Men's Wearhouse

Josh Farmer & Treanna Kerney

This week the Belleville CEO class met with Mr. Josh Farmer and Ms. Treanna Kerney from Men’s Wearhouse at Mathis, Marifian & Richter. They discussed how there are multiple methods to effectively dressing in the workplace.  Mr. Farmer also shared with the class how to impress people with the way we dress at interviews, and what articles of clothing and accessories can be worn between a first and second interview. The students will be able to use this valuable information when they apply for jobs and interviews of their own, and now have great tips for dressing nicely for special occasions. The Belleville CEO class would like to thank Mr. Farmer and Ms. Kerney for coming to visit us and let them know we appreciate the generosity they expressed towards us.

Written by Jacob Gall

Mr. Farmer and Ms. Kerney gave a presentation on "How to Dress for Success."

Part of the presentation was about resume writing. They mentioned that these three major items should always be highlighted on a resume: Teamwork, Leadership, and Customer Service skills.

Mr. Farmer was showing the students how to properly wear a suit.

Ms. Kerney also commented that Charcoal and Navy are great color of suits to buy.

Biz on Bunch

Bob Bunch

On Thursday, the Belleville CEO class got the chance to speak with Mr. Bob Bunch. His business is called “Bunch on Biz.” Mr. Bunch shared with our class his experience with networking. He informed the class on how to network, who to network with and also how to stay on top of mind. With these three areas, the class had various things to take with them as they continue to gain relationships and connections with business owners. On behalf of the CEO class, we would like to thank you Mr. Bunch for taking the time out to speak with us.

 Written by Teonna Davis

Mr. Bunch started out by sharing how the St. Louis area is different than other areas when networking. People will always ask where you went to school (meaning high school). Most people do not like to cross the river. St. Louis is a networking city.

The first part was how to network. He shared that people go where they are appreciated not tolerated. Rapport is key.

The second part was who to network with. He shared that ideal clients are created, not found.

The third part was Staying Top of Mind. He showed the students the best way to communicate. He shared, "Each of us needs all of us and all of us needs each of us."

Mr. Bunch showed the students the differences between open, closed and community networking.

Antwan stayed behind to chat with Mr. Bunch.

Belleville's Got Talent Set Up

Everyone was working hard to get the event set up.

Tristen Missey set up the pieces for Artitorium and worked on matching the paperwork to the art pieces.

Decoration committee unpacking the glass ware for the table decorations.

One of our contestants, Rhyan Lewis, stopped by to practice and get a sound check.

Thank You To Our Sponsors

We wanted to thank the following businesses who sponsored Belleville's Got Talent.  The event was a HUGE success because of your support. 

Diamond Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors 

Friends of Belleville CEO

Mayor Mark Eckert

Lynn Schwoebel

Kevin Sangiolo

Linda Schramm

Shelley Harris

Sarah Keeley

Jill McGovern

Again, thank you to our four Platinum sponsors: Precision Practice Management, Greensfelder, MAC Medical and Robert "Chick" Fritz.

Belleville's Got Talent Event

Belleville's Got Talent ended up being a huge success.  We had over 300 people attend the highly anticipated event at the Scottish Rite from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m on Saturday, February 10.  Sponsors, mentors, community leaders along with family and friends came out in full force to support the 20 students who make up the Belleville CEO 2017-2018 class.  Ian Hass and Nick Lippert, co-CEOs started out the program by welcoming everyone and thanking all of our sponsors especially our Diamond Sponsors, Phillips Co, Allsup and The Edge.  We immediately started dinner catered by Roy-el Catering.  

John Lewis and Daniel Stovey played music before and during dinner.

Our Greeters were James Wiegers, Brett Rowe and Martrell Robinson.

Our Ticket Takers were Emmie Huynh and Dauneshia Holman.

Jacob Gall and Antwan Stith gave out the programs and offered the attendees a chance at a 50-50 raffle. The final raffle amounted to $196 to one of our attendees.

