AppsCo Parents Day at Peoria Riverfront Museum

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AppsCo held a parents day at the Peoria Riverfront Museum that was catered by Childers Eatery. The Museum is our current marketing client and we are building them an app to enhance their customer experience.

We had so much fun showing our family and sponsors what we do and our progress in the past few months. Our amazing multi-media team with the help of Pat Clark made a super fun intro video showing all the members personality in a fun way. Every member told the audience of supportrts about what they’ve gained from AppsCo and their personal experience. All of us as students have gain public speaking skills, and learned more about their branch of AppsCo, but we all can also say we have gained amazing and unexpected friendships from being apart of such a great thing.

We also thanked all of our supporters and sponsors and gave them small gifts for believing in us an our cutting-edge program. It was amazing seeing the turn out and seeing the smiling faces looking back at us as we were speaking. Every family member was beyond proud of their AppsCo student. The entire team had a blast and didn’t think that the event would have such a good turn out and be as great as it was.

It was some AppsCo members first times public speaking and we all were a little nervous since it was such a large crowd. But every student from our most out-going to our quietest spoke with ease and we couldn’t have been happier for each other. This evert was beyond amazing and we couldn’t be more grateful for our sponsors, mentors and teachers. It was also an opportunity to thank our parents for allowing us to do this and for washing and ironing our uniforms if we’re running late and for taking us to and from meetings. AppsCo wouldn’t be possible without any of these great people.

By: Shaelyn Johnson

AppsCo Students Present To Peoria Public School Board

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On Monday, September 11th, AppsCo leaders presented in front of the Board of Education. Peoria Public Schools welcomed us with amazing remarks on how great we’ve been doing and how proud they are to see AppsCo become an amazing business in Peoria.

We started the presentation by showing them the Illinois by Centennial video our head of multimedia, Imani Neal made. If Imani wins the contest she’ll be able to go see Hamilton in Chicago!

Ruby Hirschmann, the Head of Sales, started our presentation out with a simple “Who We Are” as an AppsCo team and the skills we’ve all learned throughout this experience. We explained how we really never thought we would become such a great thing, we had hope but we didn’t expect any of this! Mariah Cooley, the Executive student body Leader then went on to tell the board about what we’ve done. She talked about our success with the Mt.Hawley app. Almost every member downloaded the app and they use it for 2 minutes, double the time an average app user uses an app. She also talked about AppsCo’s submission into the Congressional App Challenge! If we win our district, district 18 we get an opportunity to go to Washington, D.C and present our app in front of hundreds of people! She also expanded on how much all students in the program have learned.

Shaelyn Johnson , Head of Marketing then closed their presentation up by telling the board everything we’ve have done, like our success with Mt.Hawley, sealing the deal with the Peoria Riverfront Museum and how all the students have been giving amazing opportunities to public speak, attend meetings, and learn what their interested in outside of the classroom.

Most importantly we proposed the idea of having AppsCo at every Peoria Public High School as a credited business class, because we now its important for every kid in Peoria to have the same amazing chance we have had.

By: Shaelyn Johnson

AppsCo Unity Point Health Presentation

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AppsCo is funded solely by generous sponsors who all believe in the future of Peoria Public Schools and AppsCo. Our goal is to raise a minimum of 100,00 dollars for the district per year, and Unity Point Health can help us do just that! Yesterday we met with Greg Johnson, Executive Medical Director, Unity Point Health and AppsCo Board chair member, Debbie Simon President and CEO of Unity Point Methodist, Proctor and Pekin , Roberta Parks Vice President of Unity Point Health Methodist Foudation, and Keith Knepp , President of Methodist and Proctor.

In our presentation we gave Unity Point Health a look at what we do and how we do it. Us students presented and were able to talk to some very important people from their staff. We highlighted the most important elements of our program, how it has benefitted us, and why an AppsCo Unity Point Health partnership would be mutually beneficial.

They were filled with questions to ask our team about how we are able to learn legitimate business skills while only in highschool. Our answers brought us one step closer to having another member of the AppsCo family.

Having Unity Point as a sponsor will help us cover the hard-cost of running the company. With all of those costs covered, all of the money made from building the apps goes straight to Peoria Public Schools. Our presentation was able to convey the necessity of having sponsors like themselves to partner with us.

With Untiy Point Health as a sponsor, it will bring nothing but benefits to AppsCo, Unity Point, and the city of Peoria.

AppsCo Seals The Deal with the Peoria Riverfront Museum

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Mariah Cooley

8/21/17

On behalf of the AppsCo team, we are very pleased to announce that our next client will be the Peoria Riverfront Museum! We’re very excited to partner with the museum and work hard to fulfill all of their needs.
We’ve met with the leaders of the museum multiple times and reviewed many ideas and innovations that will be in their new app. We plan to publish their app in the upcoming months and are very eager to see how it helps the museum expand their audience.

At their recent press conference, the museum presented their new program called the “Every Student Initiative.” Thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Barton Family Foundation, every student, kindergarten through eighth grade, will be visiting the museum free of charge. Even transportation is provided! A great aspect of this program is that the children’s curriculum at school will align with the museum’s exhibits, offering an exciting and new way to learn. This makes these field trips better than most because what they’re learning is relevant even when they go back to class.

