Steve Gardner
After
graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in
Psychology in 1991, Steve was hired by Nancy Lauterbach, Founder
of FIVE STAR Speakers & Trainers. Steve's father, Dick
Gardner, introduced Nancy to the business in 1978 when he hired
her at his company, the National Association for Sales
Education. N.A.S.E. was one of the first companies that produced
the large sales rallies in the late 1960's and 70's. Dick
was one of the first people to pay Zig Ziglar a fee and he
produced hundreds of events where he also hired Norman Vincent
Peale, Paul Harvey, Art Linkletter, Bruce Jenner, Maxwell Maltz
and other giants of the industry. A pioneer in the industry,
Dick was killed in an automobile accident in 1981. In 1982 he
posthumously received the Council of Peers Award of Excellence
(CPAE - the Speakers Hall of Fame) by the National Speakers
Association.
From 1991-1994 Steve was the top salesperson for FIVE STAR
where he primarily booked keynote speakers for his corporate and
association clientele.
In 1994 he left FIVE STAR Speakers & Trainers when he was
hired by one of his clients. From 1994-97 Steve was the Director
and Producer of a series of senior level executive conferences
on the subject of Innovative Thinking and Branding, which took
place in Scottsdale, AZ, Cape Town, South Africa and Lima,
Peru.
During that time he hired more than 40 of the most renowned
business thinkers including Peter Drucker, Edward de Bono, John
Kotter, C.K. Prahalad, Peter Senge and Charles Handy, among many
others. In his first year running the program he was responsible
for nearly doubling the attendance to more than 325 and
quadrupling the revenue to over $600,000. The program in Lima,
Peru was the first program on the subject of branding ever held.
While there, he was asked to provide a proposal for the
development of an image campaign for the nation of Peru by the
Prime Minister and Vice President of Peru. With the significant
civil and social challenges taking place at the time, including
terrorism and political corruption issues, he pulled the
proposal from the table. (there's a lot more to this story)
During his time in Phoenix he served on an advisory board
for the Lee Anti-Aging Clinic, a leading anti-aging clinic in
the industry. He was also an advisor to the Greater Phoenix
Economic Council where he served with many of the top business
men and women in the city.
He returned to Kansas City in September of 1997 due to
family health challenges, returning to FIVE STAR in October of
that year.
Upon his return, he quickly re-established himself as the
top salesperson in the company. His focus changed from booking
keynotes as he had in the early 90's toward more training
oriented programs.
He has spoken at several industry events since 2002
including local NSA chapters in Oklahoma, Texas and California,
a regional conference in North Carolina and the annual
convention in Texas with the Past President of NSA. In January
of ‘06 he was a part of a 3-member faculty team, which taught
a 4-day branding course for more than 120 professional speakers.
He has also taught a 1.5 day course to athletes on how to become
a professional speaker.
Steve is a member of the Executive Committee for the
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, Professional
Business & Financial Network, an organization dedicated to
helping athletes transition to their post-playing careers and OT
Magazine.
In his career he has sold more than $7 million in speaker &
trainer fees and related services. His clients include
PricewaterhouseCoopers, JP Morgan Chase, Wachovia Securities,
Texas Instruments, and many of the leading associations in the
country.
He has also been an advisor to 1-800-AMERICA, a charitable
foundation whose focus is on helping charities be more
effective. He has also served on boards for the Greater Phoenix
Economic Council, and The Lee Clinic, a leading anti-aging
clinic.
Personal interests:
He has gone skydiving 5 times, active with his church,
Heartland K10, he has 4 kids, Hope born in 1998, Brendon born in
2000, Joshua born in 2005, and Timothy born in 2007. He met the
love of his life, Cathy, in Le Louvre art museum in Paris,
although they grew up 10 minutes apart in Kansas City. They have
been married since 1994.
