Sport Oregon Young Professionals Board Coming Into Its Own – Sport Oregon Voices

Sport Oregon Voices: Now more than 30 members strong, the organization’s YPB sets out to execute on greater goals in 2022

About three years ago, members of the Sport Oregon leadership team and a small group of up-and-coming business professionals joined forces to form the organization’s Young Professionals Board, or YPB as it’s known. With a handful of initial members laying the initial foundation, the group set out to increase its membership numbers, specifically in 2021, to allow YPB to increase its ability to effectively support Sport Oregon’s programming and overall initiatives.

The past year saw an impressive spike in membership, with the YPB now numbering more than 30 individuals. It’s now a dynamic and diverse group that represents the next generation of leaders and creators in the sports landscape.

“For me, one of the most exciting things is just how much it has really grown and the connections we’re able to make with that and the impact we’re able to have,” said Ashley Craig, a consumer events manager at adidas who serves as the board president for YPB.

Craig, and the board’s vice president, Ian Frost, essentially have been involved with Sport Oregon’s YPB since the beginning. They’re both struck by the impressive growth of the board since its initial formation, and they’re equally inspired by the talent and energy of the larger group’s makeup as YPB sets out to fully realize its impact in 2022 and beyond.

Impressively, YPB has already developed an influential role in the success of many of Sport Oregon’s initiatives in a relatively short period of time, including Fuel the Future, SHE FLIES and the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon. Now, with a significantly larger board, YPB has set its sights on making an even greater impact, a rewarding experience for Frost, who previously served as the YPB’s recruitment officer in helping drive the membership increase.

“The things that we wanted to accomplish were not feasible with the numbers that we had when we first started, considering our aspirations,” said Frost. “We’re excited about growing it and having further engagement within our own group and greater Sport Oregon community.”

The YPB membership now represents a wide swath of business professionals from a vast array of disciplines and experiences, with many coming from non-sports backgrounds.

“I think our diversity as a board, our different experiences, the variety of industries where we work, brings a lot of expertise that collectively makes us stronger,” said Frost, who is the general manager of OSAA Sports Properties.

As the group sets out to accomplish its 2022 goals, it recently finalized a new suite of officers and has a full set of project leads to support the senior board and the Sport Oregon staff. With a great deal more resources now at their disposal, Craig says there is an emphasis on driving people’s engagement through committees. There are YPB committee groups that specifically support SHE FLIES and Fuel the Future, especially as it relates to driving the event’s silent auction component. There is another team dedicated to supporting the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon.

Beyond those initiatives, YPB members participate in a number of volunteer opportunities and one-off events in their work with Sport Oregon. Ultimately, the YPB is working to establish its own group of owned events centered around fundraising and in further supporting the community, to accent their work on existing Sport Oregon initiatives. Among other goals, there is a focus on additional cross-engagement opportunities between the YPB and senior board, and in creating a speaker’s series that would create valuable learning experiences for members of the YPB.

With a solid foundation in place, it’s an exciting year ahead for the Sport Oregon Young Professionals Board, one filled with further development and enterprising opportunities.

“I feel like we completed a lot of foundational work last year and we’re in a good place to be able to do these things now that the processes are in place,” Craig said. “It’s really exciting.”