Our first not-for-profit business was the Two Rivers Child Advocacy Center. Ginger Goodman Meyer talked with us about passion and networking. I could tell that she is a driven woman. She told us story after story about how she has met people and used her network to get things done. She has done so much in her life and she is still young.  She talked a lot about how she met all of these “rockstars” in her field of social work and how they created opportunities for her through someone else.

05/08/2017

Larry and Mindy Carter came and talked to us about their experiences in life. As I called them to ask them some questions for hosting, Mr. Carter talked with me for a few minutes on volunteer work in the community and then again in the class, talking about the importance of stepping up and helping out. He and his wife are so involved in our community doing what they can to help out. Mindy Carter has visited our class several times and has supported as at our trade show and other events. She is a very good example of the type of support that is behind us. People really care about us and what we are doing.

I'm really very sad that CEO has only one more week. This has been such an amazing experience. It's taken me out of my comfort zone and made me do things that I never would have even dreamed of doing. I am so blessed to have this opportunity to be a part of this and to meet so many amazing people. I know that CEO is going to be something I take with me all my life and use the lessons every day.

05/04/2017

There were so many people that came through the Trade Show and it was awesome to be able to talk to them. Quite a few people from Union County came to support us which I thought was awesome. They have invested their time and money into the program and into us students, and I believe that we helped to show them that it wasn’t in vain.

04/28/2017

We met an amazing woman, Lee Hackney, on Thursday. It seems like her life has been so busy that I don’t know how she has ever had any free time. She was not raised in our community, but she has done so much to help it out. First, with the Art Center in Anna. She helped create a place where people can showcase their artwork and their skill in acting or singing. Also, she is opening a store to get people shopping on Main Street and to make it look more welcoming. I guess she really lives by the motto, help make our community a better place for the next generation.

04/23/2017

Every visit this week was really good. So much information and advice was given that we can all apply to our daily lives as well as our businesses. That's one thing I really love about CEO. Every week, we hear amazing stories from amazing people and we get a piece of their wisdom. The things that these people have learned over their lifetime, they share with us. All the time, we are learning about people and how to form relationships. It's such a remarkable experience.

04/21/2017

My favorite visit for the week was our visit to Edward Jones in Jonesboro. Ms. Kelli Wood gave us so much life advice and information in our short time together. One thing that really stuck out to me was when she talked about time management. I find that sometimes I am completely horrible at time management. She talked about the time we spend texting or scrolling through social media sites, or even watching television. I thought it was interesting that she spoke of this because for the past week I had challenged myself to stay off all social media sites for the whole week and replace that time with something productive or beneficial. After the week was over, I found myself using my time in better ways and I found I really didn't even miss it.

04/18/2017

We visited the Dunn-Richmond Center in Carbondale for a day of learning about the trade show. A lot of advice was given to us to help us on how to display our products and services, as well as how to act, and draw people in. I talked to Ms. Wigfall, of Aimee Wigfall Photography, about her booth and some of the things she incorporated in it. She had made a giant tulle skirt, which naturally piqued my interest, and used it to draw people to her booth by placing it on a mannequin.

With the trade show getting closer, I have begun to create my booth and get all the different pieces required. I have purchased tags for my products and have created my signage for the tradeshow.  All of it is getting closer and now it’s all about building inventory to sell.

04/04/2017

We spent our first day this week at Penninger Asphalt. One thing that really impressed me on this visit was how Mr. Penninger picked up his father’s business. When he was only twenty years old he took on the challenge of running the business. Some of his employees knew more than he did, but he was in charge. He never gave up even when the odds weren’t really in his favor. That is what wowed me this week.

03/27/2017

We had our first visit to a funeral home this week. It was not at all what I expected. Bryan Crain made us laugh and put the “fun” in funeral. We don't really think about all that is going on behind the scenes when we have lost a loved one, but the people at the funeral home work so hard to take care of us and help us through a rough time. Even some of the things they have instituted, like preplanned funerals, is such a great way to relieve the stress off of the loved ones of the deceased.

