A Poplar Bluff native will return this February as the keynote speaker of a business seminar in his hometown for an internationally known company.
Chuck Funke is now chief executive officer of ASEA, a company that provides direct sales of health and wellness products.
ASEA Super Saturday will be held Feb. 26 at the Westwood Center.
Funke will be joined by company chairman, co-founder and fellow keynote speaker Tyler Norton, lecturer and business coach Terry Latham and LAOS CEO, lecturer and business coach Pepper Black. Their topics include business strategy, utilizing digital resources and current trends.
Funke believes the seminar will be a strong resource for any business owners, especially those trying to grow.
“If you’re trying to grow a business, or trying to understand what makes businesses get off the ground, if you’re trying to scale a business in particularly... we teach universal principles,” he explained. “A principle is a universal truth that can be packaged for a wide variety of applications.”
ASEA was founded by Norton in 2007, and Funke became CEO in 2014. Its first seven years in a row ASEA was recognized by Utah Business Magazine, and every year since then has been named one of the best companies to work for in Utah.
Its products include supplements designed to boost immune systems, among other benefits.
ASEA is a direct selling cellular nutrition company with an emphasis on philanthropy and positive company culture, according to Funke.
Information about ASEA and its products will be provided at the conference, but the focus will be strategies for business owners.
Company culture is important to Funke and Norton, and they will discuss its impact in their talks on mission, vision and values.
“Something that we try to pay a lot of attention to (is) the culture, culture for us is as important as the product that we sell,” said Funke.
The company also prioritizes humanitarian work through the ASEA Advancing Life Foundation.
“I’d say, that’s a significant side of who we are as a company, is humanity. You know, a lot of different things to make money, but if you are not making a difference, then it’s not quite as satisfying,” Funke explained.
The conference is a homecoming for Funke, who was raised on a farm in Poplar Bluff and graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1988.
“I have nothing but the fondest of memories of growing up. I loved the education I got there. I love the environment. You know, it was just a great place to spend your formative years,” he said.
After high school he spent two years volunteering with a mission organization in Puebla, Mexico, before attending Brigham Young University in Utah.
He began his business career at New York Life Financial Company before accepting a position in the international office at Principal Financial Group, which he represented in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, all while earning his Master of Business Administration.
That time in his life involved “a lot of homework on airplanes,” he recalled.
He also married and started a family after university and noted he finished the MBA around the time he and his wife welcomed their fourth child.
Funke met Norton when he took a position with Beneficial Financial Group back in Utah, where he rose to president and CEO of their broker-dealer.
The two became close friends and when Norton founded ASEA, Funke eventually came on as CEO.
The ASEA Super Saturday schedule includes similar events being held by company spokespersons in Denmark, Thailand, Norway and other countries, plus Phoenix and Orlando back in the U.S. No matter where he is in the world, Funke is always proud to claim Poplar Bluff as his home.
“I’ve been to over 50 countries by this point. No matter where I am in the world, if somebody asks me where I’m from, I always say I’m from Missouri,” he said.
ASEA Super Saturday is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Westwood Center, 2445 N. Westwood Blvd. Tickets are available for $25 through Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/e/super-saturday-business-conference-2022-tickets-211674252387. More information can be found by calling 573-718-2119.