CEO Business Visits

• Mr. Mike Marchal, President (Investor)
• Rauckman Utility Products
• Dr. Jeff Dosier, District 201 Superintendent
• Mr. Kevin Pesko, President (Investor)

This CEO week started off with a trip to Holland construction services. During our visit there we were presented a PowerPoint with many extremely helpful tips on interacting within your business. Mike Marchal, the president of Holland construction services told us the importance of integrity and a can do attitude. The uplifting message he gave to us inspired me to apply these same values that Holland Construction holds so high to my own company values. Mike Marchal also mentioned how being in a job like construction, has many people involved, so communication is vital for anything to get done. From my own experiences in leading my extracurriculars at Belleville West High School, I can attest that when working or supervising many people communication is definitely a vital part to anything you do. Mr. Marchal also brought to our attention how inclusive words like “we” and “us” strengthen the bond between a group, something I will be sure to exercise in my upcoming group projects at Belleville CEO.

Dr. Dosier of District 201 shared an admiration for teamwork as Mike Marchal did.  We were engaged in an encouraging conversation about getting out there and persevering for sponsors of our badge project. It always fills me with joy to see how much faith the people who come to speak to us have in the Belleville CEO class, and I am always left with an urge to do better as a result of it. These visits and lessons will stay with me through creating my own business in the future.

Kevin Pesko at the Bank of Belleville gave us helpful tips on how to get a business rolling with a bank; I am grateful for this because it's most likely the path I will be taking for the start up money of my own. The opportunity we are given as CEO students and the collective knowledge we get to experience is something I cannot have anywhere else, and I am reminded everyday of the amazing people who give their advice and knowledge to me to ensure my future success. Through this program I have been revealed the importance of community involvement, punctuality, and reliability: three values I will stress to my own employees in the near future.

Alayna Wells
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Alayna

It’s amazing what you can achieve when no one wants the credit. An amazing quote from a amazing person, Mike Marchal, from Holland Construction. All the people we met this week were amazing from Dr Dosier, Mike Marchal, and Kevin Pesko. They were all simply amazing at their jobs.

Mike Marchal is the president of Holland Construction. He was an amazing person to meet and also his building was amazing to be in too. When i first stepped in Holland Construction, I was amazed how how enormous it was on the inside. When he gave us the tour it seemed like it was not going to end, just hallway after hallway. As I walked in the tour I mostly stayed behind everyone else because I was intrigued by all the photos of buildings on the wall. I just assumed that they liked the architecture of the buildings. I was wrong, each photo on the wall was a project by Holland Construction. I was in disbelief, I did not realize how many buildings Holland Construction had built nor have I ever heard of them until now, I bet I will not ever forget them. Mr. Marchal said some amazing things that i will use not only in the business field, but the football field as well. He told us “Let people fail, but not be failures.” I love this quote because in my eyes failing is not a bad thing, it is a learning opportunity to see what you did wrong so you can correct your mistakes and be a better person. Another great quote he told us was “It’s amazing what you can achieve when no one wants the credit.” I can connect to this personally, On the football field you want to play your heart out and be a stand out player, and have your name called, and people cheering for you, but you end up playing for yourself and not you're team. When the football team comes together as one and want credit as a team, we are a force to be played with. The same goes for business, I know that everyone want to be the person that gets credit for all the work, but what if something bad happens, then you want none of the credit. But if you stay together as a team you will fall together, but you will also rise together.

Dr. Jeff Dosier is the Superintendent of Belleville Township High Schools and the second person we met with this week. I was super excited to go in, mostly because Dr. Dosier really wanted me in this program and I wanted to show him I was in it. Dr. Dosier is a huge impact on the things I do in my life. He always showed me some sort of guidance. When he visits Belleville West he always goes to my football coach, Cameron Pettus, and asks him how I am doing. When we first walked in I dashed for Dr. Dosier to shake his hand and tell him how I was doing. As I was walking in he was stacking a tower of yearbooks from years past on his spot on the board table. Well I guess no one is allowed to sit at Dr. Dosier’s seat. So, instead I sat right next to him. The first thing he said to me was “You going to beat Collinsville.” I replied “yes sir”. As we sat down and began to eat my bagels, Dr. Dosier started explaining to us the way that the board meetings traditionally take place. It all started with me banging the gavel on the table to start the meeting. Most of what we talked about was about the History of Belleville Township.   We looked at yearbooks dating all the way back to 1917. I was in awe of the mint condition it was in. One thing that Dr. Dosier told us that stuck with me the most was to look at the back of the yearbooks, and see the businesses that sponsored the yearbooks back then and look at the ones that are still in existence. He told us to reach out to those businesses in the community because they are the ones that knows what it takes to fail and get back up and be stronger.

Kevin Pesko is the founder of Bank Of Belleville. He is another person that has a building that looks small on the inside but just does not end on the inside. He basically opened up his own bank with everyone telling him he could not do it or why would you even want to do it. I can really connect with this because, I have always wanted to be a professional wrestler, and my mom tells me almost everytime to get my education first because it's hard to get in. I know she just wants the best for me but I also know she thinks I will fail, but that's okay. Just like Mr. Pesko said I will fail, but it depends on if I fail hard and stay down, or fail hard and get back up. Another word of advice Mr. Pesko gave us was, be on time, call people back quickly, and when you say you're going to do something do it. This is a great piece of advice because if you genuinely want to open up a legitimate business you have to show your customers and you're investors that you will always be holding your business high, and you are proud of it.

The weeks seem to be on a forward motion now my classmates and I have finally got the finishing touches on our badge project and we are also in route to meet our mentors. I love what Belleville CEO has done for me so far, I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

Jaylen Davis
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Jaylen

I think our class is doing very well in raising money for our badge project so far.  We already have some gold, silver, and bronze sponsors.  We are definitely working better as a team, and I think we found a method to make decisions quicker.  I think it was also a good idea to elect Austin as our project leader so that we have someone to split people up to do different jobs.

On Tuesday, we visited Michael Marchal at Holland Construction Services.  I thought the tour was really cool.  I loved seeing all the pictures of projects the business had done.  It shows off all of their amazing accomplishments.  Mr. Marchal gave a ton of great tips for starting a business.  I learned that I not only should have core values for a business, but also a culture.  I think incorporating a new culture into my business will make it stand out. 

Mr. Marchal discussed leadership and included this quote by Jack Welch on one of his powerpoint slides, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself.  When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”  This quote impacted me a lot.  It made me realize that to be a leader, you do not have to do everything yourself.  Mr. Marchal stressed that he does not micromanage and lets people do their own jobs.  He also said, “Let people fail, but not be failures.”  I believe that this is a good form of leadership because it allows his employees to learn from mistakes they make.  It allows them to grow individually, making the foundation of the business stronger.

Thursday we visited Mr. Dosier from Belleville District 201.  Mr. Dosier talked about the importance of communication in the workplace and ways social media can be useful.  I learned that social media can get your business name more well known.  We looked in a few yearbooks from District 201’s high schools and saw different sponsor names.  It was cool to see that many sponsors give money to each school every year.  I think getting your business name out as sponsors is a great way to get a nice reputation for your business.  I also learned that if I use social media to advertise my business, I need to be responsible.  I need to regularly check to make sure my account is secure and keep it up to date.

On Friday, we visited Mr. Pesko from the Bank of Belleville.  He taught me a lot about how banks are a business.  I thought it was very interesting that some banks keep their checking accounts in other banks.  I also learned that some businesses start checking accounts in banks to help keep track of their business’s income.  Mr. Pesko also gave us tips on how to ask for a loan for your business.  I know that these tips will help me in the future if I start a business that grows.

Kaitlynn Borik
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Kaitlynn

This week was very productive. We finally got our badge projects to another level. We started to get sponsorships and our class is being very productive with it. We have two weeks until our badges are due around our necks and I really do think we will be successful. This year we also added a t-shirt each category gets one. We have three categories bronze, silver, and gold. Every category is different and receives something different.  We also are having Rauckman sponsor our polos for the second year.

