My Featured Journal Entries
I really enjoyed talking with Mr. Bevis again. Mr. Bevis had an interesting story in that his success was high at the beginning, and then changes happened in the world that he could not control and it would seem that his success dipped for a while before coming back up when he ended at Cook Portable Warehouses and started a successful online business. The thing I found most interesting is that even when most people would have called it quits in shoes or spiraled into depression or anger, he worked harder to get out of it and keep going. This made his testimony so much stronger when he told us that the most important thing that we can control is our attitude. He told us many things about attitude, some of these things being, “You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it.” and “You may not be the smartest or most qualified guy in the room, but your attitude can set you apart.” My absolute favorite thing he shared with us was what his dad told him when he was younger, “Whether you are a CEO or a ditch digger doesn’t matter, as long as you can be the best CEO or ditch digger that you can be.”
05/11/2017
Mrs. Meyer really has a passion for this, and she advised us saying, “Bottom line; Find what you’re passionate about, and DO IT!” She continually told us about her three points, having a passion, always setting ‘grand goals’, and networking by building bridges. My favorite advice that she gave was, “When you feel like you know it all, you need to do something different.”
05/08/2017
I have to say that one of the most enjoyable visits this past year was to the Havisham House with Mrs. Jerri Schaefer. I really loved the visit to Havisham House with Mrs. Jerri Schaefer because I’ve always been interested in architecture and interior decorating. (So much so that I have played around with designs for a future home) The Havisham House itself was a 2 bedroom, 1 and a half bath house built in 1892. This home was beautifully refurbished and decorated, and I really loved how they mixed some modern design with the rustic look of the house. An example of this is their redesigning of the kitchen to be larger and have all the modern day appliances, and while doing so, exposing some of the original brick of the house as well as an old servants' window where they used to pass food from the kitchen to the dining hall.
05/07/2017
I really enjoyed this visit because I’ve always been interested in animal vet science and when I was young I wanted to be a veterinarian. What surprised me the most was that Haire Veterinary Clinic in Union County has one of only three MRI machines in personal practice in the heartland region. I thought this was a great way that they differentiated themselves from their competitors, or as Mr. Haire would say, “The best way to survive in any business is to separate yourself from the pack.” I also found that very amusing that without realizing it he never said group, he always said pack.
05/02/2017
This week was our group’s first tradeshow. I cannot begin to explain how proud I am of my teammates. Yes, I had a great time at my booth, and I also loved sharing the story of my business and talking about my products like many business owners we have visited before, but I was most impressed with our group as a whole. Seeing the booths of my teammates and how we all stepped up to the plate and were active and engaging with passersby made me think back to the very first week of CEO. It made me remember how hard it was to shake someone’s hand and the awkwardness that came with trying to talk through business ideas with people you barely knew. Now I’d like to say that my team is supportive of each other, and we can talk about business things and ask questions and that awkwardness is gone. We’ve all grown and I’m really proud of my CEO 2017 group. The impending finish of this CEO year is already turning out to be a bittersweet end.
04/29/2017
The week started out with a visit to Dyno Nobel with Mr. Johnny Miller. This was definitely a very intriguing visit, especially with the small detail of how this business works with explosives. Not only was it unbelievable that we visited a business that produces the key component to making things go boom, it was incredibly eye opening to see how they keep records of daily numbers and statistics on a board for each department. These boards showed the rate of productivity, employee satisfaction, and many other things and were displayed with changeable red and green patches so that the employees could quickly and easily see how things were going in their department. I thought this was a great idea because if I was an employee at a manufacturing company I would want to see what my work was producing and how little things can greatly increase or decrease productivity. I thought it was a brilliant way to get employees active in wanting to do all that they can to increase productivity.
04/27/2017
Ms. Hackney is the volunteer director at the Anna Arts Center, but she also is a retired Navy captain! She was a very inspirational woman, being the first female engineer in the Navy and also the first woman to lead a ship into war waters, and she gave us a lot of advice. She encouraged us to “Do the right thing.”, “Do your best.”, and “Show you care.” She told us that integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking.
04/24/2017
It really wowed me that when you search the word ‘shed’ on Google, Cook Portable Warehouses is on the first page! Mr. Cook told us that, “We do everything we can do to have a higher standard, and because of this, we have forced others to up their game.” Mr. Jonathan Bevis, National Marketing Director of Cook Portable Warehouses, expanded on this idea by saying, “You can either try to be the cheapest guy on the market, or you can build the best shed on the market and sell it for the best price.”
