The All Hands Fall Kickoff event was held on Wednesday, October 21 at the Harvest Brazilian Grill with more than 90 people in attendance. The annual event, sponsored by KLJ and IRET, was emceed by the network’s Professional Development Team Co-Lead, Stacy Schaffer. The evening kicked off with a welcome and introduction of the six YPN teams which was followed by Jarrod Odean Anderson’s presentation of the American Red Cross, YPN’s 2015-2016 Non-Profit Partner.  Jarrod is the Western North Dakota Executive Director for the American Red Cross and also an active member of the YPN.

The evening continued with hors d’oeuvres served by the Harvest Brazilian Grill and an ice-breaker activity in which members mingled with one another and played YPN bingo for a chance to win door prizes. Door prizes provided by the YPN included an Ultimate Ears wireless Bluetooth speaker, Google Chromecast, a “Beer-B-Q” gift basket and a “Date Night” wine basket.

This event was planned by a committee of co-leads and members. Thank you to Mallory Westby, Megan Zerface, Chance Schmidt, Josi Jenson, Marley Zachmann, Mariah Rittel, Viva Lauinger, Jennifer Greuel, Erik Holmstrom and Reier Thompson for your hard work.

Thank you to KLJ and IRET for sponsoring our event, and to the Harvest Brazilian Grill for providing great food and a great venue. We hope all the attendees had a wonderful time and left with an excitement to continue their involvement with the network 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.