A Community with a Vision
In 2005, a group of community leaders that included educators, city and county leaders, Chamber of Commerce and the Effingham County Community Foundation, recognized that 80% of all American businesses are small business owners and it is those business owners that provide jobs and prosperity for our communities and the country. This visionary group recognized that entrepreneurs have changed the world, yet our youth are not sufficiently exposed to entrepreneurial opportunities. Seed money was raised from local individuals and businesses to support a three-year pilot entrepreneurship program for high school students. The Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, consisting of educators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and government officials, provides ongoing guidance for the three-year pilot program called “CEO” – Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities!
Our Mission
The mission of the CEO class is to prepare our youth to be responsible, enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers and contribute to the economic development and sustainability of Effingham County. It is our hope that these young entrepreneurs will follow in the footsteps of many of the entrepreneurs in our community, and will reside in or return to Effingham County to run their business, raise their families and give back to their community.