Happy Clients
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Rick did a small assignment for us and stood out as a great person to work with. His knowledge of the US retail world and perhaps, more importantly, his total professionalism at work easily set him apart! I look forward to working with him again.
Srikrishna Vadrevu, Founder/CEO, SigMax E Services
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For most of my life, Rick has been a dear family friend. But when I needed it most, Rick helped mentor me through a challenging time in my career. While looking for a new role, he helped me put together thoughtful messages to hiring managers, optimized my resume, and generally provided encouragement and advice throughout the process. Even now that I have a great career at a great company, I can still count on Rick to take his time to help me grow both personally and professionally.
Steven Giannoni, Account Development Representative: Capgemini
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It's rare that anyone would get to report to a manager who is also a coach and mentor-but I did when I worked for Rick. He came to the Oregon location highly regarded after having successfully opened up the Spokane (WA) Apple store. Shortly after arriving, he implemented his clear vision for improving our store on all fronts. Our NetPromoter scores went up, store sales went up significantly (multiple-fold), and most importantly he led our team in a way that inspired confidence in ourselves. I miss the days of working under "very competent and warm" Rick, he would be a valuable resource/asset to anybody that requests his services.
Charles Romer, Marketing & Communication Coordinator: Deaf Bible Society
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From Atlanta to Tokyo to Manila to Seoul to Sydney, I have had the pleasure to work with Rick and grow and develop under his leadership in many different countries and roles. It is a rare opportunity to have boss who was / is as invested in his people and as engaged and involved in my professional growth as Rick Planos. Rick is a genuine leader who speaks from the heart and you can count on him for honest and thoughtful feedback. Rick taught me how to have professional courage and to think outside the box and to be a risk taker. Even though it has been 20 years since I have worked directly with Rick, we still speak or text weekly. He remains my professional "go-to" & mentor, I trust and value his advice, opinions, & thoughts on my professional growth. I continue to learn and grow from Rick and 20 years later he still sends care packages of articles or things he thinks I might enjoy learning about! I would not be the leader I am today had I not had the opportunity to learn and develop through Rick's coaching and mentoring.
Tory Bradley, REGIONAL Sales Manager: Le Creuset
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I have known Rick for over 20 years, first as my Supervisor at Warner Bros. Studio Stores and now as a friend and peer. As a Regional Manager for WBSS, we opened 15+ stores in the Midwest Region during my tenure with the company. He was a key player in establishing baseline operations, product ideas, visual standards and customer service expectations for our new business. Creating a team environment through consistent communication, hiring the best managers and sales associates in each market and tailoring goals to specific markets are strong skills that Rick has mastered. A sharp understanding of the whole package of a customer experience, from beginning to end and repeating, is how Rick generates impressive sales growth.
Bethany Simpson, District Manager: Soft Surroundings
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Rick is a passionate, forward thinking and dedicated volunteer who is committed to teamwork and delivering a high quality wish experience to our families. He is a pleasure to work with. He is consistent in timely communication, thoughtful questions, family support and innovative ideas to bring joy to our wish children. He earned the Volunteer of the Month title quickly in his time as a Wish Granter, and has proven beneficial with unique family situations, mentoring other Wish Granters, public speaking on behalf of the organization and building relationships with external vendors and constituents. We're lucky to have Rick!
Lauren Levin, Wish Experience Manager: Make-A-Wish® Illinois
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I highly recommend Rick Planos as a candidate for employment. I worked with Rick when he was a Director of Stores at Omaha Steaks. Rick is a transparent and ethical leader that engages his team to reach organizational goals. He is strategic when he implements organizational plans, creative/innovative when he encounters challenges, and he strives for excellence. Rick would be a tremendous asset for your organization and has my highest recommendation.