03/23/2017

Our only business visit this week was to Stegle Plumbing. Jeremy and Kristen Stegle are very nice people. They welcomed us, not only into their business, but also into their home. With all of their different endeavors, this couple really impressed me with the way they are so giving. Just the way they carried themselves and behaved really wowed me.

We learned that sometimes they have to bid on a job. It was interesting the way they had to research and study the blueprints to figure out the cost of the project and their services. You don't know what the other plumbing businesses are bidding, you just have to base it all on your research.

03/14/2017

We’ve had big week with Banker Day and “Hearing Our Hometown Heartbeat” both on Thursday. “Heartbeat” came out and is very impressive. All the work that the team put into it, especially Julian and Erin, really paid off and the paper turned out great. So many people have told us that it is a great insert.

I’ve also been getting some of the final things set up to start my business. I’ve created my Facebook and Instagram that I will be selling my products on for a while. I am also in the process of getting my business cards. My signage for the trade show is in the process of being made as well.

03/11/2017

Since we’ve been so focused on our business plans, Mrs. B let us have the pizza party we negotiated. While we ate, we watched an episode of "Shark Tank." I thought it was humorous because we were asking all these questions and criticizing the things we didn’t or did hear from the people.

02/27/2017

I will always remember the man that came to speak with us while wearing a pacman suit. The main topic of the day was building your brand. What does it mean to build your brand? It means first becoming an influencer, and surrounding yourself with good influencers. Second, you need to learn to connect with people and network. Lastly, building your brand is making a difference or giving back. We have heard since day one that successful people give back. Mr. Harness taught us about using social media to build our brands. “Think before you post.” was one piece of advice he gave us.

02/12/2017

The main speaker that day was Lewis Howes. Mr. Howes is a former football star and when he injured himself, he had to rethink his whole life. He had to overcome all the thoughts he had as he was growing up that he wasn’t smart enough. He completely turned his life around and now owns a multi-million dollar online media company. In his speech, he had the crowd do two different activities. For the second activity, everyone in the audience had to find someone they didn’t know and stand facing each other and just look at one another. No talking was allowed. It was very uncomfortable at first but over the ten minutes or so that we stood there, you began to connect with your partner. It was very interesting to see the way I responded when put into a situation that made me uncomfortable.

02/09/2017

The start of this week we had an awesome speaker Terry Paligo who is the CFO of Union County Hospital. Mr. Paligo is in his second career and is also a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. He did speak with us about our business plans, but the part I found the most memorable about that day were the stories that he told us about his past. My favorite quote from him was “You can always make more money, but did you make someone else's life better?”

02/05/2017

This week we've had two speakers talk to us about our personal businesses. Mark Chamness came Thursday and taught us how to register our businesses in the state of Illinois and about sales tax. Brett Whitnel talked to us on Friday about making profit. He gave us a scenario with a certain amount of income and expenses. He then changed some situations and all the sudden you were in the hole by $3,000.00. It really helped me to understand that you need to think of all situations. That's why it is important to have someone asking all the hard questions.

02/02/2017

I didn’t know before Monday that we had a tourism bureau for southernmost Illinois. It is located in a cottage at Choate Mental Health and Development Center. Cindy Cain and Carol Hoffman work so hard on advertising to get people to come to southern Illinois. They receive $70,000 to be used for marketing. They have to decide where the money would be most profitable. A lot of their advertising recently has been spent on the eclipse that will be taking place on August 21 of this year. Southern Illinois will be the place where the view for the eclipse will have the longest duration. It is the first total eclipse in 9 years, and thousands of people from all over America are coming in to see it. Southernmost Tourism has set up an awesome website where people can book rooms in a hotel or in cabins for the event. It also shows people what else there is to do around them in the meantime. www.southernillinoiseclipse.com

01/23/2017

In everything that we have done in CEO so far, our personal business is a whole new ball game, to borrow the colloquialism. I’ve spent a lot of my free time looking at skirt-making shops online and have contacted a few about how they made a certain type of skirt or design. There are many options to think about for someone in my position. With all the different types of skirts or different materials, the opportunities are endless it seems. I'm going to add another product to my business. I believe I am going to create flower headbands and flowers to be worn like a brooch. Aaron Goeckner talked to us on Friday about the pricing for our products so, this weekend I have been researching the prices of other businesses to compare.

