Our Daily Show Interview! Pickleball Fever With Riverbend CEO
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GODFREY - The Riverbend CEO program invites community members to join them for a pickleball tournament.
The Riverbend CEO program encourages area high school students to learn about entrepreneurship by conceptualizing and starting their own businesses. On Oct. 17 and 18, 2025, at Glazebrook Park in Godfrey, community members can support the program by playing pickleball.
“It’s all fun,” said one Riverbend CEO student. “There are prizes. We literally just want everybody to have fun.”
The tournaments run from 6–9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. Each day is a new bracket.
The students ask players to sign up by Oct. 10. It costs $15 per play or $30 per team to participate. They explained that the money will allow them to start their businesses.
“Each fund is for our own separate business,” they said. “Closer to the winter and the spring, we’ll start developing our own businesses. We’ll write up a business plan. We give it to a banker and kind of pitch our idea to them. So basically, the funds go to each of us, and they’ll help us. They’ll also help with our class business that we all work together to create.”
As part of the Riverbend CEO program, students tour local businesses and speak to entrepreneurs to learn about what it takes to run a business. In the second semester, they will create their plans to begin operations for their own businesses.
Most of the students decided to apply for the program because they are interested in starting businesses in the future. Others plan to study business in college and wanted “an advantage” or “head start” in high school.
The students noted that the program has been a positive experience so far. They have enjoyed learning about different businesses in the Riverbend, and they’re eager to take the next steps in their own business journeys.
“We’re ready. We want to start everything,” one student said. “We’ve just been everywhere. I feel like every day is different. It’s never the same. And it definitely doesn't feel like class, like I’m sitting in a classroom, bored, trying to fall asleep. I definitely like going. It just makes the day feel productive.”
The pickleball tournament will give the students the funding boost they need to be successful. They encourage interested players to find their team members and sign up as soon as possible.
You can visit the official Riverbend CEO Facebook page or their official website at RiverbendCEO.com to learn more about the program and how to participate in their upcoming events.
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