Carmen Sirizzotti, Director Compensation, Staffing & HRIS at University of Nebraska Medical Center
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Rick has been an active volunteer at Curt’s Cafe in Evanston for several years. Rick has been exemplary both in his work with our students and coaching them. One thing that is very important in our program is consistency so our Students do not feel abandoned by volunteers coming in and out of their lives. Rick has always been respectful of his volunteer shifts so our Staff and our Students can feel valued and respected.
Beyond his work in the cafe, Rick has been able to apply his business skills to improve our onboarding and mentorship programs. Rick’s ability to pivot his business skillset and apply those principals to a non profit has been very helpful. Our team found Rick's input so valuable that he was asked to Mentor our Vice President of Operations.
Rick’s resourcefulness resulted in our appearance on a national podcast that garnered our cause many new followers. Not only did the appearance build or followers but also assisted with a very generous donation.
I would recommend Rick as a multi faceted leader with a solid understanding of both the retail and non profit worlds. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Susan Garcia Trieschmann, Executive Director, Curts Café
*Curt’s Café improves outcomes for young adults living in at-risk situations through work- and life-skills training. www.curtscafe.org
Letters of Gratitude
Dear Mr. Planos,
I cannot thank you enough for allowing us to join Cavan in his Make A Wish at Disney. We never expected to receive the opportunity to do something like this to such a degree. We had so much fun at Disney World, Gator Land and Universal Studios. I particularly enjoyed the Hall of Presidents and Star Wars. I am also grateful for the wonderful food that was provided at Give Kids The World Village. Give Kids The World Village was filled with so many kinds and wonderful people, it helped me and my family forget the ugliness that unfortunately plagues the world. It was a place where everyone was always happy. Considering I’m usually a pessimistic kind of person this felt weird. A good kind of weird, that made me think, “Hey maybe the world doesn’t have to such so bad. Maybe the world could be like this.” It’s a shame the world isn’t like that, but at least there are places like Give Kids the World Village and I forever grateful. Thank you, this has been truly a great experience that I will never forget.
Forever grateful
-Rhian
Dear Mr. Planos,
Thank you so much for the amazing trip. Disney was so much fun, the rides were great and the parks were so cool. I loved being at Give The Kids The World. Everything was perfect, the food, the beds, and the room itself was amazing. There was so much to do, and so much to have. I can’t believe there are so people so good of heart like the Make A Wish Team, but I am greatful there are. You bring smiles to everyones faces and especially mine. I wish I could have stayed longer. But time flies when you’re having fun right. I will never forget this trip, and I will never forget you and the great people that work with you.
With more thanks than I can give,
-Nolan
Dear Rick,
Thank you so much for the Year of Plenty. You all went above and beyond with all of the wonderful events and activities that you planned for Cavan and our family. You are so special and will always be considered FAMILY to us.
Cavan’s wish to go to Disney was granted and fulfilled beyond our expectations. The looks on all of the boys faces when they got to see the things they wanted to see. Rhian’s smiles when he was at Hollywood Studios and got to see all of the Star War Droids just proved that he still has a little kid in him. He had smiles that we haven’t seen in a very long time. Chewbacca, also would not take no from Rhian on a hug. It was priceless. If he was giving all of us hugs Rhian was giving him one to. How can you say no to a Wookie.
Nolan was so awe inspired by the complete kindness and genuine compassion that the people at Give Kids the World gave to us. He wanted to spend so much more time there. He can’t wait to go back to visit and volunteer there like so many of the crew at the village. Nolan really enjoyed Gatorland but was disappointed that he couldn’t play Marco Polo with the gators. He’s such a crazy kid.
Cavan had dreams fulfilled that I don’t think he realizes that not many kids have a chance to encounter. He was taken prisoner by the Storm Troopers and brought to Kylo Ren’s lair. He got a massive hug from a Rookie, he participated in Jedi Training and got to defeat Kylo Ren. He got to feed and train dolphins, visit Chubs the Manatee, and feed and zip-line over a pool of alligators. He of course go to visit the African Safari and Animal Kingdom, which I think may have been the highlight but it does change from day to day.
