Businesses gather for Showcase
<span>EDITOR'S NOTE: To see a video interview with April Nail, instructor for the CEO program, visit the Herald Tribune's Facebook page or website.</span>
<span>SPARTA -- The mood was festive inside the Main Event Center of the World Shooting and Recreational Complex on Saturday.</span>
<span>Representatives from 15 county-based businesses and two high schools gathered for a "Showcase of Randolph County" to help support the county's Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) program.</span>
<span>"(The businesses) really wanted to give back to the community and give back to Randolph County," said April Nail, instructor for the CEO program. "They wanted to show everybody what Randolph County really has to offer, some people don't realize what's in their backyard."</span>
<span>The event was hosted by the CEO program's nine-member inaugural class, with a deadline of Wednesday for applications for the 2016-17 class, with the intent to create "seed money" for the class's fledgling businesses.</span>
<span>"The money they make for (Saturday) - they charge the vendors and they charged for tickets for people to get in - the profit that they make from that will help give them seed money to start their own businesses," Nail said. "We're going to do a Shark Tank-style pitch for their own personal businesses and whenever they do that, that money will be divided among the nine students to help start their own businesses."</span>
<span>Among the vendors was Sparta-based The Butcher's Block, which was hoping to use Saturday's event to raise awareness about the catering side of its business.</span>
<span>"We're hoping to pick up a few catering jobs from it," said co-owner Mike Smith. "It lets people know that we do have more than just meat."</span>
<span>Smith noted he wished the CEO program existed when he was in school and also gave some advice to the budding entrepreneurs.</span>
<span>"Make sure that it's an in-demand business and marketed correctly," he said. "Make sure they have a quality manager before they open up.</span>
<span>"A good manager helps me tremendously so that I can do my thing."</span>
<span> Also attending the event, which included live music and attendance prizes, was Randolph County Board of Commissioners Chairman Dr. Marc Kiehna, who is a big supporter of the CEO concept.</span>
<span>"There's no doubt that the CEO program is a wonderful addition," he said.</span>
<span>Kiehna emphasized the economic draw of the program, which is to encourage the county's youth to "stay home" and form businesses in the county in an effort to add to its financial base.</span>
<span>With increases in technology and customer reach, Kiehna noted that these same businesses can be Randolph County-based, but still serve a worldwide clientele.</span>
<span>"We are not limited to our own community any more," Kiehna said. "We can communicate with people all over the world while still living at home."</span>
<span>Nail echoed that sentiment.</span>
<span>"From them learning that you can have an international business in a small little town like Steeleville or Sparta or Red Bud or Chester," she said. "They can be completely international. You don't have to go to Chicago, or St. Louis or L.A., or New York, you can do that in Randolph County."</span>
<span>A trade show for the CEO students' businesses is scheduled for May.</span>