Archived News

Week 19 - January 4-8

Our Class Business

The Grand Gala:  CEOnopoly Style
Celebrating Businesses in the Belleville Area

What do you get when you mix the charm of Monopoly with the class of a gala? Belleville CEO’s first Grand Gala! We are hosting an event to celebrate the businesses of Belleville: you! To work into our theme of monopoly, we are looking for sponsorships to recreate the board.  Many of us have spent our youth competing for these make-believe properties, but now you can actually be them! We have several packages for you to choose from that not only guarantee you a spot on our life-sized board, but come with additional benefits too! The proceeds will benefit the future businesses of Belleville: the Belleville CEO students’ personal ventures. We would love for you to be a part of this great opportunity so you can get your name out there as one of the pillars of Belleville. If you are interested in this time sensitive offer, please let us know at bellevilleceo@gmail.com, as there are a limited number of spots, rapidly being filled, for each level. Please see attachments for additional information.

 To learn more about the program you'll be supporting, please visit us at our website, bellevilleceo.com!

Belleville CEO Students, 
Class of 2016

We are proud to announce the addition of two more businesses to our Grand Gala's CEO-nopoly board!

The $450 "Pennsylvania Avenue" spot:  CliftonLarsenAllen, LLP

The $350 "Indiana Avenue" spot: The Belleville-News Democrat

The Belleville CEO would like to continue to thank the following investors who have already secured a place on our board of sponsorships to our Grand Gala”

The $500 "Boardwalk" spot:  Precision Practice Management

    

The $500 "Park Place" spot: Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, PC

The $350 "Illinois Avenue" spot:  Kaskaskia Engineering Group, LLC

We also want to thank the individuals who have purchased tickets to our Gala:

1. The Baltz Family of Egyptian Stationers

2. Ms. Cheryl Mitchell & Mr. Craig Lindvahl, Midland Institute of Entrepreneurship

3. Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, PC 


Ms. Cheryl Mitchell & Mr. Bob Middleton

Ms. Cheryl Mitchell, Interim Executive Director for Midland Institute of Entrepreneurship
Mr. Bob Middleton, Entrepreneur & Retired Alton Principal

On Tuesday, Ms. Cheryl Mitchell and Mr. Bob Middleton visited and spoke to the class.  Ms. Cheryl Mitchell, the Interim Executive Director of Midland Institute, discussed why the CEO Program was created and how it has grown throughout the years.  Mr. Bob Middleton shared the idea of failure and how it can lead to success.  Both of them were very intriguing and engaging.  The skills we learned will be helpful in our future endeavors.  Thank you on behalf of Belleville CEO for taking time to speak to us!

Written by Sandy Amorado

Ms. Mitchell explained to the class about her new role as Interim Executive Director.
The students listened diligently to Ms. Mitchell’s advice across the many aspects of business.
Ms. Mitchell explained the rapidly expanding CEO family.
Mr. Middleton explained the limitations and the “relative rut” of the modern school system. It is very hard to be an “out of the box thinker” in our current system which is where CEO flourishes.

Barcom Security Tour

Mr. Mark Bartle, President and Owner
Barcom Security - Investor

This week the class was welcomed to their new home base: Barcom Security!  Mr. Mark Bartle spoke to the students on Thursday about how he got where he is today. He followed in his father’s footsteps and took over Barcom to help it grow. Mr. Bartle takes pride in hiring the best employees he can find by making sure they have positive mental attitudes all the time. The CEO students are excited to be at Barcom until March 11th. Thank you for allowing us to use your Barcom conference rooms and for the special tour and presentation!

Written by Heather Gosebrink

Mr. Bartle reiterated to the students about the importance of a good culture: one negative person can spoil the whole group.
Acquiring accounting as a skill was a repeating theme throughout the presentation.
The sheer technology of the Barcom facility is state of the art as they embark on a crusade for security.

Mr. Craig Lindvahl

Executive Director of Midland Institute

On Friday, our class had a wonderful visit from the Executive Director of the Midland Institute and the first facilitator of the CEO Program, Mr. Craig Lindvahl. He took us through a PowerPoint presentation about his career before joining the CEO Program: his start in music, becoming a teacher, his experience in filmmaking, until finally becoming the entrepreneurial leader he is today. By the end of the class, we had a better understanding of applying his lessons to our class business, some of which are featured in his book he brought to the class. But most importantly, the class left with the warm feeling of being a part of the bigger CEO family!

Written by Malik Marks-McRath

The students explained the Gala’s sponsorship procedures to Mr. Lindvahl.
Mr. Lindvahl described his travels worldwide and connected his lessons to those from other nations.
The pillars of ‘learning’, ‘owning’, ‘experience’, ‘communicative’, and ‘connecting’ make up standards for the CEO experience.
Mr. Lindvahl encouraged the class in their professional manner: both applauding exemplary behavior and helping unfavorable habits.
A photographer worked for the duration of the class period and at the end of the class as they collected images for a magazine article that Mr. Lindvahl will be featured in.
Students, Jessica Stern, Melony Allen, Hannah Prindable, and Montez Douglas stayed behind to speak with Mr. Lindvahl about their personal businesses.

