November 2025 Issue - JASAN-Annual Meeting/NLC Recap

Happy November! And I am very grateful to our JASAN Members for all their support. It is an honor and privilege to serve the organization as the chair, following in the footsteps of so many outstanding leaders.

Can you name all past chairs of JASAN? When I joined, Jean Richcreek was the Chair.

Have you checked out our new website? There you can catch up on all our news and activities. 

And visit our YouTube channel too. There are dozens of videos to watch, including our oral histories, recent awards and past events.

We are rolling!

Dennis

Chair, JASAN

gilfoyle@comcast.net

Giving 110%!

As we launch the campaign to support both the JASAN operating costs and the Achievement Foundation Scholarship Match opportunity, the theme for this year's is "GIVING 110%!" We are an organization of achievers - truly, over-achievers - and this year's campaign's goal is to build on that behavior through overall growth in support by 10%. We will be asking each continuing donor to increase their gift by that amount, and to encourage those who have not yet become JASAN financial partners to make their first gifts.

Watch for a personal request for support coming soon - and even if you would like to pay your pledge later in the fiscal year, just let us know of your intended investment at your earliest opportunity. 

Finally, thank you for considering supporting both our operating needs and the scholarship match as they are both important needs. Please accept my sincere thanks in advance! 

Tom Dewar, Campaign Chair.

JASAN Holiday Party - Save the Date

Mark your calendars for our Virtual Holiday Party on Tuesday, December 16^th at 7:00 EDT. We’ll give you an update but most importantly we'll give you an opportunity to catch up with your colleagues and friends. And it’s BYOB. 

Meet Neha Varghese ...

Neha is a JA Company program student from the Houston program and COO of her JA Company EVO.. She's a very impressive young lady.

Neha is going on to study biology at the University of Texas in Austin. Congratulations to Neha.



"I am absolutely so honored to say that I am the recipient of the Jim Sweeny Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence and I am honestly just as shocked to be able to receive such a prestigious award from Junior Achievement."

JASAN to launch a Virtual Museum

One of our goals is to keep the history of JA alive and easily accessible. You may remember the physical museum in the lobby of the former JA USA headquarters in Colorado Springs. Well...when the building was sold, all of those wonderful memories were digitized. We've been working with JA USA to figure out how we want to make that information - and future additions - available virtually. Our primary thought is to develop a website - and we need your help. If you are interested in working with a team of JASAN members, along with some talented people at JA USA to figure this out, please let us know - jastaffalumninetwork@gmail.com. Our goal is to have the final product complete by June 30, 2026.

Jim Hays, JA President receives a $445,000 check to Junior Achievement Inc. from Emerson Electric Senior Vice Chairman & Chief Administrative Officer Albert E. Suter to develop educational videos.

Meet the 2024 Flemke Award Winner, Sara Dziuk

Sara is the President of JA North (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and was the 2024 winner of the Flemke Award sponsored by JASAN. On our YouTube channel she shares the impact the award has had on her career and her organization. She also discusses her recent selection to participate in the JA Worldwide LEAD Program.

Regarding the Flemke Award, Sara said, "Winning the Karl Flemke Award has been a true honor for me as a new President. It affirmed that the work that I have been doing is on the right track for the organization."

In being selected to participate in the LEAD Program, Sara remarked, "It has been an honor to be the first LEAD participant from the United States. Being paired with five colleagues from across the world and having the opportunity every month to learn from them and to share with them has been

absolutely incredible."

Welcome Our Newest Members!!

Maria Uribe

In August of 2017, Maria started her career part-time with JA of Georgia as a JA BizTown/Finance Park programs team member. She went on to serve on the Volunteer Recruitment team before transitioning to JA USA National Office where she first served as a

Donor Relations Manager and later as a Director of Partner Engagement in the Education Solutions team. Maria had an awesome eight years with JA and left in March 2025.

Today, Maria is the Director of Development Operations at the Tiger Woods Foundation supporting their national expansion.

She looks forward to being involved with JASAN, as she is forever a JA champion!

