CEO Business Visits

• Ms. Leann Bassler, CFO
• Mr. Roland Thouvenot. President (Investor)

This week of CEO was filled with workdays to try to get our CEO class business to its solid product. We have a lot planned for everyone so I personally hope it will be extravagant and opportunistic to see your ideas come to life.

 The week started at the Governor's French Academy. Governor’s French is a small private school in Belleville Illinois when I first walked in I originally thought there's no way they have a school out of this small building. I walked into a room full of beautiful art and a gallery room it reminded me of going to the Peabody Opera House how when you walk in and you have all art in the front and then a beautiful chandelier to top it all off. Governors French is totally different from the public schools as the day starts everyone gathers in the stage room and says the pledge together and says announcements together which are really cool to me. One thing that I have noticed that makes governors French completely different from any other school is that you are in control of your progress you can advance grades at your own pace which really helps you actually learn and make sure you know what you're doing mostly in part that you are learning at your own pace. In many school you will have a teacher just go in front of the class and lecture you for 45 minutes then give you 4 sheets of homework and then not really care if you do it or not either way they are getting paid. That's not what Governors French is about as a matter of fact Governors French teachers payrolls are increased by each student’s success and care about their children I really liked my experience.

 The next day we met with Rollie Thouvenot with Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen Inc. when we walked in were greeted by wonderful funny people who are probably one of the funniest business people I have met so far. We took a tour of the building and learned about what exactly they do which is kind of like graphic designing and engineering. When we walked into the snug room we all were happy to get doughnuts so happy the that it was the first thing we saw when I sat down I noticed a giant map behind me and saw how actually separated we are from different cities who I thought we were close to. Besides that we were introduced to this device that scanned the room we were in 360 3-D and it actually got all of us sitting there. It kind of looked like it was taking a picture and scanning us with lasers the whole time when we saw the final product of the power of the software that is capable of making a sale with measurements makes it 10 times easier to construct and design a certain building or object. When he began talking about expenses I thought of quote told to me a while ago I was told, "We can do things the cheap way, the simple way, for the short-term and without regard for the future.” Or, "we can make the extra effort, do the hard work, absorb the criticism and make decisions that will cause a better future." And that will always stick with me

 Next week we will not have a CEO Journal due to thanksgiving break so I hope everyone reading this has a Happy Thanksgiving with your families and remember thing that you are thankful for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.

Jaylen Davis
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Jaylen

Another eventful week of CEO has passed, and we are still making strides in our class business.  We also got to visit Governor French as well as Thouvenot, Wade, and Moerchan.  I have learned a lot this week about a lesser known high school and a business that I drive past every day without knowing what it was.

Governor French is a private school that runs from preschool until high school.  They are very small compared to Althoff.  They have less than sixty kids all together. I really like how they can work at their own pace, and challenge themselves to be the best students they can be.  I also like how every student has to participate in a sport and a play. This helps create well rounded students.  Furthermore, I like their morning routine. It promotes and celebrates the students, and I was excited to see it.  I also like how the students were confident speakers in front of the group of people. I was also happy we got to talk to a student.

We also visited Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen.  I really liked their presentation and learning about the recycling of water. I thought that it was very interesting because I did not know what happened to our water.  I also enjoyed their machine that surveyed the room in just a couple of minutes.  It is truly amazing that the technology is so good that it was able to pick up the area between bricks.  I liked how they said to work with your passion, and it will not feel like work.  Do what you love, and question why are you doing this. I think that is very important to do what you love, and I am glad they shared that with us.

Stephen Waltrip
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Stephen

On Monday, we made the trip to Governor French Academy. Originally there were only 3 high schools in Belleville, until a Belleville East teacher sought to help students better on a 1 on 1 level. Governor French was looking for an accountant and Mrs. Bassler was a perfect match. Everything they do here is monitored by different types of groups, tax groups, education boards, etc. Payroll taxes have increased the difficulty and paperwork of paying employees. Employees seek benefits and insurance packages. Workers compensation is a necessity for all businesses for those accidents that no one can predict. The Academy being nonprofit takes work and you have to go through a hard process. They have to fundraise just as much as Althoff because their tuition is lower but they also have fewer students. In my personal opinion I would send my child to grade school here because of how advanced their classes are.

