A view to the new: Young pros meetings offer experts, connections, advice

By Mary Owen

The newest Santiam Canyon hashtag?

#nsyoungpros.

The group of under-40 professionals, from bank managers to race car drivers, nonprofit directors to local entrepreneurs, meet at 8-9:45 a.m. on the third Thursday of the month at Trexler Farms in Stayton.

“#nsyoungpros has created a platform for me to be able to connect with young professionals in a way that would otherwise not be possible,” said Chad Seegmiller, small business relationship manager at U.S. Bank. “I always feel like the meetings are a good use of my time because each meeting has a different topic taught by someone who is an expert in the field.”

At the last Young Pro meeting, Nicole Miller of Words Out PR shared social media positioning tactics that helped Seegmiller find the outlets that would most assist his personal branding, he said.

“We have had so many valuable topics on how to perform in our day-to-day work lives,” Seegmiller said.

“Our very first meeting was on negotiation taught by our very own Allison McKenzie from GROW-EDC. This was incredibly helpful because she focused on different personality types and how to work with them.

“I am more of an extrovert and tend to want to focus more on the emotional side of things when presenting to prospects,” he added. “My challenge comes from meeting with more analytical types who focus more on facts and data. Through this training, I feel more comfortable presenting to analytical minds, understanding that they have a different way of seeing the world than I do, and that is OK.”

Kyle Freres with Freres Lumber looks forward to learning more from local business people who deal with their own challenges as well as networking to provide solutions to those challenges.

“The speakers at the meetings, both from within and outside the group, have been intelligent, thoughtful and provide insights into available opportunities,” Freres said.

In turn, McKenzie, executive director and entrepreneurial coach for GROW-EDC, describes the young pros as “lively, smart, successful, engaged in their communities and eager to make a difference.

“They are also funny, engaging, energetic and great fun to be around,” she said. “They are welcoming to newcomers and always curious about what people are up to, respectful of and engaged with the speakers, and enthusiastic about being there.”

Coordinated by GROW-EDC, Young Pros is open to young entrepreneurs, key employees or civic leaders who, McKenzie said, are “serious about their careers.” The group is open to anyone living or working in GROW’s territory, from Aumsville/Scio to Marion Forks.

“Many of the business owners throughout our region are ‘aging out,’” McKenzie said. “They are ready to retire, looking for people to buy their businesses and starting to feel ready to pass the baton to others who have a keen interest in their communities.

“The Young Pros, especially those we can describe as millennials, tend to be passionate about their communities, work hard for what they believe in and are generally collaborative,” she added. “Baby boomers have similar values and this was a perfect time to provide an opportunity to bring baby boomer speakers together with young professionals while the boomers are still in the work force and active in our communities.”

According to McKenzie, the group does business a little differently from their older counterparts.

“The most obvious difference is their use of social media to connect, find ideas and conduct business,” she said. “But they also tend to be more collaborative, ambitions about their careers while committed to building happy families, and eager to have a say in what happens in their communities.”

GROW’s goal is to bring both young and veteran business leaders together to discuss issues that are important to the business community, McKenzie said.

“It’s just as important for our older leaders to get to know and trust these young professionals as it is for these young people to learn from our more seasoned leaders,” she said.

The first five months drew 29 young professionals to the “come when you can” structure of meet-ups, with a different mix of participants at every meeting, McKenzie said.

“We consider this group to be very successful, especially as such a new group and expect it to continue to grow in participation as well as impact,” she said.

McKenzie always expects the young professionals to participate in discussions about GROW’s new programs designed to help raise the economic vibrancy of the region.

McKenzie announced GROW just got word that it is next on the list for an Economic Vitality Summit next spring.

“We are meeting with the Rural Development Initiatives in early November to begin the planning process for this region-wide discussion about economic development issues, opportunities and potential initiatives,” she said. “Some of the conversations will be a precursor to that summit.”

GROW-EDC is forming a planning team to get ready for the summit and has already planned community conversations to help inform the process, she said. Times will be announced in mid-November, she said.