Chamber assembles young professionals organization

The chamber will kick off The Network on June 7 at Hammons Field, where Jim Anderson, president of the chamber, and Kirk Elmquist, vice president of marketing for the Springfield Cardinals, will welcome those in attendance.

The Network will cater to individuals ages 21 to 40 who are interested in networking, community involvement and learning more about what Springfield has to offer, said Kristen Westerman, the chamber’s manager of work force and business development.

Interest in a local networking group for young professionals ramped up in January when the chamber formed a steering committee. Within a few months, the committee had conceived The Network and planned many of the group’s monthly events.

For its inaugural year, The Network has lined up monthly events that include a question-and-answer session with a prominent local business leader, an arts and culture night, and a tour of downtown’s Jordan Valley Park, Westerman said.

“What we’re trying to do through the network is to create opportunities for young professionals to get involved and engaged in the community and in the chamber,” she said. “And the theory is that, if that happens, then they will stay here in Springfield.”

A national trend

Westerman said chamber-sponsored networking groups are catching on throughout the country. It’s a trend the chamber’s Anderson heard about at a summer conference, where Wisconsin-based speaker Rebecca Ryan of Next Generation Consulting Inc. talked about the evolution of Milwaukee’s young professionals group.

Started in 2001, Young Professionals of Milwaukee quickly became a “national model” for other chambers and civic groups, said Katie Peschel, managing director of what is now known as Fuel Milwaukee. The organization – affiliated with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce – has passed on traditional professional development for a new-generation approach to community involvement.

Under its new brand, Peschel said, the group is formulating a strategy to attract and retain talented young professionals. The No. 1 barrier is overcoming preconceived notions about Milwaukee, she added.

Fuel Milwaukee hosts two events each month. One is social in nature, and the other is more content-driven and often showcases Milwaukee’s assets, Peschel said.

“We have had events at buildings and facilities that have just opened in the region; we get access to unique people,” she said. “That idea of access and feeling part of your community is core to being able to change that perception.”

Fuel Milwaukee also has a Service Circuit, an annual event in which 12 nonprofit agencies solicit 150 of the group’s most active members for assistance with major projects. The group is also developing a Web-based networking software for its 4,500 members, Peschel said.

“We haven’t had any problem keeping people involved,” she said.

Westerman hopes The Network will receive a warm reception when it kicks off next month.

“This is definitely an organization we hope stays around for a long time.,” she said. “I think we’re going to get some great participation.”

In its second year, The Network may reduce the frequency of its events to every other month, depending on the level of interest, said Jason Garner, a commercial lender at UMB Bank who served on the group’s steering committee.

“We don’t want it to be overly time-consuming,” he said, encouraging young adults to at least consider joining The Network. “Give it a shot. You don’t have to go to every event.”

The Network is available to chamber members and their employees as well as college students who are at least 21, Westerman said. A standard one-year membership is $100 and $50 for students.

Tickets for the kickoff are $15, which includes admission and food. To register for the June 7 event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on the J. Buck’s Patio at Hammons Field, visit www.springfieldchamber.com or call (417) 862-5567.[[In-content Ad]]