Acknowledging the Young Professionals and Organizations Which Make Bismarck-Mandan Great

2022 Annual Meeting Awards

The  Network honors deserving members each year with the presentation of five special awards. Nominations for these awards can be made by any YP member and then recipients are voted on by the Board.

Community Champions – Mallory Westby and NISC

Theodore Roosevelt Award
Josh Fisher

The Theodore Roosevelt Award is presented to the member who has shown persistence and dedication within the YP network. Someone who has not backed down at a challenge and is resilient, are a few words to describe this person. This award is often given to someone who has made a conscious effort to attend multiple YP events throughout the year. This year’s Theodore Roosevelt Award recipient is Josh Fisher. Josh attends countless YP events. He is dedicated to attending various service, social, and professional development focus events and bringing along friends. He has grown with the network and is now widely known with the YP members. He has expressed how much YP has impacted him in his professional life. He has a positive perspective and gives his best with each task at hand. Congratulations Josh.

Sakakawea Award
Jacob Morse

The Sakakawea Award recognizes members who give selflessly of their time and effort. Words to describe the winner of this award is simply someone who does not have to help, but always is willing to step in where needed without being asked. This award goes to someone who takes time to help the network in any way they can without expectations or anything in return. This person is a true servant leader. This year’s recipient of the Sakakawea Award is Jacob Morse. Jacob attends as many events as he can. He takes the time to network with members to get to know them. He has offered to give a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to do a news broadcast to our members. Although he is not a board member for planning events, he provides input and assistance at events to help those planning alleviate some stress. Jacob could not be here this evening as he is working, but please give a round of applause for him anyways.

Great Plains Award
Gabrielle Abouassaly

The Great Plains Award is awarded to a member who shows leadership and innovation in the network. Often this award is given to those who are encouraging to those around them, someone willing to take on new roles and think outside the box to bring new ideas and even friends to the network. This year’s recipient of the Great Plains Award is Gabrielle Abouassaly. Gabby is an advocate for the YP by promoting attendance at events. She is active and engaged at the events. She provides suggestions for events and is seen as a leader by her peers. She takes it upon herself to network with members to make them feel welcome at events. She also promotes joining the network with those that are not members and encourages members to be active with their membership. She has stepped up and taken on running a couple events and is not afraid to share her thoughts. She is a natural leader and will do great things for the YPN. Congratulations Gabby.

Pioneer Award
Breck Hendrickson

The Pioneer Award is given to the member who demonstrates exceptional leadership by going above and beyond the call of duty. Great leaders are not always people we see front and center, but often those behind the scenes working hard to keep things running smoothly. The winner of this award is someone who lifts up those around them and does more than what is expected. This year’s recipient of the Pioneer Award is Breck Hendrickson. Breck has been helping the social focus team for more than six months. She helps plan events, attend events, promote events, and attend board meetings. She has accepted the role of an event planner on the board for the 2022 and 2023 years which has caused her to take the initiative to start learning the role months before her official duties begin. She has been active and supports the YP by encouraging friends to attend events and join the network as well. Congratulations Breck.

Board Member of the Year Award
Billy Longmire

The Board Member of the Year is awarded to someone who has given selflessly in their leadership role to the network. The recipient of this award is someone who finds creative ways to engage members and support the network with its events. Someone who not only dedicates their time, but is ready and willing to step up without being asked, are often strong attributes of this award winner. This year’s recipient is Billy Longmire. Billy has given selflessly to YPN over the past two years. He works hard to make sure volunteer events are scheduled and run smoothly. Billy is always one to help pitch in where needed and isn’t afraid to share his thoughts and advice to improve the network. Billy has been an instrumental part in working with our non-profit partners over the last two years. This award is well-deserved! Billy always has really good feedback and ideas at the board meetings. You can tell he genuinely cares about YP and its members. Even being the only Service-oriented board member, he is still ready and willing to come up with ways to help the community and volunteer at events. Billy has continually found creative ways to engage and support our non-profit partners as well as other community service focused organizations. Billy is very active in the network. He has dedicated lots of time and thought to the events he plans. He is always early and ready to give an extra hand. I believe Billy is the perfect candidate for this award. He truly goes out of his way to make our community a better place!

Crystal Reid Excellence Award
Kathryn Spilman

Crystal Reid served as a Social Team co-lead, newsletter publisher, member of the Service Team, and VP of the YPN before unexpectedly passing away in July of 2009. In the 3 years that she was involved in our organization, she touched the lives of many people and made a lasting impact on the YPN. The Crystal Reid Excellence Award recognizes an individual’s leadership in the YPN and the Bismarck-Mandan community. This award is for someone who works tirelessly to get the job done, inspiring and motivating all those around them.

This year’s Crystal Reid recipient is someone who goes above and beyond. She’s an active Young Professionals Network member that has brought great ideas to the board. She goes above and beyond for all members, events, and the board. She provides suggestions to encourage nonmembers to join the network and speaks with everyone about attending events. She has developed creative and fun events that are appealing to members. She has built a strong network that sees her as a leader, as someone they should follow because people want to be around her. Congratulations to this year’s Crystal Reid Award for giving her spirit to the network, Kathryn Spilman.

Eligibility Requirements

Any employer which serves our community and employs at least one individual between the ages of 21 and 40  is eligible to become a Bismarck-Mandan Top 10 Workplace.

Entry Process

A nominator must be an employee of the nominated company and a YP member. The nominator must complete the current year’s Top Ten Workplace entry form located on the Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network website.

2022 Top 10 Workplace Award Winners:

Basin Electric Cooperative
First Community Credit Union
HDR
NISC- National Information Solutions Cooperative
HexaHive
Bravera
Doosan Bobcat
Capital Credit Union
North Dakota Department of Transportation
Gate City Bank