YPW Leadership Academy

YPW Leadership Academy is a leadership development program targeted at YPW members who are interested in growing their leadership capabilities. The course offers both professional development and community connections providing opportunities to advance in your career and in the community. Six bi-weekly sessions feature interactive exercises, issue exploration, self-assessments and in-depth conversations with Wichita’s top community and business leaders.

YPW Leadership Academy will educate YPW members on their personal styles, values and strengths so they can grow as leaders, motivate others and impact change in their organizations and communities. It works to expand your leadership, career and life skills. The program begins with taking a closer look at your personal leadership style and then guides you in how to expand and utilize those skills via techniques to further your career.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else for the YPW Leadership Academy, please email the YPW Director, Heather Denker, at hdenker@wichitachamber.org.

Important dates for the 2011 program are:
• Nominations received by – October 15, 2010
• Applications received by – October 29, 2010
• Selection announced by – December 1, 2010

Click here for a more detailed look at the program.

Boo Brew Bash

This year's Boo Brew Bash is offering discounts to YPW Members! YPW members can reserve a table of 8 for $350-a $170 savings. To receive this special rate, please call the Dress For Success office at 945-8779 before October 8th.

If there are any YPW members interested in volunteering to help with sponsorships, auction items, or event coordination, they can contact Shayla Garibay at sgaribay@valueplace.com.

Boo & Brew Bash 9
Food & Drink ~ Live Band ~ Costume & Dance Contest ~Live & Silent Auction ~ Other Spooktakular Fun

Celebrity Judges for our Dance and Costume Contests will be:
1. Former State Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau
2. Carrie Rengers--- Wichita Eagle
3. Lavonta Williams---Wichita City Council
4. Sheryl Nutt--- KCTU-TV Ch. 5 host
5. Rene Steven—Spangles
6. Brett Harris—B98
7. Gail Finney—State Representative
8. Jeff Longwell- Wichita City Council

Emcees for this year’s Boo & Brew are The Buzz’s very own Dusty Hayes and Sunny Wylde!

More event details available on BooandBrew.org

Project Downtown

Your input has shaped the plan and future of our Downtown. Project Downtown: The Master Plan for Wichita is ready to be presented, and you're invited to this major event. The Project Downtown consulting team led by Goody Clancy will outline the master plan, including feedback from the community meetings this summer. The team will also present recommendations about how to implement the plan to focus on ensuring future economic growth.

Tuesday, September 28
Bank of America
100 N. Broadway
Open House: 4:00-8:00
Presentation at 5:30 and 6:30

Join us as we celebrate this milestone with a sampling of food from around Downtown and visual Downtown art by local artists. While you're enjoying the music, visit booths with more information on three specific areas of Project Downtown: Creating Unique Downtown Places, Expanding Transportation Choices, and Enabling Development. For information on these specific areas, view previous presentations here.

For more information on Project Downtown, visit our website. To RSVP for the event, please email rsvp@downtownwichita.org.

Congratulations to the 2010 Leadership Wichita Class

Congratulations to the following YPW Members that were chosen to participate in the 2010 Leadership Wichita class, a leadership training program presented by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. Click here to learn more about the program and to see the full class list.

Brandon Baker, Residential Realtor, Director of Sales. The Carnahan Group
Prisca Barnes, Executive Director, The Kansas African American Museum
Lathi De Silva, Vice President - Director Brand Reputation, Sullivan Higdon & Sink, Inc.
Bobby Gandu, Director of Admissions, Wichita State University
Sommer Keplar, Organizational Effectiveness Specialist, Via Christi Health
Tara Shaffer, Marketing Manager, Davis Moore Automotive, Inc.

Calling All Volunteers!

If you haven't yet heard, there is an exciting website that is being launched soon to help connect Kansans to volunteer opportunities. The launch of volunteerkansas.org will take place this Thursday, Sept. 9th at 5:30pm at Exploration Place. To celebrate the website and volunteerism there will be a chair cleaning to coincide with the launch and press conference and First Lady, Stacy Parkinson will be speaking on volunteerism.

Please visit Volunteerkansas.org, register as a volunteer, search opportunities –“chair cleaning” and sign up today.

Take a look at the article on this event in today's Eagle.

1st Annual Wichita Wine Opener

The Wichita Wine Opener benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be held on Tuesday, October 19 from 7-9pm at Botanica, the Wichita Gardens. Sip fun wines, savor great cuisine, discover the marketplace and enjoy fun auctions and great entertainment!

From wine novices to wine enthusiasts, the Wine Opener is a casual and fun evening for all experience levels. Standard tickets are $50 and limited VIP tickets are available for $65. Tickets available online at http://heartofamerica.cff.org/wichitawine or call 913.384.8997.

Presented by The LDF Companies, must be 21 to attend.

Museum Day Wichita, September 25th

Museum Day is a nationwide event where participating museums across the country offer free admission for one day only.

Wichita began participating in the Smithsonian Museum Day in a concentrated manner in 2008. In the first year alone, 12 local museums participated in the event, drawing an audience of more than 5000 people.

You'll want to mark off the entire day on Saturday, Sept. 25 to give yourself ample time for all of the exciting venues that will be offering FREE admission all day long.

For a list of participating museums or to download your own free admission card visit museumdaywichita.com

Westar Energy is Offering Energy Audit Classes

The Energy Efficiency department at Westar Energy is offering classes that will teach consumers how to conduct their own home energy audit in order to locate and repair air leaks, and make other minor modifications that can save energy and money. If you’re interested in learning how to asses your home’s energy efficiency, our Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audit class will help you identify problem areas and make changes (even simple, inexpensive ones) that can eliminate energy waste. At these half-day sessions, you’ll learn about:

Heating and cooling equipment
Air sealing (insulation, windows and doors)
Water heating
Lighting
Appliances

In addition, we’ll have hands-on displays to help you learn the basics of weather stripping and caulking around windows and doors, keeping your air conditioner in good working order and choosing the best type of insulation. We’ll even run a report to show you how much money you could potentially save if you choose to upgrade your heating and cooling equipment. Each participant will receive an energy efficient kit valued at more than $25.

If you’ve ever wondered how efficient your home might be but you aren’t quite ready to pay for a professional energy audit, this class will give you a good foundation for conducting your own “audit” and learning more about how your house works as a whole system to keep you comfortable year-round.

The class is $20 per person. Classes are limited to the first 30 paid registrations. Two sessions will be offered in Wichita, morning and afternoon.

Wichita – Saturday, October 9 at Westar Energy, 1900 E. Central
9 a.m. to Noon or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

To register click here: Registration Form

For more information, call 1.888.WORKS-50 (1.888.967.5750).