SEPTEMBER 2007
www.wln-abwa.com
Empowering From Our President - Pat Kolodziej
Education Is The Most
Women Important Thing
To empower women to That was what my father always told
succeed in business personally me. “Education is the only thing that
and professionally through matters. I don’t care about anything else
networking and education but to see you get an education.” I cannot
tell you how many times my father said
while building key relationships
this. Needless to say, I was the first in
and having fun! my family to obtain a college degree.
My father was very proud but of course,
Dinner Meeting Photo
Inside This Issue
always encouraged me to continue with
Collage my education. Eventually I obtained my
Page 2 Masters degree – my father was ecstatic!
The one thing I will never forget my father
Member Spotlight: telling me was “education is the only thing
Jackie Prehn that no one can take away from you”. It’s
T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc. true – think about it. You can lose a job,
Page 3 money, your house, etc. However, once
you obtain an education (of any kind),
Never Give Up you have it. It’s yours – no one can take
Page 4 it from you. This is why education is so
powerful! Think of all the education you
Dates To Remember have, think of all the classes you have
Page 4
taken, even the cooking class you took one
summer. Remember the time that you took
Meet the Board/ out of your personal life to study or take
Ambassadors exams. It’s hard work and takes time but
Page 4 remember the feeling of accomplishment
after passing an exam, getting an “A” or
receiving your diploma? There is nothing
Monthly Meetings better than that feeling! And it’s yours
2nd Wednesday of each month – forever.
The WLN is going to start presenting
Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiono
educational programs that the ABWA has
1542 Randall Road created for us. We plan on presenting
Algonquin, IL 60102 one in the fall and one in the spring and
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM hope to add to these programs. Since I
$35.00 (includes dinner) was little, education was important to my
father. Now that
I am a business
owner and mom, I
can admit that yes,
he was right. I now
too have this same
belief that education is the most important
thing in life (yes, my boys are in trouble!).
This is why I am making this educational
programming my top priority. I think we
naturally search for more information and
education. We are always wanting and
yearning for more. So with this, I want to
offer these programs to our members.
I want our members to grow their
businesses but along the way obtain tools
and ideas that can assist them in doing this
better, smarter and more efficiently. We
can always learn a new technique or learn
to master one that we already know.
Unfortunately, in school, you learn a lot
of business but they rarely teach you the
“soft” skills. Most of the time, you learn
these skills as you go or as “on the job
training”. We hope that these programs
will make it easier for you to run your
business or do your job. We encourage
you to take advantage of this member
benefit. With this programming, you will
also obtain education credits through the
ABWA. The ABWA compiles and tracks
your credits on your behalf. It is my hope
that you attend these programs and we
continue to educate our members.
Remember, no one can ever take
education away from you!
August’s
Phot
o Collage

JOIN US

Members and guests enjoying dinner and networking at the August Meeting!
 Life is partly what we make it,
and partly what it is made by
the friends we choose.

r/ T ra in e r S t acia Skinner of
Speake S o lutions, Ltd. mber!
e T ra in in g
Creativ to come in Nov
e
at training
More of her gre

