After spending four years on the board of the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, Dave Roberts, General Manager at UniFirst Corporation took the lead this January as the 2019 Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Board Chair.
Entering a room filled to capacity and standing room only, he addressed the attendees of the bi-monthly luncheon hosted for Chamber of Young Professional members and sponsored by Independence Bank.
CYP is a networking and education opportunity for those under 40 in the Owensboro area. A member of the under 40 crowd himself, Roberts shared his first-hand experience as a former member of CYP and the revitalization effort of the group that was once dwindling. Kyle Aud joined Roberts in remembering a time when there was a grassroots effort to grow over 100 CYP members.
President and CEO of the Chamber, Candance Brake, shared her excitement of Roberts’ participation.
“Dave Roberts is the perfect example to CYP of why service to the community matters,” Brake said. “He not only shows that there is a seat at the table for those under 40, but also a seat in leadership for those under 40.”
Roberts’ leadership skills have taken him many places in his career. Last year Roberts once again had the opportunity as a chamber board member to have conversations in Frankfort, in which he spoke with great pride of this generation.
“When you talk about the scale of CYP, it doesn’t go unnoticed,” Roberts said. “They were blown away with our young crowd, those under 40 in Owensboro.”
Roberts believes there are lots of opportunities for CYP to be an integral part of initiatives in Owensboro and the Chamber appears to support that vision.
“Dave has a unique, global understanding of the economy and an intricate understanding of the Greater Owensboro region,” Brake said. “This understanding gives him the ability to lead our Chamber in a way that ensures we will continue to grow and achieve our big picture goals and to serve each and every member.”
Roberts went on to share with the members of CYP that one of the Chamber’s focuses for 2019, was Workforce Development, including the way millennials may impact workforce development in Owensboro.
“You have the attention and the real opportunity to make change,” Roberts said.
Each year, CYP announces their 2019 CYP Executive Committee members.
Today’s announcement included: Chair – Erica Yartz, Past Chair – Dave Kirk, Vice Chair – Sara Fleischmann, Membership Co-Chair’s – Elizabeth Griffith & Austin Casebolt, Communications – Hannah Thurman, Community Development – Candice McCloud, Philanthropy – Bethanie Roberts, Social Co-Chair’s – Daniel Hewlette & Mario Vizuet, Secretary – Nicollette Vizuet, and Chamber Liaison – Jessica Kirk.
For more information on CYP click here.