On Tuesday we went to Holland and I loved it. I think going into construction management would be very interesting and a fun job. He talked about how you need to surround yourself with the best. Which is a very true statement. Not only in the work force, but in life. Surrounding yourself with the best is going to get you farther faster. Also, on how safety is in important in the workplace, but especially in construction. They have not had any time loss injuries in the last nine years which for a construction company is great.

On Thursday we went to the District 201 office and learned about how business goes into a school. It really surprised me on how much it does. Also a lot of advertising goes into a school. Each school has a video so when people move around here they pick that school district to move into.

On Friday we went to the Bank of Belleville and learned on how banks are such important to the community. Banks even use other banks to help them keep their money and help their business.

I'm excited to get our badges done and around our necks. In the next couple weeks we will start our group business and I can't wait to see where that will take us.

Claire Randle
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Claire

This week of CEO we learned a lot about how much personality and attitude can affect business. Many people when they hear about business tend to overlook the fact that an owner or employee’s attitude is a major part of what makes a business appealing.  A lot of light was shed on personality when we paid a visit to Holland Construction where Mike Marchal really stressed the importance of empathy and caring for their employees, to keep a light and fun atmosphere. One thing he said that really stuck with me was to allow failure. In business you should allow failure because it’s truly the best way to learn from your mistakes.

When we visited the District 201 Jeff Dosier discussed many noteworthy things along the lines of the reality of business, in the sense that there will always be stress and people will always disagree no matter what. Among these social issues in business, he mentioned to never address anything personally to a worker or owner because it creates tension in the workplace.

On the final day when we went to tour the Bank of Belleville Kevin Pesko said a lot of things that really caught my attention. Things like the importance of taking initiative in a business and to always make sure that you have a comfortable environment. In conclusion this was a very insightful week for me and the class as a whole. I’m eagerly awaiting the weeks to come, and see what’s in store for the CEO program.

Cole Maul
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Cole

On Tuesday, we visited Holland Construction Services where we talked to Mike Marchal who gave a tour of the building and gave us advice on how an office should look. He started out talking to us about how he became president of the business and where he first started off. He then started talking about honesty and how he doesn’t allow problems in the office between workers. Mr. Marchal explained how if a coworker has a problem with another coworker for any reason at all they should just talk to that person so that they can resolve that issue.

On Thursday, we all met at District 201 Central Office where we talked to Dr. Jeff Dosier. Dr. Dosier passed around all of the years from Belleville East and West starting from when the school’s first opened. After looking through the yearbooks Dr. Dosier told us to look and notice how the yearbooks have progressed and evolved and made a connection with business. He explained how businesses need to constantly change and grow just like how the yearbooks change and update every year.



Devin Alexander
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Devin

The theme that I noticed in CEO this week was teamwork. We CEO students have to work together to accomplish everything and an example of this was when Tim handed out thank you cards and everyone had to take one. This mundane action spoke volumes to me because no one complained and everyone gladly started deciding who they would write a thank you note to. I believe as our class visits businesses, we see that teamwork is an essential part of any business and we use that idea in operating the CEO class. It’s not always easy working together easily and the badge project is an example of this. We discussed the details and made decisions on how to fund it and started to work together to bring the money in. The class really came together when we found out that we only had about a week to get the sponsors before we had to have the badges so everyone kicked it into high gear and set out to get the funds. It was really cool seeing in the group chat about who to ask and how to get the sponsor. I loved seeing everyone come together as a team and help people get prepared for their meeting with potential sponsors. I really took to heart what MIke Marchal said at Holland construction regarding people working together. “It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one wants to take the credit.” This quote really stuck with me because he’s completely right. When we are working at Allsup on the badge project or the class business no one is trying to undercut each other or shove someone out of the discussion. We work together as a class and in that way we accomplish more than any other group of random teenagers thrown together who don’t know each other and really anything about the business world. A badge project isn’t that hard to accomplish or manage but I believe if our CEO class didn’t work as a team we wouldn’t even be able to function much less make a badge.

Joe Beussink
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Joe

Tuesday, we visited Holland Construction and it was one of the perfect examples of a company being more of a family then an actual business. Mr. Marchal spoke on how their core values also mesh in with how their business is ran. They truly value their employees and tolerate mistakes as long as progress as made and that is exactly how I could vision my company being run as well.

