(Left to Right) Doug Bies, Lou Stricklin, Kevin DeYoung, Josie Heskje
At the Global 2016 MPSA MPS Awards, presented August 1, at CompTIA’s ChannelCon event, in Hollywood, Florida, one particular recognition went less publicized. Qualpath President and CEO, and MPSA President, Kevin DeYoung, was named Volunteer of the Year for his tireless work on behalf of the MPSA.
DeYoung began volunteering his time to the MPSA seven years ago, soon after it was founded. Although challenging, he insists there is no trick to balancing a busy professional life with volunteer work.
“You just do it,” exclaims DeYoung. “I start very early in the day and try to communicate via email any MPSA-related items before the normal workday begins. Scheduling is done as much in advance as possible for workday meetings.”
Adds DeYoung, “It is very motivational to work with fellow volunteers who are so giving of their time to contribute to what we do. These are true professionals that are laser focused on MPS — its communication and helping others.”
As president of the association, DeYoung reports to the MPSA board of directors. He says his work primarily entails partnering with the members of the executive committee and overseeing and supervising the affairs of the association.
“I attend as many of our committee meetings as possible with a continual focus on membership value, operations, the go-forward vision of the association and ensuring we are contributing to the overall welfare of the MPS Industry,” he adds.
According to GreatAmerica’s Director of Strategic Marketing for Office Equipment Group, Josie Heskje, also a volunteer for the MPSA, DeYoung has been instrumental in helping institute the structure and support that ensures the long-term strength of the MPSA.
“His passion for MPSA is evident in every encounter,” she says. “Whether it’s participation in a committee call, presenting the Global MPSA MPS Awards or working with him on a project one on one, Kevin has great strengths operationally, and that combined with his passion and his experience as a successful office equipment dealer and MPS provider, have made him a tremendous asset to the MPSA and to our industry.”
Asked what he enjoys most about his work for the association, DeYoung cites the fact that it is an all-volunteer organization that is comprised of individuals who are passionate about MPS.
“I joined seven years ago to learn, network and get better at MPS,” he says. “To collaborate with like-minded people who continue to work, ponder and provoke solutions within the MPS spectrum of solutions provides me great professional and personal satisfaction.”
He adds, “The MPSA is a non-profit neutral organization and has no hidden agendas. We exist for the pure passion of getting better at MPS, exchanging ideas, collaborating and helping each other in whatever way we can.”
Heskje points out that with DeYoung at the helm, the team has accomplished a number of initiatives, including, redefining MPS to include “information” and emphasize business processes in keeping with the evolution of MPS. He has also established a budget committee to ensure MPSA resources are being used for maximum membership value; created membership resources, and along with board member Kim Louden’s leadership, grew committee participation and ensured volunteers are placed in the best areas.
“If you ask Kevin about these accomplishments, he will tell you that he cannot take credit for anything because there are so many individuals within the MPSA organization that contribute to the many initiatives,” says Heskje. “That said, Kevin often plays the role of the fire-starter, getting us going on projects, helping to identify priorities and also the role of life-line support and digging in to fill gaps in committees and rolling up his sleeves to do the work that helps us all achieve our MPSA goals.”
For his part, DeYoung is pleased with the impact the organization has made in helping communicate the value of MPS to the industry. He cites the educational webinars and whitepapers as being particularly beneficial.
“Our education as well as standards and best practices committee produce some of the best content in the industry,” he states. “Previous educational topics focused on the variants of the MPS business models, end-user evaluative webinars and whitepapers, supplier best practices, and more. Currently the educational committee is about to produce an outstanding educational webinar on how to do a proper assessment.”
DeYoung says that the best part of his association with the MPSA is the enjoyment of learning and the collaboration that occurs when working on an initiative.
“At the root of it all is pushing to do MPS correctly which will further the solution benefits to both end-user and provider,” he adds.
