Empower Today. Transform Tomorrow. 🏔️ At The Elite Leadership Summit, we know for many the competition is just the beginning. Our young leaders come to us with seeds already planted and we have the privilege of adding a little water and sunshine during their time with us. It is such a joy watching them grow into changemakers who make a lasting impact in their schools and communities. Mia Oliva is a perfect example of that. After competing in our 2024 and 2025 Summits, Mia returned in 2026 as both a workshop leader and volunteer, giving back to the next generation of leaders. Mia continues to turn passion into purpose through Beyond The Finish , an organization she founded in 2025. Through this incredible initiative, Mia works to provide local youth with the running gear and equipment they need to succeed, helping ensure every young athlete has the opportunity to reach the starting line ready to race. 🏃♀️💙 We are so proud of Mia and inspired by the difference she is making! Mia has an upcoming event and we thought it would be the perfect time for an Elite Reconnection event! Our Elite Co-Founders, Amanda and Ryan will both be in attendance and we’d love to see our Elite leaders representing in their Elite Leadership Summit tees! Show up and support Mia’s work with Beyond the Finish and reconnect with your Elite pals! More information on the flyer!
Our final task is always a participant favorite, and this year’s challenge was no exception. It truly brought out the creativity and leadership of our competitors! The Top 7 on our ELITE Leaderboard stepped into the role of managing leaders for the final task, starting their morning by drafting their teams. To add to the fun, each managing leader selected a team name and team colors, which we transformed into custom logos for our baseball-themed challenge. Participants had the opportunity to learn from Evansville Otters General Manager, Trevor Lakins, and collaborated to develop some incredibly creative promotional night concepts. Trevor was impressed by all of the ideas, but two stood out as his favorites: Lanie’s Toy Box – Toy Story Night Ella’s Emus – Halloween Night. Trevor hopes to work with his team to make these ideas from our young leaders a reality at Bosse Field next season.
With our field of 53 packed full of talent and standout performances from start to finish, the competition was exciting at every turn. Congratulations to all of our competitors for making this year’s Summit one to remember! Thanks to the incredible turnout at this year’s Summit and the generosity of our donors, we were thrilled to award scholarships to our top five finishers! We’d like to congratulate Ella Harding, a recent graduate of Good Shepherd Catholic School and soon-to-be Freshman at Reitz Memorial High School, who finished in 2nd place! Ella received a trophy and a $250 scholarship at our closing ceremony! Keep conquering, Ella! 🏔️ #connect #collaborate #create #conquer
With our field of 53 packed full of talent and standout performances from start to finish, the competition was exciting at every turn. Congratulations to all of our competitors for making this year’s Summit one to remember! Thanks to the incredible turnout at this year’s Summit and the generosity of our donors, we were thrilled to award scholarships to our top five finishers! We’d like to congratulate Emma Fehrenbacher, a 7th grader at Good Shepherd Catholic School who finished in 3rd place! Emma received a trophy and a $200 scholarship at our closing ceremony! Keep conquering, Emma! 🏔️ #connect #collaborate #create #conquer
With our field of 53 packed full of talent and standout performances from start to finish, the competition was exciting at every turn. Congratulations to all of our competitors for making this year’s Summit one to remember! Thanks to the incredible turnout at this year’s Summit and the generosity of our donors, we were thrilled to award scholarships to our top five finishers! We’d like to congratulate Lexie Martin, an 8th grader at St. John the Baptist Catholic School, who finished in 4th place! Lexie received a trophy and a $100 scholarship at our closing ceremony! Keep conquering, Lexie! 🏔️ #connect #collaborate #create #conquer
With our field of 53 packed full of talent and standout performances from start to finish, the competition was exciting at every turn. Congratulations to all of our competitors for making this year’s Summit one to remember! Thanks to the incredible turnout at this year’s Summit and the generosity of our donors, we were thrilled to award scholarships to our top five finishers! We’d like to congratulate Lucas Ubelhor, an 8th grader at Good Shepherd Catholic School, who finished in 5th place! Lucas received a trophy and a $100 scholarship at our closing ceremony! Keep conquering, Lucas! 🏔️ #connect #collaborate #create #conquer
We are thrilled to announce that Lanie Lewis, 7th grader from St. John the Baptist Catholic School, is our 2026 ELITE Leadership Summit! Lanie had an amazing week connecting, collaborating, creating, and conquering! After starting the day in 7th place, she led a talented team, winning our final task and receiving shoutouts in several areas! Once all the dust settled, Lanie finished the week with 63.7 points— 0.2 points higher than any other participant! Lanie will receive her name on the legendary ELITE trophy! She also received a small trophy to take home and was awarded the $500 scholarship! What an incredible finish to a wonderful week! Way to go, Lanie! 🏔️
Our final task was definitely a home run as we welcomed Trevor Lakins, General Manager of the Evansville Otters. Our Top 7 served as managing leaders of a large group (7-8) and were challenged to plan and pitch creative ideas for a new promotional night, showcasing their innovation, teamwork, and presentation skills. Trevor was incredibly impressed with their ideas, and we’re hopeful that some of their concepts will make their way onto the Otters’ promotional calendar next season! Thank you, Trevor, for sharing your time, expertise, and encouragement with our young leaders!