Our workdays this week were also very productive. Our badge project should be completed on time and it won't even take too much money to actually complete. We truly came together as a group without necessarily appointing a leader but still did it quite efficiently. Although in upcoming projects we will need to start diversifying our roles to increase how much we can do in my opinion.

Thursday, we visited Dr. Dosier at District 201. It was quite amusing to see how much things have changed over the years, especially people's styles and apparel. It was also really cool the way he talked to us about social media and how to use proper etiquette with it. Business's throughout the area also seem to last quite a long time, seeing as the Motor Company, although changing names, has lasted from at least 1917 till now.

Friday was probably the most informative day on a business basis to me. It showed me how much it really costs to startup and maintain a business. Mr. Pesko's speech to us showed me that even having a million dollars isn't much when it comes to the business world, but that's an intangible amount of money to me right now. Mr. Pesko and Mr. Marchal also showed us the importance of relationships. If you do people favors, establish strong relationships, and do what you say you will do, you can get a lot of business going without having to necessarily purchase all the necessities for your business.

Royce Payne
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Royce

Week 5 of Belleville CEO has come to an end. We had some amazing visits this week featuring Holland Construction, District 201, and the Bank of Belleville. Monday and Wednesday we stayed home at Allsup to work on our badge project, and discuss some ideas for the class business.

Tuesday was the visit to Holland Construction. The president of the company, Mike Marchal spoke to us that morning. Mike brought up points that have been engraved in our heads throughout this class so far, like being accountable and results not excuses. But he said two things that I have never heard before and it really struck me. The first quote is, “Let people fail, but do not let them be failures”. This quote really sticks with me because obviously failing is the best way to learn in life, but consistently failing is not acceptable. I have to accept failing, but I will not accept failure. The other quote is, “It is amazing what people can accomplish when nobody wants the credit”. I thought really hard about this one and even discussed it with my parents because I have never heard that before. But it really is true. If nobody in a certain company wants all the glory and everybody just works together much more will be accomplished.

Thursday we went to the District 201 office and met with Dr. Dosier. It was almost intimidating to meet with the man who runs East and West. But just like all the people we have met with he was very nice and taught us about communications and social media. He reminded us that there will always be stress when communicating a lot in the workplace. He is definitely right if you look at our badge project, but we have to be respectful and professional to overcome this stress and work it out as efficiently as possible. Dr. Dosier also brought up social media which is growing to be more and more important in our public and private lives. As the superintendent of District 201 he frequently deals with issues about social media. Kids too often post inappropriate things online that can get them in trouble. Whenever we apply for jobs the first thing they will check is our social media, so we have to make sure we keep our noses clean on social media.

Friday we went downtown to see Mr. Pesko at the Bank of Belleville. Mr. Pesko talked to us about banking, some of his history, and maybe without realizing it gave us some life lessons. He told us about how he had a good job with a previous bank, but still he was not settling. He revealed to his dad that he was going to start his own bank and his dad basically called him crazy. Well, now look who was crazy. Mr. Pesko is a very successful business owner and I think it is because he was never satisfied. As an entrepreneur I can not accept being good, or become complacent. I have to always keep pushing just like Mr. Pesko. If I do not get called crazy in the next ten years, I am doing something wrong.

Michael Lassman
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Michael

We just concluded week 4 of CEO class. I cannot believe that time is flying so fast. So far, I have made a lot of new friends, and made a lot of new connections. I have learned a lot of things about the business world and various occupations that I had previously never known about.

On Monday, we worked on our badge projects, and finalized a few details. Basically, we needed to get sponsors in order to create the badges. The only thing holding us back was the lack of gold donors. However, I think that we have made a lot of progress and should be able to make the badge soon.

On Tuesday, we went to Holland Construction and talked to Mike Marchal. Construction is a business that I have never thought about going into. However, Mr. Marchal helped teach me about the business, and interested me. I was impressed that Holland has not had an injury in 9 years. I like how he used the word love, and loves his workers. He stressed how important communication is. He talks about how he gives his employees constant feedback, and has direct conversations. He also said it is important to let people fail, but do not let them be failures. Everyone makes mistakes, and messes up. However, it is very important to get past those faults. Mike Marchal also talks about the importance of relationships.

