Ginnie Floraday shifts focus from general classes to individual consulting
If you’ve taken a SMACNA Greater Chicago software training course, chances are you’ve learned from Ginnie Floraday. For over two decades, she’s helped SMACNA GC members get more out of their computers — saving time, money and headaches. Her no-nonsense, focused teaching style has set the bar for SMACNA Greater Chicago continuing education instructors, but this is her final year teaching general classes. This fall, Ginnie’s focus will shift to individual company consultations for training and troubleshooting, and SMACNA Greater Chicago will continue to offer members free, remote one-on-one software training hours with Ginnie.
Ginnie’s computer training odyssey began in the early ‘80s as the training director of a Chicago bank diving into the new world of personal computers. During a visit with the ComputerLand Training Director, Ginnie shared her desire to get into PC training, leading to a training gig with ComputerLand and the launch of her career.
Ginnie purchased her first personal computer in 1980: a brand-new IBM XT and a top-of-the-line dot matrix printer that set her back nearly $10,000.
“It took 45 minutes to print a spreadsheet, and everyone thought that was fantastic,” Ginnie said.
Early in her career, Ginnie found her way into all kinds of businesses and organizations for on-site training. One training session at AMS Industries turned into the company’s owner asking her to teach at MCA of Chicago, where she met Laurie Leonard. Through that connection, Ginnie’s expertise made its way to SMACNA Greater Chicago.
Fast forward 24 years, and things
have changed a lot. Ginnie said she’s had to make her sessions move faster to meet modern attention spans, while still providing clear explanations that’ll stick with her students long after the sessions. It’s a challenge, but she enjoys teaching.
“I love questions, and I love when people interact,” she said. “I call incorrect answers ‘good mistakes,’ because they give me a chance to explain why students need to adjust their process. I think people learn better from the mistake perspective.”
Although classroom teaching has been rewarding, Ginnie finds one-on-one consulting especially fulfilling. By taking a closer look at how individuals and companies work, she helps them develop more efficient, effective processes. And that’s exactly what’s driving the next chapter of her career.
“I credit my success to the support that I have gotten from SMACNA Greater Chicago and MCA of Chicago,” Ginnie said.
A sincere thank you to Ginnie Floraday for her incredible contributions to SMACNA Greater Chicago members. We wish her good luck as she moves forward — still helping people learn enough to be dangerous!