CCEC Schedule for January 14-18, 2013

Greetings!

The students will be giving a brief business pitch on their individual business ideas tomorrow at Rural King. Come listen and offer suggestions on their name, logos and business idea.

Mentoring - If you would like to serve as a mentor for one of the students, please contact me at jcdau@eiu.edu by next Wednesday, January 16th if you have not already communicated to me your desire to be a mentor. It has been decided that we will not hold a mentor match event, but rather offer the students a list of willing mentors and the students will directly contact mentors based on their area of expertise and the student's immediate need for assistance.

Monday, January 14th - Rural King Tour

with Don Davis and Alex Melvin

Rural King, 4216 Dewitt Ave, Mattoon

Tuesday, January 15th - Marketing Plan Class Work/Class Promotional Video

Rural King

Wednesday, January 16th - GIS Market Research

with Mike Rudibaugh

Lake Land College, 106 Webb Hall

Thursday, January 17th - "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson Book Club Review

with Student Jelani Hurtault

Rural King

Friday, January 18th - YMCA Tour

with Tony Sparks

YMCA, 221 N. 16th Street, Mattoon

Retail Technology/Security

With James Hinks of Rural King

James Hinks and Don Davis

James Hinks, IT Director of Rural King Supply, gave the students an overview of the Payment Card Industry standards and the regulations that must be followed when using credit card systems. He informed us about Foursquare and Roam for small business use. Merchant fees were discussed. Don Davis joined us at the end and answered some questions about Rural King's history and growth strategy.

Class and Businesses Logo Discussion

with Taylor Gandolfi and Jim Zimmer

EIU Student Taylor Gandolfi is working on a new logo for the class and presented her work to the class for discussion. The students also asked for preliminary feedback of their individual business logos from Jim Zimmer with Eastern Illinois Properties.

The Upchurch Group Tour

with JR Hickman and Mike Sneddon

The Upchurch group was established in Mattoon in 1968 and provides engineering, architectural and surveying services for businesses, schools and governmental organizations. Mike and JR did a wonderful job defining the job descriptions of the engineer, architect and marketing professional and gave the students information on how to get started in these fields. They also stressed the importance of relationships in their business dealings.