Some people may think Schaefer Enterprises is a junk yard and I might have thought that too until I figured out it's a gold mine.  I could've never imagined that business being as successful as it is. They have people coming from everywhere, even Egypt, to get their parts so they must be doing something right!  Mr. Winkleblack sees himself as his employees' coach, and it shows.

05/10/2017

The Havisham House, a vacation rental, was so much more than I expected. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. They have done so much to it, but have left so much of its beauty. I think the people that will stay there will love it, at least I know I would. I'm so amazed at how the Schaefers do what they do, and I hope to have the drive they do in life.

05/07/2017

Schaefer Excavating was a very interesting visit, but when you visit places like this it amazes you how they make money because of all the money they have to put into the business. Then who would have thought Mr. Schaefer along with Robbie Ralls would go down to New Orleans and help after the hurricane? To then learn about 4P Waterfowl, a business owned by Colten Penrod, one of their employees, was another story in itself. I still get amazed about what Union County has to offer.

05/03/2017

Lee Hackney seems like one of the most interesting women ever. I couldn't believe all she has done. I just had no idea that she was the first woman engineer to take a ship to war.

04/23/2017

Jason Miller is a man I couldn't be. His workload seems overwhelming. He manages everything about Coad, and after seeing all there is you would be surprised. I don't know how he has time to do all that stuff. It just amazes me that one person can do all that managing of departments.

04/17/2017

Mr. Dave Prater is a very interesting man and a very entrepreneurial man also. He has multiple businesses in Anna while having a full-time job. That is what a hardworking man looks like to me. He is one who I think offers really good life lessons such as 888, which stands for 8 hours of sleep 8 hours of work and 8 hours of bettering yourself. That's some of the best advice I have ever received.

04/06/2017

You wouldn't think running a Walmart could be all that difficult but it is. There are so many orders and trucks coming in almost everyday; it's just crazy. I see that job as being stressful. But Alan Kimmel doesn't make it look like that. He does a very good job and seems to have very good help.

03/31/2017

Bryan Crain seems like a very serious man, but in reality he is really funny. From my standpoint, he runs his business very well. I never knew he had so many businesses that he was in charge of. The regulations and restrictions seem very strict. I also never realized that it is a twenty-four hour a day business and that it required so much work.

03/22/2017

When I looked at the calendar I thought First Class Cookies was going to be really fun, but instead it was more than that. It was a class I would actually like to take. It is nice to see a business that is just starting, just like ours. I hope the best for this business because it is a really good idea.

03/20/2017

The loan request day went very well for all of us. It was a very professional environment. It is the most realistic situation we have been in so far as business owners. They gave me more ideas to branch out my business. I hope that everything goes well for all of us.

03/17/2017

I feel that Andy Sisulak has been there for us all the time. I am very thankful for his generosity. He is a very busy man and it is hard to believe that he finds the time to meet with us.  He was able to make me feel confident about getting my loan.

03/16/2017

Banker Day seemed to me like it was going to be rough, but it was the complete opposite. We walked in and did a wonderful job and left feeling more confident than we already were. I got some great feedback from everyone and hardly any concerns which made me feel a lot better about my business.

03/09/2017

I was not expecting the owner of Whiffleboys Pizza, Peter Dirks, to also work for SIU in the College of Agriculture. It was also very interesting that he gave us scenarios from his agri-business background to figure out what to do if we were the business owners. It made us all think very hard.

02/28/2017

At Anna State Bank I learned a lot of things I didn't know. I didn't know that the bank had 155 shareholders or that Mr. Vicenzi and his father have been presidents for most of the bank’s time, which I found very interesting. Something I thought wouldn't happen was a business asking us CEO students to apply for a job. When Jon asked us, I felt very lucky to be in the class I'm in now.

02/14/2017

I loved Tom Harness’ idea of wearing crazy suits and standing out in public. You can tell he has a great drive for success because he is willing to get out of his comfort zone. He is also a guy that is willing to give back to the community. I'm also very glad he is willing to help us network and be successful in our businesses. He gave us personal feedback which is also nice. This week has changed my perspective on a lot of things and made me feel more comfortable with where I'm at. I finally realized how many people I have to network with and work with to make my business more successful.

02/11/2017

Listening to Chris Koch and Lewis Howes was something that changed my perspective on life. Chris Koch, who was born without arms and legs, made me realize anything you want to achieve is possible, and I cannot believe the things he has done. When I come to a challenge I feel that he will be in the back of my head pushing me to do better because of the things he has achieved. Lewis Howes is a man full of positive energy, and I think it is great that whatever situation he is in he is positive about it and he gives everyone else around him a good energy. You wouldn't think someone at the bottom of their class could achieve such greatness and success. When I see that, it gives me motivation and makes me feel like I can achieve so much in life. I also wouldn't have believed when I got there that I would find someone that used to work in our county that I could associate myself with. I'm glad everyone had a good time and that Bill Ecker could join us on this experience.

02/10/2017

Mr. Mark Chamness had an abundance of wonderful information to share with us. He was able to clarify what we need to do to register our businesses in Illinois. It all seemed very confusing at first, but the more he explained the more we understood. I found it very helpful to meet with him and for him to tell us the requirements for what we needed to do.

01/31/2017

The Gala was a great success. We did hit some minor bumps throughout the night, but we were able to overcome them. I really enjoyed seeing all the business owners and community members that we have met previous to this event. It was great to mingle with everyone and make more connections with people.

