Today’s
spotlight shines on Shelby Systems’ Training Department Manager: BILL
BALLOU.
After almost two
decades with Shelby Systems, Bill has trained on just about all of the Shelby
software products over the years. He has been the department manager for the
past 13 years. Bill has an extensive knowledge of Shelby products, he leads
learning webinars and helps to write the training manuals. Making sure that
customers are getting the most out of their Shelby Systems software is Bill’s
top priority.
Let’s get to
know: BILL BALLOU
Hello, my name is Bill Ballou, and I have been a part of team Shelby for almost 20 years now. I have lived mostly in the southern U.S. and mainly in Georgia, Mississippi, and currently reside in Tennessee. I grew up a member of a Christian family with four boys as the third child. I was drawn into Youth Ministry and served in three different churches over a period of about 20 years. I followed the example of my mother who was a Director of Christian Education in her younger years. She was an active volunteer leader and once had her own youth group at home to nurture. I served a year in Mexico as a short-term missionary helping with the youth program of a church in the city of Merida in the Yucatan peninsula. I have taught the 5th and 6th grade Sunday School class at my church for about 15 years and the Confirmation class for about 8 years.
Somewhere in my years as a youth minister two women entered my life and changed it forever. I met beautiful Robin who also served in youth ministry at a nearby church and we fell in love and married in 1988. Several years later we adopted Marianne from China who was barely 10 ½ months at the time. Marianne has matured over the years into a highly committed believer who is outrageously gifted and wonderfully gregarious. She has just finished her last year at the University of South Carolina with a degree in Sports and Entertainment Management. She is working with sponsors and sponsor activations for a major sports organization.
God moved me to serve the church in a new way when I reached 45, about the time our daughter, Marianne, was turning four years old. I had come to love discovering what computers could do and helping other people use software to accomplish tasks. Through an obvious intervention by God, I found Shelby Systems and became part of the training team in 1999. In 2006 it was decided that I was the guy to manage the training team. While I have seen staff and contract trainers come and go, we currently have an incredible team that I feel blessed to be a part of and even much more blessed to be able to lead.
My duties at Shelby began as a staff trainer. I travelled all over the country to work individually with churches and show them how the software works. In addition, I would help each ministry find ways to maximize their use of this information to serve more effectively in their mission. Now that I manage an incredible team of trainers, I find myself coordinating their work with dozens of churches each week. I also work to create additional options for ministries to be trained. We have developed workshops for Shelby Financials that we offer monthly in our main office and seasonally in key locations across the country. Just this month we are launching our newest training option called MPower University (MPowerU) which currently offers courses on Shelby Financials. Customers can learn at their own pace as an economical alternative to having a trainer work with them Onsite or via Live Online Training. My team is continuing to work to create more courses and more learning options. These new opportunities help to empower the ministries we support in using their data to further the work of the kingdom.
I love helping
my team and customers solve problems because I grew up in a home where puzzles
of all kinds were prevalent and actively encouraged. Did I mention my mom had
four boys to contend with? I am thrilled to help churches discover how to make
software and data analysis a tool for ministry. Like most of the people I talk
with at Shelby and Ministry Brands, I see that as part of my ministry to the
church universal.
My name is Bill
Ballou, and I am a Shelby Systems team member.
Learn more about Shelby Systems Training