Our Team

Tron Jordheim, Director of Operations is a man with a size 12 shoe and size 25 smile. Tron has been in sales since he started a garden seed operation in elementary school.

Tron is a transplanted New Yorker who fondly remembers the time at 8 or 9 years old walking up Broadway at 138th street hearing an Aretha Franklin song playing from the music store. He has fond memories of living in the beautiful landscape of Livingston Manor, NY where there was good snow, lovely lakes, meadows, and mountains.

Tron’s favorite pastimes while in elementary school and high school were music, art and hooky. He was an outdoorsman at an early age participating in softball, swimming, biking, and sleep away camps. His goal after high school was to be a Jazz composer and arranger. He has not yet achieved that goal but says that his life is full of noise and improvisations. Michener’s Hawaii, Castenada’s Don Jaun, Exodus by Uris, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Die Blech Trommel by Gunter Grass are books that have impacted his life. Tron claims the School of Hard Knocks as his Alma Mater and holds a PHD in life survival skills.

Tron is a member of the National Speaker’s Association and is much in demand for speaking engagements. He is a successful dog trainer, and has managed a rock band. He once served as a security guard for former President Jimmy Carter. When he came to Columbia, Missouri he took command of a fledgling Culligan Water territory and gave it wings. Tron helped create the PhoneSmart Call Center to help fill a need in the self-storage industry. Under his direction the Call Center soon branched out from serving StorageMart to serving self-storage facilities large and small. He travels extensively to meet industry owners and managers and offers sales training seminars and forums. He seeks change and new adventures but believes that there is much more to be done at the call center

When he is not on the road or on the job Tron tools around in a restored 1970 Impala convertible. He recalls the summer in Sonora Desert as the most beautiful place that he has ever been “Sparse and yet full of life at the same time. . . and gloriously hot.” His aspirations for the future are to show his children “clean beaches, crisp clean mountain air and tasty restaurants”

A devoted family man he shines with pride when mentioning his wife’s artistic and dancing skills and loves to spend time with his 2 children. He enjoys reading, walking and often bikes to work. Tron says the most wonderful moment in his life is when the surgeon revived him from the dead so that he could continue living. He wishes to be remembered as an inspiration to adults and children everywhere and so works toward that goal every day.

Dana Shields, Call Center Co-Director has been with the PhoneSmart call center from day one. She was hired in December, 2000. Dana was recruited by Tron Jordheim, PhoneSmart Director at the start of PhoneSmart. They knew each other from working together at Culligan; Tron saw the strong sales ability and ambition Dana demonstrated and knew she would be a foundational asset to the budding business.

Since she began in 2000, Dana has become the proud grandma of three beautiful girls, survived as a marine’s wife during two tours of Iraq and has grown with PhoneSmart as business expanded.

She has helped shape PhoneSmart from its infancy and continues to hand down her sales expertise to the call center sales force.

Sarah Little is the PhoneSmart Total Quality Assurance Services Director and also serves as the PhoneSmart Blog Editor. In 2003, Sarah began working in the PhoneSmart call center as a part time sales rep while she attended college. Her career at PhoneSmart quickly blossomed into a full time secret shopping executive position. As the secret shopping department at PhoneSmart emerged into a sales training management company, the department was appropriately renamed as Total Quality Assurance Services (TQAS).

Sarah has aided to develop the TQAS department into a profitable business and continues to raise the bar. As of 2007, the TQAS department has seen a 359% growth in revenue from it’s beginning in 2004.

Sarah and her team of account managers pride themselves in staying ahead of the curve and offering innovative sales training and secret shopping services to the self storage industry. They aim to enter other rental, customer service and retail markets in the future.

Liz Pollard, Support Staff Coordinator began her PhoneSmart career in 2002. She started by devoting part of her time to the self storage call center and the other part to the administration department. Shortly after joining the PhoneSmart team, Liz began working full time in the client support and administration department. As PhoneSmart grew, she was promoted to the head of her department.

Liz manages the client development, support staff, accounts payable and accounts receivable. As of 2007, she has helped facilitate a revenue increase of more than 266% growth in just 4 years.

Liz brings her excellent work ethic and organization skills to the PhoneSmart team. Her dedication and hard work allows PhoneSmart to operate smoothly and offer quality call center, sales training, and secret shopping services to self storage owners.

Carmen Huff is a weekend supervisor. She and her husband welcome their first child. Carmen is very happy in her new role as Ethan's mom.