01/28/2017

I didn’t know a lot about a Rotary Club until we got to sit in on a meeting. They do a lot of great things such as community work and scholarships. They do things to help exchange students. I really enjoyed the meeting. I was happy to present our presentation to them and get applause from them which meant a lot.

01/19/2017

Josh Ditto is not only a great tech guy but also a wonderful photographer. The biggest thing I took out of the visit, was how he preached about networking with other businesses. It seems that it is something he does a lot.

01/11/2017

If I was ever to run a Lumber Business I would run it like Mr. Stokes runs his. He does a tremendous job with his customers and has an outstanding knowledge in the field of lumber. He is also very lucky because he has some very great employees. The things he does and the ways he runs his business make me want to look up to him.

01/05/2017

Having Samantha come by for one of our team meetings was needed. It was needed because she was in the same spot where we are now. She helped us by telling us that she also had struggles when trying to do her own business. So with that said, I think it made us all feel a bit better about where we are at right now.

12/12/2016

Never would I have known that Jim and Dot’s started out as a shoe repair shop. Then it started selling shoes and boots when Jim’s brother gave him only a dozen pairs to sell. It is just amazing to see what a business could do when it started out selling only 12 shoes at first and now sells so much more! This business has come a long way and is looking great. It makes me very proud to be able to know the history and watch the business grow.

12/07/2016

When we were going to visit the Union County Abstract Office. I had absolutely no clue what they did. Then we get there and I get to look at all these very old documents. Come to find out some of them were signed and handled by the president Andrew Jackson. To me that is amazing and when joining this program I thought I would only be amazed a couple of times. I have been amazed by every single business visit we have made and to think a 17 year old living in Southern IL got to hold documents signed by presidents is just outstanding.

11/15/2016

Since we have been working on our class business, the Gazette insert has all been looked at from only our point of view. Then we met with Darren Bailey, and he shared with us his point of view on “Hearing Your Hometown Heartbeat”. He shared a lot of things with us, and they help us realize how big this project really is. We hope to build off what everyone thinks and make an impact on this community.

11/07/2016

Anthill Gallery was a neat yet different experience that I personally enjoyed. Hearing from Linda Austin and Bob Hageman was very exciting. I liked that it seemed they did a lot of networking with the local businesses in Cobden. A thing they both made me realize was that everything you do in life will help you in the future.

11/02/2016

Visiting Rusty’s Home Center and talking with the owner Rusty Flamm was very new and interesting to me. He shared a lot of things with us that I will be able to look back on and help myself in the future. The thing that stood out to me the most was that he was very honest about his business and everything he shared with us. I think that tells you a lot about a person--whether or not they are completely honest with you.

10/19/2016

Something special about this week was that we had CEO social event at Coad Chevrolet. I feel as if it was a major success, there were a lot in attendance, and it was very nice to mingle and catch up with everyone there. It was a lot of fun to share with everyone how much we have already grown and that we have already made our Micro Business a success. It’s very motivating to see all the supporters of CEO with a smile on their face and them telling us how proud they are of us. Now I am ready for the next few weeks to go by so I can come back and share with the CEO supporters how we have grown even bigger.

10/15/2016

Starting this week off with Susan Odum was absolutely amazing! If you want someone to open your eyes towards your community, this is the person. Mrs. Odum shared with us how money enters and exits our community. I was very surprised on how much your community can be hurt by people not spending a majority of their money in it. Another thing was also if you aren’t going to spend it in your community then at least spend it in the state you live in.

10/04/2016

Our micro business has finally been completed. We sold our last ad to the Chamber of Commerce on September 29. I am so very proud of the group for coming together and completing this business and coming out successful. I think our professionalism will be shown when we are in our new attire, and people will see how we have already changed since the beginning of this journey. I can't wait to get out into the world with CEO Team 17 and make the best first impressions anyone can make.

10/01/2016

Our Team Meeting consisted of getting our micro business started and getting ideas. I never thought that with all the great ideas we have, there would be so much frustration in figuring out the best thing to do.  Surprisingly, we have only known each other for 3 weeks now, but we can work very well together. I am looking forward to achieving a lot of goals with this team.

(Looking forward to getting our micro business running! Can’t wait to share my ideas with the team and do everything we can to be successful.)

09/23/2016

When Anthony Edwards was sharing his background, I came to realize he didn’t know a thing about pizza when he started. But somehow he can run a pizza business and be successful at it, and that shows if you are determined you can learn to be successful at something you have never tried before.

09/20/2016

We visited the Farmers' Market in Anna.  We got the chance to intereview some of the participants in the market.  I couldn't believe the things you have to do each and every week to your crops.  The things farmers do just amazes me the more I learn about it.  When looking at their produce I thought it all looked very appealing, but they were telling us about how bad this year has been and that was very surprising to me becauser of how good it looked. 09/13/2016

When visited Grassy Lake Hunting Club we were able to explore the beautiful land. We also got a better understanding of what it takes to run a farm. It makes you open your eyes and see that a business isn’t just a building with a name and a logo, but it’s something that gives money back to the community and is run by people with passion that love what they do and that will do anything to keep their business alive. A big thing that put a smile on my face was the HOOAH (Healing Outside of an Hospital) program that Grassy Lake Hunting Club had provided because they didn’t just promote their business, they promoted HOOAH to help wounded warriors.

08/30/2016

I enjoyed hearing everyone share with us. I’m also very glad to hear that a lot of people are coming together to help this county. It makes me very excited that at 17 years old I could maybe have a chance to help this county also!

08/26/2016