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Hello my name is LeeAnn Piano, and I am the owner of Noteworthy Training. And it’s my
pleasure to be here sharing my experience with the Illinois SBDC. You know I grew up
right here in Oglesby, Illinois. And after attending IVCC, I wanted to see the world,
and so what better way than to become a flight attendant. And that is what I did for Midway
Airlines. I spent nine years flying for Midway out of Chicago Midway Airport and really got
my bug for training in the In Flight Training Department. It was a sad day when the airline
went under in the early 90’s, but it allowed me to get into something new. And I got into
sales. I became a Corporate Account Executive with PageNet and was selling telecom in the
Loop of Chicago, again involved in the new hire sales people and the training process
there. I was then recruited after about 6 years by a software company. Went in as a
Product Trainer, a Sales Trainer and eventually promoted to a National Sales Manager with
that company. And I had the privilege of traveling around the world presenting our software solution
to major airline carriers and rail companies. I was in a company that had some weak leadership
and a very unclear vision for their business. And as you all know that’s a recipe for
disaster. We lost two of our major accounts, and I found myself in a position about 4 years
ago to get back to what I truly love doing and that is training. I interviewed, auditioned
and was hired by Fred Pryor Career Track, and I have spent the last four years traveling
all over the U.S. and Canada presenting seminars on leadership, team building, and customer
service. But about a year ago, I came to the Illinois SBDC here at Illinois Valley Community
College, and I talked to them about my desire to start my own training business. And I got
some great information, some great ideas on how I can market my business here in the community.
I also was encouraged to join the Chambers, the local Chambers, and begin to network there,
which I am happy to say I did. I’m a member of IVAC and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.
And I also got some great insight into the community, got reacquainted with the community,
and really found out what the business needs were right here in the Illinois Valley. And
I guess what I bring to the table as far as what my business can offer is not only my
training expertise and all the experience training nationally and internationally, but
I have this great passion, a great enthusiasm to help business owners, and their staff,
really go to that next level. Now how do I do that? I do that by helping them improve
their customer service. I help them increase their productivity and effectiveness and efficiency
of the staff. I do a great sales training and also help them improve their interpersonal
skills. Because as you all know, when you put people together in a group with all these
different personalities, sometimes it’s a real challenge. And I also help the leaders
enhance their abilities in coaching, confronting, delegating, and motivating. So I just want
to say to the Illinois SBDC that it’s really been a pleasure working with them. I have
gained a lot of wisdom, a lot of knowledge, a lot of instruction. And I thank them for
their continued encouragement and their continued support.