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

Life is a series of choices. In my life, I have let pressures and expectations take some of those choices away from me. Now I am reclaiming them, taking some risks, and learning how to forge my own path in life.  This week has taught me just that. 

Cheryl Mitchell and Bob Middleton visited our group on Tuesday.  Cheryl Mitchell, the interim executive director of Midland Institute, discussed why the CEO program was created and how it has grown throughout the years.  I was amazed by how much it has expanded locally and nationally.  The program has reached new heights in Colorado, Indiana, and other states.  Bob Middleton told us about how life is full of success and failure.  If we are willing to adapt to change, nothing can stop us. CEO has given many opportunities to its current students and alumni.  Through this program, I have learned to think more outside the box.  The skills are not like the ones I have been taught by a textbook.  I am out in the real world networking and growing as a person.  Adults do not see us as those naive high school students, but as equals. 

At Barcom, Mark Bartle talked about his struggles in business.  He was not what you called the "star student" in high school.  Bartle, though, realized you do not have to be great at school to be successful.  He said, "I rather be lucky than good."  Timing is everything.  If we are at the right place at the right, things will fall into place.  Sometimes a 4-year university is not for everyone.  Everyone has something to offer to the world.  Some people are just quicker to figure what is their knack compared to others.  At the end of the day, you have to be loyal to yourself.  Success is not made just by you.  It is made by the people around you, too.

I think Craig Lindvahl is one of the most inspiring humans I have ever met.  On Friday, we had the honor of him coming to speak to our group.  He has achieved so much in his life. Lindvahl was a filmmaker, musician, and teacher….  Lindvahl does not let cancer handicap him.  He knows his circumstances and chooses to live his life.  CEO has become, I think, one of prized possessions.  We may look up to him, but he looks up to us.  He has taught me to not to see school as a prison anymore.  I need to go into each class and wonder what it can offer to me instead of what it can not.  I could not thank him enough for creating CEO.  It is always a pleasure to see him and hope he can kick cancer's butt.  I'm rooting for him like he is rooting for me. 

Throughout break, I finally decided where I wanted to spend the next four years of life.  It was not where I thought I would be.  I realized the only reason I wanted to attend a certain university was not for me.  It was for family.  I wanted to make them proud, but I have already.  When I decided on what is the right place for me, I could not be any happier.  I cannot wait to be at Loyola University-Chicago in the fall.  Chicago is a city full of chances.  I am ready to venture out take those chances, every single one of them.  I am choosing my own legacy now and no one else’s.

Embracing my passion for business was the first of many choices that will create my fulfilling future. Rather than succumbing to the pressures from my family and culture, I have become empowered by them. The tenacity to become the person I want to be has inspired me to reach the dreams I have envisioned for myself. I am still a Filipina high school student with black hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned skin, but I am Sandy. I am ready to make my own choices, define my own success, and take the next step on this journey of being me: through the doors of college. 

Written by Sandy Amorado

Wow. This first week back has been amazing. CEO is a class that never leaves me bored. Something new and exciting is always happening. Whether it be changing home bases, getting new speakers, or touring new businesses there is always something to grab my attention. This week was full of fun things.

Monday we got to be introduced to the new home base: Barcom Security. They have a nice large area for us to have our speakers talk or just work on our businesses. Our class business is just over a month away. That is very soon. We have so much to do in such a short amount of time. I am extremely happy with where we are as of right now, but we can do better. Not everyone is pulling their weight at the same time, but hopefully soon it will all be working out. 

Cheryl Mitchell, from Midland, came and spoke to us this week. Cheryl left me a little bit speechless. She had a way of connecting with the class when she was talking. She did not really talk too much about herself and what she does, but more of how businesses work and what we should focus on with our’s. I think she is going to do a great job helping Craig with the business and succeed. Cheryl talked to Stephen and me at the beginning of class about her week and she was extremely friendly. I liked her from the start. She was telling us about a business she visited that had an entire wall made out of doors, because their company’s motto was something about keeping the door open or something like that. I think creativity is something a business needs to have to keep it unique and fresh. When Cheryl introduced Bob Middleton to us I was impressed with some of the things he had to say. First of all I liked his entrepreneur way of thinking. He said a couple things that I wrote down, “School is not fun for out of the box thinkers” and “You have to change your way of thinking”. Craig chose a good person to carry on the program.

On Thursday Mark Bartle spoke to the class about Barcom and how he got to where he is today. He  followed in his fathers footsteps and took over Barcom to help it grow. Mr. Bartle takes pride in hiring the best employees he can find by making sure they have positive mental attitudes all the time. Barcom has an interesting business. I thought the part about Scott Air Force Base and how they have 3 foot tall systems that check license plates and do a whole background check before you get to the gate was very cool. Mr. Bartle said to make sure you always stay in contact with your customers. It takes a certain individual to start a business and a certain individual to grow a business-Mark Bartle was the second one.

