Clients make a scene over Act 1 personnel agency.

When the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake hit, the L.A. County Department of Social Services needed hundreds of extra workers to process food stamp claims. The four personnel agencies the department already contracted with couldn't supply enough, so it called on Act 1 Personnel Services, said Ronnie Levine, executive assistant at Act 1.

"Due to the emergent nature of this 24-hour operation, large numbers of workers were needed as quickly as possible to process the applications," according to the Department of Social Services. "Act 1 provided quality temporary staff, and all the staff were very cooperative in this endeavor."

Within less than two days, Act 1 had supplied the department with 200 workers, Levine said. Act 1's sophisticated computerized networking system enabled the company to select temps with the necessary skills in a timely fashion, said Act 1 owner Janice Bryant Howroyd.

Howroyd, an African-American woman, founded Act 1 in Beverly Hills in 1978. During 1993, Torrance-based Act 1 sent out 17,000 W-2 forms for part-time workers it employed and had revenues of about $36 million, Howroyd said.

On July 19 the Southern California Regional Purchasing Council awarded the company the 1994 Supplier of the Year Award in the category consisting of minority-owned companies with $10 million or more in revenues. The council is a privately funded association of 225 major corporations in Southern California that aims to link up the companies with minority-owned businesses to give them contracts.

Act 1 was nominated for the award this year by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and Southern California Gas Co.

Torrance-based Toyota nominated Act 1 because it "had a better grasp for what our needs were and fulfilled what we needed," said Dale Carmichael, national purchasing manager for Toyota.

When Toyota requested graphic artists who could work on a temporary basis from time to time in its graphic arts department, Act 1 satisfied its need while other personnel services couldn't, Carmichael said.

Toyota representatives spoke with other personnel services companies about their need for temporary graphic artists, but these services said they didn't keep a stock of such temps. Act 1 said it could supply them, he said.

Toyota first made its requests for graphic artists back in 1991. At that time many companies in the entertainment industry were downsizing, and Howroyd, who was well-connected there, culled artists from those companies, she said.

At one point in 1991, AT&T Corp. requested personnel for 12 different types of clerical jobs, including secretaries, word processors and telemarketers, in 30 Southern California cities. Act 1 was able to fit the bill, and could offer better rates than other personnel services, said Rochelle Batti, associate purchasing specialist for AT&T's Western region.

At SoCalGas, Act 1 was the only personnel service to get a perfect rating on the company's quality review in May, Howroyd said. The score was given based on the fact that Act 1 temps fit their positions well, arrived on time and didn't take off a lot for personal time, she said.

Act 1 didn't train these temps, but they performed well because they were matched up well with their positions, Howroyd said. As a result, they were happy with what they were doing and with the environment around them and wanted to perform well, she said.

Act 1 was able to provide AT&T with what it needed because all ACT 1's regional offices are connected by a computer network that provides accurate service in a timely manner, Howroyd said.

Although Act 1 contracts with several major corporations, the bulk of its revenue comes from serving retail clients, Howroyd said. But she wouldn't reveal the names of any of those clients for competitive reasons.

Howroyd founded Act 1 to place non-acting members of the entertainment industry. Her family was in both the business and performing end of the industry, she explained.

Also, she needed only a telephone and a small office to start a service placing personnel because she didn't have to put these workers on her own payroll, she said.

Eventually she started getting requests from companies outside the entertainment industry and for other than part-time personnel.

In 1984, she branched out to serve other industries and to place full-time workers. Now only about 15 percent of her placements are for full-time positions.

She started opening other offices in 1981, and eventually moved the company's headquarters to Torrance in 1990, Howroyd said. The company now has 18 offices in California and is opening five more, both in and out of state, this year.

Act 1 had revenues of $27 million in 1991, $30 million in 1992 and $36 million during 1993.

Also through her work she met her husband. She is married to Bernard Howroyd, owner of Apple One Employment Services, the seventh largest temporary placement service in L.A. County, according to the Business Journal's List.

The two met through their involvement in the employment industry and married in 1983, five year after she started her business, she said.