First high school CEO class to display products, services to be marketed from developing businesses

May 13, 2014

First annual Daviess County CEO Tradeshow to feature new start-ups

WASHINGTON (Indiana) – After spending two semesters learning how to start-up and run a business in the Daviess County CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities), nine Daviess County area high school seniors will be actively promoting and/or selling services based on business plans and real businesses May 15.  Seven new start-ups by the teenagers will be soliciting prospects and customers at the Eastside Park Community Center at the event, which is open to the public.

“These are real businesses selling and providing real services,” said Ron Arnold, executive director of the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC), who helped start up the first class of seniors in 2013. Coordinated by Bill Turner, business and marketing teacher at Washington High School, the first Daviess County CEO program brought students together every school day at 7:15 a.m. either in the DCEDC conference room or on site at local business.

The program involved students throughout the county, including participants from Washington High School, Washington Catholic High School, Barr-Reeve High School and North Daviess High School. Originating in Illinois, the award-winning CEO program is about “creating successful people,” said Craig Lindvahl, who founded the CEO program.

The Washington program is the first in Indiana.

“This is not your father’s high school business survey class,” said Arnold. “These students attended presentations at 90 area businesses during the year and were fully immersed in what it takes to run and grow a business.”

Students and their businesses include: Thomas Quast, J Shirts (t-shirt printing business); Christian Sanchez, Tec-Kare (smartphone and tablet electronic screen repair); Albert Carreon, Blue Ribbon Media (web site design and production); Evan Meadows, Alphabetic Books (home and office decorative items); Layne Fowler, 4-10 Design (crafts design and production); William Wittmer, Night Box (arcade games for business); and April Decker, Club 21 (student dance academy). Two other participants, John Buchanan (Convenient Cleaning – cleaning services for businesses) and Rachel May (Daviess County Tutoring – student tutoring services) will be presenting business concepts.

The Washington CEO program is funded by local businesses and the Daviess County Economic Development Foundation. It does not use any local school funding.

Plans are already underway for expanding the next CEO class for 2014-2015, Arnold said.