Heather Welle, VP Elect

The Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network celebrated its eighth anniversary and welcomed a new set of leaders for the group at its annual Cinco de Mayo celebration Thursday, May 2.

YP membership elected Heather Welle, a Bemidji, Minn., native who has lived in Bismarck for 10 years, as the YP Network’s next vice president.

“I’m honored the group chose me for this position,” said Welle, a University of North Dakota graduate who works for Solid Rock Financial. “I’m excited to get to work and to help the YP Network grow and increase its presence in Bismarck-Mandan.”

Welle will serve one year as vice president before assuming the role of president. Joe Fink, a mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo, took over as president at the event, while Angil Wanner of SIA Marketing/Schmidt Insurance moved from president to chairwoman of the network.

Along with the changes to the executive leadership, the YP Network’s teams welcomed new co-leads, who serve two-year terms with one co-lead vacating his or her position each year. The new co-leads are:

• Ambassador Team: Amanda Bakkedahl, professional education manager at Rasmussen College, joins Shae Helling, marketing specialist at Bismarck Aero Center.
• Entrepreneurship Team: Carmen Banta, assistant marketing manager at HDR Engineering Inc., joins Dustin Leingang, who works in business development at Applied Engineering.
• Marketing Team: Michael Quinn, a producer at Midcontinent Communications, joins Leslie Pearcy, of Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson.
• Service Team: Melissa Hund-Cerna, youth minister for Church of Saint Anne, Church of the Ascension and St. Mary’s Parish, joins Tim Flagstad, a communications coordinator at Sanford Health.
• Social Team: Jessica Swartz, a teller at Capital Credit Union and server at the Toasted Frog, joins Adam Pascoe, a project administrator for Industrial Contractors Inc.