Over 50 people attended Monday's luncheon meeting of the new Christian County group called "Creating Entreprenural Opportunities", or C-E-O, program, at the Taylorville Memorial Hospital auditorium. The meeting was to ask those community leaders to invest up to one-thousand dollars in the program.
The program will invite up to 2 dozen Christian County high school seniors, to attend a special class 4 days a week, to be mentored by Christian County business and community leaders. The goal is to attract those students to become business people in Christian County after college.
Former Taylorville native Craig Lindvahl, who now resides in Effingham and directs the Midland Institute which founded the program in 2008 in Effingham County, told those in attendance that towns big and small are all concerned about bringing youth back to the local community to become entrapreneurs.
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Lindvahl spoke with Regional Radio News after his remarks, saying he has been surprised at the growth of the program not only in the Midwest, but even internationally.
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2 of Lindvahl's students that went thru the Effingham County program, Amy Martin and Tyler Yocum (YOH-kum), also spoke to the Christian County crowd, about how the program changed their futures.
The head of the Christian County C-E-O Steering Committee Dee Krueger, told Regional Radio News said those in attendance were very excited with Lindvahl's presentation.
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Patty Hornbuckle, president and C-E-O of the Greater Taylorville Chamber of Commerce echo'ed Krueger's comments, with the group interested in starting the program locally.
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Those in attendance, as well as other local business and community leaders, are being asked to invest up to one-thousand dollars per year for 3 years, to fund the program. The Christian County class expects to begin in county high schools in the fall of 2015.
