Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber Awards the 3rd Annual Young Professional of the Year Award

PJ Horan and Daniel Cochran
PHOTO | John Keith

The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber (GGCC) awarded PJ Horan, Senior Partner at Mass Mutual Greater Washington, as the recipient of the 3rd Annual Young Professional of the Year Award (YPG) at their Annual Celebration Dinner & Awards Ceremony. The award was presented by Daniel Cochran of Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, the sponsor of this year’s Young Professional of the Year award.

“PJ Horan is an exceptional businessman. Not only has he thrived in his professional life, he also understands how important it is to serve his community,” said Marilyn Balcombe, GGCC President / CEO.

The Young Professional of the Year Award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of a highly motivated, emerging leader of the Chamber’s Young Professional’s group.

Horan started with MassMutual directly out of college in 2007 as a Financial Associate. He was very diligent in building his practice while also expanding  and improving his professional skills. He slowly and carefully built a client base as he studied and learned from his Senior Partner. He is both FINRA security registered and an Investment Advisor certified with the SEC to help his clients by expanding his suite of products and services.

As the firm transitioned leadership in 2012, Horan took a role as a Managing Associate to help with recruiting and training the next generation of Associates. In 2014, he became a Senior Partner of the firm with the opportunity to establish his own individual team of associates. Along with studying for the CFP, he currently has 14 Financial Associates on his team, and hopes to have 18, with 2 Managing Associates of his own, by the end of 2016.

Horan is also very active in the community by donating Thanksgiving dinners to his local church every year, and organizing food drives each November to stock local food banks. He is a Varsity Basketball Coach at Poolesville High School and as a coach for his youngest son’s T-Ball team. He is also involved with a nonprofit that conducts workshops at local schools on effective ways to apply and pay for college. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus in Bethesda. And he is the founder and director of a Memorial Fund for his late father, who passed away from lung cancer. He, along with family and friends, work every year to raise money for cancer research at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In the 15 months since the charity was founded, they have raised over $15,000.

Horan is an active member of the Chamber’s Young Professional Group & serves on the planning committee.

The GGCC’s Young Professionals 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. 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. Learn more about the program at: www.ggchamber.org/get-involved/young-professionals.

The GGCC is active in providing business-to-business networking opportunities throughout the year: a collective voice in local, regional, and state legislative affairs, professional development opportunities and other services that enhance the business environment.

The GGCC is located at 910 Clopper Road, Suite 205N, Gaithersburg, MD. To learn more about the GGCC visit us at www.ggchamber.org. Find us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gaithersburg-Germantown-Chamber-of-Commerce/64339954570. And on Twitter at @GGCCNEWS.

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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