Union County CEO News

9/1/2026 News Article

01Sep
The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming ...

The UCCEO team traditionally starts out at Grassy Lake Hunting Club as our first homebase each year and Collin Cain welcomes each new team of young professionals like he’s welcoming family. During our time at the club, Collin is always one of our first guest speakers, sharing his story, experiences and wisdom he’s learned over the years. Recently, he joined us, along with Rascal🐶, his St. Bernard, for that special time and he didn’t just teach us about the business of waterfowl hunting — he taught us about resilience and legacy.

Collin opened up about facing cancer at just fifteen years old, going through some personal challenges as an adult, and losing two people close to him in car accidents. Through it all, he never stopped moving forward. Our students walked away with lessons that go far beyond business: the importance of knowing your customer and your market, the power of pivoting instead of giving up, and the reminder that “the people around you are all that matters.” Several of our FFA members also connected with Collin’s own path — he studied to become an Ag teacher before building Grassy Lake into what it is today.

What our students didn’t know walking into the club for the first time, is that Union County CEO wouldn’t exist without the Cain family. Collin and his father, Gerald Cain, were instrumental in bringing this program to Union County, providing a significant portion of the startup costs that got it off the ground. Gerald has since passed away, but Collin has carried that legacy forward — continuing to invest in UCCEO and giving back to his community in other ways, including hosting a Wounded Warrior hunt on his own land each year that he is honored to host.

You can feel that history the moment you walk in. The walls at Grassy Lake tell their own story — decades of memories, friendship, and love for the land are etched into every corner of that club, and our students got to see it firsthand.

Thank you, Collin, for sharing your stories, your club, and your family’s legacy with the Union County CEO Class of 2027. 🦆🌾