Special thanks to 14 NEWS for stopping by today to highlight the amazing things happening at the Summit!
Congratulations to our Task 3 Standouts! 🏆 Managing Leader, Lucas Ubelhor, and his team of Maddex, Jaxon, and Harlen delivered an engaging pitch of their Sci-Fi themed Fun Center and blew our judge away! These fellas are climbing the leaderboard heading into Day 4! Lucas + Maddex – Good Shepherd Catholic School Harlen – Mater Dei High School Evansville Jaxon – St. John the Baptist Catholic School
Where Ya From Wednesday ⁉️ Our Diocese of Evansville Catholic Schools always send students ready to learn, lead, and compete at the ELITE! We are pleased to have participation from so many of our area Catholic schools! Holy Rosary Catholic School Good Shepherd Catholic School Resurrection Catholic School Corpus Christi Catholic School Saint Wendel Catholic School St. John the Baptist Catholic School St. Philip Catholic School
We were thrilled to welcome Kara Wandtke, Director of Operations at Walther’s Golf & Fun, to the ELITE Leadership Summit today! Kara served as our Community Leader for Task 3, and it was truly a hole-in-one experience. For this challenge, students were tasked with pitching a concept for a brand-new Walther’s location, complete with a unique theme, restaurant ideas, attractions, and more. Their creativity, collaboration, and innovation were on full display! Thank you, Kara, for sharing your time, expertise, and enthusiasm with our young leaders. We are grateful for your support and for helping make this experience so meaningful!
Congratulations to our Task 2 Standout Duo, Emma Fehrenbacher and John Ryon! They scored the most overall points in Task 2 and this strong performance helped them both climb the leaderboard heading into Task 3 today! Good Shepherd Catholic School Evansville Christian School #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Task 2 Shoutouts | Top 3 ELITE Pizza Creation Names Our top ingredients were on the “Garlic Bomb”, an idea from Cora Underhill and Connor Roberts! Check out the ingredients list and maybe try the Garlic Bomb for yourself the next time you visit Azzip Pizza. Cora will be an 8th grader at Evansville Christian School and Connor will be an 8th grader at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in August! #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Task 2 Shoutouts | Top 3 ELITE Pizza Creation Names Our top name, “Michaelangelo’s Meatball Masterpiece”, came from Lucas Ubelhor and Ensley Yamamoto. An Elite Pizza Creation is a a pizza that anyone could make at Azzip Pizza with their in-house ingredients. Lucas will be an 8th grader at Good Shepherd Catholic School and Ensley will be an 8th grader at Evansville Christian School in August! #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Task 2 Shoutouts | Top 3 Pizza of the Month Pitches/Commercials Our top pitch/commercial came from Maren Bryson and William Karns. Maren will be an 8th grader at St. John the Baptist Catholic School and William will be an 8th grader at Evansville Lutheran School in August! #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Task 2 Shoutouts | Top 3 Pizza of the Month Ingredients and Overall POTM Winner Our top Pizza of the Month concept and ingredients came from Daniel Frounfelter and Adelaide Wildeman. Daniel will be a 7th grader at Good Shepherd Catholic School and Adelaide will be a freshman at Mater Dei High School in August! #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Task 2 Shoutouts | Top 3 Pizza of the Month Names Our top name, “The Impasta”, came from Lexie Martin and Charlotte Weinzapfel. Lexie will be an 8th grader at St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Charlotte will be a 7th grader at Resurrection Catholic School in August! #Connect #Collaborate #Create #Conquer
Brad Niemeier, Founder and Co-CEO of Azzip Pizza, joined us for Day 2 of The Elite Leadership Summit! Our young leaders stepped into the role of “pizza-preneurs” as they tackled a creative, entrepreneurial challenge. Participants were tasked with developing and pitching a new Pizza of the Month concept, along with creating an exclusive Elite Pizza Creation using only common ingredients found at the restaurant. Students put their leadership, creativity, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills to the test as they worked to develop a unique product and deliver a compelling commercial. We were amazed by their innovative ideas and enthusiasm throughout the challenge! A special thank you to Brad for sharing his entrepreneurial journey and inspiring our young leaders to think creatively, take risks, and bring their ideas to life.
