A Grand Gala

Before the students left for Thanksgiving break, they visited both Our Lady of the Snows Shrine and the St. Clair Country Club to investigate venues for their class business: ‘A Grand Gala’. Student representatives talked to coordinators at both facilities to fully explore the potential of each. The class decided on St. Clair as they work dutifully every week to make the class business a success. More information will be available soon as we get closer to this exciting event!

Written by Jessica Stern

Mr. Thomas Farquhar

“Work hard and achieve something early” Mr. Farquhar explains; “when you don’t, doors close.”

On Monday, Thomas Farquhar spoke to the class at our home base, Precision Practice Management. Mr. Farquhar explained some of the important lessons he’s learned through working for and owning his own foundry. Through his visit, the class learned how he managed to stay above the competition even though the product he's selling is not the cheapest: it's all about quality service.

 Written by Melony Allen

Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen, Inc. Tour

Mr. Thouvenot shows the students the ‘technology of old’ and explains how advancements have allowed his company to expand and grow.

Mr. Rolland Thouvenot, President
Mr. Derek Twente, Surveying
Mr. Andy Joost, Surveying
Ms. Sheila Kimlinger, Transportation
Ms. Michelle Schwierjohn, Transportation   
Mr. Tony Erwin, Construction Observation
Mr. Randy Burk, Environmental
Ms. Jennifer Wolkiewicz, Human Resources

On Tuesday, the CEO program went to Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen Inc. (TWM). The visit started with Mr. Thouvenot leading the class on a brief tour through the facility. The students were then led to the conference room for a presentation from each of the different departments. Derek Twente and Andy Joost explained how they survey buildings with a demonstration from a 3D scanner. Afterwards, Sheila Kimlinger and Michelle Schwierjohn showed the students a prototype for a future development of a highway and explained their role in the traffic department. Randy Burk finished up by explaining how water plants work.

 Written by Montez Douglas

Chamber of Commerce's Issues and Eggs Breakfast

Sponsored by The National Shrine of our Ladies of the Snows

On Wednesday, the class went to Issues and Eggs Breakfast at the Shrine. At the breakfast, local business owners were present to hear about the current issues happening throughout the community. The students were happy to have a chance to network with the CEOs and presidents before the presentation started. Mary Lamie was the main speaker, who spoke about freight transportation and how seizing on the potential in the industry will help bring more business to the Greater St. Louis area. The class thanks Mr. Edward Hoering (of CliftonLarsenAllen) for sponsoring the students at this event!

 Written by Aliyah Gillespie

Empire Comfort Systems Tour

Mr. Nick Bauer, President 
Arlo, the company dog!
Mr. Frank Kretchman, VP of Lean Operations
Ms. Kristine Stankus, VP of Human Resources
Mr. Dodd Schimpf, VP of Manufacturing
Mr. CJ Allen, Production Operations Manager, Freeburg Facility

On Thursday, the class excitedly filed into the Empire Comfort Systems facility for a tour and presentation. President Nick Bauer and VP Frank Kretchmen took the students on a brief history of the company and the many changes that came before explaining how Empire has become successful through the techniques and procedures they employ. Afterwards, the class was split up for a intimate tour of the factory. Nick Bauer left the students with the final lesson that they should seek out opportunities now, for "successful people like to help other successful people."

 Written by Jessica Stern

Mrs. Wendy Witte

Donor Service Manager
Greater St. Louis Community Foundation

On Friday, December 4, we were fortunate enough to hear from Wendy Witte, Donor Service Manager from the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation. She spoke about tax breaks, donations, and knowing when your group is available for charitable deduction. She shared many tips to keep in mind as we continue to work on our class business. After Wendy’s visit, we all feel more comfortable in dealing with tax deductions in relations to our class business. Our event will be more successful with the help from our friends like Wendy Witte. We hope to see you there!

Written by Paige Montgomery

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.

Journal Tidbits

I really enjoyed our presenters we had this week. I learned a lot of skills and leadership roles from different perspectives.

On Monday, Thomas Farquhart had an interesting presentation. Before him, I had no idea what a manufacturer’s representative even was. I was very impressed with his educational background of graduating first in his class and how he went to Duke. We have seen many presenters who have struggled in their earlier lives, but he certainly was the opposite. I was impressed with how in his late thirty’s he filed for bankruptcy and had cancer. I think everyone goes through something in their life that requires them to start over, Thomas just had the extreme end of that. Some quotes I took from his talk were: “The more risks, the more return you’ll have if you’re successful”, “You may end up doing things you don’t even know exist”, “Keep your options open”, “You have to be able to work when nobody’s watching”. 

