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Letter From The President

Greetings!

I am thrilled and honored to serve as the 2007-08 President of the Young Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago. Accepting this position means a lot to me for a number of reasons. My family has been very involved in the Irish community and I feel privileged to continue this tradition in such a prestigious role. In addition, my father served as the Irish Fellowship Club President in 2005, so I am ecstatic to follow in his footsteps by serving as President of the Young Irish Fellowship Club. And finally, I am pleased to be able to give back to a club that has given so much to me!

I really feel this club is a wonderful and valuable tool for networking, getting involved in the community, making new friends, and supporting some really great, worthwhile charities. But with everything that is available in the city, why should you join the Young Irish Fellowship Club? Well, here are the reasons I got involved and stayed involved. . .

I joined the Young Irish Fellowship Club five years ago because I had just moved downtown from the south suburbs and was hoping to meet other young people that had similar interests and lived in the city. The opportunities for socializing and networking were, of course, the initial draw. However, any club can offer the socializing and networking; the Young Irish also included cultural opportunities, fundraising for charities and the chance to continue the great Irish traditions started by the founders of the Young Irish Fellowship Club and the Irish Fellowship Club.

A year later, I applied for the Board of Directors because I wanted to help plan events that promoted the club and the charities. I then ran for a position on the Executive Board to have a greater role in strengthening our membership program and to help build up the governance of the board to ensure the organization's future. After two years on the Executive Board, I'm excited to take the next step and lead this amazing group through another successful year.

This year, the Young Irish has a great group of people from all over Chicago and the suburbs serving on the Board. They are very excited and enthusiastic about this club and I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors with them. All of the events we are organizing will support two great charities – the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Autism Action. You can find more information on these charities in our Charities section on the website. We hope that you will help us support these causes by attending our events and volunteering with us.

Speaking of our events. . . We have some great ones throughout the coming year that will allow you to get involved, meet new people and support our charities all at the same time! We will be attending a Chicago Fire game, several happy hours with different entertaining themes, a couple of our ever popular pub crawls, a golf outing, a Bears Pre-Season game, and of course our largest event, Forever Green 33 on March 14, 2008. Please keep an eye on our website for details on all of our events. Also, if you aren't on our mailing list, please sign up so you can receive our monthly newsletter with everything you need to know about the Young Irish.

In addition, we will be participating in many cultural events around the city: Irish American Heritage Center's Irish Fest, Bartending at Old St. Pat's World's Largest Block Party, Chicago's Celtic Fest, the South Side Irish Parade and the Downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade, among others. And remember — you don't need to be Irish to spend time with the Young Irish Fellowship Club. If you like to have fun, are looking to meet new people, want to support excellent charities and learn a little about the Irish culture, we'd love to have you!

We encourage everyone to attend our events, but did you know that by becoming an Emerald Member you can get a discount to our events along with other benefits? Our Emerald Membership program is just $30 and saves you money at bars, restaurants and stores all over Chicago and the suburbs as well as special treatment at all Young Irish events! You can find more details and sign up in the Membership section of our website.

Please come out and support Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Autism Action by attending our events or volunteering with us. Visit the website often for more details on the club and what's going on. And please, feel free at any time to contact me or any member of the Board of Directors with any questions or suggestions!

If it isn't evident yet, I'm very proud of this club and what we've accomplished thus far. I think we have a great year ahead of us and hope you will be a part of it!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sláinte!
Bridget McLaughlin
2007-08 President