Here’s to a strong #AYP5

2019 will be a significant year for AYP, as we celebrate five years of attracting, retaining and engaging young professionals in Abilene.
It’s a true honor to serve as your chair during a milestone year, and we have much to look forward to.
You’ve sounded off on what matters to you, and your steering committee has heard you. Based on your feedback and our conversations with many of you at After Five events, here are my three key priorities on what we plan to accomplish over the next year:
Increase and enhance development and leadership opportunities for young professionals and here's how we’ll do it:
Implement quarterly lunches featuring business leaders who will share their career stories and answer your questions.
Focus on planning a well-rounded AYP Leadership Summit (save the date for Nov. 2019!) that offers applicable development and leadership insights to young professionals across a range of industries.
Expand Campus Connect to two semesters, allowing more time for mentorship.
Complete a directory of AYP members by industry, giving us all a resource to easily connect with one another.
Become a more inclusive constituency. We have an excellent membership, full of young professionals with expertise from a number of fields. Still, we can do even better.
Work to identify who’s missing from the table and get them involved. Are there people hesitant to participate because of their industry? Let’s show them that they are welcome! Are there some who shy away because they feel underrepresented? Let’s inspire them to be part of the change!
As always, there are more ideas than time. The good news? I care about your ideas and want to hear them.
Relationships are paramount, and our constituency is strong when our relationships are strong. Please feel encouraged to reach out to me anytime over the next year as we journey together to keep AYP the best young professionals program in the country in year five! #AYP5