Thursday, we went to TWM; Thouvenot, Wade, & Moerchen. Before the presentation even started a quote that hit home was that everyday a new problem presents itself and you need to make a tactful decision and roll with it. Market diversity is always a standpoint no matter what type of business you are running. TWM has many different types of projects they take on. Once specific type is surveying jobs which utilize different forms of technology to capture and create models of areas. Another major point that hit home while we were there was the fact that you can have leading edge technology but sometimes your clients don't have the capability to access that service or data. The last and biggest point of the week was find something you would do 1 without getting paid, turn your vocation into work, find a way to make money from it, and without getting paid, turn your vocation into work, find a way to make money from it, and you'll never work a day in your life.

Royce Payne
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Royce

This week in CEO our class we visited two businesses, and the rest of week were work days. This week we went to Governor French academy, and TWM. This week was a decent week. On Monday we went to Governor French Academy for a presentation from the CFO and a Tour. The CEO of Governor French is Phillip Paeltz. The CFO talked about payroll, Human Resources work,and insurance. She explained that insurance is categorized by risks for jobs, property insurance etc. She also stressed that everything has a form. Like many other businesses OSHA has regulations that are very particular for specific types for businesses. It was also explained that the school had to change from profit to non for profit so they can be accredited. It was refreshing to go back to my old school, and see my teachers, friends, and classmates. Going to GFA for a presentation, and tour was a great start to my day. I really miss some of my closest friends who go there. While going touring I saw how some of the school had been redecorated. Also it was great moment to see some third and fourth form students who I remembered from when they were in first form and K1.

Thursday our class Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen, Inc. also known as TWM where Mr. Roland Thouvenot is the CEO. TWM does commercial, and subdivision engineering. They are responsible for products such as the Chain of Rocks bypass channel in Madison, engineering on St. Elizabeth hospital, and. barge conveyors. Before the presentation I didn't know that grain barges cost millions and were funded by government. The company utilizes Geospatial land surveyors and is the largest geospatial surveyor in Mid East with thirteen people. They have become the largest division in area because of market diversity, and boundary graphing for property lines for construction layouts. Mr. Thouvenot made the statement that Bill Gates’, and Paul Allen’s companies were worth nothing until people believed and invested in them. He also said that A small piece is more than a large piece of a company, when it comes to employee ownership.

Epiphany Smith
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Epiphany

Week 13 featured two visits, one to Governor French Academy and the other to TWM Engineering. We also had three quality work days where we made a lot of progress in terms of the class business.

Monday we visited Governor French Academy and I really enjoyed that visit. Mr. Paeltz was supposed to speak to us, but a surprise meeting came and we got to meet with Leann Bassler. She is the Chief Financial Officer for the school and spoke to us about payroll and all the requirements. She said, “In your business you will run into a bunch of different people and you have to work with them.” I liked the visit so much because it was a new perspective to see such a small school with strict rules. All students must play one sport, participate in one play, and have a strict dress code as well. I believe a school system like this would develop kids into more mature, responsible young adults, just like CEO class does.

On Thursday we visited TWM Engineering and we were spoken to by a lot of people. They brought in a weird laser thing and scanned the room. It was really cool to see the amazing technology they use in their business. They told us technology is always evolving and it is nearly impossible to stay on top of it, but you have to do the best you can. TWM wants to be leading edge, not bleeding edge. They also talked a little bit about market diversity, and how you need to offer multiple services so in the long run you will have more sale opportunities. Finally Derrick took some time to give us a little inspiration. He told us, “When you follow your passion, you find your purpose. If your passion is your job, you will never work a day in your life.” I am glad I took this class, because I believe I have found my second passion. I’m sure owning my own business would feel like work, but I would be much more willing to work hard since I love it so much. Luckily entrepreneurship does not have an expiration date, so I could follow a different path and decide to be an entrepreneur at any time.

