We have kicked off with the Class of 2025! This week, we met in 3 communities: Arthur, Arcola & Sullivan.

We talked about small town business districts, retail gaps, the importance of location, and disruption.

We met in 3 different coffee shops - Roselens in Arthur, Broomtown Cafe in Arcola, and Sweet Vail Cafe in Sullivan; and we compared their different approaches, menus, overall vibe, locations, and constraints of the buildings.

We walked downtown Arthur & Sullivan, discussing changes over the years and identifying needs.

And we decided we all want a bowling alley in our town.

We started brainstorming ideas for our badge business and community relations initiatives for our program, and discussed business tour and guest speaker etiquette.

We took personality assessments to uncover a little about ourselves, and started writing our bios for the website.

And we had an impromptu tour of the Moultrie County Courthouse, talked about those retail gaps with some longtime Sullivan residents, learned what a County Treasurer does, how businesses utilize courthouse offices, and the career of a court reporter.

And that was just week 1. Now we're gearing up for week 2!