At Sunday’s CEO Subzero Extravaganza in Luverne, students in the 2019-20 Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities class will showcase what they have learned.
Activities begin at 12:30 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. at The Lake with mini golf, sleigh rides, a bonfire and team events of kickball and dodge ball tournaments.
Students Isabel Smeins, Cade Wenninger and Nathan Nekali organized the game activities.
“We just selected games that were easy to learn and play,” said Wenninger, a junior at Luverne High School.
Hot chocolate and Plinko/Bingo activities will be available in The Lake warming house.
The extravaganza concludes with a banquet Sunday night at Grand Prairie Events in Luverne.
“The banquet is casual dress,” said Nekali, an LHS senior. “So people from other communities don’t have to go home and change clothes. Just come as you are from The Lake.”
The banquet begins after The Lake activities wrap up, and the meal starts at 5:30 p.m., featuring Tony’s Catering with a choice of two meats, potatoes, vegetable, bun and a dessert.
“We wanted it to feel like a personal experience, like you’re sitting down with your family,” said Hills-Beaver Creek High School senior Bryn Mongeau.
As of Monday’s meal reservation deadline, the students are expecting 300 people to be at the Sunday night event.
High school jazz bands from Luverne, Hills-Beaver Creek and Adrian will provide the entertainment.
Proceeds from Sunday’s event will be used to cover activity and program expenses as well as provide seed money for the 15 students as they move from the group activity planning to developing their own businesses.
The CEO program began last school year and allows students from Luverne, Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian, Southwest Minnesota Christian, Edgerton, Ellsworth and Pipestone an immersing experience into real life business opportunities.
CEO adviser Katie Baustian said the students have visited 40 businesses this school year with presenters sharing tips and expertise from their professional fields.
The students are taking that advice and applying it to Sunday’s event planning and implementation.
“This is completely theirs,” Baustian said. “They have done this on their own.”
Students gathered sponsorships and spoke to potential donors one-on-one.
“It was outside our comfort zone,” said LHS junior Rylee Gee. “The first stop was the scariest.”
As they completed more presentations for sponsorships, the more comfortable they became.
This year’s CEO class consists of the following students:
•Edgerton: Brinna Bloemendaal, Teagen Leusink.
•Adrian: Brenna Henning, Austin Taylor.
•Hills-Beaver Creek: Bryn Mongeau.
•Pipestone: Scott Nolan, Lindsey Truijilo.
•Luverne: Quinn Buss, Rylee Gee, Colby Crabtree, Jonathan Eisma, Regan Feit, Nathan Nekali, Isabel Smeins and Cade Wenninger.
There is a cost to participate in Sunday’s activities at The Lake. A minimum of six players is needed for the kickball and dodge ball teams. The team events cost $7 per team.
Teams can register the day of the event.
Dress warm for The Lake activities.
Students realize when they named their event the Subzero Extravaganza they hoped for temperatures to stay above 5 degrees, and the recent fresh layer of snow will enhance the extravaganza experience.
A few tickets are still available for the banquet at $30 each. Contact Baustian at facilitator@southwestminnesotaceo.com for ticket information.