They’re Young, They’re Restless, They’re Connected

Posted Mar 5, 2007 by Vidisha Priyanka

Updated Mar 5, 2007 at 05:39 PM

By DAVE SIMANOFF The Tampa Tribune

For Monica Williams Conley, it all started with happy hour.

The Tampa lawyer and five close friends, disappointed with a dearth of social and professional networking opportunities for young blacks, decided a year ago to start meeting for drinks after work.

They invited some friends and colleagues. Those people invited their friends and colleagues. Things took off, and the founders started hosting additional events, such as monthly dinners. Before long, a new young professionals organization was born: the 6 Footahs.

“It was good to know that there are other people who are of the same mind and have the same ambitions as you,” said Williams Conley, who is 32.

The 6 Footahs, which got its name after someone pointed out that all of the founding women are exceptionally tall, is one of many organizations that have cropped up across the Tampa Bay area focused on bringing young professionals together to exchange ideas and business cards.

These organizations vary in size and focus. Emerge Tampa, for example, boasts nearly 600 paid members and is a program of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Zodiac Group are committed to raising money for and awareness of the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. The Young Professionals for International Cooperation, part of the local chapter of the United Nations Association, discusses global issues and is raising money for a new school in Namibia.

Many members say networking is the primary goal of joining a young professionals organization.

“This is a way for people who are young professionals to be among people their own age,” said Robin Adkins, the 28-year-old chief executive officer of Relations PR & Marketing in Tampa.

Adkins is a member of Ad 2 Tampa Bay, which is affiliated with the local chapter of the Advertising Federation. She also belongs to a handful of other organizations for businesspeople of all ages, such as the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce. She said she wants to forge business relationships that will help her company grow, and to learn from others’ experience.

Mark Colvenbach, the 31-year-old co-chairman of Emerge Tampa, said organizations such as his help young professionals feel more invested in the community.

“It’s a good way to get involved and engaged - and it provides a comfortable environment to speak to peers of your own age,” he said. Many Emerge Tampa members are people who have moved to the area from somewhere else, and they’re looking to meet people.

Vinny Tafuro, president of Ad 2 Tampa Bay, said young professionals organizations provide leadership opportunities for people who might not feel ready to volunteer for posts in groups with much more experienced members. These organizations also open doors for members and provide access to industry leaders.

“On a professional level, this has put me in a position that I haven’t had previously,” he said. “It’s given me exposure to different people in the community, different people in business, and provided a lot of professional development opportunities.”

Eric Sturm, author of Access Tampa Bay and editor of the Weekly Options Tampa Bay e-mail newsletter, isn’t surprised to see young professionals seeking one another out through networking and social groups.

Young professionals don’t want to join organizations and feel as if they’re “sitting at the kiddie table in the corner,” said Sturm, 36.

The emergence of young professionals organizations is a good sign for the local economy because it keeps valuable workers engaged in the local community, he said.

“It helps develop very useful, talented, energetic and ambitious workers,” he said.

Sturm said he keeps young professionals in mind when he compiles Weekly Options. The newsletter, with some 2,000 subscribers, lists upcoming events, concerts, festivals, art showings and networking meetings in the area.

“One of the big things I’ve always hated is people griping there’s nothing to do,” he said.

Edward McGoldrick, general manager of Today’s Financial in Tampa, said his staff relies on Weekly Options to discover new young professionals organizations and attend their meetings. Today’s Financial is a placement firm that helps companies find financial and accounting employees.

McGoldrick said his firm recently met a job candidate at a networking event and helped him find a new job. The cover charge for the event was $10. Today’s Financial’s fee for the placement was $16,000.

“Young professionals make up a third of our business,” he said. Weekly Options “really helps us get in front of our candidates, and, hopefully, we’re going to be able to help them, they’re going to be able to help us.”

For Williams Conley, one of the founders of the 6 Footahs, the reward of being part of a young professionals organization isn’t measured in dollars and cents. It’s measured in the long-term relationships and friendships that members are building with each other.

Meeting professionals outside of the work environment, “you tend to really get to know the people,” she said. “A lot of people don’t necessarily like to talk about business.”

FIND A GROUP
With new organizations emerging all the time, it’s all but impossible to compile a complete list of groups for young professionals. Here are some of the biggest, newest or most notable organizations:
Ad 2 Tampa Bay: Affiliated with the local chapter of the Advertising Federation - ad2tampabay.org

Avant Garde: Supports the Tampa Museum of Art - tampa-avantgarde.org

Balcony Club: Supports the Tampa Theatre - tampatheatre.org/BalconyClub.php

De Young and Restless: Newly founded; supports the Dunedin Fine Art Center - www.myspace.com/dfacyr

Emerge Tampa: Part of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce - emergetampa.com

Jaycees: The U.S. Junior Chamber is one of the oldest organizations for young professionals - tampajaycees.com and gulfcoastjaycees.org

The Producers Volunteer Group: Supports Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center - tinyurl.com/2fh3y2

The 6 Footahs: A network for young black professionals - 6footahs.com

Young Professionals for International Cooperation: Part of the local chapter of the United Nations Association - unatampabay.org

The Zodiac Group: Affiliated with the Salvador Dalí Museum - tinyurl.com/yr3lqq

Start A Group

YPCommons.org, an organization that provides support and guidance for young professionals organizations, has a start-up guide at ypcommons.org/start.

Keep In Touch

Looking for Eric Sturm’s Weekly Options Tampa Bay newsletter?

Go to tampaoptions.com to sign up for the newsletter or order Sturm’s book, Access Tampa Bay.