November YP Connector
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NOVEMBER 2020<br />
BUILDING<br />
RESILIENCE<br />
in the Midst of Chaos<br />
Shawn K. Woods<br />
with
The The Dubuque<br />
Monthly Membership<br />
Luncheon<br />
Hosts<br />
area chamber<br />
Positivity During Challenging Times<br />
The Chamber's Monthly Membership Luncheon will be on Thursday,<br />
<strong>November</strong> 19 from 12:00 Noon - 1:00pm via GoToWebinar. The<br />
event will feature Don Sandel.<br />
.<br />
Don Sandel has a Master of Arts and<br />
Bachelor of Science from Western<br />
Michigan University. Since<br />
graduation, he has amassed a<br />
number of highly specialized<br />
certificates in Human Performance<br />
Improvement, Training, Leadership<br />
Development, Coaching, Business<br />
Acumen, and Applied Positive Psychology.<br />
Don’s expertise is in the field leadership development as well as the<br />
impact of shifting to a positive mindset. He is currently the Founder of<br />
GoPositiv, but has spent a quarter century leading talent development<br />
for such companies as Astellas Pharma, Allscripts, and United Airlines.<br />
He has recently consulted for such organizations as Wintrust Bank,<br />
Remarkable Health, Ada S. McKinley Community Services and Audentes<br />
Therapuetics and has thrilled thousands with his energetic keynotes on<br />
shifting to a positive mindset.<br />
Where Business Belongs<br />
300 Main Street Suite 200 | Dubuque, IA 52001<br />
563.557.9200 | www.dubuqueChamber.com
Page 3<br />
Contents<br />
3 // Shawn K. Woods<br />
Looking ahead towards our <strong>November</strong> <strong>YP</strong><br />
Luncheon presenter<br />
5 // Joni Ernst<br />
Reviewing the impact of our October <strong>YP</strong><br />
Luncheon presenter<br />
9 // <strong>YP</strong> Sponsor Feature<br />
Eagle Point Solar<br />
Page 9<br />
12 // Upcoming Events<br />
View a list of the upcoming <strong>YP</strong> events<br />
13 // Top <strong>YP</strong> Podcasts<br />
Find out where your <strong>YP</strong> Board Volunteers<br />
Page 15<br />
15 // THINGS I LEARNED IN MY<br />
FIRST YEAR OF HOMEOWNERSHIP<br />
The Young Professional Blog entry<br />
by Margaret O'Reilly<br />
Follow Us<br />
www.facebook.com/YoungProfessionalsDubuque/<br />
@ypdubuque<br />
www.linkedin.com/company/young-professionals-dubuque/<br />
JOIN THE CONVERSATION<br />
#<strong>YP</strong>DUBUQUE
AT THE <strong>YP</strong> LUNCHEON ON NOVEMBER 18<br />
BUILDING RES<br />
IN THE MIDST OF C<br />
Shawn K. Woods<br />
with<br />
Shawn K. Woods is President and CEO of Shawn K. Woods & Associates, an organization<br />
committed to ·empowering businesses and individuals to unleash their full potential."<br />
An international trainer/facilitator. author and executive/life/career coach. He has delivered<br />
over 2500 conferences including keynote presentations. bullying awareness seminars and<br />
leadership training to Fortune 500 companies, associations, small business owners. government<br />
and non-profit organizations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Africa.<br />
Through Shawn's expertise and diverse background he has helped clients decrease turnover.<br />
increase accountability. effectiveness and productivity through COMMUNICATION,<br />
TEAM-BUILDING, LEADERSHIP. DIVERSITY/INCLUSION and CHANGE/TRANSITION workshops<br />
and coaching modules. He has also helped individuals gain the courage to chase their personal<br />
goals and coached them on how to achieve them.<br />
Shawn is the youngest of eleven children He was raised in a dual parent household on the<br />
West Side of Chicago where drugs. gangs and violence were a dominant part of his everyday<br />
life. Faced with difficult choices every day. some of his juvenile decisions eventually cost him<br />
several full ride scholarships to play Division I Football. With the COURAGE to overcome his<br />
difficult childhood and a tough JOURNEY ahead of him, Shawn had one of two choices to<br />
make: l) He could be consumed by the temptations of street life or 2) He could redirect his<br />
energy. make smarter personal and professional decisions in life and reshape his future.<br />
Shawn clearly chose the latter.<br />
Shawn has since achieved great academic and professional successes. His list of academic<br />
accomplishments include: an Associate's Degree. a Bachelor's of Arts Degree. a Master's<br />
Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Human Resources. Shawn's<br />
professional accomplishments are numerous including positions held as a Law Enforcement<br />
Officer. Decorated Detective-Hostage Negotiator, Assistant Director of Human Resources for<br />
the Board of Education as well as an Investigator for the Office of the Executive Inspector<br />
General for the State of Illinois In addition to the Training and Development Company, Shawn<br />
also developed his own Real Estate Investment and Property Management Company and is<br />
President/CEO of his own Private Detective Agency. These professional accomplishments are<br />
part of the foundation that Shawn leverages to help businesses and individuals unleash their<br />
full potential.
