A Little Bit About the GGCC’s Group – The Young Professionals

GGCC Executive Director Marilyn Balcombe with GGCC Young Professional Co-Chairs Brittany Hilton and Gary Aughinbaugh

“I remember the feeling of being extremely overwhelmed when I went to my first Gaithersburg Germantown Chamber networking event as a new professional right out of college. I knew that there had to be a way to make this experience not so intimidating to a young professional,” said Brittany Hilton, Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union Marketing Specialist and Co-Chair of the GGCC’s YPG.

“When the idea came around to develop the Young Professionals Group (YPG), I recognized that it was going to be something special and something I wanted to become extremely involved with,” Hilton continued.

And then the Young Professionals program was born. Our Young Professionals Group is packed with lots of enthusiasm and high aspirations. The group hopes chamber members can network with each other on both a business level and social level. The group provides interactive events with other young professionals to leverage shared learning and development opportunities for our members.

“Starting out with a small core group, we put in many hours brainstorming and developing what we envisioned the program and events to look like.  From happy hours to lunch and learns to a community events, the YPG has taken on many challenges.  As the group has grown over the past year and a half we have watched the events become more popular, business relationships grow, referrals being passed and individuals growing professionally, “ Hilton said. “It’s exciting to know that all of our planning and hard work is paying off in the professional and possibly personal lives of others just like us.  I am extremely excited to see how the group continues to grow and change over the next several years.  The YPG is headed in a very positive direction and I know it is going to make a huge impact on individual’s lives.”

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.

By connecting diverse young professionals across the area, we create a force that will both strengthen and grow the Gaithersburg & Germantown areas as we attract even more young professionals to live, work, play and stay in the Upcounty.

More young professionals mean a stronger voice, a stronger community, and stronger opportunities for our region. If you’re looking for an opportunity to enhance your career through social, philanthropic and educational activities then YPG is right for you.

The next YPG Happy Hour will be on Tuesday, December 10^th at 4:30pm. For further details and/or to register, visit: http://www.ggchamber.org/events/.

The Chamber is pleased to announce that this year it will recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of a highly motivated, emerging leader of the Chamber’s Young Professional’s group when we award our first Young Professional of the Year on December 5^th as a part of our Annual Celebration Dinner and Awards Ceremony.  

Find out how you can become a member of this business savvy, young professional network! For more information on YPG, contact Laura Rowles, Director of Events & Marketing, at 301-840-1400 x14 – or email lrowles@ggchamber.org or visit http://www.ggchamber.org/get-involved/young-professionals/.

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.

View all posts by Laura Rowles