Members of the CEO Class of 2018 hosted a Media Day on Thursday in the HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital auditorium to promote and answer questions about their upcoming CEO Experience, scheduled for March 7 at the Thelma Keller Convention Center.

Leading off the press conference was CEO Student Avery Elder, marketing chairman for the CEO Experience.

“Our goal is for every guest to leave our conference with a renewed sense of inspiration and innovation that they can use in their lives and businesses after hearing the fantastic breakout and keynote speakers,” Elder said.

“We're proud to say this is our 10th anniversary of CEO,” Elder added.

Elder announced the two keynote speakers for the event, Cordia Harrington and Dr. Rich Bailey, who will share their life stories. She also talked about the breakout sessions.

“The breakout sessions cover major issues facing small and large businesses today,” Elder said. “The unique thing about our experience is that both our keynote speakers and all six of our breakout speakers have a connection to Effingham.”

“There is no other conference like this in our area,” Elder added. “There might be a few in St. Louis or Chicago, but this is very unique to Effingham.”

Elder thinks the Thelma Keller Convention Center will be a good venue for the event, providing ample room for guests.

“One of the most important reasons why people would want to come is to support us, the CEO Students,” Elder said about the 2018 CEO Experience. “We are the future entrepreneurs and leaders of Effingham County and our influence in this community will be great in the future.”

CEO program students Truman Rhodes, a member of the speaker team, and Brooke Stuckemeyer, chairman of the speaker team, announced the six breakout speakers: Tara Vandersande, “Leveraging Your Emotional Intelligence”; Jennifer Vahling, “Hiring for Fit”; Alexis Teichmiller, “The Art of Social Media: How to use Social Media to connect with your Ideal Customer”; Dr. Rich Bailey, “Chewing the Fat with Billy Bob”; Dr. Peter Kollinger, “An Incredible 90-Plus-Year Journey”; and speaking duo Diane and Jamie Rieck, “Face of Change – Working with and through Generations in the Workforce.”

CEO student Patrick Sherrod, a member of the sponsorship committee, talked briefly about the event sponsors.

“This year we are extremely grateful to have HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital as our title sponsor,” Sherrod said. “We are thankful for their contribution and continued support in the CEO program.”

“We would like to thank all of the sponsors for contributing to the CEO Experience this year.” Sherrod added.

CEO Student Marianna Hemmen, member of the venue team, talked about the technical aspects of the Thelma Keller Convention Center and displayed a blueprint of the convention center floor to facilitate the CEO Experience.

Makenzie Koenig, CEO Student, chairman of the registration committee, explained the registration process by directing people to the program's registration website: effinghamceo.com

Koenig went over registration fees, noting the cost for students is $30 and $50 for an adult registration. She said if tickets are purchased at the door on the day of the event, it will cost $40 for students and $60 for adults.

“HSHS St. Anthony is so excited to be the sponsor this year,” said the hospital's Chief Medical Officer Ryan Jennings.

CEO Experience Student Marketing Chairman Avery Elder is looking forward to participating in the event and enjoys being a CEO program student.

Elder said a total of 40 high school seniors from Altamont, Effingham, St. Anthony, Teutopolis, Dieterich and Beecher City make up the CEO Class of 2018. The class is divided into two groups of 20 students under the leadership of two facilitators, Lisa Teichmiller and Kristy Sayers.

“As marketing chairman, I would like to get leadership skills out of this,” Elder said after the presentation. “And I have definitely learned a lot so far.”

Elder says participating in the CEO program builds confidence.

“If you would have asked me three months ago to come up in front of a whole room of people and give a presentation, I would have been extremely afraid.” Elder said. “But, it wasn't too bad today.”

“This class has taught us so many things that we would not be able to get anywhere else,” Elder added.