Dear yep! members:
Since 2002, Young Erie Professionals! (yep!) has been working to make Erie a better place to live, work, and play. Through the commitment and leadership of countless volunteers in our organization, yep! has helped to energize and empower hundreds of individuals to help make a difference.
This year marks a highlight in the history of our organization as we will be celebrating our ten year anniversary. A lot has changed since Keith Overfield and Julie Groenendal founded yep! They should be proud that the organization they started has been growing exponentially in its effectiveness and reach with every new member. Look for several events throughout the year commemorating this milestone.
The New Year also brings to yep! new beginnings, including a fresh, motivated and ambitious cast of new leaders within our yep! ranks. Unfortunately, that also means we have to say goodbye to several cornerstones of yep!’s recent progress. I would like to thank outgoing Community Involvement Chair Shannon Morton and Membership Co-Chair Britney Cerrie for the untold amount of time they volunteered to yep!
I look forward to working with our newly appointed Co-Chairs of the Membership Committee, Honey Stempka and Ben Pratt, new Community Involvement Chair Cynthia Lillis, and our Policy Chair, Paul Bowman Root IV, who join the rest of the yep! Steering Committee in what is shaping up to be another great year for our organization. Together, we will continue to provide the social, professional and philanthropic opportunities that everyone has come to expect from yep!
In the last year, yep! members have raised and donated thousands of dollars to local non-profits, as a result of our Kickball for Kids Tournament and our Annual Bachelor & Bachelorette Auction; we collected hundreds of toys and canned goods to help the less fortunate; we’ve established a working relationship with the Erie Community Foundation to manage the Next-Gen Fund; we’ve also updated our website; added scores of new members; and volunteered countless hours within the community. yep! also highlighted the amazing accomplishments of some of our peers through our Generation-E Awards.
The mission of yep! and my personal goal as President is clear. To empower individuals to make the Erie region a better place to live, work, and play. Through our social and professional events, philanthropy within the community, and development of a more diverse group of members, we are making our mission a reality.
I encourage you, as recipient of this newsletter, to think about how you can help us make a difference in this New Year. Please consider becoming more involved with yep! so we can all succeed together. All of our committees are always open to new members and we need your skills and ideas to help in moving yep! forward.
Thank you in advance for your support and if you have any questions or comments about the organization, please, do not hesitate to send me an email.
Sincerely,
R. Jason Wieczorek, AIA
yep! President
rjw@r-arch.com
