Being engaged with events that are bigger than your city yet still remaining relevant to your city is an enormous task for local affiliates of national organizations. This is the life members of The Exchange at the Urban League are experiencing right now. From July 24 – 27, the eyes of the world will be focused on our city as the Indianapolis Urban League serves as host for the National Urban League annual conference. This is an exciting time for our city and is the first time in a quarter of a century the conference has been held in the circle city.
Many Exchange members have attended conference before, and I have many fond memories of conferences gone by that I currently relish as I serve as president of the local chapter. The National Urban League conference is magical and transformative for everyone who attends. For many of our members, attending the National Urban League Conference has been a life changing experience. The local host committee has their sights set on rolling out the red carpet during the four-day conference and we know that the entire community will share some of our Indy Magic with the more than 20,000 attendees who will transcend upon our city.
Theme for the conference – #Getting2Equal and will feature presidential candidates, celebrities, business leaders and national journalists. We will also have many of the advocates and political leaders in attendance who will host a series of round table discussions and forums.
The National Urban League Young Professionals will be celebrating their 20th anniversary right here in Indianapolis. Twenty years ago several hundred young professionals joined together to support the National Urban League Movement. These visionary leaders were anchored by local chapters around the country and now there are chapters in nearly every local affiliate. How fitting that this is celebrated in a city with such a strong Young Professional infrastructure. Indy YPs, we’re counting on you to make our guests feel welcome and to help celebrate our anniversary.
We invite you to join the movement and serve as a volunteers. Dates and shifts are as follows:
- July 24-27 as a general volunteer
- July 24th from 1:00-3:00 pm to help with the young professionals legacy service project.
- July 27th to celebrate the close of conference at The Finale hosted by The Exchange
- July 28th to send our guest on the road at The Brunch hosted by The Exchange.
While the Indianapolis Urban League and The Exchange are the hosts for the National Urban League Conference, it’s our entire city that is on display. For us to succeed we must all be involved. Can we count on you?
Adrianne Slash is a Human Resources professional at Community Health Network, and in the remainder of her time, she considers herself a community resource by supporting various community efforts and penning her monthly column in the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forefront magazine.
She comes from a family of community servants and considers it an honor to serve others. Adrianne is the President of The Exchange at the Indianapolis Urban League and the Vice-Chairwoman of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. She is a board member at the Indianapolis Urban League, Visit Indy, and the Jewish Community Center. A member of the newly formed Marion County Judicial Selection Committee and a member of the Indianapolis Cluster for CEOs for Cities.