My highlight of course the dolphins and meeting all the Star Wars characters, although Darth Vader was not available for my visit. LoL. But I can’t wait to go back someday and just visit Harry Potter’s World. I could live on Butter Beer. I was really transported into another world. But most of all it was the smiles of my children filled my heart with so much joy. It really gave me a wake up call that Rhian and Nolan have really been through so much throughout Cavan’s three years of treatments. So this trip allowed us to give them something to take part in that was really special for them.
Give Kids The World allowed us to rest in a bubble for a full week. It was a place of no judgements, no discrimination, but rather genuine kindness and love. The people there are the world’s true angels. They welcome you with open arms, their positive energy abounds from every angle and becomes a huge part of you. We can’t wait to visit and become volunteers there in the future.
Thank you, are two words that just do not seem enough for all you have done. All I can say is that you have changed our lives for the better and have helped our family grow closer. Each event was a magical experience that was showered with fairy dust and moonbeams.
You will always be a part of the Fazzini Family. Please keep in touch with us.
All my love,
-Kim
Dear Mr. Planos,
Thank you for the amazing trip.
Thank you for letting me Zip Line over gators.
Thank you for Disney World where I got to see the Hall of Presidents. I really thought they were all real people. I got to take a picture with Pokemon at Epcot. My brother’s were so jealous.
Thank you for letting me go to Universal Studios where I got to meet and take a picture with my buddy “Blue” the velociraptor. Even though my brother tried to feed me to him I knew he wouldn’t eat me. I got to see dino skulls at the dino restaurant there to. I had so much fun defeating Kylo Ren. I loved Chewbacca, his breath smelled like chocolate bars. The Spiderman, Transformers, and Star Wars 3D rides were amazing.
I loved the Safari at Animal Kingdom where I saw giraffes and elephants but the crocs were my favorite. I even found a animal specialist who gave me a very private tour of the African area and I learned that naked mole rats are not not affected by cancer cells. So there are a lot of studies done on them to see what is in their genes that doesn’t allow them to get sick.
At Sea world, I got to feed and train a dolphin. There were so much fun and very naughty. They laughed every time they got us wet. Naughty dolphins.
Where we were at GKTW I played in the Dino Putt everyday. It was so cool, and being able to visit with the sick triceratops that was really from the movie Jurassic Park. They also have the best scrambled eggs that they made me for dinner to.
Thank you for making all of this happen for my brothers and me.
Your Make A Wish Buddy,
-Cavan
Dear Rick,
What an incredible experience! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed as we were boarding the limo on our way to the airport as we were departing Chicago. Even though I am a nervous flyer, I was able to relax and enjoy the flight to Orlando. Having a Make-A-Wish representative to greet us at baggage claim and get to our car allowed me to forget about logistics and just “be”.
The folks at Give Kids the World were so kind and bent over backwards for us. The one-week escape from the “daily grind” and all the bad news in the world was invigorating.
The parks were so much fun. To see the smiles on my kids faces - smiles like I have not seen in a long time - brought tears to my eyes. Revisiting the “Buzz Lightyear” ride after 10 years, the VR rides, The Roller Coasters, the animal interactions, the thrill of zip-lining over alligator marshes, the photo ops with the X-men, Transformers and The Star Wars characters… The “Fast-Passes” saved us 36 hours of wait time! (I kept a tally.) That was like getting an extra 3 days at the parks! We were able to do so much more.
I am especially grateful that we were able to take a couple of extra days to drive to Fr. Myers to visit my mom who we have not seen in nearly ten years.
I seem to be fumbling over words to express my gratitude for what you have done for my family and me. I believe this experience has led to a new closeness that we have not experienced before. We cannot wait to go back and visit Cavan’s “Star” in the Castle of Miracles., and his commemorative Paver stone that will be placed on the grand walkway of the village when we go back to volunteer.
My heartfelt THANKS to you for working to give us this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
-Dave