After a three-year hiatus, we were thrilled to welcome back our amazing clients, alumni and community to a festive and fun Boomerang celebration on October 25, 2023. We’re still smiling from all the conversations and memories.
The event, held at Minneapolis Event Center, was a great opportunity for those in the Twin Cities to celebrate, connect and contribute together. Our virtual Boomerang event on November 2, 2023, gave our many national and international clients and alumni a chance to participate as well.
Marking Career Milestones
True to Boomerang tradition, we raised a glass to the numerous successes achieved by our community since we last gathered face-to-face in 2019.
We toasted executives who started new positions, landed board seats and transitioned into retirement or encore chapters. We celebrated those making pivots to non-profit work, consulting or other new ventures. We recognized the corporate recruiters, search firms and HR executives who hire so many talented leaders. We are proud to have played a small role in these important milestones.
Celebrating Our 15th Anniversary
Our own 15th anniversary was a centerpiece of this year’s event. Current CEO Anne Sample recognized the Navigate Forward leadership team and executive consultants—past and present—who are truly the heart and soul of the business.
Attendees also enjoyed a presentation with photos, timeline and reminisces from our own journey. In our first 15 years, we’ve worked with more than 440 companies and helped over 2,160 executives.
Honoring Our Founders
Teresa Daly and Mary Kloehn, Navigate Forward’s founders, were present to renew acquaintances and share in the celebration. Navigate Forward has been a women-owned business since inception.
To commemorate their vision and accomplishments, we are honoring each with a $500 “Founder’s Grant” to their chosen charity. Teresa’s grant will support Women Winning; Mary will donate hers to the American Association for Cancer Research.
Growing Our Networks
Across the evening, it was a delight to see so many friendly faces and engage in warm conversations. We put our networking skills back into practice with the opportunity to meet new people, renew established connections and deepen the relationships that matter to us. We even put technology into play by using our personal LinkedIn QR codes as digital business cards.
Supporting Deserving Non-Profits
We continued Navigate Forward’s longstanding “Charity of Choice” tradition, which gives our valued clients and alumni the chance to direct our charitable giving. In total, Navigate Forward will donate $15,000 to deserving non-profits this fall as a celebration of our 15th anniversary.
Through random drawings, we awarded $1,000 donations to each of these attendees’ favorite non-profit causes:
- Bob Ehren to Open Cupboard
- Troy Amaris to American Red Cross, Minnesota and Dakotas
- Kevin Vig to Dress for Success of the Twin Cities
- Neil Moses-Zirkes to Cycle for Survival
- Shawn Mayfield to Feed My Starving Children
We awarded three more charitable grants totaling $1,000 during our virtual Boomerang celebration:
- Melanie Day to Habitat for Humanity, Twin Cities
- Angie Lommen to Women in Defense, Michigan Chapter
- Jo Webster to the Michael J. Fox Foundation
Donating Generously
Lastly, we asked our clients, alumni and supporters around the country to join us in giving back, and raised nearly $4,000 in charitable contributions for these deserving non-profits:
- Second Harvest Heartland
- American Cancer Society
- Animal Humane Society
- Habitat for Humanity
Attendees used their mobile phones to make secure online donations, with representatives of each organization available to talk about their mission. Navigate Forward then made matching donations of $2,000 to each organization.
Sharing Our Gratitude
After such a long wait to gather together, this year’s Boomerang celebration far exceeded our expectations. We thank you again for the great work we’ve done together, the tears and laughter we’ve shared, and the innumerable ways we’ve made a difference in our community.
