(Seguin) — The Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce is reaching out to young business leaders in an attempt to get them more involved in the community. The chamber’s new Young Professionals group has been meeting for a couple months now.
Chelsea Roberts is one of the local young professionals that helped to organize the group. She says, so far, they have gotten off to a great start.
“Our vision is to connect and engage career oriented individuals through professional development (and) to help Seguin grow and prosper. We just thought that there was a need in Seguin for young professionals to get together to network and to grow professionally,” said Roberts.
Chamber Membership and Events Manager Georgia Hester also has been a big part of starting the group. Hester says the group is growing and they hope that more young professionals will step forward and be part of this new organization.
“The Young Professionals group has really just kicked off. We are moving forward every time we meet. We meet monthly — every third Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. at the chamber office. If you’re interested and even if you’re not a member with the chamber, come out and check out Young Professionals. It’s just a great way to get involved and figure out what the chamber does. I think that’s part of the point — to get this next generation involved in not just the community, but also with the chamber and let them know what we do in the community,” said Hester.
Hester says Young Professionals has a dynamic group of young people who eager to become a bigger part of this community.
“We kick off with an educational and a professional development piece for the first ten to 15 minutes. They want to do a lot of give back to the community, so we have several things planned. One of those is that we will be wrapping presents for Blue Santa in December, and we want to help with the (KWED) Food & Toy Drive. We are really excited about collecting things, and just really give back to the community, and (also) getting some neat events going on,” said Hester.
These young professionals are growing and meeting new challenges in their chosen profession. Hester says her generation really wants to feel like the work that they do matters. She says that’s one of the reasons why this group is so important.
“It’s really neat to see, because as we’ve been meeting, I noticed that, that is their main topic of conversation. ‘What can we do to give back’ and ‘what can we do to help.’ It’s fun to be a part of, and I think it’s going to be beneficial to the young professionals here in our community, said Hester.
Joining the chamber’s Young Professionals is easy. Hester says you don’t need a full chamber membership to join.
“If you are part of a company that’s already a member with the chamber, you can participate. There’s no additional fee or anything like that. But what’s kind of cool about this group is that we’ve also opened it up to those who might not already be involved with the chamber. If you are looking to get involved, you can still be involved in Young Professionals. A $50 annual fee is how we are doing it right now. It gives you an opportunity to still get the networking and connect to young professionals here in Seguin,” said Hester.
In case you are wondering, Hester says they have defined what the “young” in Young Professionals actually means. She says they have a age limit in mind, but really they don’t want to discourage anyone from becoming a part of this new group.
“The age that it usually targets is between 21 and 40. We, by no means at the chamber, ever want to draw a line and say ‘hey, you can’t come to this.’ We are not like that. I don’t think Seguin is like that. We have people that are over 40, who are already part of this, and wanted, enthusiastically, to be a part of this, since the very start of it. That is where we are bringing in a mentorship program to help these young professionals make the connections that they need to make and learn from them. Whether it’s resume building or end-reviews — just things with professional decisions that they haven’t navigated yet, but someone who’s a little bit older has experienced and can give that advice, and help them along the way,” said Hester.
Chamber President Kendy Gravett says the Young Professionsals fits in nicely with the chamber’s overall mission, and she’s thrilled to see this group come together.
“Part of our strategic goals, for the next few years, is to be inclusive of all types of chamber members. So we wanted to have programs that fit each sector, and this is a sector that was missing. We are really excited…(they) decided to step up to the plate, and put this Young Professionals group together. I’m really excited about it. They are doing a fabulous job,” said Gravett.
The Seguin Young Professionals group is meeting again this week. The group is hosting a “Meet Up” for a pub crawl in downtown Seguin. The pub crawl is part of the Pecan Fest/Heritage Days activities this coming weekend. The pub crawl will run from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, and those who plan to participate are encouraged to meet up at 6:30 p.m. in Central Park. Those who need more information about the Young Professionals, can call the chamber office at 830-379-6382 or go online to seguinchamber.com.