Here’s to 2021 and beyond!

The Newberry County Young Professionals are here to stay. While 2020 was a year for us to make and remake plans, only to come up with Plans C, D, and E, the organization has proved its resilience as the first board member rolls off due to term limits.

Leading up to January 2016, the NYP board implemented its first-ever bylaws effective in that New Year. Before that point, our original board members had been volunteering to help the group get organized. We hosted events to help find more people between the ages of 21 and 40 who lived or worked in Newberry County and set a tone for who we are as an association. In 2016, through our Bylaws, we put down roots to be recognized officially as a program of the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce, to organize how we would meet and how often, and to make sure that we were providing a benefit and lasting impact for our members.

In that time since, members of the Newberry County Young Professionals have purchased homes, have started businesses, have joined employment with other NYP members and have volunteered to make an impact in this community that we love. During this time of year, we think of the significance of the last year.

2020 is certainly not insignificant, but at the end of this year we think back on our organization’s first four years of existence. We reflect on getting caught in a surprise rainstorm under a 10 x 10 tent at the Johnson Farm. We reflect on a year when in-person events weren’t worth the risk. We reflect on a year where we again mobilize the community to meet the needs of children through our H.U.G.S. Drive, and we reflect on how NYP leadership has grown and changed. The Newberry County Young Professionals have made it through 2020 and in 2021 the Newberry County Young Professionals will continue to meet community needs and build connections between young professionals here.

As the first board member to leave the board because of term limits, I cannot overstate how much this organization has meant to me and to my young family. And, I also cannot overstate how strong the board that I am leaving is. We have three members that are returning to the board after being part of the original few that held those original meetings almost five years ago, and we have new leaders whose commitment to Newberry County has already proven to be unrivaled. As the challenge of 2020 turns into the promise of 2021, NYP is strong.

The Newberry County Young Professionals began in a moment where young people seemed rare. No one knew each other or knew how to find others that were in the same stage of life. Now at the end of 2020, the Newberry County Young Professionals, the Newberry County Jaycees, and the Champions represent three distinct ways for young professionals to find each other and to find ways to make Newberry County a better place. There is now an ecosystem of young people who decide every day that Newberry County is home and contribute to business, arts, causes, congregations, and more.

The community has taken notice, and young professionals are being welcomed and acknowledged in a way that is real and meaningful. The young professionals feel it, and we hope to nurture it as Newberry County Continues to grow into a better and better place to live, work, and play as young professionals.

Here’s to 2021 and beyond!