01/21/2017

We met with two loan officers from A-J National Bank, Melanie Lasley and Nina Lofton, on Monday. We learned a lot about the process of getting loans and about your credit. They told us that when you are presenting your reason for the loan, as we will with our businesses, that we need to know what we are talking about. We should know all the little details because we will be asked all the questions and we should have the answers. Also in this visit a lot of the focus was on being involved in your community. Melanie Lasley said that being involved in your community is a priority. Nina Lofton says “Being active in your community gives you a voice.” They told us how the bank supports our community in many different areas and is a community bank which is focused on a personal connection with its clients.

01/09/2017

Now, we are going to be focusing on our personal businesses. If there is a frightened emoji it should be inserted right here. We will have to be deciding what our businesses will be and figuring out all the details. The part I’m worried about the most is writing the business plan. Getting visited by two CEO Alumni from last year really helped me to feel more confident and at ease. It helped me see that two girls that are just like me did this and so can I. Even though this week started out rough, it was very interesting and really got me back into the “CEO Spirit.”

01/06/2017

Associated Lumber gives a good first impression in my experience. When I shopped there the people were friendly when I walked in and very accommodating. First impressions are more important than some people think. They can define a customer's view of the establishment.

01/05/2017

Mike Bost came and spoke with us on Thursday morning. We got to ask him questions about why and how he got into politics. Before he came to meet us we had looked him up online and viewed some of his history and platforms. We watched a video of him where he was yelling in Congress at the representatives. Some of the students asked if they would want someone like that representing us. After meeting with him I realize why he exploded like that. Mr. Bost is a man who believes in what he does. He believes the government should be accountable to the people it serves. One thing that impressed me about him was that even though our government is trying to get God out of our government and trying to separate church and state, Mike Bost doesn't stray from his beliefs. He stands up for what he believes in as a Christian. That is something that I believe we are missing in our government--people who have morals and believe in something strong enough to stand up for it in all situations.

12/15/2016

Capaha Bank was our visit for Wednesday. One thing I never really thought about for a bank was competition. There are 2 other banks in very close vicinity to Capaha and we wondered why people should choose Capaha over the others. All businesses should look at that when they start up. What makes them different? For most businesses it’s the first impression you have when you walk in the store or meet with the people. Your first impression is the most important tool you have.

12/06/2016

We got to do a little practice in negotiating when John Nimmo came and spoke with us on Wednesday. In his activity, as the owner of Judy’s Grocery Store, I had to find someone selling turkeys because my refrigerator had broken down and my turkeys had spoiled. We learned so much about how to talk with people and negotiate well. These skills can be used in every part of my life. I’m learning how to make people feel important in the different relationships I have with friends and family.

This week has been my favorite so far. I had so much fun with all the different speakers and activities. I appreciate the amazing opportunities that I have gotten in this class. CEO is the best part of my day and I’m always happy to be there.

11/30/2016

A few weeks ago we visited Flamm’s Orchard and this week we visited Rendleman Orchards. This was the first time we have visited two businesses that sell the same product. At Flamms, something I found really interesting a guest worker program called H2A. This week, in our visit to Rendleman Orchards, we learned a little more about this program. They provide transportation, visas, housing, and food for workers to come from another country and work in their orchards. Rendleman pays $75,000.00 for twelve workers to be transported here to work for only four months. This is not including their pay, housing or utilities for each month.

11/17/2016

I enjoyed learning about how the surveyors plot out land and how disputes over land are settled. In their line of work they have to keep such specific records.  It would be so interesting, if your family live around this area, to go in and look at the history of your family and see what they have owned or done in our community.