The work days were very productive and now we have a sure location and sure key-note speaker. I’m excited to where we are getting with the business and most of the work left to do is get sponsorships and booths.

Michael Lassman
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Michael

As always it has been yet another really exciting week for our class as this 13th week has concluded.  It's pretty crazy noticing that we’re already finished with the thirteenth week of the program, because time has really been flying.  So if it keeps feeling like this the class project will be here quicker than we think!

We started off this exciting week by paying a visit to Governor French Academy in Downtown Belleville.  This was honestly a really cool experience.  It was really interesting to see how another school runs, especially one as small as this one.  It almost felt like we got to be students there for the time we visited, as we stood and watched announcements and took a tour of their building.

The next two days were two well needed work days where we met at Barcom to discuss a plan more for our class show.  We made a lot of progress, but I would say the biggest thing we accomplished during these two days was locking in on Ben Glenn.  So overall I would consider these two work days to be successful.

On Thursday we met at TWM, which is an engineering group in Swansea.  Here a few different people discussed the logistics of the business and many of the jobs that they have recently completed.  I found all the technology and work that goes into these projects, to be incredibly interesting.  It really made me think of how people created virtually anything before a lot of this advanced technology was available.  They also went over their employee ownership plan where all of the TWM employees receive an equal number of shares in the company, as a benefit for working there. This I found to be really interesting, as they are the first company to discuss this sort of plan with us.

So in conclusion, like always this has been another really cool week to be apart of the CEO program, and we have recently made a lot of progress on the class project. But there is still a lot more progress that needs to be made before we can feel comfortable. Because I know February will be here much quicker than we think it will.  Nonetheless I can not wait to see how our hard work will pay off at the show, given our current state of planning.

    

Cole Maul
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Cole

This week of CEO was filled with workdays to try to get our CEO class business to its solid product. We have a lot planned for everyone so I personally hope it will be extravagant and opportunistic to see your ideas come to life.

 The week started at the Governor's French Academy. Governor’s French is a small private school in Belleville Illinois when I first walked in I originally thought there's no way they have a school out of this small building. I walked into a room full of beautiful art and a gallery room it reminded me of going to the Peabody Opera House how when you walk in and you have all art in the front and then a beautiful chandelier to top it all off. Governors French is totally different from the public schools as the day starts everyone gathers in the stage room and says the pledge together and says announcements together which are really cool to me. One thing that I have noticed that makes governors French completely different from any other school is that you are in control of your progress you can advance grades at your own pace which really helps you actually learn and make sure you know what you're doing mostly in part that you are learning at your own pace. In many school you will have a teacher just go in front of the class and lecture you for 45 minutes then give you 4 sheets of homework and then not really care if you do it or not either way they are getting paid. That's not what Governors French is about as a matter of fact Governors French teachers payrolls are increased by each student’s success and care about their children I really liked my experience.

 The next day we met with Rollie Thouvenot with Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen Inc. when we walked in were greeted by wonderful funny people who are probably one of the funniest business people I have met so far. We took a tour of the building and learned about what exactly they do which is kind of like graphic designing and engineering. When we walked into the snug room we all were happy to get doughnuts so happy the that it was the first thing we saw when I sat down I noticed a giant map behind me and saw how actually separated we are from different cities who I thought we were close to. Besides that we were introduced to this device that scanned the room we were in 360 3-D and it actually got all of us sitting there. It kind of looked like it was taking a picture and scanning us with lasers the whole time when we saw the final product of the power of the software that is capable of making a sale with measurements makes it 10 times easier to construct and design a certain building or object. When he began talking about expenses I thought of quote told to me a while ago I was told, "We can do things the cheap way, the simple way, for the short-term and without regard for the future.” Or, "we can make the extra effort, do the hard work, absorb the criticism and make decisions that will cause a better future." And that will always stick with me

 Next week we will not have a CEO Journal due to thanksgiving break so I hope everyone reading this has a Happy Thanksgiving with your families and remember thing that you are thankful for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.

