Belleville CEO Elevator Pitch Competition

Sponsored by Mr. Patrick McKeehan, Director of Illinois Metro East Small Business Development for SUIE

Judges:

• Mrs. Renae Eichholz, Owner and Partner of Precision Practice Management & Belleville CEO Board Member
  
• Mr. Chris Oswald, Executive Director of Peer 151
• Ms. Kaitlin Beasley, Masters of Business Administration graduate assistant

To start off the week, the Belleville CEO students were enthralled to finally compete in the 'Elevator Pitch' Competition hosted by Mr. Patrick McKeehan. Every student had a chance to pitch their idea followed by a short question period in front of three judges (listed above). Three cash awards will be awarded to the top students who exhibited the best skills and quality of idea. The class thanks everyone who has made this possible for us and it has been a great experience as we add yet another tool to our arsenals as we prepare for the business world.

Written by Jessica Stern

Belleville CEO Banker Day

Participating Banks in Belleville CEO Banker Day:

Bank of Belleville

• Mr. Kevin Pesko, President and CEO
• Mr. Ron Stephens, Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer

Bank of Edwardsville

• Mr. Robert Mueller, President of St. Clair County Market
• Mr. Rick Parks, Senior Vice President/Commercial Banking Group Madison County

On Banker Day, all of us presented our financials and business plans to four bankers visiting from the Bank of Edwardsville and the Bank of Belleville. They helped us realize what we have to work on to improve our personal businesses and gave us expert input on basic business fundamentals. Overall their presence alone was enough for us to make gains for our personal businesses.

Written by Stephen Toenjes

Associated Bank

Mr. Phillip Hickman, President of Southern Illinois Community Market
Ms. Amy Kempfe, Senior Branch Manager for Fairview Heights, IL
Associated Bank - Friend of CEO

On Wednesday, the CEO class went to Associated Bank to hear from Mr. Phillip Hickman and Ms. Amy Kempfe.  In their presentation, they talked about building a relationship with a bank, the primary principles of networking, and the overall objective of their bank. It is important to have a relationship with your bank. One should not see their bank as just a bank but as a friend or financial advisor. We also learned about the “Ten Primary Principles of Networking” which are the elevator pitch, being different, helping others, personal integrity, relevant targeting plans and aims, following up, being positive, sustained focused effort, and life balance. If one has all of these aspects, they will be perfect at networking. The last thing Mr. Hickman talked about was the objective of their bank which is to make you a happy long-term customer.  In order to do this they first ask what the customer needs. Then they see what they can do for the customer by showing them all the options that are available. Overall the visit to Associated Bank was a great learning experience for the CEO class.

Written by Montez Douglas

Trade Show Sneak Peek!

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.