Snowed in at home? Perfect timing! Cozy up and knock out your ELITE Leadership Summit application online at www.eleader.org! Students currently in grades 6-8 can join other young leaders from our area for an unforgettable week of networking, collaboration, and personal growth at Ivy Tech on June 15-18, 2026! We have just over one week left before the early application window closes on February 8 — don’t miss your opportunity to level up your leadership skills! We’d love for our area middle schools to please share this post with your school communities: EVSC (Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation) Diocese of Evansville Catholic Schools Warrick County School Corporation Evansville Day School Evansville Lutheran School MSD of North Posey South Gibson County Middle School – GCSSD Evansville Christian School
✨ Tomorrow marks a new year—and new opportunities to grow. New goals. New challenges. New confidence. The Elite Leadership Summit application opens tomorrow. Who’s ready to step into leadership, stretch their comfort zone, and grow alongside other motivated students? 📅 Applications open tomorrow. 💡 Growth starts with one brave step.
We’ve had over 100 teacher recommendations already submitted for our 48 available spots at the 2026 ELITE Leadership Summit happening at Ivy Tech on June 15-18, 2026. A reminder this competition is for students (currently) in grades 6-8. Letters will be sent to recommended students in mid-January once our application window opens! We would love to connect with ALL local schools and we’d love to see at least 1 standout leader from each school in the area join us! We know summer is busy, but we also know there are a handful of students in every school who are perfectly suited for this experience. In past years, schools from across the region have sent students who went on to shine both at the Summit and back at school. We need your help in finding that next group of ELITE participants! HEY!!! Helfrich Park, McGary, North Jr High, Washington, Perry Heights, Plaza Park, Thompkins, Lodge, Lincoln, Glenwood, South Castle Middle School, and Cedar Hall – SEND YOUR LEADERS OUR WAY! Principals or teachers at these schools can direct message our Facebook page for more information! Teacher Recommendation Link: https://eleader.org/?page_id=9
Cookies 🍪 + cocoa ☕ + ice cream 🍦 = instant holiday cheer! Tonight our Elite leaders had the opportunity to try Christmas Cookie Cocoa Ice Cream. Huge shoutout to G.D. Ritzy’s Evansville and owner Chad Grunow for hosting such a fun, festive night and for supporting the growth of our young leaders. 🎄✨ Yum!
At the Elite Leadership Summit, we love creating hands-on, real-world experiences for young leaders that connect them with business leaders in our community. And sometimes… those “hypothetical” tasks turn into something deliciously real! Yesterday, four of our Elite leaders (Blake, Adelaide, Mason, and Michael) experienced that firsthand with a visit to the G.D. Ritzy’s test kitchen to try out the results of a task they completed last summer. Part of that task? Pitch a brand-new holiday ice cream flavor. Their winning flavor? Christmas Cookie Cocoa. Fast-forward to this year’s ‘Santa at Ritzy’s’ planning meeting, and G.D. Ritzy’s owner/operator, Chad Grunow, decided the timing was perfect to bring their flavor to life! Last night, they created their new ice cream flavor and it will debut this Sunday for one night only! 🎅 Join us this Sunday, December 7 at G.D. Ritzy’s Evansville (4810 University Drive, Evansville location only) from 4-7 pm for their Santa at Ritzy’s event and be among the first and the few to try this limited-edition holiday treat! 🗻 Elite Leadership Summit co-founders, Amanda and Ryan will be on-site from 6-7 pm to share information about the Summit and host a reunion of sorts for past Elite leaders! 🍨 We can’t wait to see some familiar faces and try maybe six, seven scoops of this Christmas Cookie Cocoa Ice Cream!
Community leaders like Jeff Wheeler, General Manager at Deep Blue Indoor Play help made the 2025 ELITE Leadership Summit a success. Thanks again to Jeff and all of our community leaders who shared their time and talents with our participants during this year’s competition! We will announce the date for the 2026 ELITE Leadership Summit soon! ⛰️
Our final task, “Shark Tank Invent-a-thon” would not have been possible without the help of some amazing sharks. Special thanks to the following individuals for serving as sharks in today’s final task: Glenn Muehlbauer, VP of Human Resources at Koch Enterprises MIke Feller, Owner/President of Feller Wealth Management Bridgett Meyer, Owner of Beehive
We were excited to welcome Dennis Dohogne, P.E. as our guest speaker for the final task of this year’s ELITE Leadership Summit! Bringing a wealth of knowledge and experiences, Dennis is a retired Senior Design Engineer for Andromeda Systems, Inc.. As an inventor with 20 patents, he was the perfect choice to speak to our students before their task, ‘Shark Tank Invent-a-thon!” Thank you for sharing your time and talent with our young leaders, Dennis!
If you’ve been keeping up with our Facebook page this week, it should come as no surprise to see this name as our 2025 ELITE Champion. As our Task #1 Standout, Phoebee Gander took an early lead and didn’t slow down. She went on to serve as a managing leader on both tasks 3 and 4 where her team finished in first place! After finishing outside of the Top 10 last year, Phoebee returned this year on a mission and it was truly a joy watching her shine! She showed up everyday with a smile and went out of her way to make a positive impression on everyone she came in contact with! Phoebee was awarded a trophy and certificate, as well as the $500 scholarship grand prize at today’s closing ceremony! Way to go, Phoebee! We are so very proud of you! 🏔️🎉🥇
Congratulations to Marielle, Isabella L., and Aldin for receiving our bonus point for the best light display for Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights in Task #3 and our other young leaders for receiving a shout out in yesterday’s task! Our winning team created a toolbox light display for Hamlin Equipment Rental! Other light displays receiving shout outs were for for Honey Moon Coffee Co. and Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari!
The ELITE Leadership Summit was pleased to welcome Chad and Katie Grunow as our community leaders for Task #3 today! Chad, Owner/Operator of G.D. Ritzy’s Evansville, and his wife, Katie, Executive Director at Evansville Christian Life Center, discussed how local businesses and nonprofits work together to make a positive difference in our committee! Chad discussed the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights and how it benefits Easterseals Rehabilitation Center, a local nonprofit near and dear to his heart! Students were tasked with creating a new light display for the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights as well as a new event/experience for families to enjoy! They also pitched an ice cream idea for Ritzy’s to promote the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. They created fun commercials as part of their pitch as well! Our young leaders were thrilled to receive a free ice cream coupon from Chad and a complimentary copy of Katie’s newly-released book, ‘Hope Restored | How our Neighbors Found Renewal and Healing’! We are grateful for the positive impact both Chad and Katie make daily in our Evansville community. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with our leaders today!
Every great book starts with a great character! As part of Task #2, our young leaders were tasked with creating a main character for their story they pitched to Todd Schimmell-Children’s Author/Illustrator. Congratulations to Mia and Will for earning the bonus point for Todd’s favorite character, Darla the Dragon, and all of our students who received shout outs for their creative and clever character ideas! Was Todd inspired to put one of these character ideas in a future book? We hope so!
As part of Task #2, students had to design a cover for their story idea to join Todd Schimmell-Children’s Author/Illustrator’s Kids’ Compass series. Congratulations to our Kayde and Cora for winning the bonus point for the best cover design and our other students who received shout outs from Todd for their creative cover designs!
Mia Oliva and Will Goth were our Task #2 Standouts, pitching their book idea, “Darla the Dragon” to Todd Schimmell-Children’s Author/Illustrator! He was very impressed with their creativity and thoughtful lesson the book offered. This victory allowed both Mia and Will to climb into our Top 5 heading into Task #3! Great job!
Task #2 was all about the partners! Our ELITE leaders worked in pairs to develop a new character and book concept for Todd Schimmell’s Kids’ Compass series. This series strives to teach valuable lessons to young children that instill positivity, empathy, and resiliency! They finished the task pitching their ideas! We have such a talented group of young leaders, and it has been wonderful watching their creativity come alive! ⛰️📙 Todd Schimmell-Children’s Author/Illustrator
Congratulations to Phoebee Gander who was named the Task #1 Standout and currently sits atop the leaderboard following the first task of this year’s competition! This is Phoebee’s second year competing in The ELITE Leadership Summit. Will she be able to hold on to the top spot after today’s task? Stay tuned!
We were pleased and excited to welcome Todd Schimmell on Day 2 of the ELITE Leadership Summit. Todd Schimmell is a dedicated children’s author and illustrator, as well as an award-winning School Resource Deputy. Todd’s unique career journey blends creativity and public service, allowing him to inspire young minds while ensuring their safety in the community. Todd, affectionately known as “The Cartoon Cop,” uses his experiences in law enforcement to create relatable characters and situations in his stories. He believes that every child can find a hero within themselves, whether it’s in the pages of a book or in their everyday lives. Students were tasked to pitch a new book idea to Todd that he could add to his Kids’ Compass series which aim to teach valuable lessons to children! Thanks for sharing your time and talents with our young leaders today, and for the positive difference you make in our community each day! Todd Schimmell-Children’s Author/Illustrator
Today’s first task would not have been possible without the help of local business leaders who volunteered their time this morning! Students had an opportunity to make a positive first impression and learn about various career paths! A special thanks to Ms. Lisa Hardesty who wrapped up task #1 by talking to our participants about the importance of ‘thank you’ notes and proper etiquette when writing them! Student finished up by writing ‘thank you’ cards to today’s volunteers! Students were scored on both parts of today’s task and we will announce our Top 10 through Round 1 tomorrow! Stay tuned! Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Nextech Deaconess HR Solutions, Inc.
We were thrilled to welcome back Mr. Shawn Collins to The ELITE Leadership Summit for several workshops on Day 1! Shawn is founder of TheEXTENDGROUP, a GiANT Worldwide consultant, and a keynote speaker with a distinguished career spanning over two decades in leadership development, marketing, digital innovation, and organizational culture transformation. In session one, “Challenges of Leading in a Digital Age,” Shawn helped students explore modern leadership challenges and introduced the 5 Voices Dynamics tool to improve their understanding of effective communication and teamwork. In session two, “Being Present and Productive in a World That Never Sleeps,” Shawn guided students through the 5 Gears framework, teaching them how to balance productivity with meaningful relationships, and highlighting the importance of intentionally choosing presence in our fast-paced, digitally connected world. Students gained practical insights to enhance self-awareness, communication, and their overall leadership abilities. Thank you, Shawn, for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge and experiences with our young leaders! CulturebyShawn
Thank you to HR Solutions, Inc. for joining us for Day 1 of The ELITE Leadership Summit! President/CEO, Vicki Hubiak, and HR Generalist, Trevor Arnold, gave an informative workshop on making positive first impressions and resume building before serving as community on our first task, “Work the Room”!
This morning, we kicked off the 2025 ELITE Leadership Summit at Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville. Upon arrival, our participants received a professional headshot from Bret and Brandie! This year’s competition features 31 young leaders from 14 area schools! This talented group is going to accomplish some amazing things this week, and we are lucky to have a front-row seat! Stay tuned to our Facebook page all week long for updates, highlights, and more! ⛰️📸😁