This month YPN encourages you to:

• Get Excited About YPN in 2008.
• Recap YPN’s Networking Event at Tangerine Restaurant
• Recap YPN’s Professional Development Program on Career Advancement.
• Read About New YPN Event Policies.
• Read About Success in the City, YPN’s Signature Event.

Get Excited About YPN in 2008

2008 has started out with a bang for YPN. The January networking event at Stephen Starr's Tangerine restaurant had a sell out crowd, with many business cards exchanged that night. YPN's Professional Development program on Career Advancement with Sara Canuso provided members with useful career tips that they could put into play right away! We have a lot more great events, programs and volunteer projects in store for the rest of 2008, so keep your eye out for future emails from YPN.

Not only is the YPN board working hard on these efforts, but we've also undertaken several other initiatives to make YPN an even better and stronger organization. Here are some examples. The PR and Marketing committee, under the stewardship of Kevin Cafferky and Mai-Linh Hoang are in the process of reworking YPN's website, creating new marketing materials and increasing YPN's presence in the community. The Volunteer committee is busy organizing a new Career Day program at McClure Elementary School as a spring volunteer project under the leadership of co-chairs Andrew Pack and Stephanie Gambone. The Membership committee continues to reach out to new YPN members but co-chairs Maria Quattrone and Lawrence Williams are also reaching out to area graduate schools and corporate Chamber members to inform them about YPN and how it can benefit their students and employees. YPN's On the Move committee has already begun its push to lead the Chamber's fundraising campaign with the guidance of its co-chairs Allison Bean and Amy Gorman. Last, but not least, the Events committee is in the midst of planning YPN's Success in the City event and co-chairs Tina Greco and Bernadette Pitts are lining up some phenomenal panelists for the program. As you can see, there's a lot going on to make YPN the premiere young professionals’ organization in Philly. If you are interested in getting involved with a committee or have any suggestions or ideas, please email ypn@greaterphilachamber.com or reach out to a board member at the next YPN event.

I am so proud to chair the YPN board and to guide YPN through these exciting programs, events and initiatives. It's been said before, but I'll say it again, YPN is what you make of it. Therefore, I highly encourage all of our members to take advantage of all the networking opportunities that YPN provides and get involved with our programs and initiatives or join a committee! Make the most of your membership! See you at the next event!

Anne Madonia, Chair of YPN

Recap YPN’s Event at Tangerine Restaurant

Submitted by Peter Shrier, SSH Real Estate

Another full house at Tangerine for YPN’s January event!! It was great to see such a large crowd out on a Wednesday night and furthermore, still networking well past eight o’clock.

Bradlee Bartram, VP of Restaurant Development for the Starr Organization, reflected on the success and impact they have had in Philadelphia over the past decade. Beginning in 1995 with Continental Old City, Stephen Starr has been a huge part of the reason Philadelphia is now considered one of the top restaurant cities alongside of San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, to name a few. It was also great to hear about Bradlee’s own success moving up within the organization. View more photos of the event here.

Recap of YPN’s Professional Development Program on Career Advancement

The Young Professionals Network hosted its third Professional Development Program in January. Speaking was Sara Canuso, President of A Suitable Solution and columnist for the Legal Intelligencer and Philadelphia Maven. Sara gave YPN members a myriad of tips on how to present his or herself confidently. She let the group know that it is the little things that can make everything better or worse in business. For instance, did you know that you are never supposed to wear red when visiting a disgruntled client? How about that a white shirt or blouse gives the impression that you mean business? All of the tips Sara gave were things that members could put to use immediately.

The next Professional Development Program will be held on March 24, 2008. This event will focus on Citywide and Regional Issues.

New YPN Event Policies

The Young Professionals Network has seen some serious growth through this fiscal year and we can not be more pleased about it (YPN has been averaging 12 – 15 new members a week!). With this growth, however, YPN has had some growing pains. As many of you have noticed, several of our last events have sold out very early and we have implemented a waiting list. Thank you to those that have successfully dealt with that process!

Moving forward, the Young Professionals Network will no longer have a waiting list for sold out events. Rather, "at-the-door registration" will take place once regular pre-registration is complete. People will be allowed into the event on a first come, first serve basis, if there is sufficient space available. At-the-door registration is not guaranteed. Instead, events will be opened up to people not RSVP’d on a first come, first serve basis, AFTER registration is over at the event. There is also no guarantee that a person who did not register on time will be able to enter the event. YPN would like to encourage its members to sign up for events as early as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Success in the City, YPN’s Signature Event

YPN is hosting the 2nd Annual Success in the City forum at the Pyramid Club in May, 2008. This event will focus on the national reach of Philadelphia’s residents and the companies started right in our backyard. This forum will feature the key players that have helped create today’s Philadelphia. Come see what has worked in the past and what ideas are on the way that will continue to make Philadelphia "America's Next Great City".

Are you a new member of YPN?

Want to meet other new members and get an overview of the organization? Join YPN Board members Amy Gorman and Allison Bean this month at the Chamber for YPN New Member Orientation. Allison Bean is currently a Business Development Manager at AIG where she is responsible for the management of a select group of independent brokers in the greater Philadelphia region. A native of Buffalo, NY, Allison attended Boston College as a Political Science and History major and St. Joseph's University where she completed her MBA in May of 2007. Prior to AIG, Allison worked in business development at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen along with The Chubb Group of Insurance companies. Amy Gorman is a private event sales manager at the Moshulu Restaurant docked along Penn’s Landing. She handles sales and planning for large scale corporate events, wedding ceremonies and receptions and even private social gatherings. Prior to her tenure at the Moshulu, Gorman worked for Aramark Harrison Lodging’s Villanova Conference Center where she served as conference sales manager. In addition to sitting on the YPN board, Amy is a member of the International Special Events Society (ISES) board of directors.

The next YPN New Member Orientation will be on Monday, March 24, 2008, at 5:30PM. The orientations will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce located at 200 S. Broad Street (Broad & Walnut) on the 7th floor. Please confirm your attendance by emailing your contact information to Jacob Rozran at ypn@greaterphilachamber.com.