Students in the Mount Zion Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) program are putting their business skills to work by organizing a community event that combines basketball, local vendors and opportunities to support young entrepreneurs.
Business and Buckets will take place Saturday, November 21, at the Mount Zion Field House. The event will feature a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, vendors, concessions, music, silent auctions and a free-throw contest with prizes.
Mount Zion CEO students Noah Schmahl, a junior, Madden Eggers, a senior, and Taylor Kistenfeger, a junior, are helping organize the event under the guidance of facilitator Angie Clark.
Schmahl says the CEO program focuses on creating entrepreneurial opportunities by giving students hands-on experience with real-world problem-solving. Students also visit local businesses to learn more about how they operate, gain insight into business challenges and build connections in the community.
For Eggers, the experience is helping prepare him for his own business goals.
“The reason I joined the Mt. Zion CEO program is I am working towards getting my own business, and I think this Business and Buckets is helping me figure out what I need to do to run a business the correct way,” Eggers said.
Schmahl says having a mentor is another important part of the program.
“Every person in our class gets assigned a business owner from the community, and they help us navigate through the turns and all the difficult things that we have to face when creating a business,” Schmahl said.
Kistenfeger says organizing the tournament has also taught the students how to work together and make decisions as a team.
“It’s helped us learn how to work as a team. We have had to compromise and figure out how to work things out because we have had to do this on our own. I mean, we have Angie to guide us, but really this has been our idea and our brainchild,” Kistenfeger said.
The basketball tournament will feature three divisions: sixth grade and younger, seventh through 12th grade, and an adult division for players ages 16 and older.
Teams can have up to five players, with three players on the court at a time. The tournament will use a double-elimination format. Registration costs $125 per team, and signups are due November 14.
Games begin at 9 a.m., with team check-in starting at 8:30 a.m. Teams should arrive 30 minutes before their first game and 15 minutes before any subsequent games.
Prizes include $500 for the adult division, University of Illinois tickets for the seventh-through-12th-grade division, and Malibu Jack’s tickets for the youngest division.
Organizers are also looking for vendors and sponsors. Vendor space is available for a flat fee of $75, with no commission taken from sales. The organizers say the event is an opportunity for local businesses and individuals who may not have a storefront to sell their products and reach the community.
Tournament sponsors may also receive a vendor table. Five sponsorship levels are available, with different benefits based on the sponsorship amount. Additional opportunities include in-game sponsorships that allow businesses to advertise during the tournament.
Silent auction items will include a tattoo from Blackeyed Jacks, a basket from Fleet Feet and athletic apparel, among other items.
More information about team registration, vendor opportunities and sponsorship packages is available at www.mtzionilceo.com.
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