Keith Bardell of Freeport
by Liz Gerber
Keith Bardell’s winding path resembles one taken by many of Highland’s students. After a career in the Army, Keith started a business administration degree in the late 80s and early 90s. Along the way, he completed Highland’s real estate course and earned his real estate license. After selling real estate in the region for several years, fond childhood memories of sunny Florida sent him packing. But by 2005, he had weathered several storms in Florida. After years spent recovering from storm damage, Hurricane Katrina was the last straw. As a business owner, his Florida properties seemed to be continuously battered by storms. His plans to return to Freeport for a few months turned into a few years, and Keith decided to return to Highland in the fall of 2007 to finish his business administration degree and finalize plans to open a new business in his hometown.
Once Keith decided to open a new business, he ordered tapes from the public library but realized early on that opening this new business was going to be a little more complex than what he could learn from tapes. “I quickly realized that if I was going to employ people, I had a big responsibility to them,” Keith said. “I needed to make sure all of my i’s were dotted and my t’s were crossed.” Keith sought help from Brian Borger at Highland’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and determined to make his business a success, he talked to the financial aid office to see how many tuition credits he had left from his Army service.
Returning to school in the fall of 2007, Keith was worried that he would have difficulty learning the material. But, to his surprise, it was even easier this time around – his life experience combined with his motivation to learn meant that he tried to get as much as he could from his classroom experiences. According to Keith, the entire business administration program is geared to his needs including the required accounting courses that will be so important to his future. Even though he hadn’t heard about the business plan class when he enrolled last fall, he says that it is his favorite class so far. “This course walks you through writing the business plan including the market research like making sure you have priced things correctly and are gearing your service to public needs,” he said.
Keith expects to graduate next fall and plans to be well on his way to opening a new business by then. In the meantime, he is applying his new knowledge in the classroom and in developing a web site for the Freeport-based business. Keith continues to utilize the SBDC services and attended a free workshop held during the spring semester. Keith is betting that the combination of knowledge he has earned in the classroom and free start-up assistance will pay off.
The preceding article reprinted courtesy HCC
*Keith Bardell also served as the associate editor of the Highland Chronicle Spring 2009 and is a Highland College Graduate
HCC’s “Highland Chronicle” Wins State Awards
FREEPORT— Staff members of Highland Community College’s student newspaper, “The Highland Chronicle,” earned five Excellence Awards from the Illinois Community College Journalism Association last month. The ICCJA is the official not-for-profit educational organization of 22 community colleges that promotes and supports community college journalism in the State of Illinois. The Chronicle won recognition in the categories of Computer Graphics, Advertising Design, Website Design, Arts Coverage, and Sports News.
Marques Webster, who serves as Editor, Lead Designer and Web Designer, earned the most awards with a First Place for Computer Graphics, Second Place for Advertising Design, and Third Place for his work on the Highland Chronicle Website. Cody Cutter received Honorable Mention in sports coverage for his story, “Young But Determined: Highland Volleyball Sets Eyes On Conference Title,” and Jordan Underhill brought in an Honorable Mention in the Arts category for his story entitled “New Classics,” an analysis of modern-day classical composers.
“I’m glad we entered this competition, said Sam Tucibat, the Chronicle’s Faculty Advisor. “I knew this group had exceptional talent, and these awards confirm that. Our newspaper went up against some of the finest in the state, and our students have proven they rank with the best.” Tucibat had special praise for Cody Cutter, Copy Editor, who spent many hours choosing clips and preparing submission forms for the contest.
Judges for this year’s competition were staff members of the Eastern Illinois University Journalism Department, the Decatur Herald & Review, The Springfield State Journal Register, the Times of Northwest Indiana and the Robinson Daily News.
The Highland Chronicle staff left to right, front row: Cody Cutter, Marques Webster, Jordan Underhill. Back row: Keith Bardell (Associate Editor of the Highland Chronicle and Owner/Publisher www.SeeFreeNews.com) Sherry Fransen, Amy Stukenberg, Megan Kennedy, Haley Puffenbarger, Rebecca Paul, Amanda Leitzen, Sam Tucibat.