The Newtork

As an intern at VolunteerLEON in 2003, Amanda Phillips was tasked with creating a project to benefit the community.

Her idea: Bring a small group of volunteers together for a one-time Young Professionals Community Forum. After the event, a small group continued to gather and realized that there was an opportunity to create something new. And from that, the Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals was formed.

Starting out, their main goal was not to be labeled as a social club. “We wanted to be known as a meaningful contributor to the community and also offer benefits to the young professionals,” said

Melissa Hayes, the organization’s president.

The group’s survey has revealed that with Tallahassee’s reputation as a college town and the seat of government, a lot of young professionals might think the city has nothing to offer them. “There (are) so many things here that young professionals love about Tallahassee or could love about Tallahassee but they don’t know that they exist,” Hayes said, “so we’re just about opening doors and connecting those people to their interests.”

With that in mind, the Network’s goal is to make Tallahassee a place that young professionals want to live, work, play and stay. A fee-based membership, modeled after other young professional organizations, has been recently started. The Network is trying to make the membership – which costs $25 per year – more attractive by working with local businesses to offer discounts and provide more member-specific information, like job boards. The group now has 130 paid members attracting new people primarily through word-of-mouth.

Every year, the Network sends out an e-mail survey to gauge the public’s opinion about the young professionals community. Once the data is collected, they hold a forum where community leaders and young professionals can get together and discuss those issues.

They have ongoing professional development workshops in subjects such as home buying, finance or investing, as well as social events. Signature events include a “535 Happy Hour” the first Wednesday of every month; “Deck the Halls,” an annual holiday social and art sale; and a scavenger hunt that introduces local attractions to teams of young professionals.

“If we can identify a new professional or a young professional … outside the college scene we can plug them into where they can go to eat, fun things to do, where they can meet friends, then they’re more likely to stay than someone who’s just sort of wandering around with no help or no guidance, Hayes said.”

Visit their Web site, networkyp.org, to learn more about the events, read the survey and get involved in Tallahassee. – Erica Bailey