As we attend Peoria Public Schools, it’s great to see all of the students get the opportunity to visit the museum because of this program. We’ve seen first hand how much the museum staff really care about the youth of Peoria. For the past month we’ve been meeting with the Riverfront Museum about building an app for them and entering in the Congressional App Challenge. The Congressional App Challenge is a congressional initiative to encourage student engagement in coding and computer science through local app challenges hosted by the Members of Congress, the winner gets to present their app in Washington DC! The AppsCo team has read all the qualities they are looking for in a winner and we are more then confident that we will win.

On Friday, August 18th, we met with City Council Man, Sid Ruckreigel, and CEO of the museum John Morris and a few other of the museum’s staff. We had a very productive meeting about all that is going into the app, the layout of the app, and the timeline of getting the app done. The goal of the meeting was to solidify our partnership with them, and everyone was eager to do so.

AppsCo Gets a Taste of Peoria

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By: Mariah Cooley, Shaelyn Johnson, and Ruby Hirschmann

8/10/17

The Taste of Peoria, held at the Peoria Riverfront, is a local event that has been going on for 36 years. Many local and national food businesses attend this event. This gives local restaurants a chance to offer their specialty foods and advertise their business. The AppsCo Team thought it would be a great opportunity to promote our business while tasting good food. In addition we were able to meet local business owners and gain new friends and supporters.

We saw many old and new faces like our high school teacher, Mr. Urbanc, and one of our current clients from the Riverfront Museum, David Steif! While exploring the Taste of Peoria many people saw our signature red polos and khaki pants and asked about our business and how to get involved.

Talking to new people helped us broaden our horizons and gain better speaking skills. We also helped get our business out there to many new people who may have not heard about us before.

The Taste of Peoria was a brand new event for some of our AppsCo interns to attend. It was great seeing the community together in one place doing something everyone loves, EATING! Seeing families and friends together made us think about how the LED sign at the Peoria Stadium could draw the community together just like this event. In the future we hope to attend more local event and the Taste of Peoria for many years to come.

Thank you to our mentors , Brian Michael, Alexis Khazzam , and the Taste of Peoria for allowing us to attend this super cool and yummy event!

Getting in the Zone

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By: Shaelyn Johnson and Mariah Cooley

8/8/17

There are many steps that go into planning and finalizing a sign in Peoria. A few AppsCo interns were granted the opportunity to learn more about the Planning and Zoning Commissions from Mr.Willis from the Peoria Public Schools and Mrs. Techie ,a senior urban planner from the City of Peoria. In our meeting with them we went over how to fill out the application for the new LED sign at the Peoria Stadium.

In our meeting we were taught about many new things, including submittal requirements, zoning districts and types of request that can be made. Before the meeting we thought we would go under the request of a special permit sign, but after listening to Shannon Techie , senior urban planner for the City Of Peoria, we learned that the new LED sign would be under a special use permit because of its placing in a residential neighborhood and being off-premise.

Later that day, we were invited to City Hall to observe for ourselves a Planning and Zoning Commissions meeting, to get us more prepared for our proposal coming up on October 5th. We observed 3 cases that were up for approval. Citizens were able to address the commission with their opinions on the cases. Then the 4-5 commissioners gave feedback to the cases presented to them and would agree or disagree with proposed case or aspects of the cases.

Witnessing the Planning and Zoning Commissions really makes the AppsCo Team excited, realizing that the LED sign will be a proposed case and could soon be a reality makes us want to work harder than ever. The future of the Peoria Stadium sign and more relies on this LED sign. Making this historical highlight of our city better than ever is a goal that Peoria Public Schools, the City Of Peoria, AppsCo, and the residents of Central Illinois want to reach and can’t wait for!

LED Sign Meetings

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By: Rebekah Swearingian, Mariah Cooley, and Shaelyn Johnson

7/27/17

Peoria Stadium is a highlight of our city and many people take great pride while looking back on playing at the field. However, it’s no secret that it has been struggling for a few years now. The AppsCo team plans to change that.

We are very excited to announce that our annual goal this year is to build a brand new LED sign at the stadium!

With this sign, our goal is to raise a substantial amount of money annually for Peoria Public Schools to use to better the district. This will go towards fixing up the stadium and whatever else they see fit. We are hoping the LED sign draws a huge wave of former players and old neighbors back to help. We plan to rent out 10 slots for sponsors and businesses to be displayed on the sign. This helps the community and local businesses promote.

We know that many people love the historical football sign that is currently outside of the stadium, so we plan to incorporate it into the new sign. Keeping the original sign is something that we plan on doing so the traditional aspects of the field aren’t all forgotten and changed entirely.

Yesterday, we had a very successful and informative meeting with Shannon Techie, Mick Willis, and Chris Coplan about the sign. They have been very helpful in telling us the provisions that go into getting our sign approved. Soon we’ll be attending Planning and Zoning Commission meetings to observe and learn from the City Council.

