The YPN March 2007 Newsletter by Brian Gillet, YPN President:
The NIU Young Professionals Network was established with the goal of reconnecting NIU COB alumni while also helping to foster and track the rising success of NIU's young alumni within the business community.
We have primarily relied on word-of-mouth marketing to date and we are happy with the results. We do envision word-of-mouth continuing as the primary facet for our membership growth, but we are also developing marketing material, which we should be available by the end of April 2007 and then we will be using this to target recent graduates from the COB. It’s not too late to get involved with the process and I would encourage you to lend a hand where you can within the organization. Chris Barnes and Brett Kinsfather work together on developing our marketing material and our event invitations.
Speaking of getting involved, we are working on plans for our May 2007 event, which we are targeting to have at the end of the month at the Chicago Indoor Racing facility in Buffalo Grove or attending a Chicago Cubs game. Either one will be a great time! We’ll either see who the most skilled racer is amongst the group or, we will head to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to watch the world famous Cubs. Let us know if you are interested in helping with the planning of this event and making calls to members and prospects for the event. Matt Kirch heads up our event planning and I encourage you to email or reach out to Matt if event planning is your forte.
This April 17th we have an exciting event that we are sponsoring. The Apprentice’s Nicole D’Ambrosio will be at Barsema Hall (Rm 300) on April 17th and following her presentation all YPN members and prospective members are invited to O’Leary’s Pub and Grill in DeKalb for a private reception. A copy of the invitation is available on our website. If you have questions about the event please contact Sue Braffet (YPNalumni@niu.edu).
Finally, I am excited to tell you that with a donation from Dennis and Stacy Barsema along with nominations from the Chairs of each department at the COB, the YPN is going to be awarding 14 YPN Student Leader Awards this year. We will be providing each award winner with a one year membership to the YPN. We look forward to welcoming the 14 new members as they have time to join us at future events.
It has been a busy first quarter of 2007 for the YPN, we have had two successful events and some of our members even attended a Business House event at Barsema Hall in February, which gave us a chance to meet some NIU students and visit with some of our favorite professors on campus.
I am really looking forward to the coming months as we congratulate the spring 2007 College of Business graduates on their accomplishments and at the same time wish them luck in their new business endeavors. I encourage all of our members to keep us abreast of what you are up to and any accomplishments or awards you may have recently received. If you have moved, started a new job, got married or you have a suggestion for how the YPN can provide more value, please send us a note and we will spread the word or take into consideration how we can add more value.
Thank you,
Brian Gillet
Go Huskies!
December 2006 YPN Newsletter
December is time to reflect on the year that has passed. We all must realize that 2006 was a major success for the NIU Young Professionals Network, which got its formal start half-way through the year. We could not have arrived at this point without the support of our members, the NIU Executive Club and the College of Business. Thank you!
During December we held our event planning meeting and developed our website. After receiving key member insight, the Executive Board constructed and reviewed the objectives for the YPN in 2007. The main goals for the organization in 2007 include: hosting 12 YPN events, increasing the market awareness of the YPN and growing the member base to include at least 50 members.
Below is a look at our progress made during December and a glimpse of what’s to come in 2007.
2007 Events Schedule
The YPN’s event planning meeting on December 14, 2006 was a huge success! We had almost all of our smart and energetic members in attendance, which led to the construction of a full calendar of events for 2007. The events discussed focus on three themes, which will rotate each quarter and we will do our best to have each monthly event on or around the same time of the month to help you plan ahead to attend.
The three themes are:
Skill Development – Provide NIU YPN members with information that will expand and hone your skill set, helping you succeed in your work and life. Open to NIU YPN members and invited potential YPN members.
Team Building – Events that offer an opportunity to learn more about your fellow NIU alumni while having fun. Open to NIU YPN members and NIU alumni on a per event basis.
Business Insights – A chance to learn about the industries and companies NIU YPN members work within. Open to NIU YPN members and invited potential YPN members.
You can find a copy of our preliminary 2007 NIU YPN events calendar on our website that also includes NIU College of Business events and NIU Executive Club events that our members are invited to attend. If you would like to assist with the execution of these events please contact Matt Kirch by email: matt.kirch at trizetto.com to express your interest to help out.
NIU Business Careers House Reception
At the YPN meeting in December 2006, we mentioned that the NIU Business Careers House had inquired whether some of our members could attend an event in DeKalb the first week of February 2007. The NIU Business Careers House occupies “the 5 floors of Lincoln Hall, wing B, designed to facilitate greater awareness of business topics and to provide opportunities for interaction between residents and faculty. A variety of activities involving College of Business faculty augment the course work and enhance the floor living environment,” according to their website.
Dr. Lynn Neely, COB management professor, works with the Business Careers House and invited us to join students living in this facility to discuss our experiences at NIU and after graduation. The final day and time during the final week of February 2007 is still being discussed, but if you are interested in helping out by attending this event please contact Brian Gillet, by email: brian.gillet at otaotr.com to express your interest to attend.
