Milwaukee chapter has already attracted ‘incredible’ participation
An organization for young professionals that has attracted more than 700 members in the Milwaukee area is being similarly launched in Racine, where organizers were hoping to attract more than 100 people to a March 7 mixer to introduce the group.
The Young Professionals of Racine (YPR) will then hold its kick-off breakfast on April 11, said Giselle Schmitz, co-chairman of YPR.
Schmitz, a December 2000 graduate of UW-Madison, learned of the relatively new Milwaukee group from her father. "I had just graduated and was going through that transition from college friends to professional friends," recalls Schmitz, who studied international relations and German literature at Madison.
As an account representative selling phone services for TDS Metrocom, she realized that meeting people would be necessary for her livelihood. (She’s currently the youngest member of the Downtown Rotary.) But she also saw much more in the Young Professionals.
She attended two events of Young Professionals of Milwaukee, and knew it was something that Racine needed, too, and not only as a networking activity. "I don’t see this as just being a networking opportunity," she says. "Rather, it’s another one of the elements of what Racine needs to move forward."
She wasn’t alone in that idea. As she was approaching Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce for support of a Young Professionals group, another group of people had approached RAMAC for a similar effort. The two groups united in their drive to create YPR, with RAMAC providing support and financial underwriting for the March 7 event. The Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation at the Racine County Economic Development Corp. is also supporting the new group, and companies that are affording their employees the time to coordinate the activities are also seen as supporters, says Mike Morse, a commercial banking officer with Johnson Bank in Racine, and also a UW-Madison graduate.
Morse is co-chairing the Racine effort with Schmitz. While he was born elsewhere, he now lives in Racine and considers it his home, and notes that his family has a history in the community.
Like Schmitz, Morse wants to help ensure that Racine is seen as an attractive place for young professionals to live and work, with many professional opportunities beyond the well-known and widespread organization he works for.
"We’d like to help create a situation here so that people want to come back to Racine or to locate here," Morse said.
Morse says the social networking opportunities will be the main emphasis of the Racine group at the onset, but that the group will then move on to civic activity.
The Milwaukee group is also affiliated with a chamber, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. And it has been successful beyond the original hopes.
"It’s been incredible," says Shelley Jurewicz of the MMAC. "Within seven months of its founding, we have more than 700 members, and we’re seeing a 30% increase from event to event."
The Milwaukee group’s next event is March 19, when it hosts "Café CEO" at the Mackie Building on Michigan Street. It will feature a "knowledge network café" with local CEOs.
Members of Young Professionals of Milwaukee are generally in their mid-30s or younger and share a love for their community, Jurewicz says.
"They want to get connected to each other and to the community; they have a true love of this area," she says. "The group really legitimizes the voice of this demographic. And they have a lot of ideas for the Milwaukee area."
Those ideas are being compiled as the Milwaukee group continues its strategic planning.
"These are a lot more than cool events," Jurewicz says of the group’s gatherings. "These people want to get more involved in the community."
While some of the original attention on the group focused on people in technology-oriented employment, the Milwaukee group is far more diverse in its career fields, Jurewitz says. It’s culturally diverse, too, she notes. "The group is a true representation of Milwaukee area young professionals."
Morse says the Racine Group isn’t setting strict parameters on the age of its participants. But he notes "a distinct group that is sub-40, that ranges down to 20" as a demographic that would be attracted to Young Professionals of Racine.
The Racine group has Rebecca Ryan as the keynote speaker for its April 11 breakfast. Ryan, of Next Generation Consulting in Jackson in Washington County has made a career out of consulting and speaking on young professionals – how they fit in to the workplace and how employers can take advantage of their talents and interests. The breakfast event will run from 7:30-9 a.m. at the Racine Marriott on Washington Avenue.
On the Web
Young Professionals of Racine: www.ypracine.com
Young Professionals of Milwaukee http://ypm.mmac.org
Next Generation Consulting: www.keepyoungtalent.com
March 15, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
