Welcoming the team at JANWOs first ever Meet, Greet & Graze

Author: Erin Czerniak
Community Involvement
Published: Thursday, 01 Aug 2019

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Image caption: Mike Lagger; Mike Denman; Lou Ramirez; Bill Kidd. Photo by Vashti Coleman

Nearly 50 members of the JA community came out to MadAve’s Social Club Room Thursday, February 28 to enjoy a happy hour event to mix and mingle with the new JANWO team. We were completely overwhelmed with the turnout and the support that remains in the community for JA, our mission, and the students we serve.

Past and present board members, sponsors, and community partners gathered together for drinks (provided by MadAve) and sandwiches (catered by Sarnies) to put faces to names of the new team members, pictured on the right.

Image caption: From left to right: Natalie Zerucha, Education Program Manager; Nancy Finke, Controller; Jim Pollock, President; Pam Hiemstra, Senior Education Manager; and Erin Czerniak, Director of Development. Photo by Vashti Coleman.

Speaking as the newest member (by only a few days), I was blown away by the kindness, enthusiasm, and eagerness to help of everyone in attendance. Our team, led by Jim, is eager to serve others, strengthen our relationships with students, and get to work. Our supporters, who all came out on a freezing cold night after work, demonstrated their willingness to show up, lend a hand when they can, and keep those relationships strong.

We are so grateful to Jerry and Nikki Brown at MadAve Group for donating the space and bar for the night. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! Special thanks to Gareth Jones at Sarnies for rocking the catering and Vashti Coleman for photographing the event!

Image caption: Food at the event

We are glad to have met everyone and are eager to get to know you all more! We feel so lucky to come on board with a great organization with an incredible amount of community support!!

Do you have a great story about working with Junior Achievement? I’d love to hear it! Please contact us!