Megan Hodge

May 2018

Megan Hodge

About Me

Megan Hodge attends St. Anthony High School. She is involved in National Honor Society, history club, Campus Ministry Club, and Catholic Athletes for Christ. Megan also competes on her school’s varsity tennis team, is active in the school musical, and participates as a Eucharistic Minister at her Church. In her free time, Megan likes to read, participating in a small book club, and paint, which she attends private lessons for. She recently won a congressional art competition and was honored to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congressman John Shimkus. She also enjoys travelling, including destinations like Krakow, Poland for World Youth Day. Megan is employed part time at Martin’s IGA in Effingham. She is also active in her community, volunteering at the Lake Sara Dam Run and the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics. Megan wishes to attain a degree in business, finance, or accounting in college.

“This year, I am looking forward to gaining a specific skill set that I believe only CEO will be able to provide me. I think this journey will affect the way I interact with others for the rest of my life and help me grow as an individual.”

About My Business

Megan Hodge is the co-founder of J&M String Art and Wood Burning, along with Jake Brandt. J&M creates quality home décor for homes, rooms, and college dorms. Each piece is carefully hand crafted by Megan and Jake with wood sourced from John Boos. Contact Megan and Jake at jm.stringart@gmail.com and check them out on Instagram @jm_stringart. Megan is attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville this fall to study business. Mentored by Sherrie Busby of Heartland Dental.

My Featured Journal Entries

"My biggest low of this week was of course having to say goodbye to CEO and all the people involved, or at least having to say goodbye to seeing everyone every day. With this being said, the biggest high of the week was ending on such a strong note as the wonderful team we have become. CEO will always be a part of me, along with the people who went through it with me, and I could not be more grateful."

05/08/2018

"Alexis Teichmiller has been my favorite speaker so far. I think it's amazing that she is doing what she loves and is so passionate about inspiring others, which she definitely did for me. I have been struggling to think of a balance between incorporating my creative side and wanting to be in business, and I think that is exactly what she is doing, which was very inspiring to me. She gave me a lot more hope that it is possible to do anything you set your mind to if you work for it and put yourself out there."

11/03/2017

"Mr. Wegman’s story was one of the best I’ve heard and I thought hearing about the way he grew and his life lessons were so beneficial.  I can’t believe that one of the top cabinet making companies in the nation comes out of Effingham County. That is one of the things I love most about CEO - being able to see the amazing things that have come out of our county that I never would’ve learned about otherwise."

10/20/2017

"Al’s Tire Mart has been one of my favorite business tours so far. I loved the dynamic of the guys working there and how they have taken ordinary things and brought them together in a new and exciting way. This was one of the first tours that really made me question whether I wanted to move away from Effingham County because of all the exciting things that could be brought here."

09/15/2017