Wednesday morning was a big morning for our 22 Silver Creek Area CEO students.

They arrived at Wisper Internet dressed in their best business attire for our Meet & Greet, our initial networking event of the year. And if I’m being honest, there were definitely some nerves.

This was their first time in a large room filled with business and community leaders, but they weren’t walking into it completely unprepared. We’ve been practicing. A lot. We’ve practiced making eye contact, giving a solid handshake, properly welcoming a guest and starting a conversation with someone they’ve never met.

We even practiced where they would be when guests arrived. Some would be outside in the parking lot greeting people as they pulled in. Some would line the vestibule at Wisper. Others would be inside mingling.

Then the first guests started arriving.

Breakfast pizza and fresh fruit, provided by board members Vern Hamm and Jen Haislar, were waiting for our guests as they made their way around the room, meeting our students and getting to know them.

And Nolan Musso from the Mascoutah High School AV2 class was everywhere with his camera, capturing the morning. The handshakes, the conversations, the laughs, the nervous moments and, thankfully, the moments when those nerves started to disappear.

That was probably my favorite part of the morning. I loved watching those nerves fade and seeing their personalities come through.

It was especially fun watching them reconnect with people they had already met through our site visits and guest speakers. They would spot someone they recognized, walk right up, shake their hand and start a conversation. Then I’d watch them turn around and do the same thing with someone they had never met.

I watched students introduce themselves, ask questions, laugh with people they had just met and move from one conversation to the next. They kept putting themselves out there and I could really see the practicing paying off.

Near the end of the morning, Wendy Symer, our Board Chair, thanked everyone for coming and recognized the investors, mentors, board members, school officials and families who were in the room.

As I looked around, I was reminded just how many people are behind this class.

And we couldn’t let the morning go by without recognizing the incredible support we receive from Wisper Internet. They have graciously opened their doors to us throughout the year, giving us a place to gather every morning when we need a classroom and a place to bring everyone together when we have larger events.

They aren’t just our home base. They have given us a place to learn, connect, laugh, work through ideas and grow together.

We are so grateful for that.

Then I called two very special guests from last year’s class to the front of the room.

Alexus and Taylor are both college freshmen now. And they showed up at 7:30 in the morning, before class, because they wanted to be there for this year’s students.

I think that speaks volumes about what CEO meant to them.

Alexus talked about the relationships she built, not only with business leaders and mentors, but with students from four different schools. She talked about doing things she never imagined herself doing, including becoming comfortable speaking in front of a large group.

Taylor encouraged this year’s class to make every relationship count and take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. She shared how CEO helped her build business relationships, learn more about her communities and even led to an internship at a law office through a CEO site visit.

I loved watching them share their experiences with this year’s class. There’s something pretty special about hearing it from someone who sat in the exact same seats just a year ago.

A huge thank you to Nolan and the Mascoutah High School AV2 class for capturing the morning for us. And a special thank you to Jackie Whitworth, CEO board member, who chaired the event with me and was also busy capturing photos throughout the morning.

And thank you to all of our Silver Creek Area CEO board members for the behind-the-scenes work that helped make the morning happen.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who got up early, walked through those doors and spent part of their morning getting to know our students.

We’re grateful for everyone who helped make the morning possible, and even more grateful for the opportunity to watch these students grow throughout the year.