CEO program for high school students tours Hannibal with local guide service

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The recently established Hannibal Area CEO program teamed up with a new business that offers guide services in Hannibal for a walking tour around the town as part of a hands-on lesson in entrepreneurship.

The high school students heard about the impact of the tourism industry to our area, learned about the downtown businesses that rely on visitors and discovered why it is important to be involved and knowledgeable about the communities where they live and work.

The Hannibal Area CEO program started this fall. It teaches northeast Missouri high school students to be responsible, enterprising individuals who will one day become entrepreneurs.

In a press release, CEO Facilitator Joy Bond said, “Hannibal area CEO students are discovering that knowing their community is an essential part of creating entrepreneurial opportunities. Visiting three or four local entrepreneurs a week has opened up the students’ awareness of the opportunities that exist right here–opportunities for new ideas, cultural development and investment. The walking tour shows the students how current businesses are creatively meeting needs in such a way that new opportunities are emerging.”

Destination Hannibal MO Tours provides guides for the three national riverboat chains that cruise into Hannibal. It also offers tours to individuals and other groups that visit. Local guide Sarah Deien took the nine students enrolled in the CEO program from the Hannibal riverfront to the Mark Twain properties and the local businesses on Main Street.

CEO student Anastasia Maiden said the Hannibal tour provided by a local start-up business is a great way to show students what unique entrepreneurial opportunities are available in their own communities.

“Before CEO, I had no idea there were so many successful entrepreneurs in our area,” Maiden said. “Now I know of so many, which not only gives me hope for myself in the future, but it also allows me to meet some pretty knowledgeable and experienced people who I feel I can go to for guidance and support.”

Hannibal resident Zelma Cline is the founder of Destination Hannibal MO Tours, LLC. She has assembled a team of 18 guides who give tours to riverboat guests, tour companies and private groups.