I was recruited to (Y)EO in 1991 or was it 1992. I have been active from the first meeting I attended and (Y)EO has been an important part of the past 15 years of my life. Given the length of time I have been involved with (Y)EO, I can share many stories and I will do so:

1. In the Beginning

In the beginning there was Peter Thomas and Bill Trimble. I was invited to hear the cross Canada road show presentation by Peter Thomas and Bill Trimble when they came to Toronto to launch a chapter. A handful of us showed up at an Italian restaurant. Peter and Bill got us so fired up that we ended the evening by having elections of the officers for the new chapter. I lost the presidency to Rob Safrata (I became the Education Chair and succeeded Rob the next year). While many of the original attendees at that meeting have come and gone from the (Y)EO universe, I am still a great friend and forum mate of Murray Kline and I see Rob Safrata whenever he ciomes back to Toronto or I find myself in Vancouver.

2. The First Forum Training

I hosted the first ever (Y)EO forum training event . It was held here in Toronto. We had enthusiastic members from across the then (Y)EO universe come to Toronto to be moderator trained and go back to their hometowns and start the first forum groups. While I can't remember everyone in attendance, the first group of moderator trained graduates included - Mohamed Fathelbab ((Y)EOs initial Executive Director), Dave Steele and his wife and Rob Kulhawy and his wife. This inaugural training session set the tone for the quality program that exists today.

3. Dirty Karrie

Back in the day (as my teenage kids say) the Toronto chapter had a member we'll call Karrie. As Education chair, I was determined to put on events that you could only experience at (Y)EO. I challenged our Day Chair Murray Kline to come up with an event that would fit the bill. Murray organized a drive around with the Toronto Police Department. We first went to the forensic centre and were given the full CSI experience. We then went 2 (Y)EOers to a squad car and patrolled with the police for the evening. It was really cool! Not to be out done, Murray decided to up the ante the following year. We did a ride around with the police again, but the preliminary event was a tour of the SWAT team's headquarters. As part of the tour we were able to shoot Glocks in the Dirty Harry target range (you know the place where the targets pop out at you and you have to decide whether to shoot the bad guy or the mother pushing the stroller). Well everything went smoothly until "Dirty Karrie" had her turn. While shooting at one of the targets her bullet hit the tiny metal sleeve on the target and riccoched hitting the officer who was instructing her in the neck. Suffice it to say it was an education event you could only have through (Y)EO and unfortunately it was never to be repeated again.

4. Lessons from the Edge (Part 1)

After complaining at the previous University that the members of the audience had more knowledge to share than a particular "consultant" presenter, I was challenged to put together a panel of (Y)EO members who could share their war stories and the lessons they learned from them. I was inspired by Verne Harnish's "Night of the Living Dead". At the Chicago University I moderated the first ever "Lessons from the Edge" session. I told my personal story and pursuaded 3 other members to share their stories as well. Because we told the truth about our struggles in business, it hit a chord with the audience and was the highest rates event at the Chicago University. Over the years I have moderated many "Lessons from the Edge" sessions, each one more powerful than the previous event. There would be tears from the presenter and the audience as a member would share his or her worst experience in business and the lesson learned from it. Other people have moderate the LFE sessions when I was not in attendance at the University.

5. Toronto University

Sean Magennis and I co-chaired the Toronto University in 1998. Without being immodest, it was the best university ever held by (Y)EO. Enough said.

6. Lessons from the Edge (Part 2)

After aging out at 40 in 1998 I was invited to be part of the (Y)EO advisory board of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. At my first meeting, an incredible event in Sedona Arizona, the advisors were told that the Foundation was planning a Kauffman series of books on entrepreneurship. It was to be a 5 book series, of which the first 2 books were already in the works. The advisors were then asked for ideas for other books to be part of the series. I told them about the success of the "Lessons from the Edge" sessions at the (Y)EO Universities and that we should do a book with the stories of (Y)EO members and their experiences from the edge. It was decided that I would spearhead the project. From there I was paired up with my co-author Jana Matthews, who was on the Kauffman Foundation staff. Through the Kauffman relationship we were able to get Oxford University Press to publish the book. I used the yeonet to solicit stories from members to be published in the book. Oxford was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get volunteers who would be prepared to tell their stories with attribution (ie. with their names attached). I assured them that given the (Y)EO culture of peer to peer learning we would have no trouble getting the 50 stories we needed. After sending out a request for volunteers, I received over 250 replies from members willing to sharet their stories. The book was published in 2003. So far we have sold almost 10,000 copies. I have done my "Lessons from the Edge" event for most North American chapters. In spring 2004, I traveled to Kathmandu, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to do "Lessons from the Edge" events for the chapter in these cities. I was told that (Y)EO's Asian members would be culturally different and as such they would be reluctant to share their own stories. At the first event in Kathmandu I had no trouble getting a volunteer to share an amazing story and the lesson that he learned from it. It helped me understand that entrepreneurs are the same the world over.

(Y)EO has been an important part of my life. It has been my business education (along with attending the "school of hard knocks". My closest friends came into my life through (Y)EO. I aged out at 40 nine years ago. I was a member of WEO while it existed and I am still a committed member of EO as I push 50 next spring.

Jeff Dennis