Welcome to JASAN, Maria.

Bill Lucas

Bill started his professional JA career in October 2000 when he answered an ad for a bowl-a-thon coordinator for JA of Western Pennsylvania. He didn't get the job, but the JA team liked him and he was asked to consider a position in their development department. Before even knowing the salary, he said “I’ll take it!” After 5 1/2 years and several promotions, he was overseeing the development operations for the Pittsburgh market. He ended up leaving JA for a

few years only to return in October 2010. After returning, Bill was promoted to VP of

Development with the merged development, events, and marketing departments and ultimately

Executive Vice President.

After 20 years of teaching young people about entrepreneurship, and being the son of an

entrepreneur, Bill decided to take the leap and create his own consulting firm, Steel City Tactics.

His new firm focuses on helping philanthropy friends build their funding capacity, supporting

companies in their journey to strategically invest in the community and partnering with a trusted

group of referral partners to help companies and organizations streamline their operations,

leverage their investments in marketing and energy, and stay ahead of the AI curve.

When we asked Bill if he was a JA student/kid…he said Yes! He was in the Business Basics

program in 5th grade in 1988 in Plum Boro School District outside Pittsburgh. He still remembers the activity of putting together teams and competing to assemble a pen. It's actually how he knew he was in JA as a kid. Because…when he started at JA in 2000, Bill discovered one of the BB pens in a desk drawer! From there, Bill’s mom found his Certificate of Achievement and his dad gave him HIS JA membership card from being in JA at Penn Hills High School (Pittsburgh) in 1954!! Now that’s a JA family story!!

Welcome to JASAN, Bill.

An Achievement Foundation Announcement

After 31 years of dedicated service, Paul Brady, Executive Director for the Achievement

Foundation, announced his retirement effective November 1, 2025. Paul began his career as a

Captain in the US Air Force before building an impressive legacy managing associations and

nonprofits. In addition to his Achievement Foundation leadership, he has guided organizations

such as the American Council of Engineering Companies, Connecticut Society of Professional

Engineers, and the Connecticut Power and Energy Society.

Throughout his Achievement Foundation tenure, Paul has taken great pride in the foundation's

growth—both in supporting Junior Achievement students and expanding its asset base. His

commitment has strengthened the organization’s mission and positively impacted countless

students lives.

As Paul transitions into retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with family,

pursuing personal interests, and continuing to support meaningful causes in his community.

Jim Hemak, Achievement Foundation board chair, said “On behalf of the Achievement

Foundation board and me, we appreciate all Paul has done for the Achievement Foundation.

His service to the Foundation and its board members has been significant, appreciated, and

lasting. Thank you!”

The Achievement Foundation extends its deepest gratitude to Paul for his dedication and

lasting legacy.

Following Paul Brady’s retirement, the Achievement Foundation is pleased to announce that Christy Kunz has been selected to serve as the Administrative Consultant. Christy’s extensive experience with Junior Achievement began in 1990 at Junior Achievement of the Heartland (Moline, IL), where began as the administrative assistant and concluded after serving as president for nearly five years. Her leadership was recognized in 2006 when she received the Karl Flemke Achievement Award, an honor presented annually to one JA Area president.

In 2007, Christy joined the Junior Achievement USA Operations Team and continued to make a

significant impact until her retirement as Senior Vice President - Operation in 2022. Since then,

she has provided consulting services and contributed to various projects for JA USA and JA

Areas. Christy also serves on the JASAN Executive Committee, further demonstrating her

ongoing commitment to the JA mission. The Achievement Foundation looks forward to

benefiting from Christy’s leadership and expertise as she steps into this role.

Please join us in welcoming Christy to her new role with the Achievement Foundation. Christy can be reached at (563) 343-0757 or ckunz@achievementfoundation.org

It’s easy to stay connected…find us on Facebook, join us on LinkedIn, check out our YouTube videos, and keep an eye on our website! !  We welcome your thoughts and ideas…always!

The mission of the JA Staff Alumni Network is to provide a network for staff alumni ​and to further the mission of JA USA.

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