The Bank of BellevilleTour

Mr. Kevin Pesko, President, CEO, and Founder
Ms. Lisa Barton, Sr. Vice President of Operation
The Bank of Belleville - Investor

On Wednesday, the CEO class toured the Bank of Belleville at their new facility before sitting down for a presentation from the bank president and founder, Mr. Kevin Pesko. Mr. Pesko briefed the group on his personal background before delving into the making of his bank and how to succeed. Key points included networking, accruing capital, and the value of a hometown bank living up to the trust people have placed with them.

Written by Jessica Stern & Malik Marks-McRath

Classroom Work

The rest of the week the students worked hard on finalizing up their advertisement for their badge project.  They researched upcoming investors as well as the speakers at the TrepStart Day (Entrepreneurship Workshop) that they will be attending on October 5.  They also watched a video on the Art of Conversation which will hopefully get the students to feel more comfortable engaging in small talk with our investors and speakers.  

Journal Tidbits

“Wow! I cannot believe that it is already the fourth week! It is just blowing my mind. I am having the time of my life.  I love how we are coming so close together and getting everyone's opinions out there. As we have been talking about class and individual projects, it just gets me so excited. I love the enthusiasm for the class project. I feel like this is where we are going to have the most fun because we get to choose what we do and we will really get to bond.”    

Paige Montgomery

“It was really cool going to the Bank of Belleville and seeing all the actual parts of the bank. The only time I go to a bank is to deposit or withdraw money so it was interesting to see the other aspects to a bank. I took a couple of things away that I'll consider using once I start my business. I liked the idea of a soft opening. Especially for people like us who haven't run anything like a business before. Also, something that really stuck with me was when he said, "How are you different, why come here?" That really made me think and possibly reconsider what business I want to start. I really like how Mr. Pesko talked about chairing something.  I think what Mr. Pesko said on a small scale ties into our badge project. We have people chairing different teams and right now it doesn't look like we're getting a lot done for our badge project because we don't have a tangible product in front of us. Yet we are getting a lot done and we'll see that soon!”                                    

Aliyah Gillespie

“At the Bank of Belleville, Mr. Pesko went after something that he loved even though someone wanting to open a bank is something unheard of to me. I can really tell he loves what he does and shows a true passion for helping businesses in the area. On Friday, there was a lot of discussion about young entrepreneurs.  Some as young as 8 years old! There are kids my age and younger making a living off of something they love. They destroy the myth that intelligence, wealth and success come after college. It is truly inspiring and makes me want to take immediate action towards my goals and not wait on college to do so.”                                    

Melony Allen

“I can not believe it has already been a month since the CEO Class started!  I have already learned so much within the amount of time I have spent in the program.  Visiting various businesses have given me ideas of what goes into a running a business and how hard work does prevail.  Also, I am able to pinpoint what type of business I want to create for my individual business.  I am able gather different perspectives and I am start to narrow down what I want to do as a business.

 One thing I am taking away from this week is you are never too young to make a difference.  While working on the badge project, we also did research about the TrepStart Day at SLU.  All of the speakers who are going to be there are not adults, they are children either younger than us or our age.  It made me wonder what have I done to change the world.  I feel that I have not contributed enough to making the world a better place.  These children or teenagers have already put their passion into play.  They took advantage what they saw and produced something out of it.  As we have already stated, "Passion with a purpose."  I hope as I get older or even now I will be able to make a change in the world for the better.  Right now, I am still figuring out where I belong.  When I do figure that out, I will be ready to take on anything that comes in my way.”                                                   

Sandy Amorado

“Whenever somebody asks me how I am liking the CEO Program, I tell them that I amlearning things in a way that is different than what normal school has to offer. I tell them I am loving it and everything it has to offer. It is by far my favorite class and I don’t regret taking on the big commitment of the class. I am looking forward to what else the year has to come.”

Heather Gosebrink

“This week in CEO was a very beneficial one for me. The trait I developed the most is the art of communication and conversation. This is one of the most important traits a business person needs to have, from getting sponsors for a project, to getting an investor to loan you millions, the art of communication is an essential trait.”                                        

David Rauckman

“But as I’m looking over my notes, I notice one thing Mr. Pesko said that REALLY stood out; when he called someone who wasn’t on the reference list- and it actually worked for him. That’s a really good idea! But that also goes back to the idea of being connected; he had to have connections (networking) to be able to know this other banker in this other town to give him an honest reference. Everything is connected in the business world!” 

Jessica Stern

“The CEO class journals are getting harder to write because the class is getting harder. I say this because we are "locked in" now. We've heard so many success stories and they all have many similar ideologies in common as to how their visions became a reality. In the beginning we were all so excited and ready to hear about the best business ideas! Now that we know how these businesses can become a reality, we must really dig deep into the presentations to find our next spark of inspiration. Inspiration is what keeps me going. Inspiration keeps me intrigued in the class.”                                                                                                   

Malik Marks-McRath

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.