Shannon Bahrke was born and raised in Lake Tahoe, CA and moved to Salt Lake City, UT in 1998 to pursue her dreams of earning a spot on the U.S. Ski Team and ultimately competing for the USA at the Winter Olympic Games. She made the U.S. Ski Team that very same year and continued on the path of success for the next twelve years. She competed on 6 World Championship Teams, 3 Olympic Teams, brought home 2 Olympic Medals, 7 World Cup wins, 1 Overall World Cup Title, and 6 National Titles.
Since her retirement in 2010 she and her husband, Matt, opened their first company, Silver Bean Coffee, which they sold in 2013. She wrote a children’s book titled “Mommy, Why Is Your Hair Pink?” and launched a leadership development team building company called Team Empower Hour. She was also named a 2019 Utah
Business Forty Under 40 award winner! She continues to keep her plate full by integrating Team Empower Hour into a multitude of businesses, delivering inspirational keynotes around the globe, working as a Ski Champion for Deer Valley, and raising a 7-year-old little girl named Zoe and a 2-year-old boy named Tucker.
Part of the Right Time Watches family
Colorado is home
Have been full time at our family store since diapers, but full time since 2003
Run the service department along with a little marketing, a little bookkeeping, a little sales…
I have three boys 6 and under and a Yellow lab named Chase
We love going on adventures in the 4x4 adventure van! Camping, hiking, fishing…
Harris Botnick began work in the jewelry industry after completing training with the Gemological Institute of America in 1988. Harris, and his wife Geri, opened Worthmore Jewelers In Midtown Atlanta in 1993 with the desire for a jewelry store that would cater to all groups. Worthmore Jewelers expanded, with partner Joan Wasser in 2008 adding a second location in Decatur, Georgia.
The original goal of offering top quality jewelry and watches at great prices has since expanded, and the Worthmore Jewelers of today offers unique, eclectic pieces that can’t be found in other stores coupled with a passionate staff to deliver the best possible experience to Worthmore’s customers. Worthmore Jewelers also specializes in custom design, jewelry repair, and watch restoration. Worthmore has been named Best of Atlanta by numerous media outlets, Best to Do Business With by JCK, Coolest Store in America by In Store Magazine, Member’s Favorite by American Express, and Best of Yelp.
Harris most enjoys Worthmore’s unique atmosphere where a surprise is always right around the corner and customers are sure to leave with a smile on their face. Harris feels a big part of Worthmore’s success is thinking beyond the box. One of his favorite quotes is “Be yourself, everyone else is already
taken.” Oscar Wilde
Ross has been involved in the jewelry industry for over 20 years, helping retailers learn to run
their stores more effectively and grow their businesses. Prior to co-founding Punchmark, Ross worked at the Independent Jewelers Organization (IJO) as Marketing Coordinator. He attributes much of his industry knowledge to paying close attention to the business models and relationships between retailers and vendors, learning how the jewelry industry functions as an ecosystem.
With Punchmark being the leading jewelry website design agency, Ross has realized that this comes with a responsibility. His mission for Punchmark is to represent jewelry stores in the best possible light, while generating sales and saving time for store owners and managers. He learned that this can only be achieved by listening to clients, paying attention to the latest trends in technology, and focusing every possible effort on helping clients grow their digital presence.
Jennifer Dawn is a Whole-Life Business Coach and owner of Jennifer Dawn Coaching, founder of Best Planner Ever and Best Journal Ever, and author of The Joy Guide: Finding Your Joy In A World of Crap.
She provides business coaching for the Forbes Council, Young Entrepreneur Council, American City Business Journals, Predictable Profits, Training Mastery 3, and One Source Coaching.
Jennifer began her entrepreneurial career selling apples off her grandfather’s tree because a lemonade stand was so “yesterday”. She’s a serial entrepreneur who has grown several multi-million dollar businesses, is a successful speaker, and author. She helps motivated entrepreneurs master their goals, achieve a mindset for success, and build remarkable businesses and lives through whole-life productivity and coaching.
Jennifer is a master at setting and achieving goals, problem solving, profitability, and cash flow.
Learn more at www.JenniferDawnCoaching.com or www.BestPlannerEver.com
Rachel Dery, G.G. is the Director of Communication and Outreach for Gem Legacy. She spends her days communicating with the individual initiatives and telling their stories through Gem Legacy, the East African focused 501(c)3 nonprofit. Rachel has visited each of the Gem Legacy initiatives in her six visits to East Africa. Rachel spent her first years in the industry marketing for retail jewelers before returning to the family business, Roger Dery Gem Design, wholesale precision faceted colored gemstones with a focus on giving back.
Tim Glasgow's career in the jewelry industry has spanned 39 years, holding key roles in store operations and merchandising for large jewelry organizations such as Bailey Banks & Biddle and Helzberg Diamonds. He provides a unique perspective as he started as an assistant manager and through consistent performance of a team, worked his way to Sr. Level positions throughout his career. Tim’s development and skill sets can be attributed to receiving world-class training and mentoring by some of the most successful executives in our industry. His passion - Performance through people and a focus on necessary behaviors that impact key performance indicators, resulting in sales growth and team spirit.
Laurie Kottke, gemologist and jewelry expert, is, by her own admission, a lover of lace, sparkle and all things feminine. She has been in the jewelry business for almost 40 years and began her career when she was 16 years old. Fortunately for Laurie, a manager at her first job encouraged her to go to the Gemological Institute of America and she became a graduate gemologist. After graduating from the GIA, Laurie returned to Minneapolis and worked in a jewelry store for twenty years. In 2005, she was ready to strike out on her own, and she opened Laurie Kottke Fine Jewelers in Calhoun Village. Laurie has developed a new business model to adapt to the changing climate of retail. She is focused on creating the experience of buying jewelry in an elegant, boutique environment where she is able to work closely with clients.
Barbara Palumbo is an editorial writer, journalist, and podcaster who primarily covers the jewelry and watch worlds. With a career spanning twenty-tour years and a background in wholesale and retail sales, manufacturing, and marketing, her extensive knowledge along with her quick-wittedness paved the way for her to become one of the industry’s most well-known female voices. A two-time Women’s Jewelry Association nominee in the category of Excellence in Editorial Media and frequent speaker at various industry trade shows and events, Barbara credits her devout following and success to her ability to reach readers through her chronicles, humor, and realism.
Over 35 years’ experience in retailing, in every capacity of sales management, operations and training, in companies ranging in size from 1 to 1000 stores having held senior operations and training executive positions with JB Robinson Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Sterling, Inc. and Littman Jewelers prior to founding Performance Concepts in 1998.
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She currently provides training and business consultation services to retailers, manufacturers, designers and trade organizations worldwide.
Peter Smith is an industry veteran with more than thirty-five years’ experience in both wholesale and retail jewelry. He is the president of Memoire and Hearts On Fire (Chow Tai Fook, North America) and a columnist for National Jeweler and The Jewelry Book, where he writes about the retail experience. He is also the author of two books, Hiring Squirrels – 12-Essential Questions To Uncover Great Retail Talent and Sell Something, Principles and Perspectives for Engaged Retail Salespeople. Smith is a graduate of Boston College and the Key Executive program at the Harvard Business School.
Ben’s entrepreneurial journey began when he co-founded one of the first Millennial-focused research and strategy firms in 2009. In 2015, Ben launched The Smithee Group, a Digital Growth Agency with a mission to empower entrepreneurs and businesses to dream bigger and achieve multi-generational integrity.
I create meaningful relationships with jewelers and empower them by turning them into efficient and effective photographers without the huge time investment and fancy equipment. Coming from an engineering background, I am able to offer an unorthodox approach to problem-solving and innovating ways to help solve the industry-wide issue of jewelry photography.
