The Taylorville Kiwanis Club heard eleven students participating in the Christian County CEO program, along with their facilitator, at their Tuesday noon meeting at the Moose Lodge.
CEO stands for “Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities”, and the program meets on school days from 7:30 to 9am at their CEO classroom in the US Bank building in Taylorville as well as business locations thru-out Christian County. The program was the brainchild of the late Craig Lindvahl, a Taylorville native, who felt high school seniors needed entrepreneurial experience in their communities outside the classroom.
The Christian County CEO program is supported entirely by local investors which are businesses and individuals that make 3-year or single-year pledges to keep the program going. The Taylorville Kiwanis Club has been an investor from the program’s inception. 17 students are participating in this year’s class from several high schools in the county. Neil Hohenstein is in its 5th year as facilitator.
CEO students each shared part of the CEO story. They told the Kiwanis Club that 166 students from 6 high schools were in the program over its eleven year history; each year the class visits some 40 businesses and hosts many business leaders in their class sessions; the program gets students out of their comfort zone; and they also shared information on their recent tour to Chicago visiting businesses created by the Barry Brothers who are Taylorville natives. Here are some audio snippets from some of the students:
Christian County CEO students appearing at Tuesday’s Taylorville Kiwanis Club meeting included Angelina Ippolito, David Schafer, Alex Davis, Josie Heberling, Ross Brown, Autumn Hobbs, Ella Davis, Charley Craggs, Caitlyn Foster, Raylee Oller, and Ellee Mateer.
The Taylorville Kiwanis Club is part of a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at noon at the Taylorville Moose Lodge. For information on the club, go to taylorvillekiwanis.com.
