By ReBecca Poulsen, CCE, Kimball Equipment Company

In the 1980's t.v. series, Cheers, the show starts out with the theme song singing,

            "Wouldn't you like to get away?

            Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name,

            And they're always glad you came.

            You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same.

            You wanna be where everybody knows your name."
- Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo

Rebecca Mullins, CCE, Codale Energy Service & Supplies

Customer visits are essential to the growth of any company, large or small. The customer relationship generally will begin with a sales call as the initial contact, however customer visits can influence the customer relationship on many different levels from sales to marketing to accounting.

Building relationships with customers is an excellent way to set a good foundation for future success with a company whether it is future sales or the ability to collect an account. The visit opens the door to allow the credit team to partner with the sales team which can be a constant struggle. The credit department's most important function is to protect assets and the A/R which does not always sit well with sales teams and has garnered the credit department the lovely nickname of "The Sales Prevention Department," as one of my sales managers has called the credit team many times.

By Lisa Carter, Komatsu Equipment Company

Our keynote speaker at Credit Congress in May, Brett Culp, is an independent film maker. His livelihood is to go about finding and sharing inspiring stories of those who are making the world a better place through personal triumphs, community service, raising awareness of needs and money for charity. Through his work he shows us that there is still a lot of good in the world.

Many of us find ourselves being uplifted by these stories. We probably hold admiration for those who have achieved so much. It might cause you to take a look at yourself and think "I could never do something like that." I know that is what I often do. Does this mean that I don't want to make the world I live in a better place?

By Stephanie Johnson, CCE, Gritton & Associates, Inc.

"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think."
-Albert Einstein

Our focus on education by the Intermountain Credit Education League (ICEL) and Credit & Financial Development Division (CFDD) is intense, indeed. At the very core of our organizations, we offer various education opportunities to build/grow our members and prepare them for their future. That is what we do. That is who we are. We are an education league.

Education prepares us to better perform our jobs and prepare us for future leadership opportunities. It clearly states on the NACM CFDD webpage that membership in education organizations "... is an investment in yourself! It provides a pathway for you to reach your educational goals and professional success."