GGCC Young Professionals Group Celebrates Two Years

Over 50 Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) Member & Guests gathered at Smokey Glen Farm last week to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Chamber’s Young Professionals Group (YPG). The Chamber’s YPG is packed with lots of enthusiasm and high aspirations from happy hours, to lunch and learns to committee meetings. The mission of the group is to make the Gaithersburg-Germantown communities and surrounding areas a great place to live and work by harnessing the strength of our communities to make positive change.

The YPG started May 2, 2012 and celebrated their two-year anniversary with a BBQ picnic, fun activities and a corn-hole tournament at Smokey Glen Farm.

Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber Young Professional Group Co-Chairs Michelle Day, Kaplan University, and Brittany Hilton, Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union, at the Young Professional’s Two-Year Anniversary Picnic Celebration at Smokey Glen.

Over the past year, the group has been focused on skill-building, information sharing, networking and growth. The last year was full of a variety of events. They learned: “Effective Networking” from Ron Dimaranan of M&T Bank and “Customer Service: How to Handle Different Situations & Be Successful at It” from Dawn Goldberg of Write Well University at their Lunch & Learns. The young professionals packed 192 boxes with non-perishable food items that were later distributed to Manna clients at their first ever YPG Community Service endeavor. And the group held several happy hours to strengthen their connections and improve their networking skills at various Chamber Member locations such as Buca di Beppo, the Melting Pot and Not Your Average Joe’s. And they held a joint mixer with the Frederick Chamber of Commerce’s Generation Connect at Worthington Manor. And here they are two years later and still going strong.

“I am so proud of our Young Professionals Group. It is a great group of people who understand the value of building solid business relationships. I’m particularly impress that they were the ones to conceive the idea and to provide the leadership necessary to grow and blossom”, said Marilyn Balcombe, GGCC Executive Director.

The YPG Title Sponsor is Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union (MAFCU). This event was sponsored by MAFCU & Bargain Movers.

The GGCC’s YPG program is a networking group of dedicated young professionals ranging in age from 21-40. Through the GGCC, young professionals can engage with other like-minded business professionals to further their career, strengthen their professional image or just meet new friends. Learn more about the group at: www.ggchamber.org/young.

About Laura Rowles

Laura authors the blog Your Success is Our Business on MyMCMedia. Laura is the Director of Events & Marketing for the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce - a member-based organization of businesses that have joined together for the purpose of promoting the civic, commercial and industrial progress in our communities. The area's economic well-being is a result of the caliber of work that is done by the Chamber. The Chamber has a major impact on business, income and future growth of the area. My position at the Chamber - Director of Events & Marketing - affords me the opportunity to plan quality events for our Members and market the Chamber is a variety of avenues. At the GGCC, we typically have around 30 events each year including: breakfasts, lunches, after-five's, ribbon cuttings and special events. The consensus is we have high quality events with good energy. In 2012, we had over 2,040 people visit our events. Most our events are free to Members so securing sponsorships for all events. Additionally, I am responsible for planning networking, overseeing the budget and marketing of all events in order to make them successful. Lastly, I coordinate all marketing and communication efforts of the GGCC including weekly email blasts, its quarterly newsletter, all social media platforms, media relations and community outreach.

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