🌟𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐄𝐎 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 5: 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐀 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏!🌟
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We ended the last class day of the year for our 2023 graduates with a bang. The board of directors hosted our annual CEO Appreciation Breakfast, welcoming 150 community members for a celebration and presentation.
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Our students, director and board were able to share our immense appreciation for ALL of the time, energy, talent and resources that our community generously donates for us.
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We were also excited to announce our FOUR special recipients of the following CEO honors:
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⭐️ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂 ‘𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒔’ 𝑬𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝑬𝑶 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 Edwardsville Community Foundation ⭐️
(see description below)

𝐒𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐀 𝐈𝐕𝐍𝐈𝐊 & 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑

⭐️𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝑬𝑶 𝑾𝑶𝑾 𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 ⭐️
(see description below)

𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 & 𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐎𝐍
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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ENTIRE CLASS OF 2023! We are immensely proud of your accomplishments this year and cannot wait to continue to watch the amazing things you do for your communities.
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Stay tuned for us to release our brand new community spotlight video, filmed and edited by one of our own CEO alumni!
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Special THANK YOU to:

👏Edwardsville Community Foundation & The Wetzel Family

👏Edwardsville High School | Father McGivney Catholic High School | Metro-East Lutheran High School

👏Pop, Drop & Party

👏The Outlet Event Center
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⭐️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 ‘𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘀’ 𝗘𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ⭐️

Babs Enloe was an Edwardsville resident, philanthropist and entrepreneur for over 60 years. She had many successful business endeavors; most notable starting an association management company in the 1990’s that still thrives today. She was supportive both of local business and education. Working with a group called Grandma’s Closet to supply classroom needs for teachers, a longtime member of the Chamber of Commerce when she was in retail, and a member of local merchant groups.
She valued her work but she was a supportive mother and grandmother. She taught her children and grandchildren to follow their vision.

The Wetzel family, Tracy and Rich Wetzel as well as their son, JC Wetzel and his wife, Marisa Wetzel, have established this memorial scholarship through the Edwardsville Community Foundation in Babs’ honor. Their hope is that the scholarship recipients will follow their vision as well.
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This special scholarship is open exclusively to Edwardsville CEO students. A selection committee made up of CEO board members reviewed all of the applications submitted from our crew of 26. Through their narrative and overall program participation, students selected demonstrated:

A strong work ethic and an understanding of the value and importance of teamwork. Must work well with others, understand the importance of being on time, follow through on your word and be receptive to feedback.

Demonstrate that they have developed an entrepreneurial mindset. An entrepreneurial mindset is a set of skills that enable people to identify and make the most of opportunities, overcome and learn from setbacks, and succeed in a variety of settings.

Demonstrate that this entrepreneurial mindset will be imperative to their growth and success after high school graduation and in all of their future endeavors.

The top two students selected will each receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,500 to the university or trade school of their choosing.
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⭐️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗪 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 ⭐️

During the first week of each new school year, students discuss the importance of the CEO WOW factor. Our goal is to create a WOW impression with every single speaker and program participant.
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The importance of the CEO WOW factor is not just to continue to uphold and promote our CEO brand, these characteristics are consistently mentioned by our guest speakers that set leaders apart from the crowd.
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This year, all 26 students voted for which 2 students they felt best represented the Edwardsville CEO WOW factor all year. Each winner received a special gift as well as a $50 gift card to the local business of their choosing. Characteristics of the WOW included:
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EXCELLENT COMMUNICATOR
- Did this student have a high level of interaction with our guests; including greeting them upon arrival, asking thoughtful questions and thanking them for spending time with us?
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ON TIME
- Was this student always on time and early to class and business visits?
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DRESS TO IMPRESS
- Was this student dressed professionally? Did they wear the required attire (i.e. lanyard, business casual, etc.)? Did they show that they cared about their appearance and did not rush to run out the door each morning?
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ENGAGEMENT
- Whether it is with a guest speaker, mentor, director, board member or fellow student, did this student show genuine interest and enthusiasm with whomever they were speaking?
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DEPENDABILITY
- Did this student do they said they would do, when they said they would do it? During class projects, did they make promises and followed through with them?
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HONESTY
- If a mistake was made, did this person own it and find a way to fix it?
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RESPECT
- In their words and in their actions, did this person show respect to all? Did they respect others' opinions, even if they varied from their own?
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Sophia Ivnik Katie Gilbertson