Bob Funk: Doctor of Hope

By Bob Burke and Dave Gillogly 

Bob Funk wanted to be a preacher—to help people. Instead, he found another way to assist people in need—finding them jobs. In the past quarter century, he has led Express Personnel Services to become the largest franchised, privately-held staffing company in the United States and has put millions of people to work.

Bob grew up on a dairy farm in a small town in Washington. That experience and his Christian upbringing gave him the passion to be a preacher, farmer, and businessman. Through the success of Express Personnel, Bob has been able to fulfill his life’s dreams through ranching, public service, business, philanthropy, and preserving the heritage of his adopted State of Oklahoma. He also has become a major player in Oklahoma sports, owning professional baseball and hockey franchises and promoting tennis and rodeo events.

His amazing success story is filled with exciting experiences such as ventures to seminary in Scotland, driving trips behind the Iron Curtain and to the Holy Land, and building one of the nation’s most successful businesses from the ashes of another company.

Through it all, Bob has stayed true to his mission to help others. Based upon a life of integrity and hard work.