Students in a central Illinois business class are getting ready for the final stage of a yearlong program.

Students in the Central Illinois CEO program will be front and center with their individual businesses Thursday night at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth. Melanie Brown (right) is the facilitator of the Central Illinois CEO program and indicates students will have their business on display.

Lisa Sheppard (left) is the facilitator of the Sangamon Valley CEO program and indicates their event is coupled with the 'Whites of Spring' in Monticello next Friday. She encourages the community to come out and, at the very least, learn more about the programs and see what the students are doing.

Brown's students recently did a mock trade show with eighth graders in the footprint of the Central Illinois CEO schools, and she feels her students learned some valuable lessons in that process.

The Central Illinois trade show is from 5 pm to 7 pm at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth on Thursday, May 1.

The Sangamon Valley CEO trade show is from 6 pm to 8 pm on Friday, May 9, at the Monticello Community Building. 

For information on both chapters, visit centralillinoisceo.com or sangamonvalleyceo.com. They are both on Facebook and Instagram.