CEO program honors students, businesses

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A total of 56 seniors from Van Wert, Crestview, and Lincolnview high schools and 33 area businesses and organizations were honored Tuesday during a CEO (Career Education Opportunity) Breakfast Banquet held at Willow Bend Country Club.

Kerry Koontz, the VWHS counselor who created the now countywide program and coordinates it, says it has been successful at doing what it was developed to do: provide a chance for county high school seniors to explore a career and gain work experience at a local business or organization. 

Koontz said the program was developed in an attempt to keep students in the area, as well as help local businesses fill open positions. Showing seniors that there are good-paying local jobs and careers, Koontz said, could keep some of them in the community, rather than see them leave the area.

Koontz noted that he typically asks seniors three questions about their career interests: What do you want to do? What’s it take to do that? and What should you be doing right now to prepare for it?

Noting that businesses take a risk in bringing a student in to learn a job, Koontz said he hoped the program has provided positives for participating businesses, as well as for the students in the program.

Guest speaker for this year’s breakfast was Kyle Holliday, a 2005 VWHS graduate who now works as an accountant for Vancrest Health Care Centers.

Holliday, who earned a scholarship from Van Wert native Scott Niswonger’s foundation when that program was available at VWHS, said he was impressed with the program and with the commitment of businesses willing to provide a career experience for local seniors.

“What a cool experience you’re providing to these students,” Holliday noted.

Holliday also talked about Niswonger’s philosophy of Learn, Earn, and Return, which urges students to learn in college, start a career, and eventually return to their adding that he sees a lot of similarities between that philosophy and the CEO program.

A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in accounting, Holliday first worked for an accounting firm in Columbus for several years before returning to Van Wert in 2016 after a phone call from Vancrest’s Jon Bagley offering him an accounting position with that company.

“I never really thought about coming back, to be honest,” Holliday noted, added that he didn’t realize the job opportunities available in the community he grew up in.

Fortunately, for Holliday, the timing was right, the job opportunity fit his career path, and a desire to give back to the community that had given him so much while growing up.

He also told local business people who know graduates who moved away for a job in another community not to avoid calling them when a job they may be interested in becomes available.

“I just to kind of want to encourage you to not be afraid to reach out to people,” Holliday told business representatives. “Don’t hesitate, pick up the phone and call someone who was maybe from this area that has gone and is working in another city doing something different.”

Holliday said, without the call from Bagley, he would likely still be working in Columbus.

The VWHS grad also addressed the student participants at the breakfast, noting that while bigger cities offer more to do and more excitement, there are a number of reasons to return to the local community. Holliday said the Van Wert area is a great place to raise a family, while the cost of living is far lower than that of most communities.

That’s important, Holliday said, because while some jobs locally may pay less than comparable jobs in a bigger city, the lower cost of housing and other amenities here means that the lower Van Wert area salary provides more purchasing power than a larger salary in another community.

Holliday also urged students to work hard on their resumes, make themselves presentable for interviews, and maintain good eye contact with interviewers.

“Once you get a job, always set goals for yourself,” he added.

Following Holliday’s speech, Koontz provided gifts for business representatives and certificates to graduating seniors participating in the program. He also thanked the Van Wert County Foundation, the CEO program’s advisory board members, the county economic development program, media, and school helpers Krista Baer and Lynette Westgerdes.