Carmen enjoys writing, painting, reading a good book and listening to good music, as well as working out at the gym and laughing at a good joke.

Carmen is bilingual came to PhoneSmart by having answered an ad for Spanish speakers in the call center more than 2 years ago. She holds a B.A. is English. She likes being on the phones and is striving for her lifelong goal of being successful at whatever she does. She has 2 Golden Retriever dogs, 2 Calico cats and a rabbit.

Julio Montes is our evening supervisor and bilingual phone representative. Julio was born in El Salvador but his parents came to the Kansas City area when he was only 1 year old. They wished to escape the dangerous conditions in El Salvador after his father, while walking home, was caught in guerilla forces gunfire and survived by falling to the ground and playing dead. They spoke Spanish to Julio at home but he learned English by watching the PBS TV programs, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers and 3-2-1 Contact.

Julio’s best memory of growing up in Kansas City was his first high school play and the excitement of being in front of the audience. If he had a role in the movie The Breakfast Club he would have been the BRAIN as he was in all of the advanced classes and never got in trouble (He was a goody two shoes but has loosened up in his “old” age). Julio returned to El Salvador to visit his grandparents while in high school and remembers a beautiful black sand beach as the most beautiful place he has ever seen.

He first wished to be a doctor but the sight of blood did not agree with him and he studied electrical engineering but came to Columbia Missouri to pursue a degree in Business. Eventually he would like to have his own business. Next year he would like to be out of school and working up his own business. Over a year ago he answered a newspaper ad for employment in the PhoneSmart call center. The evening shift suits him very well as he is not a morning person and usually eats breakfast at noon. He spends his spare time with his ferrets and his wonderful canine companion "Gypsie".

Lauren Norwood, PhoneSmart Call Center Reservation’s Operator came to the call center 1 year ago after answering an ad in a local magazine. She stays on the job as she believes that she is learning valuable sales skills that she will need later on. Lauren grew up in the Kansas City, MO, Kansas City KS area. She loved participating in drill team and playing the Viola. While in High School she was dedicated to studies and was considered a “brain”. Lauren had a wonderful experience when she was offered a summer law internship which still in high school

Lauren is looking forward to a career in commercial and residential real estate and recalls reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad and the impact that it had on her view of money and work. She is currently attending college and hopes to become a real estate investor.

Lauren’s favorite past time in shopping with friends. When asked if she was a morning person she stated that she is never up to experience morning. Lauren remembers the beauty of Miami’s beaches, water, and sunshine.

Samantha Cardenas, PhoneSmart operator is happy that she will graduate from the University of Missouri in May with a degree in textile and apparel management and a business minor. Samantha spent several years in West Orange, New Jersey and loved the summers there just being a kid with no worries. In school she loved drawing, dancing and eating lunch with her friends. She loved swimming and going on vacations in the summer but hated having to take summer classes.

She describes her family as "crazy, we fight, we laugh, everything." She says that her children are her 4 dogs and 11 fish and she spends excessive amounts of money buying things for her pets.

Samantha came to the call center 8 months ago and loves the simplicity of the job. She thinks that is nice to help people out and has a compassion for rude callers who hurt themselves by hanging up on us. She really likes the people she works with.

In her time off she loves to eat a good steak with her boyfriend or lay out at the pool with her friends. She plays the piano, flute and recorder. She loves to read and remembers reading To See You Again as a book that had lasting impact on her.

The beautiful beach at Puerto Princessa, Philippines was so calm and pretty that it remains the most beautiful place she has ever been. Samantha wishes to be remembered as a sweet girl and wants to be successful to make her parents proud.

Kay Johnson, PhoneSmart Call Center operator is in her 43rd year of customer service. Kay has served as telephone operator and customer service supervisor, long-term income tax professional, and has been a sales consultant in a retail jewelry store. Her previous call center experience was as a debt counselor. She is an ordained Minister in a social justice ministry, Lower Lights Ministry of Missouri (which operates shelter care for abused women and children and stages and participates in protest marches for justice and human rights) and Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist church serving pulpit supply. She holds a Master’s Degree in Theology and is currently a Doctoral candidate. She has served as a Missionary working with migrant farm workers in the Oregon peach orchards. Kay is mother of 2 sons; one is an ordained minister and the other a United States Marshal. There are 7 grandchildren, including triplets born this year.

