On Wednesday, November 5th, Wayne County CEO students had the pleasure of hosting Samantha Youngblood, owner and operator of Youngblood Travel and her newest venture, Chalk & Slate, located in Crossville, Illinois.

Samantha spoke to students about how life threw her a curveball in the spring of 2020. She and her husband had just announced the launch of Youngblood Travel in February of that year when the world shut down a month later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She waited out the shutdown and has been helping customers plan memorable vacations ever since.

She also shared how she relies solely on Facebook for marketing her business, demonstrating the platform’s scheduling feature and explaining how it has simplified and streamlined her marketing efforts.

Samantha introduced students to her newest venture, Chalk & Slate, a property management company that offers venue rentals for everything from sports leagues and fitness classes to birthday parties and trade shows.

Her words of wisdom for students were to always go the extra mile to be remembered. She encouraged them to make connections with everyone they meet, emphasizing that networking is paramount in business. Samantha also reminded students to never be afraid to ask questions—doing so shows genuine interest and engagement, and you never know what you might learn that could help you in your business.

As a great example of networking in action, Samantha shared that last year Sarah Rush reached out to invite her to serve as a guest speaker for the Wayne County CEO Class of 2025. During that visit, she learned so much about the program and its immersive approach to student learning that she went home and encouraged her daughter to get involved. Now, her daughter is proudly a member of the White County CEO Class of 2026!

A big thank you to Samantha for sharing her time, her story, the donuts, and her enthusiasm for the CEO experience! #youngbloodtravel