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Students in this year’s CEO class are attempting to make supper a little more “souper.”
The 14 students enrolled in the 2020-21 Creating Entrepreneur Opportunities are planning two “Souper” Suppers as a fundraiser for the program.
A portion of the funds will support the individual businesses students debut at the CEO Showcase this spring.
The supper event takes place over two days: Saturday, Jan. 23, in Pipestone and Sunday, Jan. 31, in Beaver Creek.
The students are learning to apply the advice gained from this year’s visits with local business owners.
In the three years since the CEO program began, class businesses have become a single event and this year’s business is no exception.
Katie Baustian is the CEO program facilitator and guides students from the five-member school districts through the processes developed by the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship.
The class business allows the students to practice a very important skill.
“They are learning how to work as a group,” Baustian said. “They are responsible for doing everything — I try not to interfere.”
This year’s students are selling servings of soup and cinnamon rolls along with an online auction and a 50/50 drawing. Tickets are available from students or by calling 920-3309.
“What they are doing this year is more complicated than previous classes,” Baustian said.
Students divide into groups and work on key aspects of the fundraising including sponsorships, ticket sales, marketing and product procurement.
All the students worked together to develop the class business, which is complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Southwest Minnesota Christian School senior Wyatt Decker said the group couldn’t plan a communitywide event because of the restrictions on large-group gatherings.
The drive-up Souper Supper keeps customers in their cars and limits contact with one another and the student servers.
Decker said students discussed details with an Edgerton church, which conducted a similar drive-up event this fall.
Students first had to decide what would be served for the supper.
“We are offering three different kinds of soups (at each location),” Decker said. “And if we are going to make it a meal, we can’t just have soup so we included a (cinnamon) roll.”
The students talked with local businesses to obtain the soup and the cinnamon rolls as well as event sponsors.
They also had to find locations with parking lots large enough to accommodate the drive-up event.
“We looked at so many locations to find one in Pipestone and Beaver Creek,” said Mia Wenzel, a Luverne High School junior.
This year’s class business is the first to take place outside of Luverne.
Decker said his CEO mentor suggested they look at the other communities outside of Luverne and home to the other member students. Students learned about the resources available in their home communities.
The parking lots at the SpringBrooke Events in Beaver Creek and the Hiawatha Lodge in Pipestone fit the students’ criteria for their event.
Who is involved in
the CEO program?
The CEO program is open to all junior and senior students at Luverne, Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian, Southwest Minnesota Christian in Edgerton, Edgerton Public, Ellsworth and Pipestone.
Interested students apply the yearlong immersion experience into real life business opportunities.
This year’s CEO class consists of the following students:
•Kaden Anderson, Reghan Bork, Kendall Buss, Shelby Kracht, Jayson Rops, Haleah Soto and Mia Wenzel, Luverne.
•Allie LaRock, Hills-Beaver Creek.
•Keegan Fey, Elli Kracht, Edgerton Public.
•Wyatt Decker and Cybil VanderTop, Southwest Minnesota Christian, Edgerton.
•Elsie O’Neil and Jori Strasser, Pipestone.
The Souper Supper event
Advance meal tickets for the Souper Supper are $10 for adults and $7 for children.
Call 507-920-3309 to place an advanced order.
At-the-door meal costs increase to $12 adults and $10 children.
Meals include a choice of soup and a cinnamon roll.
Pickup of the meals occurs Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Hiawatha Lodge in Pipestone and Sunday, Jan. 31, at the SpringBrooke Events Center in Beaver Creek.
Pickup times are from 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Each student is selling 50/50 raffle tickets at $5 per ticket.
The online auction kicks off Saturday on the class website, www.southwestminnesotaceo.com. The online auction begins Jan. 23 and concludes Jan. 31.