NEWBERRY — The Newberry County Young Professionals has expanded its socials into a Leadership Happy Hour that will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 22 in Newberry.
Michelle Long with the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce said the event came out of training by Charles Weathers of the Weathers Group. He will lead a discussion on leadership.
The idea for starting the Young Professionals social group started in 2013 with the idea to get people in the same age range to meet and realize that there were quite a number of people within that age range within Newberry County.
“After that goal was met, there was a general feeling that we needed to be more of an organized group and have a plan going forward and a purpose besides just happy hour,” Long said.
From this idea, the Young Professional board of directors was created and currently has six members. Christy Lawrimore, member of the board, said they have been meeting every two weeks to plan. Long is the Chamber liaison for the group.
Lawrimore said the board includes people who said they were interested in planning and coming together with a group of people for future events.
Lawrimore said the happy hour will take place Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. downstairs at the Chamber of Commerce.
The happy hour will include appetizers and a cash bar, followed by the leadership portion upstairs in Community Hall.
“We hope that Charles can engage them into a leadership community training discussion,” Long said. “It’s a matter of getting folks talking in a certain direction and letting them know that they too can participate in the community and be active.”
Long said it would not be a workshop like some of the other discussions that Weathers has led, but truly would be a community discussion that will center around how people can get involved in the community.
Long said some good ideas were discussed at earlier socials.
“Each person said they didn’t think they could be the person to make it happen or be the catalyst for it,” Long said.
From those thoughts, Long said the idea for this event stemmed from a discussion geared toward a younger age range and how they could be a part of the community.
“We’ll hopefully get people talking about their ideas,” Lawrimore said.
Although a “young professional” is described as someone age 21-39ish, living or working in Newberry County, Long said they want people to feel included.
Long said all residents of communities within Newberry County are welcome to attend, even if they are older than the young professional age range.
“There’s not really an age-out process,” Long said.
For every event they put on, Lawrimore said they pick a charity. For Tuesday’s event, participants are asked to bring a charity item for Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands.
Donations needed are new (with tags) clothes for survivors of sexual assault to include packs of underwear, sports bras (all sizes), yoga or sweat pants with elastic waist bands, short sleeve plain shirts, clothing for men and children and flip flops. Gift cards to stores like Target and Walmart will also be accepted as well as writing journals for clients to use in therapy and toys for mindfulness exercises during a therapy session including play-doh and stress balls.
Lawrimore said she was hoping that the Young Professional gatherings would be something that would continue monthly and that people would come to expect.
“We need younger folks to step in now and be invested in where they live and work now so they stick around and bring others to the area,” Long said.
Upcoming events
Upcoming events for the Newberry County Young Professionals group include a Newberry College tailgate on October 24, Long said. There will be two tents set up, with a game kickoff time of 3 p.m. The charity for that event will be the Manna House and participants are asked to bring non-perishable food items.
The group is looking at a fall bonfire gathering in November and to do an angel tree for needy children in December.
Service projects have been discussed and workshops with topics such as financial literacy are slated to begin in 2016.
“The planning is still in the infant stage, but they are energetic and have great ideas,” Long said. “The ultimate goal is that they become involved and invested in Newberry County, thus attracting other young people to do the same.”
Tuesday’s event will be sponsored by Pope and Hudgens, Zimmerman and Shealy and the Newberry County Business Alliance. Long said they were always looking for sponsors to help with upcoming events.
Board members include Lawrimore, Jessica Beam, Jared Wicker, Buffy Summer, Robbie Kopp and Micah Decker.
“Young professionals’ events provide a place to help develop your career through trading ideas and making connections,” Wicker said. “The events give you a chance to be engaged with your community through local charities and other civic organizations.”
Wicker said just as importantly, the events connect you with friends both old and new with common interests and goals.
For more information, visit the Newberry County Young Professionals on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.