11/15/2016

For our second business trip this week we visited Tri State RV. The owner, Mr. Ken Frick, started his business as a used car lot in Anna, then switched to RVs after the minor depression after 9/11. Mr. Frick has 110 RVs on the lot and he sells 18 to 20 RVs per month. His inventory is estimated around $4.5 million. His customers come from all over the U.S. and some from Canada. I had no idea that so much business went through our little town.

11/08/2016

The Anthill owners, Bob Hageman and Linda Austin, are very passionate about art and are both artists themselves. They told us that if you are doing something you love, then you will be motivated to complete all the hard work that comes along with it. The gallery is made mostly of local artists including Ms. Austin’s stain glass work and Mr. Hageman’s photographs. This business is probably the only one of its kind in our area, and it was very interesting to learn about the different art forms there.

11/03/2016

This week we had two speakers who work together to get their service done. Beck Simonds spoke to us about the Simonds Group and the work it does. There are five parts to the Simonds Group: E.T. Simonds Construction, E.T. Simonds Materials, Anna Quarry, Kinkaid Stone, and Illini Asphalt. Our other speaker this week, Will Pyatt, is the general manager of the Anna Quarry, which is part of the Simonds Group. We got to visit the quarry and take a tour of the pit and their operations. There were so many interesting things to see there. One thing that surprised me was that at the quarry they blast enough rock every day to fill 120 trucks. I enjoyed learning how all these businesses work together.

10/26/2016

Hearing from a White House correspondent, Peter Maer, at the Gateway Center in Collinsville was very interesting. He spoke of the meetings that he has had with different presidents over the years. He also talked to us about American Exceptionalism. We have so many opportunities in America that are not accessible in other countries. We should not take these opportunities and freedoms for granted.

10/21/2016

This week we met at From the Heart Flowers and Gifts. The owner, manager, and jack-of-all-trades at the shop, Ms. Janice Newton, opened up her business to us on Wednesday morning. Last year there was a fire in the building directly next to her shop. The fire didn’t spread to her building but the damage from smoke and water was very large. One thing that I really liked was the fact that she could have said it was too hard or that it wasn’t worth it and given up, but she stuck with it and she grew her business. She has a thriving business that is very successful.

10/12/2016

When Susan Odum spoke with us on Tuesday, she really opened my eyes and surprised me. She taught us about putting our local community first. When we go and spend money at the mall or big name stores instead of buying the same product at a local business, then our community is losing money. That money will leave our county and most likely will not return. Local businesses will close down after awhile, when all the business they could be receiving are going to malls out of our county. It surprised me that we hurt our community when we drive away to another area to shop for Christmas or birthdays.

10/04/2016

We drove to Cobden on Thursday to visit Robinson Fresh. This business receives produce from local, regional, national, and international farms. They inspect, pack, and ship the produce to stores all over America. I never knew that so much produce went through the little town of Cobden. Something that I found very interesting was that Clay Mitchell (the operation manager) has a program to distribute the leftover produce. This program, Misfits, came about because in last year’s CEO class a young lady spoke to him about the food that was being wasted.

09/29/2016

Something I noticed when I went to the appointments for our microbusiness was that every one of the people told us that we were having a special experience in CEO. They said that we will be changed and improved by the end of the year. It has challenged me to step up and work harder to not disappoint.

09/19/2016

Former CEO student Mara Decker had us do some  really fun activities with each other.  These activities showed how we will have to work together to accomplish the goal.  We also won't always have a great idea.  It may get shot down, but we shouldn't be discouraged by our failures.  Failure is inevitable, but we should learn from it and grow.  I really loved how she was so involved and friendly.   09/15/2016

The next day we met with a former CEO student, Aaron Goeckner, who now studies at SIU under a Chancellor's Scholarship.  He spoke to us about how his experience in CEO has changed his life.  He attributes getting a scholarship to college to the CEO program.  He says we will be different coming out of this class.  It will prepare us for life in this world and give us a head start. 09/07/2016

Bill Ecker talked to us on Thursday about professionalism. He spoke about not giving up and played us an excerpt from a book telling us about discipline. We should discipline ourselves and make time for the things that we need to accomplish. He encouraged us to be a world changer everyday.

09/01/2016