04/20/2017
While Kelli Wood had a very interesting story on how she got into the financial business and then into Edward Jones, what really ‘wowed’ me about this visit was all the wonderful life advice that she gave. Ms. Woods really pushed that we waste so much time on small and meaningless things like our phone, and that what we really need is good time management. She told us, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” and explained that the little things we do each day are just as important as the big things we do. Ms. Woods told us that if we aren’t working towards a goal each day, we are actually backsliding. She expanded saying that what you want is to, “Wake up determined and go to bed satisfied.” because we now know to “Use your hours, don’t count them.”
04/18/2017
I learned quite a bit this week when we visited the Dunn-Richmond Center in Carbondale this Tuesday. From one of the speakers, Dr. Kyle Harfst, we learned that we should “Never burn a bridge,” because you never know when someone across that bridge is going to need you, or if you’re going to need them. When the presentation moved over into selling our product or service, Dr. Harfst said this, “Effective selling is teaching. The more you know your product, the more you can educate your customer on that product and on why that customer should buy your product.”
04/03/2017
What surprised me the most from the business visit to Walmart was that I completely understood why they did the advertising they did, and how I could see all the little tweaks they had made to make their product more appealing or more likely to be picked up and bought. I was also surprised when they said that 17-20% of revenue comes from the Pharmacy! This follows right behind the 35-40% of business that comes from the groceries. Mr. Kimmel gave us lots of advice also, my two favorites being, “You can’t improve if you never hear the bad. If you only hear the good, you think that everything is ‘all cherries’ when it’s really not ‘all cherries’,” and, “If you want to really learn something, you first ‘gotta’ mess something up.”
03/31/2017
Mr. Egelston is a magician and infotainer, so of course we all enjoyed the interactive and informative experience. Mr. Egelston covered many topics, from how our interactions impact other people, good plans for business, and how to connect with customers. He explained to us that we have to become “Lifetime Learners”, because there is so much new information to be accessed and, “We have to keep gaining and improving our knowledge.” He also explained that we learn through failures and successes by saying, “If things go wrong, be sure to learn the lessons.” Mr. Egelston continued to give good life advice, saying things like, “Learn to get over bad emotions as quickly as you possibly can.” He explained that this was because people tend to focus on the bad and then you miss the opportunities for the good. Some business advice that he gave us was, “Successful people DO what unsuccessful are UNWILLING to do.” and “You can make a little money chasing a fortune, but you can make a fortune chasing relationships.”
03/29/2017
I think the most fun I had this week was the cookie decorating we did with Teresa Goddard and Sharon Laster through their business, First Class Cookies. I really enjoyed the different icing techniques, and it actually reminded me of some of the soap decorating ideas that I have researched. I also had a great time simply making the cookies with my team, laughing at our cookie decorating mistakes and then getting to eat our ‘masterpieces’.
03/20/2017
I’m going to start with my favorite this week, Loan Request Day. The weird thing is that I only get nervous for my important CEO days the nights before the events. So of course, Wednesday evening I was freaking out thinking about what I would say if they asked certain questions, or if the soap bar I brought in was too lame. Yet, like always, it went without a hitch and I enjoyed every moment of it. It’s strange to think that I’m an official business owner at 16, but I love that at this early age I’ve been introduced to so much and that I understand so many concepts and stories that I couldn’t have even dreamed up myself. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I’ve presented my ideas and they have been approved. I also feel different now, because I’m not looking at business owners as being in a separate group in my mind to us students. Now we are all business owners, and I’m happy for all of us. We are a part of the business family now and I can’t wait for our businesses to launch.
03/18/2017
On Banker Day I actually enjoyed presenting my ideas and seeing the reactions that came forth. I never thought that a man would get excited over galaxy soap bar, but I guess it would make sense because my idea of a solar eclipse soap could bring me double the revenue of my original projections. I’m more excited than ever to get my business up and running, and with the numbers supporting me as well, I feel like my ideas are really going to be able to come alive.
