Member Profile

 

Name: Paul S. Wilson
Employer: INTRUST Bank
Length of Time in NWA: 6.5 years
How long have you been in NWAEL: 6 years

  

How has being part of NWAEL helped you connect with NWA:  My family and I moved to NWA in January 2008 to further my career with INTRUST Bank, and we moved here not knowing one person and very little about the region.  NWAEL was a conduit for me.  

 

It all boils down to working closely with others and engaging existing leadership.  Serving on the board and starting the Sustainability Workgroup allowed me to identify needs, share a vision, communicate that vision, build consensus and ultimately execute a strategy.  This process provides access, while allowing existing leadership as well as peers to get to know your character, motivation, capacity for discernment and personally witness your work ethic.  Those things translate in our minds from community initiatives to career initiatives and ultimately builds trust and earns you credibility.  If you do it well in one area, odds are you do it well in other areas too, but the context is expanded outside your smaller scope and sphere of influence.    

 

And so it compounds!  Before I knew it, I was being asked to serve on other boards and have been given many meaningful opportunities to work with new and existing leaders because of the successes that emerged out of NWAEL.  The relationships that were developed have turned into lasting friendships and are people I trust and call to this day.  We share an experience, and it's no longer simply walking away with a business card.  It's more substantial.  I've become vested in the NWA community, and now this is where I call home. 

 

Other comments regarding NWAEL:  Like any organization, you'll get out what you put in.  If you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to happen, you'll never experience the full reach of the benefits that come from NWAEL.  Make something happen today; join a workgroup, start a workgroup or present an idea to fill a gap somewhere in the community.  Leave something better than when you arrived.  The benefit is reciprocal.
 

 

Has NWAEL helped you Make An Impact in some way?  Email Whitney Yoder to share your story and be featured in a newsletter!