Daniel Stovey ran the Sound System. We want to thank Crambone for allowing us to use their sound system.

Artitorium

Before the Talent Show started, attendees visited the Artitorium area  which was a silent auction of 53 high school and college age students' art pieces.  We are proud to say that approiximately half of the art was sold.  The other pieces will eventually be added to our on-line website where one can view pieces of art by local young high school and college age artists. Thank you to those who purchased the artwork from these up and coming young artists!

The purchased art has already been displayed in The Silverstein Suite in the Writer's Loft owned by Doug and Geri Boyer.  Mrs. Boyer commented, "I really want these young people to see the value in their art for the community."  Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, for sharing your pictures!

A view of the ceramic pieces and paintings.

John Lewis coordinated the pieces in Artitorium and Jake Roche worked the area during the event.

A view of the photograhy pictures primarily from the Belleville East Photography students. Belleville East Photography Teacher, Mr. Neal Eilers, had the original idea about the concept we now know as Artitorium.

Jake Roche and Josie Proffitt helped attendees with questions about Artitorium.

The most expensive art piece was titled "Got Milk" for $310.

A Few of our Attendees at Belleville's Got Talent

Geri Boyer, Brian Mentzer, Josh Lane and Seth Garrett

Over 300 attendees enjoyed the evening full of networking, dinner, and entertainment.  Here are some comments from some of our attendees:

"The event was my favorite so far! Nice job! The food was fantastic and the entertainment was fun! ~Brenda Kelley, BTHS East Business Department Chair

"I brought guests and we all loved the program! It was put together so very well and everything ran on time. The food was great and we were so surprised by the great talent in Belleville! Loved the different types of talent they showcased!" ~Renae Eichholz, Owner and Partner of Precision Practice Management, Belleville CEO Board Member, Badge Sponsor, and Platinum Sponsor

"I am so proud of this year's CEO members for orchestrating such a delightful evening of great food and first class art & entertainment. I was pleased to discover that Belleville really does have talent. Great job everybody! Looking forward to the next event!" ~Michael Crotty, Head of Buildings and Grounds at Althoff Catholic High School, former CEO Mentor, and designed all banners for Belleville CEO for the last three years.

Our Class mentor, Matthew Warren, and his wife attended the event. Providence Bank was also a Gold Sponsor.

Seth and Casey Garrett, Kassandra Korte, Corey Schaab , and Carey and Cherri Thompson

A view of the crowd at Belleville's Got Talent.

Our Ten Contestants

Our sixth contestant was Bella Crank. She sang Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis.

After dinner, we had ten contestants who competed in Belleville's Got Talent show.  We want to thank all of the contestants for sharing their incredible talent.  We featured bands, singers, dancers, and a dramatic monolgoue.  Thank you to the following contestants:  

• Crambone
• Burkland Watts
• Rhyan Lewis
• Cidney Cooney
• Kay Guebert
• Belle Crank
• McKenzie Slack
• Belle Plew
• Abby Zaiz
• Cheeseman and the Dogs

 We also want to thank our three judges:  

• Lisa Adams, Masterworks
• Lynn Venhaus, SIUE Media Instructor
• Andrew Cowell, Belleville East Chorus Teacher

Our first contestant was Crambone.

Our fourth contestant was Cidney Cooney. He sang Stay With Me by Sam Smith.

Our third contestant was Rhyan Lewis. Ms. Lewis is a student at Belleville West High School and she sang Rise Up by Andra Day.

Our fifth contestant was Tap Dancer, Ms. Kay Guebert who is an English teacher at Belleville West High School.

Our eighth contestant was Belle Plew who is a junior at Belleville West High School. She sang Helium by Sia.

