Thank you to our Sponsors!
Extending our Roots
The Young Professionals of Ada stayed busy during 2009 by hosting monthly mixers for networking at various restaurants and businesses in Ada and branching out into community service by working the Ada Air Expo, participating in ECU’s Homecoming “Trunk or Treat” event and helping with the Miss Ada Scholarship Pageant. During 2009 strong leadership formed among the Young Pros and three subcommit¬ tees were formed to take the progressive organization into 2010. The new subcommittees of YPA are Leadership, Social and Civic. These three committees are diligently working to create effective events and programs that will entice our Young Pros to stay in Ada. Each subcommittee is excited about their efforts and their plans for 2010 are shared in the summaries below: Leadership The Leadership Committee is devoted to the leadership development of those attending YPA events. As a committee we have developed a series of luncheons that we call “Lunch & Learns”. These luncheons are held on the second Thursday of every month and are used to showcase local businesses and give local leaders the opportu¬nity to share their knowledge and experiences with our Young Pros. “Lunch & Learns” have been ideal for creating an envi-ronment of learning and networking. In February we had our first “Lunch & Learn” at the Pontotoc Technology Center with Dr. Scout Cloud Lee as the speaker. In March we met at the CLEET facility where Dr. Steve Turner talked to us about the process of bring¬ing CLEET to Ada. He was followed by Mr. Walt Birdsong who told us about the day-to-day operations of CLEET and gave us a tour of the remarkable facility. April’s meeting was held at the Pontotoc Technology Center with Con¬gressman Tom Cole as the guest speaker. He provided insight on what is going on at our nation’s capitol and took questions from the floor. May’s “Lunch & Learn” will be held at People’s Electric and we will be discussing volunteer opportunities with the Ada Air Show. We are very excited about our new approach to working with local businesses and leaders to further the leadership development of our Young Pros. Our luncheons have had great attendance and we appreciate all the support we’ve received from local businesses. If you have any suggestions for our “Lunch & Learns” or if you would like to host a “Lunch & Learn” at your business, please contact Barbara Miller at 580-272¬1553 or by email at bmiller@peoplesec.com.
Social
The Social Committee was created to provide fun and entertaining events for our Young Pros that will entice them to stay in and around the Ada area. Our socials produce a friendly environment for networking and encourage Young Pros to meet new people. YPA social events are held quarterly and are promoted through YPA “Lunch & Learns” as well as the chamber’s e-news blasts. We kicked off our 2010 socials in March. Vintage 22 hosted our first “Tuesday Thing” of the year with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. We had a mix and mingle game to encourage those in attendance to get to know one another and we gave away several door prizes. After the mingling was over, we got right down to business and went head-to-head in Vintage 22’s Live Event Trivia Game. We are currently planning our next social at the Bricktown Ballpark for an Okla¬homa City Redhawks game. We are always looking for new events and ideas for our socials. If you have any suggestions or if you would like to host/sponsor a YPA social, please contact Shawna Williams at (580) 436-8339 or by email at swilliams@visionbankok.com.
Civic
The YPA Civic Committee is purposed around meeting and exceeding the YPA’s purpose, vision, and goals with a primary focus on community outreach. The committee is charged with developing relationships with other service and outreach or¬ganizations in the area, and developing, promoting, and executing community involve¬ment activities and volunteer opportunities within the community. Currently, we have several promising and exciting projects in the works. The YPA group will once again volunteer at the Ada Air Expo on June 25th – 26th. Last year, over 15 YPA members were able to volunteer for many different positions within the show. We had a great time doing it and are looking forward to participating in this year’s event. More information about the air show and volunteer opportunities is com¬ing soon. Additionally, we are currently working to set up a benefit softball tournament for later this summer. The civic committee is also providing a Volunteer Calendar for the benefit of the YPA members. This calendar will provide information about different volunteer oppor¬tunities in the community. The calendar will be distributed via email, and we hope to have it on the web soon. If you have questions or ideas for possible community outreach projects, please contact Jeremy Bennett at 580-399-7777, or jbennett@ecok.edu.
Thank You!
We would like to thank all the businesses and participants who have supported the Young Professionals over the last two years. We are excited about our future plans and appreciate your continued support of our program. If you would like more informa¬tion about the Young Professionals, please contact the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce.