Adams County CEO celebrates students, community impact

Published 11:34 am Friday, May 1, 2026

QUINCY — The Adams County CEO Class of 2026 wrapped up its year by giving back to the community.

The class donated $1,000 to Horizons Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry and $1,000 to the Good News of Christmas Campaign from profits of the class business, A CEO Holiday.

“We saw so many people come and support us, and the impact that our own business had, that we wanted to be able to impact other programs in Adams County,” said Kaydence McMillan, the chief executive officer of the business, a two-day Christmas experience in December offering families carnival games, local vendors, craft stations and treats designed to make unforgettable holiday memories.

The class joined family members, mentors and board members at a Friday breakfast designed to celebrate the 14 students who spent the school year building entrepreneurial skills to use now and into their future.

Students talked about what they gained in the program, from growing in confidence and public speaking skills to tips for building their individual businesses.

“The most special part of this program is it gives a bunch of teenagers a space to fail and be OK. Taking risks was encouraged, pushing yourselves and taking those risks even if it meant failure was also encouraged,” Alyssa Farlow said.

“It was neat to be in an environment where sometimes success wasn’t always the goal but growth. I was able to take that and turn it into a better business and turn into a better person.”

CEO Facilitator Curtis Sethaler said seeing organizations the students are passionate about benefit from their experience is just as important building entrepreneurial skills.

“This program is supported by individuals, businesses and organizations in Adams County, so for them to be able to give back in some way to those organizations shows these students the importance of reinvestment,” Sethaler said.

“The whole CEO program was started with the idea of getting youth involved in the local economy. For them to run a very successful class business and then have funds to allocate from that back into local organizations is incredibly important.”

McMillan said the class helped Good News wrap gifts at Christmas time, with some students returning on their own time to wrap more, and appreciated the program’s impact on those in need.

United Way of Adams County Director of Community Impact and Reinvestment Natalie Cornwell was thrilled to have the CEO program take an interest in the Good News program, which the agency oversees.

“This is the second year in a row you honored United Way programs. We’re really, really blessed,” Cornwell said. “We love having you and hope to have your class come join us again next year.”

McMillan said the class also recognized the impact Horizons has on the community and wanted to help support its work.

“The overall community support that Horizons receives impacts the lives of people in our community every day,” said Mark Stephens, the husband of Horizons Executive Director Sarah Stephens, who accepted the check on behalf of the organization. “To have support of this CEO class bodes very well for our future that we’ll continue to have the support in the community.”