It’s also awesome to see the ideas of my teammates come alive, and I’m glad that even though we all have our differences, that there is always support for good ideas. It’s nice to see the guys listen to our ideas on skirts, bath bombs, and soap, and be interested, supportive, and even give ideas. The support isn’t a one-way street either, because we girls are also interested in their ideas too. I honestly enjoy hearing each one of my teammates’ ideas, and I think that every single one of them has the qualities to be successful.
03/12/2017
Mr. Hawk went over customer communication, and he told us that, “Whatever path you take, you will be limited by a lack of communication.” because, “Whether you’re building someone up, or breaking someone down, your words have power.” Mr. Hawk was expressing that words have influence in business the same as they do in everyday life and that clear communication is important.
03/08/2017
I also enjoyed the visit to Masters Choice because I understood what they were telling us. Although cattle and their digestive tracts aren’t the same as horses, when it comes to how they digest corn it’s actually pretty similar. For a horse the corn kernel has to be already broken for them to obtain the starch and energy inside the corn. When race horses eat corn for energy, a lot of that corn is wasted and comes out before it can be fully broken down. Masters Choice’s flowery corn breaks down faster and is lighter so it stays in the digestive tract longer. Not only would this be beneficial to cows and other animals that are raised for meat, but in the horse realm there would be a lot of wealthy race horse owners that would love to get their hands on corn that would break down faster and give more energy to the horse.
03/03/2017
We went to Anna State Bank and met with Mr. Jon Vicenzi. Because we have discussed finances in class and with speakers, I understood many more of the terms he used, and I realized that I most likely would have been swept away if I asked for a loan and had never been in CEO and didn’t have the opportunity to visit these facilities and see how they function. I also liked how Mr. Vicenzi expressed that everyone that walks into his building is important. He said, “It’s important when you own your own business to treat everyone the same.” and advised us to, “Never just focus on the big customer.”
02/15/2017
This week we had the chance to go to Effingham to be a part in the Effingham’s CEO programs ‘CEO Experience’ day. It was very fun, but I also learned a lot. In one exercise that Mr. Lewis Howes, a guest speaker for the event, had us do, we had to stare into the eyes of a complete stranger and without talking, you had to overcome the awkwardness of it and break through the uncomfortableness of the exercise. I ended up with a nice lady named Maggie. In the end of the exercise, Mr. Howes explained how just in five to seven minutes of eye contact with a person, you connect with them. He was right, and it was like Maggie was someone I had been friends with for years, and I felt absolutely no uncomfortableness when Mr. Howes ended the exercise with ‘go and hug your partner’. This made me think about the importance of connecting with other people, and how so many of the problems people face, could simply be solved by connecting with a person without even having to speak. Imagine how much less anger or indifference there would be in the world if people took the time to connect with those outside of their ‘comfort bubble’.
02/11/2017
This week has been a very eventful week! To begin, Mr. Terry Paligo came to speak with us at the Union County Hospital, and I’ll have to say that I did not expect such an exciting presentation! Mr. Paligo’s story is one of many turns, and it was very interesting. Yet among the many stories told, Mr. Paligo also gave us lots of advice. He told us that “The key to any news, good or bad, is communication. You have GOT to communicate.” I have heard this many times, and at the beginning of the year I would have just nodded along in agreement, but I now know that this is one of the most important aspects of not just business, but life in general. He also advised us to broaden our horizons, and then explained that “You gotta keep your mind active. If you don’t, you die.” This reminded me of one of my absolute favorite quotes I’ve heard while in CEO, from Mr. Bill Ecker, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
02/05/2017
Mr. Brett Whitnel is a business advisor in the Illinois Small Business Development Center of Shawnee Community College. Mr. Whitnel prompted us to think about how businesses run their monthly operating incomes and expenses and showed us the different things we must consider when we begin, such as loans and insurance. We went through a mock situation about how a factor might impact your cost and ways you could deal with that, and why you might need certain insurances. As a soapmaker I will likely be getting liability insurance, and it was good to hear how I might go about that and why it was important to have. I feel a little more prepared going into my business plan, and I cannot wait to start!!