NIU YPN Website
Furthermore, the NIU YPN website is up and running at www.cob.niu.edu/ypn and there are links on the NIU and COB websites leading back to the YPN. We are still working on developing enhancements for the site such as member profiles, a member directory and a section highlighting member successes. The website will be one of the major areas our Marketing Committee will need help with in 2007. If you are interested in helping out with content creation, graphic design and web development please contact Chris Barnes, VP of Marketing, by email: barnesc at lilly.com to express your interest to help out.
New Members
Finally, during 2006 the NIU YPN quickly became an organization with 16 members who are all driven to succeed in business and life. For 2007, we are going to be targeting a larger audience of NIU alumni and looking to our new and existing members for their recommendations for alumni who can add value to the organization. The Membership Committee is focused on helping to build and maintain a healthy YPN membership base, serve as ambassadors to new members, and shape our future offerings to YPN constituents. If you are interested in helping grow the member base of the YPN please contact Brian Wodarski by email: bwodarski at uhy-us.com to express your interest to assist the Membership Committee.
In closing, 2006 has been an exciting year as interest and momentum has built up for the NIU Young Professionals Network. We look forward to our upcoming events and to meeting and hearing how our fellow NIU alumni are succeeding. We hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday break and a prosperous 2007!
Go Huskies!
Best Regards,
Brian Gillet – brian.gillet at otaotr.com
President
Matthew Kirch – matt.kirch at trizetto.com
VP, Development and Programs
Brian Wodarski – bwodarski at uhy-us.com
VP, Finance and Membership
Chris Barnes – barnesc at lilly.com
VP, Marketing
Brett Kinsfather – BrettK at knfilters.com
Co-Chair, Marketing
November 2006 YPN Newsletter
The purpose this month's newsletter is to provide an update on the NIU’s Young Professionals Network as we head towards the close of 2006. We mentioned at our wine tasting event that our member numbers continue to climb and that we starting to set our course for 2007. We recently had a number of our current members in attendance at our NIU football game viewing event and received some important feedback that will help us shape the organization. Based upon some of the feedback it is our intention to provide a monthly update on the accomplishments of the YPN and to highlight future opportunities.
The NIU Young Professionals Network’s first few months in operation has met the expectations of the Board, which was to establish an interest for the organization and to assemble a core group of members. The YPN kicked off its existence on August 10, 2006 at a Schaumburg Flyers game, which had over 25 attendees. That event was followed by the Wine Tasting at Tasting DeVine in Naperville with over 20 attendees. These focused events gained a lot of praise and should be a model for future events based upon feedback.
Looking ahead, it is our goal to increase the total number of members to improve our knowledge base and to offer interesting events that benefit our members. There are lots of opportunities for members to get involved to help us grow the YPN and organize engaging events in 2007. We have assembled three key committees to help us support our growth, which I welcome you to join.
The Membership Committee is looking for individuals who would like to help build and maintain a healthy membership base, serve as ambassadors to new members, and shape our future offerings to YPN constituents. Tentatively, the Membership Committee will meet on a bi-weekly basis via a conference call. Beyond that, you can make your time commitment as large or small as you would like. Members of the committee will brainstorm and implement new ideas for services that we can offer to the YPN, assist in growing our member base, and hopefully serve as an ambassador (or buddy) to new YPN members to make sure they are smoothly integrated into the group. Please contact Brian Wodarski if you are interested in joining the Membership Committee.
As highlighted above, we have already had some successful events in 2006 and are looking forward to offering networking and educational programming that will benefit our members in 2007. The 2007 calendar has not been set in place yet. Matt Kirch is our VP of Events. He and his committee will be engaged with Sue Braffet, the College of Business ’ Alumni Director, during the month of December to build a schedule of events for 2007. If you have an interest in helping plan events or have ideas for future YPN events please contact Matt Kirch.
Finally, we have been spreading the word about the YPN via emails and word of mouth. To help grow the organization we need more of an integrated marketing approach. Chris Barnes is our VP of Marketing and the Co-Chair of Marketing is Brett Kinsfather. The Marketing Committee is seeking motivated members who would like to spread the word of the YPN to current and prospective members. Members of the Marketing Committee will participate in the creation of event invitations, website content and design, and general marketing materials. If you have a taste for marketing or graphic design please contact Chris Barnes to join the Marketing Committee.
There will also be increasing opportunities to give back in new and innovative ways at the College of Business . Aaron Feinblatt and Brian Gillet spoke to Ms. Alvarado’s Management 395 class about their surprises and successes upon graduating from NIU in October. They were very happy to have the opportunity to help answer students’ questions and gain insight into the changing landscape for future college graduates.
In closing, we hope everyone is able to gain something by joining the YPN. If you have any questions or announcements feel free to contact any of the board members listed below.
Thank you,
Brian Gillet – brian.gillet at otaotr.com
President
Matthew Kirch – matt.kirch at trizetto.com
VP, Development and Programs
Brian Wodarski – bwodarski at uhy-us.com
VP, Finance and Membership
Chris Barnes – barnesc at lilly.com
VP, Marketing
Brett Kinsfather – BrettK at knfilters.com
Co-Chair, Marketing