When we went Tuesday to TWM I had no idea what is was other than a surveying company. Little did I know that they are much more than that. Their mission statement was very motivational, “Exceptional service. Nothing else.” If the goal of their company is to have exceptional service and nothing else that means they care about their customers. Out of all the speakers we had the opportunity to listen to I really liked Derek’s presentation. I know about what surveyors do, but how they do it was a mystery to me. How they are able to turn laser points into an entire building inside a computer screen was very cool. Something said about how their company works that stuck out to me was, “We drive technology, technology doesn’t drive us.” Michelle and Sheila also had a cool presentation about transportation engineering. I did not know that they can track on a computer every car and how long they wait at a light to see if new lanes need to be added. Some other quotes I found beneficial were: “The only way to coast is downhill, it takes constant effort.”, “Before you make a move to be a business owner you need to know yourself and your motifs.”

I also really liked Nick Bauer and his presentation with Frank at Empire Comfort Systems. I was inspired that Nick did not take over the company until 2007 and increased sales by 65% in three years. Their core values also were important things that I would value having a company also: Lead with love, Customer commitment, Continuous improvement, We have fun. Nick had a lot of good comments to say about growing a company and running it: “Get out there, meet people, shake hands.”, “You have to make those tough decisions.”, “How someone runs a business is more important than how successful they are.”, “Find your passion, whatever it is.”, “Don’t try to be someone you’re not.” Although these are all good, one stood out especially, “We work to live, not live to work,” this is so true. I personally don’t think that someone should be so consumed in their work that they forget to live their life. I want to be able to do both-have a successful job that I like going to everyday, but also be able to spend time with my family and live my life.

Written by Heather Gosebrink

This week was very educational. I enjoyed getting to go to different businesses every day. Mr. Farquhar was a nice speaker. I didn't know too much about the sales rep business. I liked how basically he determined how much he was going to make. Something he said that stuck with me was to "Achieve early or doors will close." I think this is true because at this age we still don't know what we want to do. I think now is a great time to explore different careers and build up our networking opportunities while we're still young. This will be beneficial in the future when we have a better idea of what we want to do. I also liked his principle of service over sales. I believe this will be a key value for whatever I decide to go into in the future whether that's continuing my personal business or opening up my own practice. The culture of anything I am apart of will always play a big role. He also talked about having an edge on your product, or it's about the cheaper price.

TWM was really nice. I didn't even know that that business existed until we went to visit. The 3D scanner was really cool. It's amazing how far technology has come and the efficiency that continues to be created every month. I like how he talked about surrounding yourself with A players. This reminds me of sports and playing on an A team. A team players are usually successful which correlates back to a business.

Eggs and Issues was a cool event to experience.…. It was a good event to practice networking and holding conversations. Holding conversations with people can be a challenge for me so it was good to force me out of my comfort zone.

Empire Comfort Systems was interesting to see how their business runs. I enjoy seeing how things are made from the beginning. I like how they continue to improve their business as the world continued to change. This was a real life example to show us what people have to do to keep their business alive. I liked the concept of perfect vs. better. I would categorize myself as a perfectionist. This can be good or bad. It's good to pay attention to detail and make sure things aren't overlooked. But it also slows down progress. Wanting everything to be done can take too much time when you can get the majority of the task done and worry about the rest of the issues later.

Wendy Witte was a very beneficial speaker. I didn’t know anything about tax deductions to that extent. This will be beneficial for the future in whatever you do. I think it was really helpful for us to use our actual prices so we know what we're working with for the gala 

I'm excited I got Mr. Rauckman as my mentor. I think he will be a great asset to help make my personal business successful.

Written by Aliyah Gillespie

This week I have gained a lot of knowledge of what it takes to survive in the business world.  Hard work and dedication are major factors to success.  Without hard work and dedication, accomplishing a goal would be difficult.  I also have to be able to adapt to change.  The world is constantly creating new concepts and I have to decide whether to find a way to survive or stay in the same situation.

On Monday, Thomas Farquhart talked to the class about working hard and being open-minded.  He gave us some background information on him.  He worked in foundries and figured out what his passion was along the way.  I loved how he elaborated on hard work.  He told to us to work hard and achieve early.  Set little goals to help us reach the main goal.  It is alright to fail on our way there.  Failure can lead to success.  He spoke about it is about how we rise above the failure and use it to our advantage.  Sometimes the path to achievement takes a different route.  Having an open mind can have many options laid out on the table.  A problem will always have a solution.

At TWM, I learned change is coming.  3-D scanners were shown to us.  It has helped the surveyors look at a location with a 360-degree layout.  The scanners have made their jobs more efficient and easier.  Derek Twente stated, "We drive technology, it doesn't drive us."  Also, I began to understand that the clients' needs and wants should be above mine.  A business flows better when it realizes what it can do for its clients.  With this, businesses need to exert effort and have understanding of their employees and customers.  Just like TWM's mission, "Our Promise...Exceptional Service. Nothing Else."