02/03/2017
I think the most fun I’ve had this week was spending our Monday class with Ms. Kim Emery at Anna Baking Company. For the business aspect of it, I thought Ms. Emery had great tricks to make her business run smoother. She realized that all the work of a bakery simply made hours too long for each day, so she started hiring people to do just one job, like make icing or unfolding the boxes. By doing this, she took some extra weight off of the shoulders of her full-time workers, and I thought that was a really smart move. She was also very organized, with her orders and records, and because of this, we could ask for an idea to be put on a cake, and she could search a keyword and we would see if they have made any cakes that fit our idea. On the personal level, what was most fun and interesting for me, was when she pulled out some cupcakes and icing so we could practice icing… and then ‘practice’ eating cupcakes! Yum!
01/30/2017
I thoroughly enjoyed the business visit with Mr. Jim Farris at the Union County Hospital. Even though I learned an incredible amount of information about the hospital, what really ‘wowed’ me was the different advice that Mr. Farris gave to us. He spoke with inspiration and even gave us a list of some of his favorite quotes. My favorite quote was, “Wringing your hands prevents you from rolling up your sleeves.” When he was advising us on our personal businesses, he said, “You’re going to have dark times in your career when you start a business, but my favorite saying is; ‘The storm always passes.’” He also advised us saying, “You gotta do the right thing. Even if it’s unpleasant.” When asked about what he looks for in an employee, Mr. Farris explained, “Always hire attitude. You can teach knowledge, but you can’t teach a good attitude.” This really clicked with me, because it made me think about how I present myself. I am thankful that I have learned what business owners actually look for and can apply that in my own life.
01/25/2017
As we went through this week presenting to the schools, I couldn’t help but notice how much we have grown. Not just in our presentation skills, but on a personal level as well. We have begun to see our community in a different light, and I cannot help but notice how each and every one of us smile at the thought of our past visits, and how a fondness for our county has taken root in our team. I am proud of my team and what we have accomplished, and I cannot wait to see how we get through the next obstacle… our personal businesses!
01/20/2017
This week in Union County CEO we got the chance to visit Anna’s Country Financial with Mrs. Charlotte Clover and Mrs. Danielle Stevens, and learned about the insurance industry. Mrs. Charlotte Clover said, “Your credit score weighs greatly, even on your insurance.” I didn’t know that before and this is just another incentive to make sure I start my credit off right. I’ve been hearing quite a bit about credit and the more I learn the more glad I am that I’ve gotten the chance to hear about these subjects before I make influential decisions in my future. Mrs. Danielle Stevens told us, “Insurance is a promise. A promise to pay.” When asked about advertising, they gave us this advice, “You always need to be prospecting for new business, because that is the way your business grows through the years.”
01/17/2017
Tech Guy Consulting opened in October of 2012 and Mr. Ditto was able to open his doors without having to take a loan. This ‘wowed’ me because it is nearly impossible to start a business without help. Mr. Ditto spoke about this saying, “You never know when you unlock your door on the first day if any customer is going to walk through. On the first day, the first week, the first month.” Mr. Ditto was explaining perfectly in those two sentences that business is risky, that there isn’t always a guarantee of success, and that there is no promise of a customer on that first day, or any day. While I’m on the topic of customers, Mr. Ditto also expressed that, “Customer retention is more important than customer expansion, customer expansion always comes second.” and “The main thing you want to have is a high level of customer satisfaction. So offer a quality service or product, and focus on that customer’s happiness.” When asked about competition, Mr. Ditto replied, “Competition keeps you on your toes,” and “Be friendly, be helpful, and be sociable; even if they’re your competitors.”
01/11/2017
“If you’re looking for something unusual, we’ll find it. It might take us a day or two, but if you want it, we can get it.” This is what Mr. Jack Stokes told us when we visited his store. Mr. Stokes informed us that his store contains approximately 27,000 different items. Associated Lumber has anything from rentable jackhammers, to an array of the newest plumbing pipes and leak stopping clamps, to upscale cabinetry. They also are the only place that sells appliances in our county, and all their appliances are made in America. As many, many other business owners have warned us, Mr. Stokes also said, “If someone is satisfied, they’ll tell their friends. If someone is dissatisfied, they’ll tell everyone.” He explained to us that as someone who is providing something to the customer, you should always do what you say you are going to do, even if in the end it will come out of your pocket.
Also, I never knew that we had a store in Anna that I could use to do extensive interior design with. I felt like I could really make a unique and personal kitchen when I talked with Ms. Brenda Allen, designer. I’ve always been interested in architecture and interior design, so I really enjoyed browsing all the different options for flooring, cabinetry, and countertops because I could just imagine all the combinations I could create in my own home someday.