Belle Plew Wins Belleville's Got Talent

At the end, Mrs. Geri Boyer, Belleville CEO President announced the winners.  Mrs. Geri Boyer is the owner of Kaskaskia Engineering and was a Gold Sponsor for the event. The Belleville's Got Talent winner by the judges was Belle Plew. She is a junior at Belleville West High School.  She won $250.  The Fan Favorite was Cheeseman and the Dogs Band who make up high school students from Belleville West and Columbia.  They all met at a Jazz Concert.  Their band won $50.  

A BIG Thank You!

"Again, we would like to thank our sponsors for their financial support, our investors and board members for this amazing experience that we have been part of since August, to our mentors for their guidance, and to our family and friends for their love, encouragement, and attendance of our event.  Thank you so much!"

Belleville CEO Class of 2017-18

“The event turned out to be amazing! Everyone seemed to have a great time and I was just happy to be a part of it with the class. “ ~Teonna Davis

“I couldn’t have been happier with how the event went. I loved how everyone who bought tickets attended, the community support we saw, and the program and talent as a whole.” ~ Jacob Gall

 “I am really proud of our class for pulling this event together. The turnout was great, and I think everyone had a good time.” ~ Elizabeth Harla

“To summarize an entire wild night, the event went awesome. Despite our stress and anxiety leading up to the night, things went smoothly. The outcome surpassed any previous class years, and I am honored to have led all 20 students with Nick. “ ~Ian Hass

“Belleville’s Got Talent went great! Everyone did an amazing job with helping out and everyone did their part. This event was an amazing experience and it also helped me get closer to my classmates as we worked together to make the night a success.” ~ Dauneshia Holman

“I feel like the event went super well and I had a great time helping out with Belleville’s Got Talent. I really appreciated that lots of people had shown up to support our event.” ~ Emmie Huynh

“The talent show went much better than I expected and I enjoyed a lot more than I originally thought I would. It seemed like the audience enjoyed both the show and the food which was what I hoped for. Though we did have our problems setting everything up, the end result was a favorable one.” ~ Kaleb Leatherman

“In my opinion, the event went very well overall. Our class really came together and we seemed to represent CEO and what we stand for very well.” ~John Lewis

“After months of preparation we finally hosted Belleville’s Got Talent and I couldn't be happier on how it went. The show was super fun to host I felt like everyone there enjoyed their time as well. Overall a successful night.”  ~Nicholas Lippert

 “I think the show went great! Everyone did an amazing job and I’m very happy with the turnout.” ~Tristen Missey

 “Honestly I thought the event went great last night. Looking at the event from a CFO perspective, taking a glance at the net profit we made and the money we earned will be very beneficial and show the hard work each of us put in.” ~ Jimmy Monken

 “I was shocked at how well the event went after the past four months of work we’ve put into it. I think everyone who came enjoyed their time there, and we definitely set the bar high for future CEO classes.” ~Josie Proffitt

 “I can honestly say that the event was a huge success. Everything went just as planned and smooth. I heard different people talking saying that this was the best year from all the past CEO classes. I am so glad that we all did this together!” ~Martrell Robinson

 “Personally I think the night went great and I think that everyone at the event really enjoyed the experience.” ~Jake Roche

“I think the event went very well! Honestly better than I anticipated!” ~Brett Rowe

 “I think that the event was really good! Everything went smoothly for the most part, everyone I talked to said the show was really entertaining, and the cleanup didn’t take super long. My teacher, who’s the editor for Hy News, said he was really impressed with the whole event and that he had a really good time.” ~Emilie Smyth

 “I really enjoyed meeting with new people and seeing everyone come support us. I also enjoyed the talent that performed Saturday.” ~Antwan Stith

 “I think the event went very well. The whole class worked very hard to put this together, and while we had a few hook-ups in the planning stages, the event itself was very successful.” ~Daniel Stovey

 “I think that our event was a great success. It really turned out to be more than I expected at first.” ~Cam Wicks

 “Belleville’s Got Talent was a huge success! I think we killed it this year despite how stressful this was.” ~James Wiegers