On Wednesday, we had another project day. We started talking about our class business, and I am very excited to see what we will come up with as a class. I think that this business will be very fun to brainstorm and plan. I hope to be a big part of this project.

On Friday, the class went to Bank of Belleville, and met Mr. Pesko. His company's niche is small businesses and entrepreneurs. He also said that everyone needs a bank. Mr. Pesko stressed the importance of relationships and networking. So far, I think that every business has talked about the importance of networking. He also said that it is very important to do little things like be on time no matter what. Furthermore, if you say you are going to do something, you need to do it. His company "hunts with a rifle not a shotgun." This means that they target individuals for business not the masses. Overall, it was a very good week, and I enjoy coming to CEO every day.

Stephen Waltrip
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Stephen

      This week we visited Holland, District 201, and Bank of Belleville. The deadline for our badge project is coming up soon so we worked on that as well. Overall it was a productive week with some great speakers.

      Our first visit of the week was Holland Construction Services. Mr. Marchal gave us a tour of their office and introduced us to some employees. After that he gave a presentation about Holland. He told us about a personality test his employees have to take. This ensures they are right for the job and will be happy while doing it. He also talked to us about growth in a business. You want to grow as a company, but you have to be careful about. He showed us how Holland itself had grown as well as what they wanted to avoid when growing. What I learned was that you don't want to grow so big you can't handle all the customers you have. You only have so many employees who can only handle so many projects. If you take on more projects than you can handle, you will fail.

     District 201 talked to us on Thursday. Dr. Dosier taught us about the history of the district and showed us some cool old yearbooks! He also talked to us about the uses and misuses of social media. He told us how businesses can utilize social media, such as advertisement and communication. As I go on to create my own business, I am sure I will utilize social media. There are so many ways I can use it. I'm sure it will be a core part of my business.

      Lastly, on Friday we visited the Bank of Belleville. Kevin Pesko talked to us about finding our niche and what his niche was. Whenever you are running a business, you will always have competition. I'm going to need to find my own niche, what makes my business different. You also have to find your target group, who are you aiming to serve or sell to. This was interesting information and I'm sure I'll think about it when I'm setting up my own business. 

Tim Donaho
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Tim

This week in CEO we went to Holland Construction. Michael Marchal gave us a tour of the place and told us what he does and how he does it. At first he talked about safety which I thought was really interesting. They have tons of people right now working on the new St. Elizabeth’s. He also told us this quote by Jack Welch “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”  I think it completely true. A leader is to be there for other not yourself I think.

Later we went on to the District 201, and talked to Jeff Dosier. He taught us how the school board is run and who runs it. Then told us a lot about the difference in times. Like back when the school board was new they didn't have phones and hardback books. He showed us a 1917 yearbook they have there.   It was quite interesting. I even found a jokes page in it.

Then later that day I found my sisters old camera that she left behind pretty awesome. And once I get it all fixed up and buy a memory card I think it would be cool to be able to maybe take pictures for my CEO class and have it on the website.

Then Kevin Pesko from Bank of Belleville told us how he runs his bank. I personally enjoyed his talk about how bankers are like entrepreneurs.  For examples, they both take risks. Some more than others.  His hard work and motivation is very inspiring. “If you say you're going to do it, do it”.  

Kelly Rowden
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Kelly

Some things that I took away from this week without wasting time on where we went were some things based on what people look for when they hire. The leading characteristics are: respect for rules, work well in teams, and are comfortable with hard decisions. But more importantly was that when you have a problem with either an employee or a coworker, or even just a friend; you need to deal with the problem and talk to the person as soon as possible. Even the same day if you can. Also when you do confront this person or persons, do not make personal attacks because they turn into grudges really easily. ... But on more of the business side of things, I noticed another common point of interest between the business leaders; build a network of relationships with as many people as you can. Then the different ones that I have not heard of before but that I will probably end up using when it is my turn to open a business.

Find your target customer - how much do you want/plan to make - how much of your product you need to sell to get there - how much to charge for that product. Which is all part of a business plan but nobody has ever elaborated on what to look for in a business plan.  Also to start with a soft opening, basically to advertize a small amount before opening so that when you do open you know everything is running correctly then hit the public with what you are. I do think that this technique is what I will end up using when I come around to opening my business.

