The Cinco Annual Meeting and Anniversary Celebration is just two weeks away, can you believe it!? We have got some big things planned for the annual meeting and hope you can join us! RSVP to the biggest event of the year by May 3rd. Oh and did we mention members will also get the opportunity to elect the next Vice President who will serve on the Executive Team for three years as Vice President, President and Chairman!? Learn how YPN has impacted the candidates below.
Stacey Thomas
How has the YPN impacted you personally and professionally?
Personally I have been positively impacted by the amazing members and partners of the network. They have motivated and encouraged me to be a better person and business leader in our community. Without the Bismarck Mandan YPN, I might not have had the opportunity to meet these people and I am very grateful for the friendships I have gained. The YPN offers several ways to give back to our community and personally that is very important to me. I have been impacted by the gratitude of those receiving help from the YPN, whether it is through community volunteer events or supporting our network’s charity partner. St. Francis of Assisi said, “For it is in giving that we receive”. This is a quote used at my family business for a give back program we created and also describes how I have been impacted by the YPN. The network brings together like-minded young professionals with similar ambitions and creates an environment to learn from fellow peers. By working closely with members on the Entrepreneur Team and Leadership Team I have gained communication, teamwork and leadership skills that will help in my career. I feel it is important to be a relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills. Whether it is participating in the Professional Development Team events, interacting with our Wisdom Team members or attending Epic Impact, these opportunities have allowed me to gain important career skills. I also have been impacted by the opportunity to represent the YPN at partner meetings with top executives. Being able to discuss the mission and values of the YPN to these business leaders has been a rewarding experience.
How can the YPN add more value to its members?
With the upcoming ten-year anniversary, we are able to reflect, celebrate and learn from all the success the YPN has achieved over the years. I feel this is a pivotal point for the network to retain the current members and also gain new members. I am currently serving on a YPN committee to help find ways to bring more value to our members. Also, I am working with a group on a collaborative effort to share events and summaries of what’s happening in various organizations like YPN, StartBismarck, BMDA, Chamber and the IDEA Center. Bismarck-Mandan has a lot to offer and the potential for young professionals in our community is expanding. As a network, we need to capitalize on these opportunities and provide involvement, experiences and growth to our members. As a network I feel we need to respect the past and welcome the future by providing more value to our members within each of the six teams. This can be accomplished by seeking advice from our past YPN presidents, while also gaining input from our new members.
Josi Jenson
How has being in the YP impacted you personally and professionally?
I joined the YPN 6 months ago after recently moving to Bismarck. I had heard great things about their presence in the community, and was instantly interested. I moved to Bismarck to make this my home, my community, so I yearned to be involved and to meet as many people as I could. The YPN has exceeded my expectations by providing me with great friends, amazing professional advice, leadership roles, and service opportunities that have helped me grow in my career and as a person. The YPN is more than a network. It is a family that has invited me in with open arms.
How can the YPN add more value to its members?
As a young professional (and I mean young, as in 6 months in my career), I know what these people are looking for. We need support, direction, personal and professional advice, and financial independence. I am hungry for success, and I think most of us are. That’s why we are in this awesome network. I will strive to make the YPN known throughout the community as a great tool to reach your individual goals and reach success, while having fun!
Carla Bodensteiner
How has the YPN impacted you personally and professionally?
Personally, beyond all of the amazing friends I’ve made whom I could be poetic about but I won’t, I have really grown to appreciate the community of Bismarck-Mandan. Since joining the network, I’ve become more and more involved in different activities and groups within the community. Besides the different groups that are directly related to the YPN or members of the YPN, my involvement in the group has encouraged me to venture out beyond the network to other organizations as well. Along with my community involvement, different knowledge and networking events as well as networking within the group has helped me immensely (especially when I was new to town) for recommendations to everything from healthcare to personal finance.
How can the YPN add more value to its members?
First and foremost the YPN is a networking organization. I believe the YPN currently does a good job with the volume of activities and events it hosts to keep up the opportunity for members to meet. With the understanding that people are involved in the network to continue to meet different members of our community as well as to foster those relationships, I think some of the social events could be geared more towards what individuals do professionally as well as what they do in their free time and are passionate about. That being said, I think there is opportunity in the network to also help our members along with their personal and professional development beyond business related fields. I would like to see the network branch out and become more well-rounded to attract members of the community from a variety of different fields such as healthcare and education.