By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce is holding a series of events to bring young professionals together to connect and interact.
The Young Professionals program kicked off earlier this year with networking events, bringing together young professionals between the ages of 20 and 40.
Mary Kate Masters with the Chamber says the aim of the program is a sort of retention tool for St. Joseph
“To really get the young professionals in and keep them, help them grow, maybe meet new connections,’ Masters says on the KFEQmunnity show. “Some of the big corporations you go to work, go home, go to bed, go to work, go home, so this is kind of a way for them to kind of reach out and maybe meet friends, or just be able to make different professional connections as well, or even mentorships.”
Masters says finding that commonality can help people realize they aren’t alone
“When I moved to St. Joe I was in a different career, in a different office, and all of them were different ages, had kiddos or grand kiddos, so I was kind of the only one coming home and not really making many connections here in town, which made me kind of want to leave or go towards places where I had friends at,” Masters explains. “So, this would have been great for me to have, just to meet new people and find myself a community here in St. Joe.
Masters says it’s important to keep young professionals in St. Joseph
“Making sure that if someone gets a career here when they’re younger that they want to continue and raise their children here, have their families here, buy a house here, and not just kind of a stepping stone in a direction of somewhere else,” Masters says. “We want to nurture those professionals and have them continue to be great in our community too.”
A luncheon will be held on November 19th at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center on the topic of confidence, connection and career growth for young professionals.
The cost is $20. You can register on the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce’s website.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.