Then there are a couple last points on how to live your personal life. To be on time wherever you go, and to do what you say when you say you will do it. And ever since this class has started I’ve made a conscious effort to follow through with these points.

Carson Gamboe
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Carson

Through another fun packed week with my fellow CEO students, much was dispersed. Visiting a variety of different businesses, a few key factors left an impact by which i thought how everything in our Society should be ran. Integrity, a simple yet forgotten act of common core values, seems to have been loss in the progress of our growing culture, but is it actually progress without this simple yet important trait? Service, why has service become a huge advantage for small businesses? Communication and Technology, its essentialness and downfalls. All three of these traits can make businesses expand and excel.

While having the opportunity to visit Holland construction services, it was clearly eye opening in the regard of the fact Holland builds structures that can alter and save lives. While having the pleasure to meet with Mike Marchal, it was truly impressive by how the company has expanded and their story of success. Integrity, the core of this company, in theory it will lead to more business and most certainly has. While having over a 190 million dollar company, rules have to be enforced and safety is largely controlled area. The reason this is, is not because the jobs are getting safer, Holland hires Calm and Wise advisors who control the job sites and are accountable for their actions.

As the week progressed, we as a class visited the Bank of Belleville and got to speak with Kevin Pesko. Founding a bank from scratch a little over ten years ago, he and his staff had to find their special niche. To compete with competitors, they mainly focus on Business accounts and the service by which they can offer. While service is key, so is Communication, as we visited the District 201 office. Jeff Doiser, the superintendent, stresses the importance of communication with others. Social media is changing the game, making communication easier, advertising more impacting, and it allows businesses to have the best employees. To extend upon that, there are endless ways to verbally and rhetorically communicate through our smartphones and computers. It's allowing companies to obtain the best employees because of the fact you can work at home. It is a game changing strategy and has many benefits. On the flip side it can make an individual more vulnerable in the work atmosphere.  For instance, social media can share many personal moments of your life and it's out there for everyone to see. When working for someone or even yourself, your social media accounts are extensions of your reputation. Most employers pay close attention to these accounts. Be smart, stay Private.

Badge project, at the beginning of the week i challenged our class to reach a $2000 dollar goal, as of thursday we were within margin. I’m glad that our class is actually functioning like a team. Good things are in store for us.

Austin Thurman
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Austin

This week in CEO was eventful. We went to three different business. During this week went to Holland Construction Services, Belleville Township High School District 201, and Bank of Belleville.  Of the businesses we visited this week  I liked the visit to Holland construction.      

The presenter for Holland Construction was the president of the company, Michael Marchal. Mr. Marchal began his career as an estimator, and from there he continued to progress in the company. I personally like the company's montra  on their business card “Built on integrity”. During Mr. Marchal emphasized mutual respect, having a good reputation, being dependable and of course integrity.  He also talked about the characteristics that make for good fit for the position of construction manager, such as being good at public speaking, organization, teamwork, and time management.

At District 201 we met Dr. Jeff Dosier. Dr. Dosier was very nice, and generously let our class look at all the yearbooks from Belleville East and West. Much like the visit to Althoff, district 201 is ran like a business. The district budgets money for the schools, and makes decisions on what the schools will spend,and what rules that will be enforced, among other decisions. The district has committee members who vote and work alongside school board members. The responsibilities of the district are to meet deadlines, and make sure the two schools have the appropriate funds to run the schools. Unlike my school who has the diocese and the school administrators to make decisions under the thumb of the bishop.

Friday we went to the Bank of Belleville. The presenter was Mr. Kevin Pesko. Kevin Pesko is the owner of the bank, he originally began as a lender. The bank opened in 2005. The interior of the bank was very nice. The bank is a small business, and retail bank.  I did not know that credit unions are considered the enemies of banks, because they don't have to pay federal income tax. Some of his points from his presentation to our class were to be active, networking, and to take the  opportunity to be in leadership positions

Epiphany Smith
Friday, September 16, 2016Learn More About Epiphany