Kaitlynn Borik
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Kaitlynn

To start off a chilly week the CEO class visited Governor French academy.  A private non for profit school, it is located in downtown Belleville. As an outsider looking in, one wouldn’t think that this is a school K-12. Also, many people do not think of a school as a business. Our class was given the opportunity to speak with Leann Bassler, the CFO of Governor French Academy. She spoke with us and explained the business aspects of running a school. From taxes all the way to payroll, she highlighted the main expenses. I had never thought of everything that goes into a business, the taxes, workman’s comp, insurance, and many more attributes. Then we were given a tour and the school is quite unique by which it is set up. It is an open atmosphere by which none of the classrooms have walls. As a whole our group had a great time touring the Academy.   

This week we had three work days for our class business are we are starting to nail things down. I have personally seen people step up and take charge for certain projects. Carson and I went to see Mike from The Scottish Rites and are working out our contract for the tradeshow in February. Though people are stepping up, I still wish that our group can get to a better flow but I bet that will come with time and experience.

With our tour of TWM, I personally realized how fast technology is changing the game for businesses everywhere. These guys are awesome, with many diverse specializations; the company has received many awards on their projects. Since they specialize in many different types of engineering, they have to be competitive in doing so. When designing something or even surveying. One needs precise measurements, TWM has new technology that allows lasers to scan rooms and areas, this saves on time and labor.

After having put some serious time and thought into this, I am pretty curious to see whether I can start my own personal business upon flipping cars and motorcycles. Just an idea that I am working through my head.

Austin Thurman
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Austin

This week our class visited Governor French Academy and TWM inc, as well as working on our class project. We heard from Governor French’s CFO as well as a current student. From TWM, we heard from a wide variety of workers.

It was super interesting to hear from Governor French and see what they do different as a high school. We heard about the school's transition from a for-profit to a non for-profit. We also heard how they had expanded since they first opened. Because of the school’s unusual location, it was able to buy the old shops next to it over the years. What I really enjoyed about the visit was just seeing how the school differed from my high school. Governor French students work at their own pace, they have very open classrooms, and have a dojo. Overall it is very different from Althoff and I really enjoyed the visit.

TWM inc. was nice to visit. We were allowed to see some of their gadgets and equipment. They talked to us about the kind of services they provide. Two things that really had me thinking after the presentation was ROI and competition. ROI, or return on investment, was very important to TWM. If they wanted to buy a new piece of equipment they would first have to figure out if they will make the money back. Although this sounds like common sense, it is very important for business people to understand this. The other idea I really connected with was competition. A lot of businesses have talked about how they deal with their competition. TWM is able to provide a lot of services others can't. They also provide a wide range of services. This ensures they always have a service to sell, in case a particular one is not popular at the moment. These ideas really stuck with me and will hopefully help me in a future business.

Tim Donaho
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Tim

Monday we met at Governor French Academy and learned all about what they do, how they run things, and all the restrictions and such about running a school. I had never really known much about GFA but I had found out they were originally not a not-for-profit organisation. I had no idea that there were so many regulations on schools for insurance, keeping records, etc. It was really eye opening to see how much paperwork there is to running a school and that a lot of this paperwork carries over to running a business.

Then during our workdays we hammered out some more about our venue and sponsorships and booths. Austin Thurman and I went back to the scottish rite to get some measurements and to tell Mr. Mike what the plan was and that we were serious about using their building. I finally finished the sponsorship/booth brochure, which took a lot of time and effort but I am glad that we can finally start handing them out and finding sponsors.

Then we went to TWM for a visit and learned all about them and what they do. We got to see this really cool piece of equipment that shot a laser around 360 degrees and took a 3D picture of the room. But we also learned a little about the business side of what they do. They mentioned a Tiger Grant which is a grant but whenever you buy products or materials with it you have to use American made products. This was also the second time that we heard about RTO (return on investment). He was saying make sure to invest in things that you are sure you will get more out of that you pay for either financially or use wise. The owner also talked about how the company is employee owned, so employees have shares of the business and nobody else. This gives them incentive to do well in their work and to have the business succeed.       

Carson Gamboe
Friday, November 18, 2016Learn More About Carson