The 2014 All Hands Fall Kickoff event took place on Wednesday, October 22 at the Bismarck Country Club. Around 100 people were in attendance. The annual event was emceed by KFYR-TV weekend anchor Mark Charter. The network provided complimentary wine and appetizers catered by Lady J’s. The evening kicked off with a welcome and introduction of each of the YPN’s six teams. The event sponsor, NISC, was represented by their VP of People Services, Kari Reichert and CEO Vern Dosch, who both spoke to the group. The Network’s 2014-15 Non-Profit Partner, Special Olympics, was represented by Amanda Bakkedahl, who told everyone about the sports the athletes participate in and how YP’ers can get involved as coaches, scorekeepers, fundraisers, and helping at events/tournaments. A video including past presidents Jerry Haas and Mike Christianson was shown, inviting everyone to attend the upcoming Epic Impact event on November 18. This event will feature V.J. Smith as the speaker.

Everyone had time to visit the six teams’ tables to learn more about what they do and to sign up to become
a member of the team(s) in which they are interested. Following that a presentation was made by Britni Schwartz talking about the upcoming Startup Weekend event in January. YP President Heather Welle then spoke about the 2014-2016 strategic plan and alumni program. She also told everyone that 2015 registration/renewal for memberships is now open and everyone can also create a profile on the membership database.

Door prizes donated by NISC included an Amazon Fire TV, Bluetooth speaker, Fitbit, Bobcats hockey tickets, and a blanket and tablet case donated by iGear. Two copies of V.J. Smith’s book The Richest Man in Town were also given away. Attendees who completed their passport cards by visiting all six teams’ tables were entered into the drawings.

Thank you to NISC for being our event sponsor, and the Bismarck Country Club for being such a great location for this event and working with us to make it a success. Also thank you to Mark Charter for doing a great job as our emcee. We hope everyone who attended had a good time and learned a lot about the Network and gets involved in one or more teams throughout the year.

The All Hands Fall Kickoff is derived from the concept of an all hands meeting in which an organization brings all its members together for a general meeting and shared purpose. Started in 2006, the All Hands event has grown into one of our two largest annual events. The All Hands Fall Kickoff is consistently an event for members to learn about each team, often in an around-the-world format, and to create excitement for the YP Network from fall until spring.