Earlier today, we met with Councilman, Tim Riggenbach to talk more about what we need to know about upcoming City Council meetings and more. He gave us helpful advice and expressed his enthusiasm about our company and this project.

We are so happy that this idea is turning into a reality and are so thankful for all of the support we’ve gained from many city leaders!

Raising Money While Making Money

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By: Rebekah Swearingian and Mariah Cooley

7/1/17

Since the school year ended, we have seen the company grow in many ways. Before, we would just meet weekly at our high school, and now we either work in an office or on site at Mt. Hawley several days a week. It is amazing how much we have been able to see, not only the company grow, but our character as well. It has gone from being just an extra-curricular to a paid summer internship that is rewarding in many ways.

Before going to Mt. Hawley, we made sure all of our team members were fully prepared and knew the app like the back of their hand. We practiced how to promote and explain the app with our peers and mentors. Everyone was able to improve in their own individual way. “I get shy easily so practicing with my friends made me more comfortable to talk to people about the app,” AppsCo student, Chris Whitley, said.

When we all felt confident in our abilities to inform others about the app, we went to Mt. Hawley to finally do what we had been continuously preparing for. We all felt that teaching the members about the app we specifically designed for them was fun and rewarding. They all were very interested and excited about the convenience the app provides them with. It was fulfilling to see all of our hard work pay off.

On days that we aren’t at Mt. Hawley, we are busy raising awareness for the company or updating the app to assure it is running smoothly. We are constantly looking for new ways to improve our services and to help local businesses.

This has already been a very productive summer and it is only June! We are all very pleased with how far we’ve come in such little time and we cannot wait to see the company become even more successful than it already has been.

Mt. Hawley, a Home Away From Home

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By: Rebekah Swearingian and Mariah Cooley

6/25/17

To better educate us on the background of Mt. Hawley, the country club’s General Manager, Stephen Hartman, gave the AppsCo team members a thorough and informative tour of the club and all of it’s amenities.

The history of the club is very important to what Mr. Hartman and the members stand for. Mt. Hawley is very family oriented and is seen as a “home away from home” to many members. Just from the time we spent there for the tour, it was evident that there is a personal relationship between the staff and it’s members. From the moment we walked in, we were kindly greeted and felt as if we were part of the Mt. Hawley family. This has been an objective since they were founded in 1922. It is now seen as an ideal spot for over 400 local families and rates as one of the top central Illinois golf facilities.

The club offers a variety of services for it’s members, assuring there is something for everyone! One of the most popular attributes is their beautiful golf course. The course was originally constructed, along with the club, in 1922 and 1923. It has since been renovated in 1996 by Bob Lohmann to include many beautiful scenic features.

Even if golfing isn’t your preference, Mt. Hawley offers other activities such as swimming, tennis, and their high class dining facilities. The club’s pool has been recently renovated to better accommodate the whole family. This includes a water slide, large lap pool, and a walk in pool for the little ones. The staff offers swimming lessons and water aerobics.

Whether you are looking to sit down for a nice meal with your family or just need a snack break at the pool, Mt. Hawley has it all. The club house features the Summit Grill, Main Bar, and the Club Room. The Main Bar is a comfortable place to meet with friends, catch a ball game, and enjoy a nice cocktail. The Club Room offers a gorgeous panoramic view of the Illinois valley. Outside, grab a quick snack at the Cabana Bar where you can relax after a great round of golf.

Based upon all of the aspects mentioned, we are very eager to work more with Mt. Hawley. They have been very welcoming towards us and our peers as we have gradually worked towards releasing the app. We thank Mt. Hawley for investing their time in us and making us feel at home in just one visit.

How We Run a Business at 16 Years Old

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By: Rebekah Swearingian and Mariah Cooley

6/20/17

When we first started meeting for AppsCo, we didn’t realize it would turn into something so great.

We were intrigued when we heard about a business opportunity that would, not only be a great learning experience, but also a summer job. Naturally, this appealed to many students willing to work hard. Soon, we began to meet weekly to learn more about the program.

First, a group of about 20 students took a Junior Achievement class on entrepreneurship and it gave us the knowledge we needed to run a business. We did activities and participated in fun competitions that taught us helpful skills such as how to make consumers invest in our company. The Junior Achievement Class gave us a great foundation on how a successful business is run,Andrew Workheiser explains.

Immediately after the JA class, we were introduced to our first client, Mt. Hawley Country Club. We quickly learned how to navigate app building software and provide them with the features and data they need. It was fun being able to express our creativity through app building while helping fulfill our client’s needs. Eventually, we combined all of our ideas that resulted in an efficient app to present to Mt. Hawley.

From there on, we attended several meetings with Mt.Hawley’s General Manager, as well as several other important figures in the Peoria area. Being apart of Appsco has exposed us to a professional atmosphere and has given us a taste of what the adult world is like. One AppsCo team member, Ruby Hirshmann, said, I really enjoyed meeting influential people in the Peoria community and learning from them.

This program has given us a insightful and unique opportunity. We have learned so many useful skills from participating in the expansion of this company and are looking forward to everything that is yet to be accomplished.We have learned so many useful skills from participating in the expansion of this company and are looking forward to everything that is yet to be accomplished.