Each day at The Elite Leadership Summit, our participants connect, collaborate, create, and conquer! With 53 young leaders competing, we believe it is important to celebrate successes of all sizes along the way. As part of Task #1, participants were challenged to write a thoughtful thank-you card to one of the leaders they met during the Work the Room activity. This task evaluated formatting, neatness, personal touch, meaning, and overall presentation while emphasizing the importance of gratitude and professionalism. We were excited to recognize our Top 5 performers in the Thank-You Card portion of the competition today. Congratulations to these students for their outstanding work and attention to detail! Their notes reflected the character, appreciation, and communication skills that are essential qualities of effective leaders. Special shoutout to Beatrice Reckelhoff for having yesterday’s top thank-you card! Beatrice recently graduated from St. Joseph School and is heading to Mater Dei High School in the fall!
Each day at The Elite Leadership Summit, our participants connect, collaborate, create, and conquer! With 53 young leaders competing, we believe it is important to celebrate successes of all sizes along the way. We kicked off Day 2 by recognizing several students who stood out during the Work the Room portion of Task #1. These participants demonstrated confidence, professionalism, and strong communication skills while making meaningful connections with our community leaders. Congratulations to our Top 5 finishers, who were recognized with a special shout-out today! We are proud of their efforts and look forward to seeing all of our participants continue to grow and excel throughout the Summit. Special shoutout to Emma Fehrenbacher who was our top performer in the Work the Room portion. Emma is heading into 7th grade at Good Shepherd Catholic School!
Lisa Hardesty, an educator at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Newburgh and a member of The Elite Leadership Summit Board of Directors, led an engaging mini-workshop on the art of writing the perfect thank-you card. Her presentation proved especially valuable as students completed the second part of Task #1 which included writing a thank-you card to one of the leaders they met during Work the Room task. Students were evaluated on formatting, neatness, personalization, meaningful content, and overall presentation. Thank you, Lisa, for your continued dedication and support of The Elite Leadership Summit. We are grateful for the time, expertise, and encouragement you provide to our young leaders each year!
Task #1: Work the Room is a signature event at The Elite Leadership Summit, giving participants the opportunity to network with outstanding leaders from across our community. This year’s guest list included CEOs, vice presidents, entrepreneurs, business owners, and other accomplished professionals who generously shared their time and expertise with our young leaders. We are incredibly grateful for their support of the Summit and look forward to highlighting some of these leaders in future posts so you can learn more about their work and the positive impact they make in our community. During this task, students were evaluated on their ability to make a strong first impression through professional appearance, confidence, meaningful conversation, and more. We’ll be announcing our Task 1: Work the Room – Top 5 later this morning. Stay tuned! 👀
After participating in the Elite Leadership Summit in 2024 and 2025, Phoebee Gander and Mia Oliva returned this year in a new role to lead a workshop on the power of making positive first impressions. Their session was engaging, interactive, and filled with practical insights that helped prepare our students for Task #1. Phoebee and Mia truly embody the mission of ELITE, and we are grateful for their willingness to give back by investing in the next generation of leaders. We are thankful they joined us this year and shared their talents, experience, and enthusiasm with our participants!
This year’s Summit welcomed 53 young leaders from 15 schools across our region! While Task #1 was completed individually, participants had many opportunities to meet, learn from, and connect with one another. Building these relationships is an important part of the Summit experience and will serve students well as they move into upcoming partner, small-group, and large-group challenges.
Special thanks once again to Long Shots Imaging for joining us this morning and capturing these amazing photos of our 53 Elite participants. These young leaders were dressed to impressed, and are ready to connect, collaborate, create, and conquer this week! The full gallery of these headshots and more photos of the competition will be shared with parents and guardians later this week.
“You have one life, 168 hours per week – invest every moment into becoming who you’re meant to be!” ⏳– Shawn Collins – ⌛️ We were excited to welcome Shawn Collins back to The Elite Leadership Summit for the third consecutive year! A recognized leader, keynote speaker, and consultant, Shawn brings more than two decades of experience in leadership development, marketing, digital innovation, and organizational culture transformation. His engaging and practical approach always leaves a lasting impact on our young leaders. Today, Shawn challenged students to think differently about how they use their 168 hours each week, how to stay focused when distractions arise, and how intentional choices can lead to greater success both now and in the future. We are grateful for Shawn’s continued investment in the next generation of leaders. Be sure to check out the blog posts linked below to learn more from his leadership insights he shared with this year’s participants: 🔗 Own your 168 Hours at ELITE: https://shawncollins.com/own-your-168-hours-at-elite/ 🔗 Own the Moment in Front of You: https://shawncollins.com/elite-leadership-summit-reflection-own-the-moment-in-front-of-you/ CulturebyShawn