ILIENCE<br />
HAOS
Recapping last m
onth’s Luncheon<br />
Senator Joni Ernst<br />
with<br />
A Conversation on Leadership and<br />
Service with Senator Joni Ernst<br />
Senator Joni Ernst was able to join us for a luncheon in right before she<br />
joined the floor to vote on COVID relief package for Iowa. She gave us an<br />
update on things she has been working on and right now a major part of<br />
her time is working on child care both prior to pandemic and even more<br />
so now due to the pandemic. Iowa is considered a desert state for child<br />
care and she is proposing a 32 million dollar package to help Iowa child<br />
care. The new package today that she will be voting on right after this<br />
luncheon is a 15 billion dollar bill for the United States that she sponsors.<br />
This bill will provide a 9 month gap assistant program for child care,<br />
10 million dollars would go to the expansion of child care facilities and 5<br />
billion dollars would go to child care development grand program that<br />
helps families who need assistance. After a brief over view of a few<br />
other things she is working on we were able to participate in a conversation/<br />
question and answer with Senator Joni Ernst and here is what we<br />
talked about...
Recapping last month’s Lunch<br />
Jack Mescher<br />
Government Relations & Assistant Director<br />
Hills and Dales<br />
Jack Mecsher: “Sen. Ernst, thank you for introducing<br />
the “Front Line Act” which address supporting<br />
Frontline Workforce, who were largely left out of<br />
the initial COVID relief packages. At Hills and Dales,<br />
we work to build meaningful lives for individuals<br />
with disabilities—many of our services are 24/7<br />
and very much essential. Shutting down or going<br />
virtual was not an option. Through-out this<br />
pandemic, it has been our 465 employees who<br />
proved themselves as true heroes. They have<br />
reported to work in-person, complied with extensive<br />
new regulations, and faced school shutdowns<br />
and daycare closings like many other families. But<br />
in many cases they received the least support from<br />
the federal government. What are the conversations<br />
you are having in the Senate to pass your<br />
Front Line Act, what needs to happen for your<br />
legislation to pass? Our workforce is feeling it!”<br />
ANSWER: Senator Joni Ernst<br />
thanked all for their essential<br />
service on the font line of Child<br />
Care. The Front Line Act will benefit<br />
essential works with a pay roll<br />
tax and income tax holiday.<br />
There is also a proposal<br />
for all Americans to have a<br />
tax holiday. The best way<br />
to get the Front Line Act<br />
passed is to please<br />
promote with various<br />
legislators, reach out to<br />
them, and encourage<br />
support of the front line<br />
act.<br />
Samantha Bruck<br />
Insurance Services Representative<br />
Dupaco Community Credit Union<br />
Samantha Bruck: “How/when did you decide that<br />
you wanted to join the Marines?”<br />
ANSWER: On an Agriculture exchange to the<br />
Ukraine in 1989 between her freshman and sophomore<br />
year of college she went to their collective<br />
farm for 2 weeks. At this farm they were still using<br />
horses and wagons to do farming. It was a very<br />
different in a socialist country compared to home<br />
(Iowa) were they had tractors and combines. In the<br />
evenings they would get together in a community<br />
center and many did not care about Iowa agriculture<br />
but asked more about what American Government<br />
was like and what it is like to be free? At<br />
that point she knew she wanted to be able to<br />
contribute to her country, to wear the uniform and<br />
uphold the values of the United States. She was<br />
apart of the United States Army and Iowa National<br />
Guard for 23 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel,<br />
she served with the best men and women.<br />
Samantha Bruck: “Who do you look up to for<br />
inspiration or mentorship?”<br />
ANSWER: Senator Chuck Grassley in Iowa because<br />
he is bottom line through and through. An Iowan<br />
and has been through 40 years of state senate but<br />
he is always state centric. He visits all 99 counties,<br />
for 40 years in a row. She looks to him and his<br />