Attending the Eggs and Issues was eye-opening.  I started to picture of what my future may look like.  Being surrounding by all those business leaders in the community, I was just astonished.  The business leaders care about the community and want to make it better.  The community is the biggest client.  The leaders are able to demonstrate to us, the future business leaders, how wanting to make the world better is alright to do in business.  Sometimes in business we have the image of selfish, conceited people like Donald Trump.  The Eggs and Issues presents to us that helping our community needs to be a major factor for us.

Empire Comfort Systems with Nick Bauer and his other associates showed me a different side of business.  I saw how much goes into working in a factory setting.  Nick Bauer, the CEO of the company, also told us that we have to find our passion and go with it.  The core values of the ECS present a great outline on how I want my own business to follow: Lead with Love, Customer Commitment, Continuous Improvement, and Have Fun.  I want my employees to love going to work and not have any doubts about his or her job.

Passion will always be the number one theme of Belleville CEO.  I need to become more confident in myself and find what I love.  This program opened my eyes what I love.  I love the way business works.  Business is never the same.  It is constantly changing.  It can be used in many different fields.  One day I will look back and see how much I have grown.  Belleville CEO will be the foundation of all that.

Written by Sandy Amorado

On Monday, Thomas Farquhart, a manufacture representative as well as an investor in our program, spoke to the class at PPM. He had more quotable lines in his presentation. My personal favorite, "Everyone here may end u doing things that may not exist yet." Since we were children, we were given or told a list of careers that we could go into one day. No one ever mentioned that there are so many jobs created or have yet to be created that seem unconventional. Being a manufacture representative, Mr. Farquhart is able to work from home and go on vacation 60-80 days out of the year. He went with his gut for his career choice and in my opinion, he is very well off and accomplished. He also shared an example of the old saying "quality over quantity." the companies he represents may not have the lowest prices and because of this, he makes sure he gives the customers the best service. I will definitely keep this in my so I do not find myself caught up in a price race with a future competitor.

On Tuesday, we toured TWM. …Derek Twente on the surveying department introduced us to the 3D scanner. It was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It is a scanner that can take measurements of an area up to 1200 feet. It can even measure how deep a crack in a wall is! I also learned that Illinois has its own Environmental Protection Agency. I found that very interesting for some reason. I wonder why we aren't apart of the national EPA.

On Wednesday, the class attended Eggs and Issues at the Shrine. I am BEYOND grateful that Ed Hoering paid for us to attend. It was really interesting to hear adults discuss bringing STL to the conversation of Freight transportation. I was also very happy to reconnect with the people who have previously let us tour their business or come to our home base . With a few it was almost as if I was reconnecting with an old friend. I also enjoyed the new people I have met. We also did a bit of advertising for our Grand Gala in February. This event also made me realize that you never know who you're talking to. There's a woman named Debra who comes into Texas Roadhouse often. I always make sure I am kind to everyone but the fact that she is apart of the Chamber of Commerce was very cool and coincidental. There was not enough time for me to ask her about her personal business but I will make sure to discuss it with her the next time we meet.

On Thursday, we toured Empire Comfort System. This is a family owned business that sells customized fireplaces. During this presentation, Nick and Frank stressed how important it was to keep up with the changes in the business world. This business started off as a heating business to a fireplace business which is an example of how much change they've gone through since 1932. My favorite part of the presentation was when the two discussed leading with love. Before the CEO program, when I would picture a CEO it would be of an old man with a cigar who does nothing but sit in his office with a view of a large city. I have come to learn that my initial image of a CEO is completely false. Nick and Frank work very hard and treat their employees well. They also stressed that they are a small family business. Despite having over 300 employees, they abstain from selling to big competitors. They want to make sure they keep the company's values which is very inspiring to me. It shows that owning a business is not all about making money to some people.

We finished off the week at PPM. Wendy Witte came in and spoke to the class about the true definition of a non for profit. She was such a HUGE help. We definitely needed to hear from her. We spent the rest of the class discussing the class business. I am very happy that we have chosen the country club. …This is a milestone as we work towards our goal to organize everything for our class business. This was a very eventful week for CEO. 

Written by Melony Allen

Tuesday at TWM was not what I expected. Their presentation was very well put together and performed perfectly. They had so many wonderful speakers and so many great presentations. I loved how they told us the needs of a business as well. Those needs are being willing to sacrifice, have commitment, having a business plan, know your break even point, and have a constant effort. The 3D scanner that they had was astonishing! I loved the technology that they have and how up to date they are there! It was so amazing that they showed us how it worked I loved TWM. 

Written by Paige Montgomery