My favorite part of this week was finally getting the opportunity to meet Mr. Craig Lindvahl. I was not able to attend the first meeting with him during the fall due to golf. I did not know what to expect with Craig. I knew he was kind of goofy because of his videos he sends us, but you don’t really know someone until you get the chance to meet them in person. Craig’s story about how he got to where he is today was interesting. He had no idea he was going to be doing what he’s doing. He wanted to be a studio musician. “There are some things that are fundamentally different that we will never understand.” Some things with this have me asking: Why does he have cancer? Why did he not become a studio musician? Why did I get the chance to be in this class?-Not knowing answers is okay sometimes, I don’t like it, but that is alright. People except things without questioning all the time. For many everything “just is how it is”. For others, they want to know why it is that way. I think I am a little of both. I often ask a lot of questions that nobody has a set answer to. “You do stuff, that’s how you learn.” Sometimes that is the only way to get an answer to the questions you are asking, by doing. Honestly there were so many good things said by Mr. Lindvahl I did not even get a chance to write half of them down. “Every time you act like high school students-you fail.” “You are my kids forever.” “CEO is about life.” “I have to make kids better.” “I wanna tell the stories I wanna tell.” “What can I learn here?” “There’s something for me to learn.” “You now know things you can’t go back to not knowing.” “Who will be better today because of me?” Craig seemed like another father that I just met for the first time. There was a connection he had with the class that made it seem like this is what he was called to do with his life. Many people settle in life because they think it is what they have to do. For the CEO students, we get a different look at how things should and can be if we want it and are passionate about it. After class during the mini photoshoot Craig was just having a normal conversation with us as they were taking pictures and it was hilarious the things he was telling us. He has such a sense of humor and friendly personality I could listen to him talk to us all day long. Hopefully he will be up to coming to the gala next month and speak because I want other people to get this same experience we did.

Written by Heather Gosebrink

I really enjoyed my time with Mike Bartle. I loved seeing his facility and he has a good attitude. Just a few notes that impacted me - he told his mother, when they were first starting the business, that he wanted a PB&J - and she told him to "dig in the sofa." Now that's commitment - for ten years it went on like that before they finally really started getting some good business. To undergo such sacrifices - for both you and your family - I guess that really is the true entrepreneur. Real success comes from real commitment.  

I also found it interesting that he said one of the biggest obstacles for him when he took over was his self-taught skill of accounting. I suppose that's right.... I have no idea how to handle any of that. It made me want to take several courses when I get to college.

Another point that stuck out is culture - this is another repeating theme in our class. He stressed that it takes just one bad apple to ruin the culture of a company. It's all about putting your best foot forward. 

Then he told us that "if you are successful and you give back ... What you give comes back to you tenfold". He also said that "you get out of something what you put in" and I couldn't agree more. I've always felt and believed in this. Then he finished off by saying that "commitment is key" - and he spoke of loyalty to your company (think job hopping). I also thought it was interesting that he said he could leave for two weeks and he has such competent managers in place that he wouldn't have to worry about a thing. I hope if I'm ever in that position I have people under me as good as that.      

I was so happy that Craig was finally able to come visit us!  I swear he said "isn't that interesting?" at least 10 times to us! Definitely trying to impress upon us to look past the ‘standard’ of living and ask ‘why? 

I think it’s interesting that he originally wanted to compose music and ended up teaching band. Wow. He even said “I mean I didn’t really want to… I don’t even like band music” and then he ended up staying for a different reason: the kids. It just goes to show you how life can change things for you… before CEO I swore I’d never step foot in Belleville for the rest of my adult life. But after going to all these businesses and meeting all these business leaders… I don’t know maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe kids like us can end up changing Belleville for the better and making our community overall better…. Who knows what the future holds? 

He talked a lot about how us entrepreneurs “think differently”… and he even said “do you guys ever feel like you need to make new friends? Because you’re trying to talk to people and they just say the same thing they say every week and you’re just like ‘I have nothing to add to this conversation.’” Very interesting guy. And he tied all his lessons into stories that he’d actually lived through - everything he said had substance and backing.

He reminded us of communication, and said that most of life’s issues are because of poor communication. That is one of the best reasons, I feel, like I am in CEO for. Every day I have to communicate with people and grow in my proficiency. This isn’t a class where I listen to a lecture – I interact with the speaker/presenter, my teacher, and classmates every day. Learning through doing.

I like what he said about failure – he gave us the acronym ‘first attempt in learning’. And how he reminded us all of the kind of behavior we should be exhibiting and of course the ‘packing the wow!’ – I remember that video from the beginning of the year. And ultimately explaining that CEO isn’t a business class… it’s a life class. 

He gave us many crucial lessons on Friday but I think the most important was that of asking questions. He spoke of a curtain… the innocence of young children… and how they always wonder why and how every year the curtain gets smaller. “They’ll tell us the things we need to know.” And Craig Lindvahl reminded us that we need to keep our scopes open – there is so much we are missing out on if we don’t.

Written by Jessica Stern


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