model of supporting constituents. Her Mother and<br />
family are also her mentors. Her other grew up in<br />
a humble family and learned to be extremely<br />
thrifty. She learned farm traits that carried women<br />
through younger years sewing, canning ,cooking,<br />
and being a farm hand. All these taught to Senator<br />
Joni Ernst and her sibling, teaching work values<br />
that were really important. Her mom inspires her<br />
because she was not college educated until kids<br />
were older she got an associates degree, she has<br />
been through hard times and challenges but<br />
always encouraged Senator Joni to keep doing<br />
what she loved.
eon with Senator Joni Ernst<br />
Margaret O’Reilly<br />
Sales Manager<br />
Hotel Julien Dubuque<br />
Margaret O’Reilly: “Why did you get into public<br />
policy and politics? Was there a particular situation<br />
or were there multiple motivators?”<br />
ANSWER: Senator Joni Ernst was involved in<br />
student government in a small rural high school<br />
with a class of 24 kids. Being in a small school<br />
meant you participated in everything. She continued<br />
to do so at Iowa State and then after she<br />
graduated she got involved with Jim Ross Life<br />
campaign with a friend. It ended up being unsuccessful<br />
but eye opening to engage in a campaign.<br />
Later on in the middle east trip with the Iowa Army<br />
National Guard members from her community<br />
back home started to reach out to her and ask her<br />
to run for their county auditor position. There had<br />
been difficulties and disruptions to services to<br />
citizens for awhile. Being the county auditor for 6<br />
years was fantastic and when starting to be more<br />
apart of local issues, taxing, and budgets. Seeing<br />
that should could bring everyone back together<br />
and fix problems is what started her journey in<br />
politics. Learning that in politics you have to work<br />
together to get things done. She prides her self on<br />
being the most bipartisan senator and being able<br />
to help people in their everyday lives.<br />
Tori Freese<br />
Dupaco<br />
Tori Freese: What is going to be done with Student<br />
Loan concerns after the pandemic is over?<br />
ANSWER: They are working on negotiations for<br />
longer terms, different payment options, and<br />
lower rates. Senator Joni Ernst feels strongly about<br />
this topic and that young professionals are delaying<br />
their lives because of debt. They are delaying<br />
getting married, starting a family and buying a<br />
home due to debts. She is working towards helping<br />
employers get tax credits to help them pay of<br />
employees current student loan debt. Many<br />
employers already assume college tax credits for<br />
paying for or helping paying for employees to go to<br />
school. Employers should also get a tax credit to<br />
help those employees who join the company<br />
already with debt, in hopes of employers being<br />
able to help pay down that debt. Everything<br />
should be on the table and we should start<br />
discussing it so young professionals can engage in<br />
activities that they want to and not have to put<br />
lives on hold to pay off student loan debt.<br />
We want to thank Senator Joni Ernst and her<br />
staffers that joined us today,<br />
Tyler Brown - Tax issues, small business, financial<br />
service and education - Sioux city, IA<br />
Brittney Carroll - Eastern Iowa, Cedar Rapids and<br />
the Dubuque area<br />
Ann Breann- Health care, labor and veterans<br />
affairs
Welcome our new sponsor!<br />
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New <strong>YP</strong><br />
Board<br />
Members<br />
We welcome 2 new board<br />
members to the Young Professionals<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Wes Hartig<br />
Affiliated under the Dubuque Area<br />
Chamber of Commerce, Young<br />
Professionals Dubuque (<strong>YP</strong>D) exists<br />
to connect young professionals<br />
with each other, the business<br />
community, and the city in which<br />
we live, work, play and do business.<br />
The members of the <strong>YP</strong> Board<br />
of Directors are faces behind the<br />
scenes that make that happen. This<br />
month we welcome two new<br />
board members.<br />
