The concept of a young professional group in Richland County started as simply an informational brochure and an idea to bring together the area’s young, working professionals. Now, just a short year later, Richland Young Professionals has blossomed into one of the county’s most active groups set out to connect and promote the up and coming generation.
Jessica Gribben, vice president for Richland Young Professionals (RYP), said the group was first the brainchild of Richland County Development Group Executive Director Bridget McDaniel. She took her idea to Richland Bank President John Brown, who then brought the idea to his team of young professionals with one goal: make sure it doesn’t fail.
“There had been several groups that had started and kind of fizzled out, so we looked at that and said, ‘Where did they go wrong?’” said Gribben. “It was important to us that this be sustainable, that we put a structure in place that it would go on, that we would have an event each month and know what to expect, and people would come to realize RYP is going to stay around.”
After pulling strategies from other young professional groups around the country and reaching out to interested members of the community, an RYP board and various committees were formed. The group held its first event at The Happy Grape in Lexington this past January.
“The biggest thing at first we realized was we need to connect, so the first couple events we had were almost purely social,” said Gribben. “We put people together in a fun environment around the county so that they would naturally start to network.”
After the first few social events, Gribben explained RYP surveyed its members to ask what they would like from the group. Many expressed a wish for more professional development activities, which is one thing RYP members can look forward to in its second year of operation.
“We will have more lunch and learn series this year. Those have been really well attended and really well received so we’re building on that,” said Gribben. “We’re also kicking off a mentorship program next year which we’re really excited about, pairing young professionals with some of our business leaders in the community for a six-month mentoring program.”
Other goals RYP hopes to achieve in the next year include launching a functional, appealing website for itself and growing in membership. Gribben stated the group consistently works towards their mission statement of, “Connect, Collaborate, and Thrive,” with the goal of retaining young professionals in Richland County.
“Any time you’re connecting and making friends and doing things socially you’re going to be more connected to this community,” she said. “A lot of people have this impression that we have this brain drain issue and people are leaving, but they don’t realize there are people coming here for work, too. We’re all about connecting those people and giving them a sense of community so that they want to stay here.”
“We will have more lunch and learn series this year. Those have been really well attended and really well received so we’re building on that,” said Jessica Gribben, vice president of the Richland Young Professionals. “We’re also kicking off a mentorship program next year which we’re really excited about, pairing young professionals with some of our business leaders in the community for a six-month mentoring program.”
