I first became a member of Young Professionals of Wichita (YPW) by default. I worked for one of the 27 corporate investors at the time, so my membership was free to me. I went to the kick off event on that very hot, very sticky day in June of 2005 and stood there with the other 400+ people who were waiting, intrigued as to what this organization was about. I had lived in Wichita for three years at that point and my circle of friends consisted solely of my co-workers. I knew nothing of the city around me apart from where I lived, worked, ate and shopped. I knew there had to be more to Wichita than what I had the courage to explore on my own, and thought that YPW might be able to show me what I had been missing. Fast forward to three years later, I now sit here as the manager of the organization that I looked to for guidance. It is my job to help carry out the mission of attracting and retaining young talent to the Wichita community. Funny where life takes you, isn’t it?
I have seen YPW grow from holding at least one social event per month to having anywhere from 4 to 7 events every month. What can I say, we are busy people over here. The amazing thing is, it is actually our members that volunteer on our Action Teams that propel this organization forward. They come up with the ideas, plan the events, and see them through to completion. So tell us what we can help you find. Want to meet people in a relaxed social setting? Come to a YPW Mingle. Want to refuel your brain while refueling your stomach? Join YPW at one of the Professional Development Series seminars or listen to a local business leader speak at an Access Lunch & Learn. Interested in learning more about the diversity Wichita has to offer? Check out Team Mosaic’s Coffee Talks and look for the diversity events they highlight every month. I could go on, but you get the point.
If you are looking to get involved both with your peers and with Wichita as a community, take a moment to look at what YPW has to offer. If there is something you would like to see that you don’t, let us know. Better yet, join one of our Action Teams and help create it yourself. Check us out at
www.ypwichita.org. Read more about our organization, what our different Action Teams focus on, and what we have coming up on our event calendar.
Labels: YPW