Find us on your favorite<br />
social media app.<br />
Wes Hartig<br />
Member Relations<br />
Brock Renbarger<br />
Diversity Focus<br />
Brock Renbarger
Upcoming<br />
Events<br />
Join us at one of our<br />
upcoming virtual events<br />
<strong>YP</strong> VIRTUAL LUNCHEON<br />
Shawn K .Woods<br />
<strong>November</strong> 18<br />
<strong>YP</strong> VIRTUAL LUNCHEON<br />
Cris Houlihan<br />
December 16<br />
<strong>YP</strong> VIRTUAL LUNCHEON<br />
TBA<br />
January 20, 2021<br />
<strong>YP</strong> VIRTUAL LUNCHEON<br />
TBA<br />
February 17, 2021
Top <strong>YP</strong> Podcasts<br />
A list of Young Professional Podcasts to start your morning, get you through your commute,<br />
to listen to during the day or evening! Podcasts are a great way to listen to high<br />
quality content no matter where you are or what you are doing. Most podcast offer bite<br />
sized chunks of information during your busy routine so you can continue to grow!<br />
Todays Young Professional<br />
Sharpen: The podcast for young professionals<br />
Honest HR: A podcast from SHRM Spilling HR Truths<br />
You Winning Life<br />
Listen Money Matters<br />
How to be awesome at your job<br />
Working<br />
The GenTwenty Podcast<br />
Stuff you Should Know<br />
Professional Development Forum
THINGS I LEARNED IN MY FIRST YEAR OF<br />
Homeownership<br />
By Margaret O'Reilly<br />
I bought a home in March of 2018, little did I know I<br />
was NOT ready for that adventure. It didn’t help that<br />
my boyfriend and I were planning on completely<br />
renovating, but I don’t think he realized the monster<br />
he created. First thing you should know about me is I<br />
work in the hospitality industry and I am an event<br />
planner by trade, which means I have a passion for<br />
creating pretty spaces. I continue to think of projects<br />
everyday, and I don’t think they’ll ever stop. Other<br />
than the obvious, home renovating is hard, these are<br />
some of the lessons I learned in my first year of<br />
homeownership.<br />
Understand your goal for homeownership. Do you<br />
want to buy your forever home to raise a family in? Do<br />
you want a home that does not need any work? Do<br />
you want to renovate and sell the home? Do you plan<br />
on selling this house in a few years? Do you want an<br />
investment property? One thing my boyfriend and I<br />
knew going in is this house would not be our forever<br />
home. We weren’t sure if we wanted to fix it up and<br />
sell it right away, or if we wanted to hold it and rent it.<br />
The one thing we were confident on was that we<br />
weren’t staying longer than a few years and we wanted<br />
to renovate, so we had a goal during our search.<br />
Pay attention to the things you do and use daily.<br />
Create a list of your ‘must haves’ as well as be<br />
prepared to rank those. In my last apartment I did not<br />
have a dishwasher, and I truly despised hand washing<br />
dishes. I also have a lot of clothes, always have and<br />
always will, so I knew I would want to have a space for<br />
those clothes. Going into the house hunt I knew I<br />
absolutely needed a dishwasher as well as someplace<br />
to house my clothes (no this wasn’t the extent of my<br />
list just some examples) Be prepared for your checklist<br />
to change as you grow and change. In the next place I<br />
live, I want to make sure I have a nice outdoor space,<br />
I’ve learned that I like entertaining outside.<br />
Shop around on EVERYTHING. This starts at the very<br />
beginning of the home owning process. Price shop<br />
your mortgage, insurance, inspection, literally everything.<br />
Taking the time to price shop your mortgage and<br />
insurance, especially, could save you hundreds a<br />
month as well as thousands over the long term. But<br />
don’t stop there, any outside job you have to hire, any<br />
furniture you want to buy, the new light fixture,<br />
everything. This helps you not only save money, but<br />
helps you compare quality of the service or product.<br />
Buy below your means. When I started looking for<br />
homes I was envisioning that I was living by myself and<br />
paying for everything by myself so I was approved for a<br />
certain amount that I knew I was never going to buy a<br />
house for since I was living alone. This is when my<br />