Growing up in the Ozark Mountains, she became a rather rugged individualist and loves the small SW Missouri city of Blue Eye. She remembers the beauty of the hills and the close-knit community that was her “village”. Kay was a “tomboy” who loved to ride barrel racehorses, ride motorcycles, and drag racing. Kay participated in track events in High School as a sprinter and ran hurdles. She played saxophone, oboe and bassoon in the school band and still plays piano and guitar. Kay toured with the gospel music group “Joyful Noise” and still sings in church choir. She also loves to sing country and western Karaoke. She has been skydiving and hang gliding.

When asked to describe herself in 25 words she responds as follows: plainspoken, independent, uppity, warm hearted, stubborn, pragmatic, outrageous, earthy, inquisitive, eclectic, passionate, unorthodox, rambunctious, giving, activist, outlandish, humorous, adventurous, sun loving, anti winter, philanthropist, political, politically incorrect, and patriotic.

She lives quietly with her 14 year old Newfoundland /Standard Poodle mix dog, Worff.

You probably don’t know that she started life left handed but it was the policy in 1st grade in that time to try to make everyone write right handed so they would not allow her to write left handed. This may be why she is often “out of her right mind”.

Glennetta Haymon moved to Columbia, Missouri from St. Louis County to attend the University of Missouri. In early school years she enjoyed riding bikes, jumping rope, and most of all flying kites with here littler sister and brother. Glennetta will graduate from college in the spring and then desires to attend law school and one day become an FBI Agent.

Glennetta enjoys working in the PhoneSmart call center and, in particular enjoys the friendships and interactions with co-workers. Glennetta is a people person who wishes to be remembered for being a loving person with a sweet personality. She has been an operator in the call center for nearly 1½ years and likes everything except the cubicles. That personality has helped to make her very successful in working with callers. There have been numerous compliments from callers and store managers.

She shares her home with an outgoing cat with an attitude but remembers that her best pet was a Husky named "Nikki".

While on a cruise with her family she was amazed by the incredible blueness of the water when the ship docked at Cozumel. She says that it was a color blue she could not describe but was the most beautiful site she had ever seen.

In her free time Glennetta loves to play the game "Dance! Dance! Revolution" and she loves to read. She also plays the clarinet, piano and recorder. When asked to describe herself in 25 words she responded as follows; "happy, sweet, kind, talkative, enigmatic, energetic, friendly, studious, money motivated, beautiful inside and out, graceful, nuts, loving, and respectful.

John Morse is a native of St Louis who came to Columbia to work for degrees in Creative Writing and Philosophy. John is a real fan of video games and avant-garde music/comedy. He had originally wished to pursue a pre law education but quickly realized that his real passion was writing. He hopes to find employment as a writer for a cartoon or comedy show.

John lists an eclectic mix of literature as having deep impact on his life and worldwide view. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Crime and Punishment, If on a Winter’s Night, Birds of America and Kavalier and Clay, are his favorites.

When not working or at his studies John relaxes by playing billiards, reading, watching films, writing and playing video games. He also plays drums, the Theremin and the Ocarina.

His favorite childhood memory is of drinking root beer on the top level of a high rise parking garage and overlooking the city at night. John drives a 1965 Chevelle and says that he is never certain, always thinking, looking for a good laugh, has to beat you in any computer game, loves writing poetry, and dislikes overly negative types.

John has been in the PhoneSmart Call Center for 6 and ½ months. Don’t you just know that he has a pet rat?

Kourtney Smith is a native born Columbia Missourian whose fondest memory of her hometown was going to the Mizzou House Decks every homecoming.  In high school she liked the musical production class and loved to sing and dance.  She is currently a senior in college and desires to graduate, move away and work for either a newspaper or magazine.

Although she does love Columbia Kourtney regards the beaches on Barbados as the most beautiful place she has been.

Kourtney came to the Call Center as an operator because she desired a change from working fast food.  She stays because she enjoys talking with people from all over the country and does not smell like French fries when she leaves work.

Asked to describe herself in 25 words Kourtney responds " emotional, loving, honest, punctual, sarcastic, creative, quiet, sensitive, strong willed, independent, down to earth, family oriented, religious. 

She loves to jog and take walks.  Flowers for Algernon, Lovely Bones, Pilot's Wife, Sam's Letters to Jennifer, Strange Fits of Passion, are books that have had impact on her life. Something that her co-workers may not know about her is that she was born 3 months premature and weighed less than 2 pounds.