Springfield students win local entrepreneurship competition

A group of three budding entrepreneurs from Springfield High School won Sangamon County’s version of the hit ABC reality show “Shark Tank” with a business to connect nonprofits with potential donors. Abby Tellez, Joseph Abe-Bell and Julia Gorden created Tomatoes and Blankets, what they described in The State Journal-Register as a cross between Kickstarter and Match.com for local nonprofits.

The idea for Tomatoes and Blankets came from concerns about food waste. The teens initially wanted to connect restaurants with local nonprofits in need of food donations. From there, the idea grew to creating a way for nonprofits and charities to communicate what donations they needed.

The creators of Tomatoes and Blankets participate in Sangamon CEO, a program that teaches high school seniors about business and entrepreneurship. Students learn about the challenges of creating a business, meet with local business owners and are paired with a mentor from the business community.

As part of Sangamon CEO, the program participants proposed different ideas for businesses. The top six proposals were selected to compete in an event like “Shark Tank,” where they pitched their business ideas to five business owners and answered questions about their proposal. Although no cash prizes were awarded, Tomatoes and Blankets was deemed “worth funding” following their presentation.

Sangamon CEO is facilitated by Nabih Elhajj and Richard Johnson. Elhajj is a local entrepreneur who operated The Market on Koke Mill and cofounded Shoutbuddy, a podcast that highlights entrepreneurs, while Johnson was a dean at several universities and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Throwback Thursday: The incorporation of the Boy Scouts of America by an Illinois resident

• 2017
• Boy Scouts of America
• Illinois History

On Feb. 8, 1910, Chicago publishing tycoon William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. Boyce had earned his fortune at the Chicago Ledger, where he employed the first newspaper boys.

Boyce came across scouting while in London in 1909. After getting lost in the London fog, Boyce was aided by a young British Boy Scout. Once the boy had led him to his destination, Boyce offered to tip the boy but the boy refused. The boy stated that he was a Scout and could not accept a tip for Good Turns. Boyce was impressed and set out to learn more about scouting.

Boyce gathered scouting literature from the founder of the British Boy Scouts, Lord Robert Baden-Powell. Baden-Powell decided to develop the British Boy Scouts after being stationed in India with the Army, where he discovered that his troops did not possess basic means of survival outdoors or first aid skills.

Once Boyce returned from London, he set about founding the Boy Scouts of America.

There were two other groups in the United States that had sought to train boys in scouting. After the Boy Scouts were incorporated, the leaders of those groups joined the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America.

Boyce donated $4,000 to the Boy Scouts of America and partnered with groups like the YMCA to recruit members. The purpose of the Boy Scouts was “to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in Scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods which are in common use by Boy Scouts.”

The Boy Scouts of America grew quickly. In 1910 there were 2,000 Boy Scouts and today there are millions.

In 1930, the Boy Scouts of America formally launched Cub Scouting. Over 5,000 boys registered within the first year. Cub Scouts would meet weekly to play games and make crafts in a member’s home. This differed from programs in other countries because of the American focus on activities in the home and neighborhood.

Today there are more than 2.4 million participants in the Boy Scouts of America making it the largest scouting organization in the United States.

Knapheide Manufacturing Company to open new facility in Quincy

• Employment
• Jobs
• Economy
• Growth
• history
• Made in Illinois
• 2017

Knapheide Manufacturing Co., a western Illinois-based truck bed and body company, announced recently that it will begin constructing an additional facility in Quincy.

Knapheide already has a 480,000-square-foot facility in Quincy with about 1,200 workers, making the company one of the city’s largest employers. The new facility will occupy 188,000 square feet just south of Quincy and create 250 new jobs in manufacturing, installation and support roles.

Knapheide has been manufacturing transportation technologies since 1848, when Herman Heinrich Knapheide arrived in Quincy from Germany and founded the Knapheide Wagon Company. This company primarily sold wagons to farmers, miners and pioneers traveling west.

As the automobile industry came of age in the United States, Knapheide began to build wagon bodies for trucks, specifically those used on farms. The company has since diversified its production,manufacturing truck beds and bodies used by mechanics, miners, ranchers, tradespeople, construction workers and more.

The company has been based out of western Illinois since its founding. Knapheide Manufacturing Company is currently under its sixth generation of family ownership. The company’s continued and consistent investment in Illinois speaks volumes about the state’s industrious workforce and manufacturing potential.

Did you know: Sara Lee is based in Illinois?

• Business
• history

The famous baked goods company Sara Lee got its start in 1935 when baker and entrepreneur Charles Lubin and his brother-in-law bought a small chain of Chicago neighborhood bakeries called Community Bake Shops. The stores grew in popularity and increased from three to seven.

Seeking more business ventures, Charlie parted ways with his brother-in-law in 1949 and named his chain of bakeries after his 8-year-old, daughter Sara Lee. The company had operations in more than 40 countries and sold its products in over 180.

Sara Lee’s roots remained in Chicago after being bought by Nathan Cummings in 1956, a Canadian-born American and philanthropist. He acquired multiple businesses, one of which was a leading wholesale grocery company in Chicago (Warner & Co.). In 1956, Cummings’s Consolidated Foods Corp. purchased Sara Lee.

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