Owner: Stephen R. Schmidt (Retired Air Force Lt Col and B52 pilot) is the founder of Air Academy Associates (a multi-million dollar, international consulting company.) He has more than 30 years of teaching and consulting experience in business improvement strategies, cultural change, personal growth, and team building. His “Cowboy” approach has gained him wide spread popularity and an impressive client list: General Electric, Sony, Boeing, Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin, Abbott Labs, Citicorp, Motorola, Raytheon, Dannon, NBC and many others. So respected was Steve, that he gained a trusted position as advisor and educator of top executives around the world. Because of his vast experience, he has served as an adjunct faculty member to the Motorola Six Sigma Research Institute where he helped develop the Six Sigma approach and trained the first Black Belts for several Fortune 500 Companies. Steve went on to develop Lean Six Sigma at Texas Instruments, General Electric, and Sony. In addition, he served as a Tenured Professor at the Air Force Academy and as a faculty member for the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.
Steve is also a rancher and owner of Enchanted Springs Ranch: a film location, special events venue, tourist attraction and training facility just outside of Boerne, Texas (approximately 25 miles from downtown San Antonio). The ranch is host to The Annual EarlyAct FirstKnight Convention which promotes character-building for over 50,000 young kids. Steve’s success is measured by a highly recommended rating from Oprah, The History Channel, Tony Robbins, NBC producers and over 200,000 raving customer reviews. He was also featured on an MSNBC business show. Steve wrote, produced, and acted in the Western movie, Palo Pinto Gold (an award winning film starring Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Joaquin Jackson, and Jay Novacek) and played a major role in Breakthrough with Tony Robbins (an NBC Reality Show). Steve won much praise from Tony and the NBC producers for his Cowboy approach to teaching and coaching change in human behavior and team building. Dr Schmidt’s latest endeavor is helping others to find the path to World Class Status through his new company, World Class Quest.
Dr. Schmidt has a B.S. in Math from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a M.S. in Operations Research from the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from the University of Northern Colorado. He is the co-author of the following texts: Understanding Industrial Designed Experiments, Basic Statistics: Tools for Continuous Improvement, Total Quality: A Textbook of Strategic Quality, Leadership, and Planning, and Knowledge Based Management (KBM). These texts have been used at prestigious universities such as M.I.T., George Washington University, etc., and corporations around the world. One of his books was reviewed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming and two were translated into Japanese.
“I enjoyed a remarkable day of filming at Enchanted Springs Ranch. Amidst a historically accurate 1800’s setting, ranch owner Steve Schmidt brings an incredible spirit and talent to the experience of visitors. Steve’s history as an early pioneer in Six Sigma and other breakthrough initiatives used in businesses and organizations worldwide earned him a well regarded reputation as a highly respected change agent. I watched Steve do a phenomenal job coaching people through a wide variety of challenges and future ranch visitors should look forward to the experience."
Anthony Robbins
Entrepreneur, Author and Peak Performance Coach
STAFF DIRECTORY:
Steve Schmidt, President and Film Location Project Manager
cell (210) 273-0327
steve@enchantedspringsranch.com
Vicki Schmidt, VP Finance
office (830) 249-8222 ext 201 cell (210) 273-3984
vicki@enchantedspringsranch.com
Pistol Packin' Paula, Entertainment Manager
The entertainment staff is managed by Pistol Packin' Paula, world champion gun twirler. She is the main attraction at Enchanted Springs Ranch who also trains other actors and/or stunt persons.
paula@pistolpackinpaula.com
Meredith Jakovich, Director of Sales & Marketing
office (830) 249-8222 ext. 202
meredith@enchantedspringsranch.com
Pam Strosser, Purchasing and Event Coordinator
office (830) 249-8222 ext. 203
pam@enchantedspringsranch.com
Shay Proffitt Pate, Web & Graphics Design
office (830) 249-8222 ext. 205
shay@enchantedspringsranch.com