Group will also add value to the market, he said, by initiating "round table" talks in Huntsville. The Select Group has had success being a "connector of executive IT" in other cities, such as Raleigh, N.C. and Washington, D.C., and they want to do the same in Huntsville.

"It's about bringing all the brilliant minds together in a room to talk about what are the key issues that they're facing right now, so they can all collaborate and develop a network" Wolitski said.

The Select Group's goal is to have regular "roundtable" meetings with several IT executives beginning in the summer.

The Ross connection

Wolitski got his first break-away toward the goal of a Huntsville branch when a fellow Charger, Jared Ross, contacted him.

Ross is the lead account manager at The Select Group's newest branch located on the square in downtown Huntsville. He is also a former Chargers hockey player and the son of the former UAH Chargers coach, Doug Ross, who coached 25 seasons at UAH from 1982 to 2007.

Ross grew up in Huntsville watching his dad coach hockey, and while in middle school even watched Wolitski play for his father's team. He attended Grissom High School before moving to live with family in Michigan where he could play high school hockey.

Ross came back to Huntsville for college at UAH, where he played hockey for the Chargers also under the coaching of his father. Ross went on to play professional hockey for 11 years, with six years in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League in the U.S., and then five years playing pro-hockey in Germany.

Ross and his wife Evy always knew they wanted to live and raise their children in Huntsville, near both of their families.

"I love the way Huntsville has come through the years," Ross said. "I've seen it develop and grow from what it was back in the 1990s and I've seen the way the city's done a great job at developing the downtown area, Bridge Street, and now the old Madison Square Mall area. It's every five years or so that something cool or new is coming, so it's great."

When Ross finished his professional hockey career, he ended up asking Wolitski for career advice. After talking with Ross, Wolitski said he knew Ross was the right leader to bring The Select Group to Huntsville.

Ross, who has a degree in business management, spent three months at The Select Group, Washington, D.C. branch, before helping to open the Huntsville branch. He hopes to bring his business and team player experience to The Select Group in Huntsville.

"It's a goal-driven, motivated position where it's competitive. There's different goals you set for yourself to try to meet. That's something I did yearly playing professional hockey. Also, obviously, to go in and build personal relationships with people that's something we did yearly," Ross said. "There's players coming and going, new people, new friends, new faces, new coaches, new managers, always. So, to be able to relate to people, to be able to be personable, those are all things that I think professional hockey players have to have even though that's off the ice stuff. But those things are what translate to being successful here."

Ross will serve as the lead account manager for the Huntsville branch, working alongside Delivery Manager Keith Murray, and Associate Delivery manager Jonathan Pierce. The Huntsville group reports to Manager of Branch Operations Kelly Dominguez, and Regional Director Chris Rhine, both based in Washington, D.C.

"We're looking forward to being able to bring people jobs, bring jobs to the area, and find jobs to support local companies," Ross said. "It feels really good when you're able to find a candidate that needs something and you're able to place them, that's one of the most gratifying things about this job. It's such a good feeling to be able to do that for people."