Week 3 - Aug. 31-Sept. 4

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.

Mrs. Cherie Macdonald - Officer
Mr. Kurt Schroeder - Officer
Mr. Garrett Reuter, Jr. - Officer
Mr. Donald Schoemaker - Officer

Mrs. Macdonald, Mr. Schroeder, Mr. Reuter, and Mr. Schoemaker started by discussing the areas of law, requirements of becoming a lawyer, what a typical day is for a lawyer, and the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a lawyer. Mr. Schoemaker shared with the group that the unemployment rate for lawyers today is a staggering 46%. The next part of their presentation was sharing how they are entrepreneurs as well as supporting their entrepreneur clients. They discussed the laws affecting businesses, legal structures, legal responsibilities as it relates to money, and intellectual properties.

Mr. Garrett Reuter, Jr. is an Officer in the Trusts and Estates Practice Group. He represents clients in a broad range of estate planning matters.

Mr. Donald Schoemaker, an Officer in the Litigation Practice Group, represents defendants in employment, product liability, complex litigation and personal injury matters.

Mr. Brian Mentzer

Dist. 201 Assistant Superintendent
Mentzer/Shipp Family of Companies
Administrative Agent of the Belleville CEO & Board Member

Mr. Mentzer discussed the characteristics, highlights, and challenges of the East and West campuses. Such areas as achievement gaps and budget concerns continue to be priorities for District 201. Mr. Mentzer said it really comes down to learning to live within our means. The second part of his presentation was about his family businesses which started in 1972. The students were in awe of how many businesses his family owns: M & M Storage, M & M Storage (Airport), West End Car Wash, and M & M Mentzer Motorsports. However, when he started talking about his three barges under the company, Shipp-Ment Barge Service, it really showed the students that for companies to be successful they have to learn how to create debt.

The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce - Investor

Mr. John Lengerman, Executive Director
Ms. Wendy Pfeil, Membership Development Director
Ms. Beth Tucker, Office Manager
Ms. Abigail Rolland, Marketing and Communications Manager

Ms. Tracy McCollum – Standard Rule Promotions
President of Executive Committee

The students visited The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. As the students listened to each one of the presenters, it was very clear that every activity or committee supports their mission, “Advancing Businesses and Supporting Communities."

Mr. Lengerman shared with the students that The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce is supported by approximately 550 businesses and is the third largest Chamber in the Greater St. Louis area.

Ms. Pfeil's main job is to recruit new members. She said if a company does not feel that they are getting value from the Chamber, it is probably that they are not asking or attending events.

Ms. McCollum told the students that she worked for Standard Rule for 25 years and has owned it for 12 years. She said the Chamber is an amazing way to network with other business owners.

After the meeting, the students sought some advice from Ms. McCollum and Ms. Pfeil on their badge project.

Allsup Tour

On Friday, Ms. Rebecca Ray returned to give the CEO students a tour of the Allsup building which sits on 50 acres. The back bone of the company is housed at the Allsup building site while the Claims Department is located at the Regions Center.

Mr. Lee Guethle shared with the students how they receive approximately 12 million pieces of paper a year. His department scans everything and puts those documents into an efile versus having a multitude file cabinets.

Badge Project

On Friday, the students were working hard on their badge project. Malik Marks-McRath, project leader, and Heather Gosebrink were discussing with the group the final advertising push to get sponsors while Stephen Toenjes was working the mock up badge.

Just a Reminder

Our door is always open. Entrepreneurs, visitors, guests, and friends are welcome and highly encouraged to join us. Drop in and share your story with our students or participate in our class discussions. Check out the schedule on the website.

If you are interested in hosting our students for an educational visit about your business operations or would like to speak to the class and share your story, please email the facilitator, Julie Siebers, at jsiebers@bths201.org or call or text her at 618.719.3177.

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