boyfriend and I decided to move in together (yup you<br />
read that right, we moved in for the first time and<br />
renovated a whole house - yes we’re still together!),<br />
but we still wanted to be below what I was approved<br />
for. This was going to help with renovation costs as<br />
well as if we ever broke up, I wanted to make sure I<br />
was okay financially. My biggest piece of advice, would<br />
always buy below your approved rate so you can live<br />
financially secure. You don’t want to hold off retirement<br />
because you bought too big of a house.<br />
Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Real estate can be a very<br />
emotional process for some, but don’t be afraid to<br />
negotiate the asking price or add concessions. Each<br />
party is looking to make a deal and the worst thing<br />
they can do is deny your offer, but if you never ask the<br />
answer will always be no. Remember, most homes are<br />
priced to leave room for negotiation.
Know your local market. Do your own research on<br />
what other homes sold for in your area. Having a good<br />
understanding of the comp set helps you know what is<br />
a good price to offer and what you could sell the home<br />
for in the future. With the home I bought, I researched<br />
the local area to know what the highest price a home<br />
sold for within the last year. This way, I was very<br />
conscious of how much money we would put into the<br />
home. One thing I wish I knew was that the area<br />
around my home is mostly rental homes, that could<br />
help or hurt me depending on what we decide to do<br />
once we move.<br />
There will always be things you want to change.<br />
Unless you are building a house, there will always be<br />
things you want to change. I would recommend you<br />
really know what you want to change or what you<br />
could live with if you can’t change it. Also, if you are<br />
renovating you have a little more freedom of what you<br />
can and can’t change.<br />
Always sample. Buy the paint sample. Buy the carpet<br />
sample. Buy any other sample you can. It is not a<br />
waste. Put it in the room you are thinking of changing<br />
and watch it. For example, if you are choosing<br />
between paint colors - paint the wall and check on it<br />
multiple times a day. The sunlight will be different in<br />
the room at different points of the day. Believe me,<br />
this matters.<br />
for my house, I just wanted furniture. Taking the time<br />
will also help you realize what you can buy on the<br />
cheap or what pieces you want to really invest in.<br />
Some furniture is not meant to last forever.<br />
Always have an emergency fund. There will always be<br />
something that will break unexpectedly or will need to<br />
be replaced in the future. We’ve had our dishwasher<br />
leak, our water line to the fridge split, our basement<br />
flood. For the most part these were minimal costs, but<br />
if we have to replace an appliance it will be easier to<br />
have an emergency fund to pay for. You will need to<br />
replace a roof, a water heater, or any of the large items<br />
if you stay in your home long enough.<br />
During this adventure, I learned that I don’t think I will<br />
ever buy a completely finished home. I truly enjoy the<br />
projects (thinking of them, not the labor part) and<br />
making the home ours. It has been a lot of work, but<br />
extremely rewarding. There was a lot of stress and<br />
long nights the first few months, but our home is<br />
exactly how I want it to look. *wink* The biggest thing<br />
for me is it helps me build equity and build wealth.<br />
Don’t buy all your furniture at once. This was my<br />
biggest struggle and still continues to be to this day. I<br />
want to buy all the furniture at once and have a<br />
completely finished home. Nice furniture is an investment.<br />
Make sure you love it. I have already gotten rid<br />
of a TV stand, two coffee tables, and dining chairs. I<br />
didn’t take time to really settle into the look I wanted
For more information on <strong>YP</strong> Dubuque please contact the Dubuque Area Chamber at<br />
office@dubuquechamber.com or 563.557.9200.<br />
Young Professionals Dubuque is a program of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce