Mayor Jerry Abramson declared March 10, 2009 as "YPAL 10th Anniversary Day" in Louisville, in honor of our 10 Year Anniversary Milestone.
In 2009, YPAL was operated by 17 people on the Board of Directors. That year YPAL hired its first part-time employee to help oversee administrative duties.
2008-2009
Celebrated YPAL's 10th Anniversary with a yearlong Food Drive to benefit Kentucky Harvest and Dare to Care. Additionally, a 10th Anniversary logo was created to mark the milestone and street banners were designed and located on Main Street between 3rd and 9th Streets.
Developed a value proposition to better represent YPAL's objective in serving young professionals in the Louisville community.
Hosted a variety of events geared towards professional development including a three-part entrepreneurial series in association with the University of Louisville's Entrepreneurial MBA Program, Diversity Dinner series, Diversity in the Age of Obama and Leadership Lunch series including a discussion on advocacy.
Planned various opportunities for YPAL members to engage in community outreach including the Salvation Army Angel Tree, Smoketown Cleanup, Special Olympics and two successful Community Connection events.
Designed a YPAL brochure to distribute at YPAL 101 and other events highlighting the mission of YPAL and ways for new members to get involved in the organization.
Revamped the YPAL advocacy procedures and initiated successful advocacy campaigns in support of the Center City Development downtown and an increase in the state's cigarette tax.
2007-2008
Developed a new YPAL logo that is more representative of our mission, and more attractive to our demographic.
Developed a new website that provides more functionality to members, streamlines tasks for board members and is more visually attractive.
Began utilizing new mediums to reach out to current and prospective members including a Velocity YPAL Blog, a LinkedIn page, MySpace Page.
Increased publicity for the organization by featuring member profiles in Velocity, Business First, Today’s Woman, etc.
Polled our membership and decided to advocate for Expanded Gaming as a new source of revenue for the Commonwealth.
Partnered with the Junior League of Louisville to promote awareness for Blessings in a Backpack, a program that provides food to school-age children on the weekends.
Worked with YPs from Northern Kentucky and Lexington to plan a YP Day in Frankfort in February 2008
Partnered with the Junior League of Louisville, the League of Women Voters, and the Greater Louisville Medical Society to host a televised debate between Attorney General candidates Jack Conway and Stan Lee.
2006-2007
Hosted the 2007 YP Summit September 13-15 2007. This was an international event bringing more than 200 YPs to Louisville, many for the first time. This allowed us to showcase our city’s entertainment venues, restaurants, arts, etc.
Provided members with behind the scenes tours of WHAS TV, Hotel 21 C, and Caesar’s Indiana.
Co-hosted a Candidates Night Out and Mayorial Debate between Jerry Abramson and Kelly Downard with the Louisville Urban League Young Professionals.
Partnered with Brightside to plan and execute the first-ever Green Tie Bash fundraiser for downtown beautification efforts.
2005-2006
Partnered with Ignite Louisville and Junior Achievement to offer a program called “Gearing Up for Success” to juniors in two local high schools. The idea of the program was to teach basic interviewing skills, professional dress, resume preparation, etc. to get the students to begin thinking about their careers.
Created the concept of Community Connections, a highly successful non profit networking event, designed to partner YPs looking to get involved with executive directors of local non-profits.
Represented our membership by advocating successfully for a new downtown arena.
2003-2004
Organized City Talk Speaker’s Forum Series.
Provided opportunities for members to work with the Wayside Christian Mission Thanksgiving Dinner.
Partnered with the Salvation Army Angel Tree and helped to distribute toys and clothes.
Helped Brightside “brighten” the city before the Kentucky Derby.
Partnered with KET and the Louisville Urban League Young Professionals for a pandel discussion on “Matters of Race”.
Launched Ignite Louisville in partnership with the Leadership Louisville Center and the Louisville Urban League Young Professionals.
Sponsored a three-part Career Management Series.
Sponsored informative seminars including, “Home Buying and Financing,” “Creative Cooking Class” and “Strategies for Planning for a Secure Retirement”
Invited members to two Living in Louisville lunches to learn about the city.
Organized sporting teams and programs including fielding teams in a Winter Soccer League and a Spring Co-ed Softball League. Members also gathered at Monday Night Football Games at local bars and restaurants.
Hosted parties for members including a Halloween Party at Masterson’s, a rooftop Martini Party at Glassworks, and a Super Bowl Party at Jillian’s.
General YPAL Achievements
Former YPAL board members have helped the Louisville community to become more civically engaged by helping to create events such as the Green Tie Bash to benefit Brightside and the METRO TV program “Leadership Landscape.”
We actively engage our members with the local arts scene, including the Opera, Actor’s Theatre, Derby Dinner Playhouse, etc.
YPAL partnered with Leadership Louisville Center to create a unique leadership training program for YPs called Ignite Louisville.
Each year YPAL partners with various non profit organizations, providing fresh ideas, energetic volunteers and increased awareness. Some of the non-profits we have worked with include the Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Junior Achievement, Brightside and Kentucky Harvest.
YPAL’s City Talk Series helps YPs to learn more about important public issues including downtown housing, expanded gaming, educational issues, building downtown bridges and many more. The idea is to get YPs exposure to both sides of important issues facing the community.
