Holland Young Professionals

HOLLAND - The Creative Class in the greater Holland area has found a new way to let its voice be heard - the Holland Young Professionals (HYP).

The organization is an offshoot of the city of Holland’s Creative Class Taskforce and the discussions relating to Gov. Granholm’s Cool Cities Initiative that were led by the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce. Holland Young Professionals founders Barry Rice, Mat Nguyen and Robyn Wennersten were heavily involved in those discussions.

“All those discussions about what we can do to make Holland cooler evolved into the Holland Young Professionals,” said Rice. “We sensed a need and felt we could really make a contribution by providing an opportunity for young professionals to get together and interact.”

The mission of the Holland Young Professionals is to attract and retain members of the Creative Class, the young creatives described by Richard Florida in his book Rise of the Creative Class. To accomplish its mission the organization will sponsor events and activities that will give Holland’s Creative Class a chance to connect with each other and the community.

The city’s population of young professionals is varied - some are home grown, others are recent transplants or non-residents just getting out of college. The founders of HYP want the organization to be an agent of change, bringing together all those factions to build a stronger community.

Rice said HYP would like to hold monthly social events. Its organizers also plan to partner with area agencies to develop events by which members can give back to the community.

“This will be a great outlet to get them energized and really involved in what’s going on in Holland,” he said.

“Eventually we want to partner with area colleges to assist graduates in finding jobs in the area and mentoring them in an effort to develop strong bonds,” said Wennersten.

Along with retaining the present young populace, HYP wants to play an active role in attracting young professionals to the Holland area.

“When a human resources manager brings in a prospective new employee who is staying overnight, we can take them out and show them what West Michigan is like,” Rice told MiBiz. “They’ll get to meet people and broaden their perspective.”

At its first meeting earlier this month HYP formed a leadership committee, an events committee and a welcome committee. The leadership committee will focus on ensuring young professionals take a leadership role in both Holland and the region, said Nguyen. “We want to work with the chamber, Leadership Holland, Leadership West Michigan, the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, Lakeshore Advantage and other organizations to do this.”

So what does Holland need to attract and retain young professionals? An entertainment district, for one. “A place where everyone can go out on the weekends and know they’ll be surrounded by others in the younger generation,” said Rice.

“We hope to influence the city and businesses too and show them that young people are here to support new developments like restaurants and bars,” Nguyen said.

Diversity is another measure of coolness for Holland to consider. “Not just diversity, but encouraging the acceptance of diversity as well. And not just ethnic diversity, but diversity of thought,” said Wennersten.

Over 40 people attended the group’s kick-off event earlier this month. Organizers anticipate that attendance figure could double for the next HYP meeting on January 13 at New Holland Brewing Company. A new Web site coming online soon could further boost interest in the organization.

“I hope the community looks at this group as something very positive, because that’s the intent. It can give back to the community in so many ways. It can grow the next generation of leaders for Holland,” Wennersten said.

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This article appeared in the December 29, 2003 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz, visit www.mibiz.com.