YEL event raises money for leadership scholarships

 

story and photos by Joel Rafkin

Young Emerging Leaders of the Greater Fort Smith Region held its annual fundraising gala, Bella Notte, Saturday (Mar. 6) at Golden Living. The dinner party, emceed by KFSM 5-NEWS anchor Ashley Beck, featured live music from Fayetteville band Boom Kinetic and 47 silent auction items.

More than 200 people, both YEL members and guests, attended the event. Tickets were $25 for members and $50 for guests. Proceeds from the event will pay for members to attend Leadership Fort Smith, Leadership Crawford County, Leadership LeFlore County or Leadership Arkansas programs.

YEL is Fort Smith’s young professionals network that provides people ages 21-39 an opportunity to make connections and advance their careers while remaining in the area.

"We want to see the folks between the ages of 21 and 39 succeed," said Travis Lea, chair of YEL.

The group holds workshops throughout the year on topics such as: The importance of a "thank you" note and resumé development. There are about 270 members of the group who pay annual dues of $25.

Lea broke the news of an upcoming charity kickball tournament to be held July 5 at Ben Geren Park. Details are still under development but the idea is to have teams from the area compete and the money from the entry fees will be distributed to local charities.

Lea said during a Jan. 27 YEL advisory meeting the goal in 2010 is for YEL to regain some of the energy the group had more than three years ago when it was founded as an offshoot of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. When launched, it was designed to help recruit and retain young professionals by providing them a network in which to meet other professionals, learn more about the region and get involved in issues and events.