The Newton Young Professionals (NYP) are a group of entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and employees of companies of every stripe*. Each year, the Newton Young Professional of the Year Award honors NYP members that have committed to improving Newton and/or the NYP association.

This year, I was humbled to be among those recognized for pursuing our passions within our community. In my case, through the Newton Dog Park Project. The path to developing a local, public dog park in Newton, KS has been a long one and we aren’t finished yet!

I am extremely fortunate to have the support of my family and many Newton community members since the beginning. This award is a significant honor, but I would not have been a recipient without the support of so many people!

Congratulations to my fellow 2017 award recipients. Jessica Taylor (pictured: center) has been a tireless community coordinator and representative of Harvey County Safe Hope. Courtney Critchfield (pictured: left) has been a wonderful Newton, Kansas Chamber Liaison for the NYP, putting enormous effort into developing the NYP association over the past several years.

Our community needs individuals from all walks of life to pursue their passions in order to improve our City and the quality of life here. To be completely honest, Newton is fortunate to have so many driven citizens, and I feel many of our NYP members should be recognized for their dedication to Newton. Whenever we have a chance to speak, everyone seems to be involved in inspiring projects and area community groups.

Thank you for your support of my passion and thank you to all NYPs making a difference.

*as stated on the NewtonYP.com website
Picture courtesy NYP Association.