Gateway CEO program holds annual Meet and Greet

By JOSH JONES
Times-Tribune Editor
[email protected]

Business and community leaders throughout the area were at the Truck Centers Training Center in Troy in September as they met the students of this year’s Gateway (Collinsville, Triad, Maryville and Highland) CEO program. 

According to Times-Tribune archives, the CEO Program teaches entrepreneurship education and seeks to prepare people, especially youth, to be responsible, enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers and contribute to economic development and sustainable communities. The CEO program is much more than a textbook course. Rather, students are immersed in real life learning experiences with the opportunity to take risks, manage the results, and learn from the outcomes.

The class of 2025 is bigger than ever with 20 seniors. This year’s class includes Romell Ballinger (Collinsville), Breckin Box (Highland), Ava Brandt (Maryville Christian), Ember Breeding (Collinsville), Jourdan Brocksmith (Collinsville), Rylee Brown (Highland), Hunter Fridley (Highland), Sayde Hogg (Highland), Hayden Holthaus (Triad), Lexi Johnson (Highland), Ryan Kaffer (Triad), Kennedy Korte (Highland), William Lindsco (Highland), Jacob Perez (Triad), Riley Reeves (Triad), Claire Rittenhouse (Highland), Marek Schram (Triad), Braden Schrof (Highland), Olivia Wilken (Highland) and Claire Williamson (Highland). 

The annual Meet and Greet provides a chance for networking with local business and community leaders. 

“It has been a really great experience. We have met with a lot of business owners. I learned a lot about the struggles of business, but also the highs of what they have achieved,” said Marek Schram. “I learned a lot about socializing. It seems like connections are the most important part of business. I have been blessed to have met all these people, learn how they connect with others and run their business successfully.” 

Marek said that he hopes to make a lot of connections while creating the class business during the first semester, which he hopes will help him and his classmates when they launch their individual businesses in the second semester. 

Ryan Kaffer said that he has had a really positive experience with the CEO program. He said that he has made many connections through trips and class visits with people he would not have met without the program. He shared his expectations for the year. 

“Second semester is our personal business. That is when we start our own business, get ready and bring our passions to the world. So I think that is going to be a lot of fun,” Kaffer said. “Also just continuing to build those relationships with people maybe later on in life that could help me.” 

Hayden Holthaus said that his CEO experience has been outstanding. 

“Every day I learn something new. This class has really had an impact on me so far and I am just excited to see how it goes the rest of the year,” Holthaus said. “The class business and the personal business are what I am looking most forward to. You are just able to get a real sense of how a business would work and how you would build one successfully. It is going to be a huge learning experience and we are all just looking forward to learning.” 

Sayde Hogg said that she is loving her CEO experience so far. 

“The connections that I have already made both with other seniors and with people in the business industry has just been insane,” Hogg said. “Now that I have seen how I have changed in the first couple of weeks, I think I am going to be a completely different person by the end of the year.” 

This year’s class is seeing the return of Lisa Colon to the role of facilitator. She previously served in the role for the classes of 2021 and 2022 as she commented on how the class has been so far.

“It has been an outstanding year. This is our biggest class to date, we have 20 students,” Colon said. “To just be able to watch them come in, embrace their senior year doing all the things of showing up, good attitudes, willing to learn. They are embracing the experience very well, I am very proud of them.” 

Colon said that she and everyone involved with the CEO program appreciate the continued support from the community.

“We just really appreciate the community’s support. It is one thing to be with the students every day, they have to show up,” Colon said. “But also the schools have to be willing to share their students, the parents, the community leaders. It is all a working process. I call it the CEO family and we are so grateful for it.” 

Gateway CEO Board Chair Wendy Symer thanked everyone who attended the event as well as those who make the program possible. She also promoted the program’s second annual Golf Scramble, which starts at 7 a.m. Oct. 18 at Oak Brook Golf Club, 9157 Fruit Road in Edwardsville. 

“We have a golf scramble coming up on Oct. 18 at Oak Brook. We are looking for hole sponsors, we are looking for teams, we are looking for sponsors for our beverage carts and all kinds of things,” Symer said. “Get on our Facebook page, take a look and if you are moved we would love to have you join us.” 

For more information on the Gateway CEO program, people may visit collinsvilletriadmaryvilleceo.com. People may also visit the “Collinsville Triad Maryville CEO” Facebook page.

 

(Editor’s note: This story also appears in the October 2024 print edition of the Illinois Business Journal.)