Local high school entrepreneurs invite community to festive fundraiser events

Students involved in the Perryville Area Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) Program are hosting two events in December to raise seed money to launch startup businesses.

The Perryville Area CEO Program is a three-hour block for select students from Perryville, St. Vincent and Saxony Lutheran high schools. As part of the program, students will develop a business idea, create a plan and launch the business in the community.

The program, the second of its kind in Missouri, began this fall at Perryville High School in partnership with the Perryville Area Career and Technology Center.

“This program is a true partnership between our schools and our business community,” program facilitator Amy Camarillo said in a news release. “Students are immersed in the business world from Day 1 with the opportunity to learn from experts in nearly every industry and service area, from banking to government to marketing to trucking.”

The first fundraising event is the Holiday Hustle 5K at 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at TG Missouri Trail in Perryville. The race is open to runners, joggers and walkers. Advanced registration costs $25 per person and can be done online. Day-of registration costs $30, and children five and younger can participate for free.

The second event, Holiday Trivia Night, will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, at Robinson Event Center in Perryville. The event will pit teams of eight against each other in an eight-round trivia contest. Registration costs $160 per team and can also be done online. Participants are encouraged to wear Christmas-themed clothes such as ugly holiday sweaters.

The students' goal is to have 200 participants in the 5K and 20 teams in the trivia contest.

Contact Lexi Johnson at l06johnson@icloud.com for more information about the Holiday Hustle 5K; Wyatt Huber at huberw2026@pcsd32.com about Holiday Trivia Night and Amy Camarillo at acamarillo@pcsd32.com about the Perryville Area CEO Program.