Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
After splashy beginnings, groups of young professionals in Northern Nevada are quietly becoming a growing part of the economic landscape.
And that's important for the future health of the region, economic developers say, as well-educated young people are highly sought by employers and are a driving force as well in the creation of new businesses.
"There is too much at stake for this not to succeed," says Gail Conkey, an executive of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. EDAWN took over day-to-day management of the Reno-Tahoe Young Professionals Network about a year ago.
The group, Conkey says, is part of EDAWN's mission to recruit and retain a talented workforce for the region.
"We work with a lot of entrepreneurial companies," she says. "This is the targeted workforce they're looking for."
At the same time, she says, EDAWN often hears from established companies in the region that want help in retention of their young professional workforce.
The goal of YPN: Help young professionals establish roots in the region so they're less likely to answer recruiting calls from elsewhere in the nation.
The network, open to professionals aged 21 to 31, these days numbers about 400 members " 60 of them new since the start of the year.
That's a fairly significant portion of the young professionals in the area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates workers aged 25-34 with college degrees number about 1,400 in the Reno-Sparks area.
In Carson City, a Young Business Professionals group includes more than 100 members. The Census Bureau estimates 860 well-educated young workers live in Carson City.
"We are doing well," says Megan Walsh, chair of the Carson City group. "We came in with a strong game plan, and we have succeeded."
Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce, said she got the idea for starting the group from a chamber conference.
"I listened to my counterparts talk about their young professionals groups and decided it was time to bring this concept to our city," Hannaman said. "We have many fine young up-and-coming professionals in our city that would prefer to network amongst themselves."
Both young professionals group focus on community involvement as a way to get their members rooted in the community.
"This demographic group likes to jump in and make a difference in the community," says Conkey.
The Carson City Young Business Professionals, for instance, have volunteered in a youth recreation program, says Walsh.
Last week, about 100 young professionals attended a lunch and visit with state lawmakers in an event organized by the Carson City group with invitations extended to young professionals in the Reno-Sparks area as well.
The Reno-Sparks YPN, meanwhile, administers The Pebble Project, in which young professionals are exposed to the work of community organizations on a quarterly basis and encouraged to join the effort.
Another new group for young professionals " a New Generations Rotary Club under organization in Reno " also focuses on community service. The New Generations group targets members in their 30s and 40s.
The Reno group, the second of its type undertaken in the nation, drew 10 potential members to an organizational meeting last week. It needs 20 members to be chartered, says organizer Ty Kirkpatrick.
The young professional groups in Reno and Carson City also pay attention to professional development " the Carson City group hosted a recent training session on effective networking, for instance " and provide some social events as well.
Balancing social events has proven to be challenging. The Reno-Tahoe Young Professionals Network attracted 700 to its coming-out party at a Reno nightclub in 2007, but then struggled to find a direction and a structure that worked.
Walsh says networking events for the Carson City Young Business are designed mostly to build business contacts between members.
With a stronger infrastructure in place, the Reno-Tahoe YPN is preparing a member recruitment drive this year and also is looking to increase is visibility in the community.
In Carson City, Walsh says the Young Business Professionals Group isn't focused on building membership numbers.
"I want to see an increase in quality members over quantity, to grow in strength rather than numbers," she has said.