Friday, January 15, 2016

January 2016 newsletter

Volunteer in your local community this year

A Message from YPI Chair Amanda Blair

Our goal is to develop a platform where YPI can be impactful in big ways throughout the year.  Each of you are part of organizations where collectively we can make an enormous difference.  We want to encourage you all to "Get Plugged-In," and commit time through service with your peers. 

It will be a fun activity where you can:
  • Give back to your individual communities
    • Visit assisted living centers to interact with the elderly.
    • Volunteer time at the local food bank to assist the homeless and underprivileged families.
    • Donate unwanted or unused items of your own to local homeless shelters.
    • Help local animal shelters and rescue clinics spread the word about adoption. 
    • Adopt a highway to assist in the litter removal program.
  • Develop camaraderie and build your teams
    • Make a fun competition out of the service work, like a group scavenger hunt.
    • Try to provide snacks, drinks and music at the event to keep fellow volunteers happy to be there.
  • Produce an impactful outcome
    • Opportunity to meet new people and learn new things while gaining pride in the community. 
    • It’s rewarding to be able to take credit for a change that benefits the community where you live. 
    • Choose an organization that you value to create significant importance to the services you provide. 
Just think, if each of us are the medium to stimulate service work, we will have a significant number to report during the Annual Convention next year.  I want to challenge each of you to discuss what is important to you, or your community, and find a way to give back through service hours in 2016.

Our goal is to have measurable success that we can illustrate at next year’s convention, and highlight the fun activities YPIers are doing across the country.  During your time with your Zones, please think about this powerful objective, and help us get to an achievable goal, make an individual difference, that collectively will be significant for IAFE YPI.

Once Service Projects / Activities are completed, help us illustrate our impact by completing the Service Project /Activity Form.

Tulsa State Fair Community Service Experience
The Tulsa State Fair employees were excited to have the opportunity to serve at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma in December of 2015. Employee’s site wide geared up in the busy holiday season to volunteer their time. Transportation was offered to employees from the work site to the volunteer site. The ride to the Food Bank allowed the employees to gain camaraderie and enjoy a fun time that is hard to capture on a typical workday. Having fun and sharing laughs didn’t stop there!

Once at the Food Bank the competition was on to see which team could get the most bags of Corn Flakes packed and sealed the quickest. This kept the excitement and fun going while volunteering. Once the service was complete the Food Bank then praised the Tulsa State Fair employees on their time and efforts leaving them with a sense of pride that they had impacted their community. At the end of the night the bus offered to take employees back to their cars before beginning the Christmas light tour of Tulsa. This was a great outing because employees were able to offer their time and service as well as being appreciated for their efforts at the same time. 
 
Community Service Opportunities from A-Z
  • 4-H
  • Adopt a Highway (adoptahighway.net)
  • After School Tutoring Programs
  • Aide to Elderly, Handicapped or Chronically Ill
  • Animal Rescue (www.SPCA.org)
  • Awana (awana.org)
  • Big Brother Big Sister (www.mentorbig.org)
  • Boy Scouts Sponsor
  • Canned Food Drives
  • Church Camp Counselor
  • Community Center Volunteer
  • Community Clean Up
  • Food Pantry Programs
  • Fostering Animals
  • Gardening in Community Parks
  • Girl Scout Sponsor
  • Helping Hands (www.hhrd.org)
  • Hospital Volunteer
  • Jared Boxes (www.thejaredbox.com)
  • Kiwanis Club (www.kiwanis.org)
  • Library Volunteer
  • Lifeguard Certification
  • Meals On Wheels (www.Mealcall.org)
  • Mission Trips
  • Operations Christmas Child (www.samaritanspurse.org)
  • Plant Trees
  • Reading Buddy Programs
  • United Way (www.unitedway.org)
  • Walks / Runs for a cause
  • YMCA Volunteer
  • Zoo Volunteer

5 Tips for Creating a YPI group in your state or province

Not all young professionals in the Fair industry are able to annually attend the IAFE Convention, so many states have started to build their own YPI groups for networking, service projects and more. Interested in getting one started in your state or province? Here are a few tips to help get started.

1.  START SMALL AND WORK YOUR WAY UP.
Chelsey Jungck, who was instrumental in starting the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers (NAFM) YPI group, highly recommends meeting informally for the first few years. “It gave us an opportunity to hold open discussions on how we would like to form the group, and what we would like to see the YPI do/accomplish. We were also able to test out a variety of activities – round tables, large group discussions, speakers, socials, etc.”

2. CONSIDER A STEERING COMMITTEE.
If your state is divided into regions or districts, seek out representation from each of those geographic areas. They can serve as the liaison to the young professionals nearby and help to generate ideas and secure programming for upcoming meetings and conventions. Don’t forget about governance – as you grow, you may want to pull together bylaws and hold elections for positions such as a chair or vice chair within your group.

3. CARVE OUT A LITTLE TIME AT YOUR STATE OR PROVINCIAL CONVENTION.
Conventions pack a ton of sessions and activities into a small amount of time, so be cognizant of the fact that young professionals have sessions and meetings to attend, and schedule YPI events in dedicated time slots or the limited “down time” available. Chelsey explains, “With a very short convention weekend, it is very difficult to find time in the convention schedule for the YPers to meet. The NAFM Board, and our founding group of YPers, agreed that we did not want to prevent the YPers from participating in the general convention activities.” The NAFM YPI usually holds one social event and one business/development event over the course of two days, both about an hour to an hour and a half in length. Another great tip from Chelsey – “avoid early morning meetings at all costs!”

4. INTEGRATE WITH MORE SEASONED PROFESSIONALS.
Don’t forget that topics that might be of interest to young professionals are also engaging for those over 40. If you’re hosting a speaker, consider opening the session up to all attendees but “sponsoring” it from the YPI group.

5. FIND A MISSION
Is it networking? Do you want to contribute or volunteer to a charity? The Florida young professionals have found that working as a unified group to hold a charity drive at their state convention helps the group maintain focus. Start small with one goal or mission to work toward, and build as necessary.

Interested in starting a YPI group in your state and need a little help? Don’t hesitate to contact Chelsey Jungck at cjungck@statefair.org or Miranda Muir at miranda@osceolacountyfair.com.

Zone meetings announced

The Zone meetings have been announced! Mark your calendar and check your mail for more information about how to attend!
  • Zone 1 - May 6 - 7 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, N.H.
  • Zone 2 - May 12-14 in St. Augustine, Fla. in conjunction with the Florida Federation of Fairs
  • Zone 3 and 6 Combined Meeting - April 14 - 17 at Schlitterbahn Beach Resort in South Padre Island, Texas
  • Zone 4 - April 4 - 6 in at the Radisson Hotel in Green Bay, Wisc.
  • Zone 5 - March 4 - 6 at Kansas City Marriott Country Club in Kansas City, Mo.

Announcements

  • Participate in the Igniter – IAFE Discussion Board! If you haven't already joined, now is the time to sign up for the IAFE's online member service. The board allows you to post questions/discussions, reply to topics, post document resources, look up contacts, and to network. This is an incredibly simple way for you to easily interact and communicate online and exchange ideas, experience, knowledge, and wisdom with your peers. Click here for instructions on how to use the board. Already signed up? Log in to participate and start a topic.
  • Join the YPI Facebook Discussion Group - To connect with other YPI members, click here
  • Post on social - Tell us what you're up to! Post using #IAFEYPI. You might just get retweeted! We're on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
  • Talk to us - To tell us what you want to see featured in the YPI Newsletter, click here.