01/05/2017
Something that really surprised me was that the Union County Hospital is home to the only nursing home in the county to have received a joint committee standard certification. The Union County Hospital’s nursing home could have a surprise inspection by the committee and have an on the floor evaluation on everything from medication passes to if the outside garage bin’s lid is left open on any day. They also have received special certification for stroke and chest pain management. Union County Hospital is also the first hospital in the surrounding counties to have a convenient care unit, which is a non-emergency unit that treats uncomplicated minor illnesses and provides preventative health care services in a timely fashion.
01/03/2017
It was nice to meet Ms. Kaitlin McWhorter, a CEO alumni, and to hear and see how CEO has affected her and her path in life. As she talked, I realized that the quote she had given us, “What comes easy won’t last, and what lasts won’t come easy”, was relating, in general, to the CEO experience that she had. It was plain to see that CEO has become a part of her as well as a major factor in the life she lives now. CEO helped Ms. McWhorter get the scholarships that will get her through school easier, made money for her to spend for herself and others, and has tuned the skills she has to be the best that she can be. She advised us, “If you don’t know how to do it, get help,” and explained that the earlier you learn that you can’t do everything yourself, and that it’s okay to get help, the earlier you can step out and start moving on to a better outcome.
12/19/2016
I had fun at the business meeting at FS, and yet, how could I not, when I got to look into the inside of large storage containers and stand in a 3-4 ton pile of cracked corn! Mr. Keith Ellis told us about the background of FS and how it started as a part of the Farm Bureau making a place for farmers to get all their different types of feed. Mr. Ellis also told us, along with many many other business owners, that “Word of mouth will make or break your business. It’s your best, or your worst, advertisement.”
12/14/2016
We went to Capaha Bank this Wednesday and met with Mr. Josh Joiner, the Illinois Market Manager and Branch Manager for Capaha Banks in Anna. Mr. Joiner explained to us the things banks look for when considering a giving a business loan. Mr. Joiner recommended a business plan that is clear, concise, and doesn’t have a lot of “fluff”. He said that hard evidence and documentation is incredibly important. When asked about what they look for when hiring an individual, Mr. Joiner said dependability and people skills are everything. Knowing that someone will show up and do a good job is more important than their qualifications. He advised us to “Humble yourself and step out of your comfort zone”, and that reminded me of when Mr. Bill Ecker told us that “You need to become comfortable being uncomfortable.”
12/06/2016
On Monday, we visited with Mr. Steve Hornbeak at Kiki’s Coffeehouse. I never realized that someone in the little town of Anna, IL, could personally know so many famous people! Mr. Hornbeak has written a song for Billy Gilman, played the background piano music for Lee Greenwood and Faith Hill, has a role in the television series ‘Nashville’, and has housed the band Journey before…. WOW! Hearing the stories Mr. Hornbeak told us about some of his adventures that resulted through his musical career left me wondering, ‘Is he for real??’. I would have never guessed that Mr. Hornbeak once flew to India to play in a wedding for a daughter of a sultan! He said that to make it big in the music world and to get into a good band, 25% of it is looking the part, another 25% on how well you can play and learn new music quickly, and 50% on whether they could put you in a tour bus with them for 100+ days and still like you in the end! Mr. Hornbeak was adamant about the fact that if you work hard, be nice to people, and never stop listening that you can learn and be successful in anything that you try to do.
11/28/2016
I was pleased to learn that we were going to Kiki’s Coffeehouse this week for a business meeting because Kiki’s is one of my absolute favorite places to stop by and grab a coffee. Yet with all the times I have visited, I never knew the story behind the business. I didn’t realize that Mrs. Kathy Bryan and her husband Mr. Steve Hornby started renovations in January of 2013 and then opened the April of that same year! I also didn’t know that they started out as self taught brewsters! It’s strange to think that my favorite coffeehouse could easily have never come into existence if only a few small things would have happened differently in their lives.
11/18/2016
Once again, I was reduced to pondering how I got to be a part of such amazing things, when we visited Rendleman Orchards. Starting with the end, I was baffled by the kindness of Mrs. Michelle Sirles and her family. Not only did she give every member a shirt, but once she heard I was interested in soap, she gifted me a bar of soap and took the time to give me all the information she had about the best soap places around. Sometimes I can’t get over the kindness of people in my home. I can’t say that there aren’t nice people in other parts of the state, but I can say that I think most of them are here in Union County!
11/17/2016
I’ll have to say, I was surprised by how interesting the business meeting at Union County Abstract Office was! I guess I didn’t expect to be blown away by the records that they keep. It was a strange feeling, to realize that I was holding something signed by Andrew Jackson in one hand, and in the other hand yet another record signed by Martin Van Buren, all while standing in a small building most people my age wouldn’t even know existed. Who else my age gets to flip through century old records or read over a timeline dating back to creation? In that moment I couldn’t express how grateful I was to be in CEO.
11/15/2016
My favorite part of Mr. Bailey’s presentation was that even though taxes are important to keeping our towns going, he stressed that, “It is not just about taxes. It is about maintaining and improving our standard of life. It’s about preserving what we have today and gaining what we want for tomorrow.” The more money we keep in the county, the stronger our businesses get. Stronger businesses mean stronger schools. Strong schools mean a pull for people to come back to their hometown to raise their children. This is important!! Shopping locally isn’t just making more money for us, it’s creating a community that we can be proud of.
11/07/2016
On Thursday we visited Anthill Gallery & Vintage Curiosities and I loved it! It was really interesting to see art made by about 60 local artists! Mr. Bob Hageman explained their story and their passion for art and growing a community that supports all the businesses that are involved. He said, “In a community it’s not the mentality of ‘what makes you richer makes me poorer,’ it’s a thinking of ‘if it gets you richer, it might help me also!” With the business at Anthill Gallery coming steadily from the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, they did their absolute best to make their art gallery welcoming to all people. Mr. Hageman said that it’s the personal touch that people crave in businesses today. I never knew that Anthill Gallery & Vintage Curiosities was even a business here in Union County until I visited with CEO. Now I know that this business is a place that I would love to come to and shop for gifts locally.
11/03/2016
Also on Thursday, I attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Union County Courthouse. Jessa Bond and I gave a quick presentation about our class business, an insert in the Gazette-Democrat, “Hearing Our Hometown Heartbeat”, but I really gained a lot of insight just from sitting in and listening to the speakers present updates on our local schools and how people are still working hard to keep our rural towns and education therein, flourishing. It gave me pride to see how many people are truly passionate about rural education and how it needs to be cherished. To put it simply, I am thankful that I live in a rural town and that CEO gives me the opportunity to observe how it functions.
11/03/2016
I found it very interesting this week that we were able to meet with two of the five groups under ET Simonds that shape the roadways all around us. It was informative to hear just what goes on during the months of construction and get the answers to many questions that passersby tend to have. Questions like, “How much does the guy holding the sign really make?” or “It’s sunny out here, why aren’t there any workers?”.
To answer these inquiries, the person that turns the sign all day actually makes approximately three times minimum wage, depending on what hours they work, plus benefits! Yet Mr. Beck Simonds assured us that this probably wasn’t a job one should aspire to have, even if the pay looks awfully alluring! I also learned that when ET Simonds calls workers off for the day due to weather, the call has to be placed two hours before work starts… which puts Mr. Simonds up before 4 every morning to make the decision! I won’t be wondering about empty work zones any more!
Mr. Will Pyatt started off our day by telling us the history, and the planned future, for the quarry which really surprised me since they are looking sixty or more years into the future to plan major changes for their company! The natural beauty of the quarry was breathtaking, but the machinery was also just as fascinating. We got the chance to watch as they ground up large loads of rock into small bits in a machine so large it looked like a bowl for crushing herbs that a giant would use! It was crazy to hear that Anna Quarry produces between 6,000 to 8,000 TONS of limestone a day, approximately 160 days a year! Wow! I can’t wait to see how the quarry will expand in my lifetime and definitely recommend that people take the time to see the insanely awesome businesses that do so much right under our very noses.
10/28/2016
At the Gazette-Democrat Office on Thursday I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the visit. At the start, Ms. Lindsey Vaughn showed us how we would set up a page for an insert in the paper. To be completely honest I was overwhelmed by all the little details that had to be remembered and all the rules that needed to be followed. I felt much more ‘in my element’ when we were taken to the past papers that had been written. Looking through the old papers dating back before my parents', and even through my grandparents’, time was incredibly interesting. Since I have dabbled in writing for many years, I couldn’t help but flip through the pages and soak in every inch. The older papers were so different from the papers today and I loved pondering every change in price or design. I would not be against visiting again just to look through the ‘morgue’ of papers.
