Since the term Generation X became popularized, we've heard about the age group's tendency toward slackerdom. The popular media would have us believe they're an unmotivated, misguided bunch in a perpetual state of arrested development.
Mark Genito / The Citizen
Lydia Powers and Tim Fox of the IGNITE Steering Company, share a brochure with Eileen Lutz, center, of the Cayuga-Seneca Community Action Agency, after Wednesday's city and county candidate forum at the Holiday Inn.
Lydia Powers and Tim Fox of the IGNITE Steering Company, share a brochure with Eileen Lutz, center, of the Cayuga-Seneca Community Action Agency, after Wednesday's city and county candidate forum at the Holiday Inn.
Whoever took that as gospel truth never met the members of IGNITE.
Young professional groups in other cities often get a bad rap. They have been construed as glorified dating groups and simple social clubs, which is not entirely false. They are often seen as self-serving groups with cliquish tendencies.
When IGNITE formed a year ago, they knew they wanted to be different. And in the group's first year, they have achieved that goal.
The group formed after the inaugural 40 Below Summit last year in Syracuse, the largest gathering of young professionals in the country. The Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce helped organize a contingency from the county to attend the event. Building on the energy created at that event, a number of those who attended began to organize the foundation of a young professional group in the county.
With a steering committee of local young professionals and backing from the chamber and Terri Bridenbecker, its executive director, IGNITE began with a luau party that was surprisingly well attended. Now the group's database, maintained by the chamber, boasts about 150 individuals.
“They're very motivated,” Bridenbecker said about the group. “They didn't just want to be another social group.”
IGNITE stands for Invest, Grow, Network, Inspire, Teach and Engage, and the acronym serves as a basis for the group's mission -- to unite a diverse group of young professionals by fostering activities and civic engagements, creating investments in our region.
The age range of the group has been set at 21 to 39 years-old -- those who are working their way up from young professionals to distinguished professionals, as the chamber calls them.
Their mission is a three-pronged plan that includes social events, professional development and community outreach and so far in its first year, the group has managed to hit upon each element. Over the past year, the group has helped organize and volunteer for the Music for Murals on State Street Mall, they've volunteered at Artrain USA and at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, they've attended hockey and baseball games and they've hosted a regular social event for members called I-G-Night.
“We're not surprised at all by their accomplishments,” Bridenbecker said. “They're destined for great things.”
The steering committee members are both Cayuga County natives and transplants who work in a variety of jobs around the community. The group includes architects, marketing professionals, county employees, graphic designers and accountants amongst others.
For steering committee member Lydia Powers, a graphic designer at Coburn Design, IGNITE was the first step in the right direction of mobilizing young professionals in the community.
“We needed a way to get young professionals out and meeting each other and networking and learning how to be a young person in the work place,” she said.
Powers, who moved to Auburn from Virginia, wanted a way of connecting with people her own age, both on a professional and social level. Being part of IGNITE has helped make that possible.
“We're trying to get people to feel they're part of the community and that they're not just here for a job,” Powers said.
Because young professionals are often a transient bunch, IGNITE is trying to give young people reasons to be active in the community while they're living in it. They don't want everyone to stay in the county if they don't want to, but connecting people in the short term goes a long way to a visible group of young professionals that hold some clout in the community.
The fledgling group is still working out the kinks that come with trying something new. Tricia McMahon, a steering committee member who works for United Healthcare, is hopeful that the group will be more focused in its second year.
“We're still feeling our way. We've got a good start in gathering young professionals who have similar interests, but we definitely need to get the word out and get more people involved,” McMahon said.
To that end, the group has drafted a broad business plan that encompasses a full year of events and goals. This year, Powers says the group wants to promote IGNITE to local businesses, so the businesses will in-turn promote the group to its younger employees. By recruiting at the ground level like this, the group is hopeful that larger civic events like Music for Murals and the 2005 Candidate Forum that IGNITE co-sponsored, and campaigns like IGNITE the Vote, reach a broader audience.
“We're on our way I think,” Powers said. “We had an excellent first year. It's been a learning process all around.”
Young professional groups in other cities often get a bad rap. They have been construed as glorified dating groups and simple social clubs, which is not entirely false. They are often seen as self-serving groups with cliquish tendencies.
When IGNITE formed a year ago, they knew they wanted to be different. And in the group's first year, they have achieved that goal.
The group formed after the inaugural 40 Below Summit last year in Syracuse, the largest gathering of young professionals in the country. The Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce helped organize a contingency from the county to attend the event. Building on the energy created at that event, a number of those who attended began to organize the foundation of a young professional group in the county.
With a steering committee of local young professionals and backing from the chamber and Terri Bridenbecker, its executive director, IGNITE began with a luau party that was surprisingly well attended. Now the group's database, maintained by the chamber, boasts about 150 individuals.
“They're very motivated,” Bridenbecker said about the group. “They didn't just want to be another social group.”
IGNITE stands for Invest, Grow, Network, Inspire, Teach and Engage, and the acronym serves as a basis for the group's mission -- to unite a diverse group of young professionals by fostering activities and civic engagements, creating investments in our region.
The age range of the group has been set at 21 to 39 years-old -- those who are working their way up from young professionals to distinguished professionals, as the chamber calls them.
Their mission is a three-pronged plan that includes social events, professional development and community outreach and so far in its first year, the group has managed to hit upon each element. Over the past year, the group has helped organize and volunteer for the Music for Murals on State Street Mall, they've volunteered at Artrain USA and at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, they've attended hockey and baseball games and they've hosted a regular social event for members called I-G-Night.
“We're not surprised at all by their accomplishments,” Bridenbecker said. “They're destined for great things.”
The steering committee members are both Cayuga County natives and transplants who work in a variety of jobs around the community. The group includes architects, marketing professionals, county employees, graphic designers and accountants amongst others.
For steering committee member Lydia Powers, a graphic designer at Coburn Design, IGNITE was the first step in the right direction of mobilizing young professionals in the community.
“We needed a way to get young professionals out and meeting each other and networking and learning how to be a young person in the work place,” she said.
Powers, who moved to Auburn from Virginia, wanted a way of connecting with people her own age, both on a professional and social level. Being part of IGNITE has helped make that possible.
“We're trying to get people to feel they're part of the community and that they're not just here for a job,” Powers said.
Because young professionals are often a transient bunch, IGNITE is trying to give young people reasons to be active in the community while they're living in it. They don't want everyone to stay in the county if they don't want to, but connecting people in the short term goes a long way to a visible group of young professionals that hold some clout in the community.
The fledgling group is still working out the kinks that come with trying something new. Tricia McMahon, a steering committee member who works for United Healthcare, is hopeful that the group will be more focused in its second year.
“We're still feeling our way. We've got a good start in gathering young professionals who have similar interests, but we definitely need to get the word out and get more people involved,” McMahon said.
To that end, the group has drafted a broad business plan that encompasses a full year of events and goals. This year, Powers says the group wants to promote IGNITE to local businesses, so the businesses will in-turn promote the group to its younger employees. By recruiting at the ground level like this, the group is hopeful that larger civic events like Music for Murals and the 2005 Candidate Forum that IGNITE co-sponsored, and campaigns like IGNITE the Vote, reach a broader audience.
“We're on our way I think,” Powers said. “We had an excellent first year. It's been a learning process all around.”