We mi Wine Tasting Event - Au

ssed gust 17th
Wine T you at the
Hope asti
to see ng!
the ne yo
xt eve u at

!
Don’t miss out on nt!
the networking,
training and fun!
Plan on making
the next meeting.
We’ll see
you there!
 Spotlight
Member
Jackie Prehn design.
T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc. I learned so much from each of these
positions and feel that all of these
and JP Greetings experiences have played a roll in getting
me to where I am now.
T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc. started out as a
T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc. source for cards and awards for leaders
Train ß Recognize ß Inform ß Motivate
within the direct sales industry. It has
since expanded into a graphic design
Artistic Computerized Creations
Graphic Design
source for small business marketing
JP Greetings
Desktop Publishing
materials and newsletters. I also create
A DIVISION OF T.R.I.M. DESIGNS, INC. awards and motivational items for
managers to present to their staff and for
GREETING CARDS INVITATIONS ANNOUNCEMENTS volunteer organizations.
JP Greetings is the “not business as
Tell us a little about your background usual” portion of my professional career.
and your current business. Everyday greeting cards, customized
invitations and announcements are
I have been a business owner since available.
1999. First, as a Tastefully Simple
Consultant for 5 years, and now as How did you get involved in WLN?
the Founder/President of T.R.I.M. Any success stories?
Designs, Inc. and JP Greetings. Before I was introduced to WLN through Pat
owning my own businesses, I worked Kolodziej, my accountant and neighbor.
as a commercial interior designer for 7 Doreen Langereis, from Cruise Planners
years and then helped my husband run and also a neighbor, has encouraged me
his commercial custom woodworking to join as well. Since joining just a few
business as the Office Manager. My short months ago, I have been working
education background is in art and
Never Give Up
Sir Winston Churchill took three years crowd rose in appreciative applause.
getting through eighth grade because he With unmatched dignity, he settled
had trouble learning English. It seems the crowd and stood confident before
ironic that years later, Oxford University his admirers. Removing the cigar and
asked him to address its commencement carefully placing the top hat on the
exercises. podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting
He arrived with his usual props. A audience. Authority rang in Churchill’s
cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied voice as he shouted, “Never give up!”
Churchill wherever he went. As Several seconds passed before he rose to
Churchill approached the podium, the his toes and repeated: “Never give up!”
“Success means
having the courage,
the determination,
and the will to
become the person
you believe you
were meant to be.”
George Sheehan
with Norine Wiebmer designing her
marketing pieces for her business,
Image with Impact.
I am excited for not only the potential
business relationships ahead, but also
for new friendships. When I was
with Tastefully Simple, we had many
meetings and conferences - all designed
to keep us trained and motivated. Once
I left that environment, I really missed
that feeling of community - a great
group of women all working for the
same goals. With WLN, that feeling can
once again be had!
What keeps you ahead of your
competition?
I pride myself on outstanding customer
service! The importance of this has
made it my focus. I also feel that
the customizing of my products and
services in addition to the low quantity
options make T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc. a
perfect source for a small business who
may have a limited marketing budget.
You can reach Jackie at:
(847) 289-8007 or jprehn01@comcast.net
His words thundered in their ears. There
was a deafening silence as Churchill
reached for his hat and cigar, steadied
himself with his cane and left the
platform. His commencement address
was finished.
Board Members Dates To Remember
President Pat Kolodziej
PK Tax Services Monthly Meeting: September 12, 2007
Day Phone (847) 858-5074 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, Biaggi’s in Algonquin
Email patk@pktaxservices.com
Come and network with the wonderful women of the WLN!
Progressive Dinner including dessert.
We’ll learn about each other as we progress through a three
Past President Kathy Hardtke course meal.
Milestone Mortgage
Day Phone (847) 458-9300 Run for the Bear: September 30, 2007, 8:45 AM
Email khardtke@mmsmtg.com Algonquin, Illinois
VP Programs Lisa Davidson This is a great opportunity for us to unite as and give back to
Northwest Mutual help children who are less fortunate.
Day Phone (815) 444-3779
Email lisa.davidson@nmfn.com September 20-22, 2007
ABWA National Conference in Greensboro, NC

Leadership Event: For Board Members and Ambassadors at

VP Events Lisa Krupp
Island Relief
Richardson’s Farm Cornmaze. September date TBD.
Day Phone (847) 707-2132
Email Monthly Meeting: October 10, 2007
lkrupp@islandreliefcharity.org 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, Biaggi’s in Algonquin
Jennifer Jeffries-Work Life Balance with Humor (Published
author and coach from Australia)
VP Admin. Kris Freeman

Day Phone
Body Talk Practitioner
(847) 975-9406
Coming at the November Meeting - Part 2:Invest in Yourself
Email freemankris3@earthlink.net and Improve Your Skills

VP Marketing Mary Ann Muscat Stacia Skinner is the owner of Creative Training Solutions,
Milestone Mortgage Ltd. a franchise of DEI Management Group. She has over
Day Phone (847) 458-9300
Email mmuscat@mmsmtg.com 20 years of sales and training experience and brings a very
upbeat and enthusiastic feel to all her trainings.

The series will wind up in January with Part 3: Selling Skills and
The 10 Characteristics of World-Class Salespeople.
VP Finance Anne Ward
Creative Core
Day Phone (847) 854-1111

Ambassadors
Email anne@creativecore.com

VP Membership Robin Braga

Silpada Designs Membership: Siree Sandberg Bakakos and Susan Skawinski
Day Phone (312) 259-8032 Visitor Welcoming: Norine Wiebmer
Email rbraga1@hotmail.com
Events: Kathy Glink, Wendy French and Deirdre Reishus
Programs: Terri Williams
Marketing: Jackie Prehn
Are you interested in becoming an Ambassador? If so, please contact Pat Kolodziej
at (847) 608-6451.

Newsletter designed by
Jackie Prehn, T.R.I.M. Designs, Inc.
Women’s Leadership Network
847.289.8007 • jprehn01@comcast.net
www.trimdesignsinc.com
www.wln-abwa.com