10/18/2016
Even though Flamm Orchards is a home to many delicious treats, I never knew all the behind the scenes work that made it possible. I was definitely surprised to find that Flamm Orchards has been a running family business since 1888! That’s incredible! To put that in perspective, Flamm Orchards started a mere 23 years after the Civil War ended! I also never knew that other than the apples and peaches, Flamm Orchards grows strawberries and an array of vegetables including cucumbers and types of squash. Some of the numbers that were approximated were that there are 250 acres of apple orchards, 250 acres of peach orchards, and 400 acres for assorted other produce, mostly vegetables. I was interested in hearing that peach orchards are easier to lose due to early frosts or cold weather, when on the other hand, Flamm Orchards has only lost approximately three full apple crops in their recorded apple orchard history! With my two favorite fruits being the main focus, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the business meeting at Flamm Orchards.
10/14/2016
We had two team meetings this week and decided on a class business. We have chosen to write and create an insert for our local newspaper. I am really excited to start this and put my interests and talents to good use for the team. I feel like this is a project that we can really take and run with. I was glad that Mr. Reppert came and talked with us. It really put things in perspective to hear what we will have to do and what it will take to accomplish it. I can’t wait to start!
10/05/2016
Lastly, we had two team meetings this week to discuss our class business. I can’t say that we got a whole lot done this week because our ideas were all over the place! Nonetheless, I had so much fun this week! CEO is really something I look forward to going to every morning… after I wrestle myself out of bed. I think I need another pep talk from Bill Ecker!! I’m really excited to start our class business when we get a solid idea. When we finally decide on a business idea, I have no doubt that we will succeed. How could we not, when we have so many determined and outgoing leaders in one group!
09/30/2016
Our last business meeting was at Alto Vineyards on the History of Union County Viticulture. As Ms. Erin Downs showed us around Alto Vineyards, I was surprised to hear that it was the oldest and most awarded vineyard in Southern Illinois. The surprise faded as she showed us the equipment they had, and I realized that they are the most advanced vineyard in the region. As the only vineyard around with an automatic bottling machine and two large industrial refrigerators, I was glad to hear that they worked together with their competition by helping them with their bulk orders. I feel that the type of cooperation that Alto Vineyards granted to the other vineyards, who are their competition, is not something that you would find everywhere. It gives me pride to know that the wine trail and its vineyards can be a model of the kindness that comes from this county. It’s more than the tourism or the fun of a beverage, it’s a science, and an art, and it’s a source for the style of southern living to show itself.
09/29/2016
Mrs. Rhonda Bittle has a very interesting store, This 'N That, that caught my attention as soon as I stepped through the door. She handpicks every item for her booths at her store. I absolutely love the themes she creates. She also rents out 24 booths. I personally think that someone in her line of business would have to be very skilled to redo things into a new look all the time. I know that I could never come up with new ideas and looks to fit the ever-changing style as often as she has to. 09/13/2016
The next business meeting was with CEO alumni, Aaron Goeckner. He was very passionate about how CEO gives us a huge step ahead of the rest of our peers. One of his main points was that talking about CEO to people who are interested will show people how you are different than other people our age. This can help us gain scholarships or jobs that may not have been achievable to us before! He pushed us to strive above and beyond because we will always have CEO as a base foundation to build whatever we want our lives to be on. Hearing this definitely gives me peace, knowing that I’ll always have CEO as a resource. It makes me feel like a have a secret superpower or weapon.
09/07/2016
I’ve passed Grassy Lake Hunting Club many times before, but I never stopped to wonder about all the work that has gone into it. Never would I have imagined the troubles Mr. Cain had to go through when the geese stopped migrating this far south. I respect Mr. Cain with a new appreciation, now knowing that his ‘first love’ had been taken away and he had to completely switch his business to duck hunting. That is the kind of determination I want to have in my own business someday.
08/30/2016
Today in CEO I learned much about how to make life choices from John Nimmo. He taught me that everything will revolve how I compose myself throughout life and that I control how things progress from my side. He really got me thinking on how I can present myself and also how others might be presenting themselves to me. It was a very eye-opening experience.
08/25/2016