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Young Professionals Groups — quick facts
February 20th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
Here are a few quick topics on young professionals groups that you may be interested in:
North Dakota formed a statewide initiative to connect Young Professionals Groups. I wonder how their efforts have paid off?
People have developed a lot of creative names for their groups, but the one I like the best is Bowman Young Energetic People. I think this is a great name because it suggests that anyone can belong (i.e. you don’t have to be a “professional”) and that members are energetic — no coach potatoes allowed. (The only online source of information I found on this group was with the YP North Dakota Network.)
The Iowa legislature created the Generation Iowa Commission to “advise and assist in the retention and attraction of young adults to Iowa.” They published their research in an on-line pdf that’s worth checking out. Besides having an interactive website, the commission is made of young people (all under age 35).
If your community is considering the formation of a young professionals group, I’d recommend you check out YP Commons. In a way they are a virtual young professionals organization. They offer some networking opportunities and advice on group formation.
Tags: Bowman ND, Generation Iowa, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, young professionals group
Posted in Community Development, Gen Y, Leadership, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (
3 )
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
I’m the coordinator of the North Dakota Young Professionals network.
Our efforts have paid off well since we began in June 2006. We began with 4 YP networks – all in urban areas. Since that time we have expanded to 8 active networks and 1200 total YPs.
Contact us if you are a North Dakota resident interested in learning more about YP. We have a rural outreach team, along with resources to help new networks get started!
-Catherine Dalzell
info@ndyp.net
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:07 am
Catherine,
You’re efforts have been impressive! Any tips for smaller, rural communities who are thinking about YP networks?
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
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. Our group is very diverse and includes people from all walks of life; business people, stay at home moms, oil field workers, ranchers, etc. 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.
Now can I say that we’ve completely fixed that problem? No, not yet. We want new people to mix and mingle and make some new friends. We want to avoid the old high school cliques as much as possible (be a neutral orgainization). After being involved in our group, we want members to feel like they have some new friends, know more about our community and have made some networking connections with people close to their age.
If you would like more information on Bowman, North Dakota or YEP, you can visit bowmannd.com, or call 701-523-5880.