Daryl Bugner

Third Quarter 2012
story by ANNE BROCKHOFF
photos by STEVEN HERTZOG

This may be the era of social media, but Daryl Bugner makes friends the old-fashioned way—she gets involved.
The 27-year-old art director at Kern Marketing Group has volunteered with the Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade, Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, American Business Women’s Association, American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women, Lawrence Young Professionals Network, Trinity In-Home Care and Imagine Drop-In Childcare.

And that was just this year.

“It’s that idea that there’s something out there bigger than yourself,” Bugner says. “There’s so much to learn right around you.” Plus, it’s a great way to connect with new people. Bugner graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of fine arts degree in visual communications and graphics in 2007. She took a job with Sunflower Broadband in Lawrence and then watched as many of her college friends moved to other cities.

She liked that first job, but it wasn’t until joining KERN Group in 2008 and taking advantage of their commitment to the community, that she was able to volunteer some of her time to organizations that would benefit from her design experience. That is when she became aware of how many opportunities were available to young professionals like her.

Bugner was recently selected into the 2013 Leadership Lawrence class. “Once you really enjoy what you’re doing, all the other things fall into place,” Bugner says.

Her biggest challenge now is prioritizing interests and better managing volunteer hours to leave room for other activities, like spending time with her dog, Greta, going to the lake and participating in Red Dog’s Dog Days community workouts.

Bugner would also like to see more 20-somethings get involved with Lawrence’s many civic and service organizations. Her advice? Find something you’re passionate about, and then just join in.

“When you realize people really are listening to you, that’s the most empowering thing,” says Bugner. “And it’s important to always have fun with it. I do this because I enjoy it.”

(* In full disclosure, Daryl is the designer of this magazine, but we decided not to let it stop her from being a part of this issue as she is very involved and committed to this community.)