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Land of Lincoln CEO addresses
Lincoln City Council
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 [January 12, 2018]
LINCOLN
On
Tuesday evening, five of the 10 students participating in the Land
of Lincoln Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities program this year
addressed the Lincoln City Council regarding a two day event planned
by the LLCEO that will take place on February 2nd and 3rd.
Brains and Brawn will start on Friday February 2nd at 6 p.m. with an
evening of trivia at the Elks Lodge in Lincoln. The “brains” portion
of the event will offer an evening of fun with trivia for tables of
up to eight people. Entry fees are graduated to a full table for
$100, six people for $80 or $15 per person for those who wish to
attend and join a table after they arrive. Appetizers prepared by
Lincoln College will be provided and prizes will be awarded to
winning teams.
On Saturday, February 3rd at 3 p.m., the “Brawn” portion of the
event will feature dodge ball. Teams of four will compete on the
floor at Lincoln Community High School. The cost to enter will be
$10 per person, or a $20 paid entry will entitle the participants to
a shirt.
Those appearing before the council Tuesday night were Felipe
Buenrostro, Talia Andrade, Emma Cooper, Mya Roberts and Hayley
Matson. Other students enrolled in the program this year are Dustyn
Gaston, Austin Hayes, Lyndsay Long, Zak Luken, and Emma Schoth.
The students began their presentation talking about the goals of the
program. Emma Cooper addressed the group saying that it was a great
opportunity to be able to display their passion for the program to
members of the public. She explained that the goal of the program is
to educate young adults on the proper way to go about forming and
maintaining a business. All the participants are upper classmen high
school students, either juniors or seniors. The Logan County
students come from various high schools throughout the area.
Students are assigned mentors who are business leaders in the
community. Mentors provide personalized leadership but also become
close friends to the students. They work one-on-one with the
students and make themselves available at any time a student needs
assistance or advice.
Cooper explained that the program includes designing and executing
business models. The events planned for February qualify as the
group business, but is also designed as an opportunity to involve
community. The past two years the group business event has been the
Honest Abe Weekend which featured a dinner on Friday evening and a
5K run/walk on Saturday. Cooper said this year, the group decided
they wanted to do something different, so they created an original
idea.
Part of the execution of the project is to raise funds and
sponsorships for the event. Cooper said that the group has been
working to get cash sponsorships as well as donations of items that
can be used as prizes for the events.
Buenrostro spoke briefly about the weekend of events, saying that it
was a good way to involve the community, and to help break up the
cabin fever that can occur mid-winter. He explained that the
students meet daily at 7 a.m. before their regular school day. They
have worked out the details and planned the events working an hour
at a time.
He said they have contacted a lot of businesses seeking the
financial backing for the event. He walked through the sponsorship,
explaining that supporting the CEO would also be a great source of
advertising for businesses.
It was pointed out that the students all wear lanyards, and on those
lanyards are the logos of the many businesses who have supported the
LLCEO program thus far. Those who support the February events will
also have their business featured in some way.
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The students were asked what they would be doing with
the money they raise. The answer was, first, sponsorships will
support the February events. The students also need money to pay for
the food that will be served on Friday night, and they need to pay
for on-sight medics at the Saturday sporting event and food for
concessions.
Profits
from the February events will be distributed in a few directions.
First, money will go toward the CEO Trade Show that will be held in
May. At that show, each of the 10 students will have created his or
her own small business. The event will offer the community a chance
to visit with each student, learn about their business, and talk
with them about their CEO experience.
In addition to covering some of the costs of the trade show, Cooper
said the current class wants to have funds left over that can be
given to the next class.
The students were asked what it was they specifically wanted from
the city of Lincoln. The answer was that they would appreciate
sponsorship for the February event from the city and also from any
on the council who wished to support the program. In addition, they
wanted to use the council to promote public awareness for the
program and they hoped to get some press coverage by appearing
before the council.
It was also mentioned that there will be a silent auction held in
conjunction with trivia night. Anyone who wished, was invited to
donate items for that auction.
Later in the evening, the council discussed briefly whether or not
there was a budget line to take sponsorship from. City Treasurer
Chuck Conzo said that generally items such as this would be taken
from the mayor’s budget.
The question also came up, does the city still pay annual support to
the CEO program. City Clerk Peggy Bateman said that it does, and the
city just recently issued this year’s support check. The council had
voted at the inception of the LLCEO program to support the program
with funding of $1,000 per year for three years.
The question also came up, was the LLCEO connected to the
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce. The answer; it is not. The
chamber was active in helping to kick start the program in Logan
County, but the LLCEO operates separate from the Chamber with its
own board of directors, and manages its own money.
To learn more about the Land of Lincoln CEO program visit their
website at http://
www.landoflincolnceo.com/
[Nila Smith]
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