Northern Colorado Small Business Social

Bear Network Connections

In an effort to stay connected with our more than 134,000 UNC alumni world-wide and make social distancing a bit more Bear-able, your UNC Alumni Association has begun hosting FREE virtual events we’re calling Bear Network Connections.

Easy to join, easy to connect, easy to engage, each of these events feature members from across the Bear Network speaking to new and diverse topics. Giving you someone new to meet and something new to chat about every few weeks. These events are also recorded, so even if you aren’t able to watch live, the insight and connection featured on each is available for you to watch on demand, at your convenience.

Northern Colorado Small Business Social

On April 16, we had the pleasure of connecting with UNC alumnus and Greeley Area Chamber Ambassador of the Year, Nick Kenny '16. Nick spoke to the importance of buying, dining, and shopping local, and advocating for Northern Colorado and alumni-owned businesses while social distancing. Nick was thoughtful and candid, and gave insight into his own experiences dealing with the situation around COVID-19.

“For the first couple days, we were all looking in our handbooks on what covers a pandemic and how to handle it... There is nothing in our handbooks to cover this. So, we’re all learning first-hand what we should be doing…”

Nick shared the importance of communicating with and supporting local partners, employees, and fellow business leaders, because “We’re all in this together.” He also invited alumni to visit the Greeley Area Chamber's Greeley To Go website for menus and online ordering options to support local restaurants and bars providing to-go items. 

Most importantly, Nick shared a few easy ways alumni can advocate for local businesses when we can’t support them in-person. He invited us to purchase gift cards or use online shopping methods, to write stellar reviews for the companies care about, to continue providing needed donations for local non-profits, to share positive social media posts highlighting the businesses we are visiting, and to share our thanks to business owners via letter, email, or phone call letting them know how much we appreciate their impact on our community.

“After all this has passed, and we’re telling our kids and grandkids the story of what it was like to live through the pandemic of 2020, I hope that story is ‘We were there for each other. We supported each other. We relied on one another. We helped each other out however we could.'...”

Check out our full conversation with Nick:

Stay Connected

As alumni, it’s vital that we continue checking in on each other and supporting our fellow Bears. We invite you to reach out to us if you have career questions, suggestions for future events, or simply want to speak about how your engagement can make a difference for the UNC Bear Network and our students.