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Young Energetic People have got it going on
February 27th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
Our posts about Young Professional networks (here and here) caught the attention of a few of our North Dakota friends. I wanted to highlight some of the comments left by Ashley Anderson who helped start the “Young Energetic People” network in Bowman, ND (population 1600).
Ashley wrote:
I’m glad you’ve noticed YEP, Bowman County! We have about 53 members, but you could get started with as few as 10 people in my opinion. We started our group last May with a big kick-off party….. Like with any YP group, getting it up and going-and getting people to always attend is the challenge.
We thought YEP was needed in Bowman County because we are a growing community-unlike some small towns. We have a lot of young families and singles moving in because of our thriving economy and oil production. We wanted these younger people to feel connected to Bowman and want to stay. All too often, a young teacher might move to town, not meet anyone outside of school, and leave after a year. We didn’t want that to happen…. (emphasis mine)
Since I believe all organizations have a lot to learn when it comes to engaging Gen Y, I asked Ashley to provide some feedback on what they are doing in Bowman to encourage participation. Here’s how she responded to the question:
We use a lot of email connection and postcards for bigger events. I think Gen Y, X and Millennial generations are very busy. Most have children and are involved with several organizations already. When we have an event, we need to plan and get the word out far in advance and focus on how the event will benefit them and not just waste their time. Planning around basketball and football games and other community events is crucial. The other thing we’ve noticed is that in the summertime, it’s hard to get people together. It’s easier in the winter, just because choices are limited due to the weather.
The approach of YP groups like Bowman’s Young Energetic People network is interesting. In many ways they put social interaction at the front of their efforts to engage young people. That seems to be a wise decision - especially with Gen Y - because studies show us that young people are very social creatures. My guess is that over time, the participants in Bowman’s Young Energetic People will develop the emotional attachment to the community that causes them to want to lead these other more traditional community development activities.
Ashley also makes a good point when she says they try to “focus on how the event will benefit them and not waste their time.” I’d be interested in learning more about how this works, but people are busy and can’t be involved in everything. So, they will naturally gravitate to events and groups that offer some benefit to them as individuals. I think they key is showing people how activities that benefit the community also benefit the individual.
There’s a lot more to talk about in what Ashley has to say. I had wanted to write more about her last comment regarding young teachers only staying a few years because I can relate to it. I came to Howard as a teacher and didn’t connect until I became involvedd in our community development efforts. Hopefully I’ll dedicate an entire post to that subject later on. So I hope anyone with some thoughts on the subject will share them with everyone.
I’ll end this post with a few questions. Many rural communities the same size as Bowman feel they are too small to successfully create groups like this. Bowman only has 1500 residents, and they are successful. But are they an anomaly? Or can YP groups - or other community groups - successfully engage our younger generations?
Note: (image courtesy of Bowman, ND community websites)
Tags: Bowman ND, Gen Y, millennials, North Dakota, young professionals group
Posted in Community Development, Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (
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February 28th, 2009 at 7:01 am
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