Oct. 17 workshop features local business leader

Good business demands great customer services, and a popular workshop offered by Seward County Community College and the Liberal Area Chamber of Commerce will shed fresh light on how to accomplish that goal. This year’s fall workshop features a new speaker who has made a name by providing excellent service to local customers: Al Shank Jr. of Liberal.

Shank will present “Customer Service and Valuing Others” from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 26, or in another session from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 17, on campus at SCCC. Cost is $49 per person, and participants may register though the Business & Industry division at SCCC.

The key to maintaining and recruiting a loyal customer base is affirming every individual’s value. The “Valuing People” customer service philosophy applies both internally and externally to any business. This workshop focuses on providing customer service basics, examining case studies, and provides employees and employers with tools for application.

Shank began his insurance career in 1974 with the agency. He is president of the firm and holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter and Accredited Adviser in Insurance designations. Al is a past president of the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents and has served as National Director on the Board of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.

He is a graduate of Leadership Kansas and Leadership Liberal. He has chaired the boards of Leadership Liberal, the Southwest Medical Center, International Pancake Day, Liberal Parks and Recreation Board, the Administrative Board of the First United Methodist Church, the Seward County Republican Central Committee, and currently serves as Treasurer of the Seward County Community College Foundation. He is a past president of the Liberal Rotary Club and served on the Kansas Highway Advisory Commission. Al is a graduate of the University of Kansas and has received the Clodfelter Award from the KU Alumni Association for service to local alumni and currently serves on the national board of the organization. As a member of the University’s 1975 Sun Bowl team he is part of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

His agency, Al Shank Insurance celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2016. He has authored articles on customer service in Kansas Independent Agent and Broker Magazine, Agent and Broker Magazine, and Rough Notes Magazine. Al Shank Insurance has been recognized as a Best Practices Agency by the Independent Agents and Brokers of America 17 years since 1995 for outstanding agency operation and customer service.

Shank will present “Customer Service and Valuing Others” from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 26, or in another session from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 17, on campus at SCCC. Cost is $49 per person. Register now though the Business & Industry office at SCCC. For information, or to obtain the registration form, call 620-417-1170, or email bandi@sccc.edu.