Cunningham’s Company Brings Benefits to Others

Former Fultonian creates professional employment business
By Denia Fields, Sun Gazette staff

Kathryn "Kat" Cunningham praises her Fulton roots for giving her a sense of belonging, appreciation of neighbors and a good reason to behave.

"If I did something, I knew my mother would hear about it," she says sitting behind her desk. The atmosphere in the office is warm, but the busy environment says people are at work.

Cunningham is the founder and sole owner of Moresource, Inc., a Columbia-based professional employment organization. Many companies come to Moresource to provide their employees with benefits they otherwise couldn’t afford. They also let Moresource handle their staffing needs so they can concentrate on other aspects of their business.

A professional employment organization actually hires its clients’ employees and leases the workers back to the companies-usually small businesses. Moresource, which currently employs more than 2,000 workers, is able to provide attractive benefits with volume purchasing.

"Small businesses typically don’t have the economy to offer a full benefits package to their employees," she says. A small Moresource client-company can be competitive with larger ones, Cunningham said.

Small business owners hitched up with Moresource can offer benefits such as 401(k) savings plans, medical, dental and life insurance – traditionally benefits given only to large company employees.

"With low unemployment and large employee turnover, businesses need to put more on the table in order to keep them," Cunningham said. "Money isn’t everything."

Some employees like the Moresource benefits so much that "if they are being wooed by another competitor to go to work, they will tell that employer that if they’re not signed up with Moresource, they’re not leaving," Cunningham added.

Kimbell Construction in Fulton is a Moresource client. Owners Jim and Robbin Kimbell save time by using Moresource to handle all of the small business’ workers’ compensation and payroll.

"It is an excellent company," Mrs. Kimbell said. "it allows us to offer our two employees benefits at a lower cost than what we could on our own.

Moresource employers are updated on policy and business law changes through a monthly management newsletter. A quarterly newsletter with information on benefits and work tips is published for employees.

Established in 1994 as Multi Services, Inc., Moresource began with a staff of five that served 20 to 25 companies. It has since grown to a 15-member staff serving 175 companies in 13 states. It’s clients employ from one employee to more than 100.

Moresource has enjoyed a 30-percent annual growth and present annual revenues are more than $33 million, Cunningham said.

"I began by cold-calling, but now the business is walking in the door," she said.

A 1982 graduate of Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Cunningham majored in Recreation and Leisure. After graduating she was offered a job that would put her bachelor’s degree to work for her, but instead she chose a job that paid 25 cents an hour more. That job was with J.H. Ware Trucking in Fulton.

She credits her experience as personnel director at the trucking company form 1982-1989 for giving her the entrepreneurial start she needed. As a personnel director, Cunningham became familiar with employment duties such as hiring, payroll and benefits.

"Think about it: for 25 cents an hour more, the course of my life was set," she said.

Cunningham was born at Fort Still in Lawton, Okla. When her father died in Vietnam her mother, Louise Mitchell, moved her family back to Fulton to live with her grandmother, Lucile Powell.

Cunningham lived in Fulton from 1971-1991. She graduated from Fulton High School in 1978, voted by her classmates as the "class clown."

In 1985 she met Kent Cunningham. The couple married in 1986: "it was love at first sight," she said.

The couple has two sons, Brian 11, and Ryan, 10. The family loves to attend football games, especially to see the Tigers at the University Missouri-Columbia.

Although she frequently visits family in Fulton, she misses the close-knit community. "It’s a place where you know everybody."

Cunningham sees the future of Moresource as one of continued growth. "We are averaging three to four new companies per week, so we are very close to the 200 mark."

She also hopes her company will grow by offering more services, such as full accounting and home and vehicle insurance.

Moresource is located at 2101 Vandiver Drive, Suite B, Columbia. For more information call the company at (573) 814-1234 or 1-800-495-5678.

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