In recent years, Marquette County young professionals have had the chance to network, learn skills, become leaders, and, of course, have fun through a group called
40 Below: Marquette County Young Professionals.
First discussed in 2009, the group came to fruition in 2010 when it was organized by the Lake Superior Community Partnership. When 40 Below began, there weren't many members, but the group has grown to upwards of 150 consistent members, says Ryan Nummela.
40 Below offers a wide variety of experiences and benefits to its members, even beyond networking, says Nummela.
"There is a great opportunity to develop leadership skills, have access to doing some fun and amazing things outside of just networking, and making life long relationships," he says. "There are many different types of people with different backgrounds that we all learn from, each others techniques of how to do business, how to interact, and how to view ideas."
A young professional is someone age 21 to 40 years old who is not set in staying in the same spot in their career and does not want to stop learning, says Nummela.
"In my opinion a young professional is someone that is growing in their career wanting to open doors to opportunities and professional development otherwise untapped or unappreciated by others," he says.
40 Below offers members with a chance to meet others with similar interests and the opportunity to learn from each other and gain knowledge from professionals within the community. This is accomplished through their monthly social, which is held at a different location each month, a variety of outings, as well as their annual Upper Peninsula Young Professionals Conference.
Some of their more popular
activities, aside from the conference, have included a Harbor Cruise at Lower Harbor, a visit to Granot Loma and going to the Marquette Regional History Center.
Organizers take input from members when deciding what activities to plan, and members can decide which events to attend based on what they enjoy as well what they have time for.
"We usually meet at least once a month to have a social-type outing for our members to have the opportunity to catch up, talk business, and share some laughs," Nummela says.
Their biggest event of the year, however, is coming up April 30 at the Holiday Inn in Marquette. The
Second Annual Upper Peninsula Young Professionals Conference will include a keynote address by Dennis Beson entitled Coming Together Right Now YPN, as well as an address by Bob Jacquart on Building and Authentically Modern Brand from History and Heritage.
Throughout the day participants will be able to choose from a variety of
breakout sessions such as Connecting with Technology, led by Crystal Riggs of Best Buy, and Learning Stress Management & Exercise, led by Beth Sommers.
The variety of subjects covered during the day is one of the reasons the conference has been successful, says Nummela.
"I think that is what makes the conference so unique because we offer many topics throughout the course of the day and allow the attendee’s the freedom to choose what topic they would like to sit in on and listen or learn about," he says.
In its first year the conference attracted nearly 190 people, including volunteers, participants, and leaders. Nummela says they are hoping that the number will grow this year to about 250 people.
Based on last year's figures, 72 percent of attendees were local while about 28 percent came from outside of the county. This year they are expecting some young professionals to come from Ironwood, Houghton and other cities and towns outside of the area due to the success of the initial year, while excitement for this year has grown.
"Our goal for attendees at this year’s conference is to walk away fresh with new ideas and energy that they can harness to bring back to their environment learning how to be better leaders, inspire co-workers, develop self marketing skills and connect with other YP’s from across the Upper Peninsula," Nummela says.
Those interested in attending the Young Professionals Conference may
register online, while those interested in joining 40 Below can check out their
Facebook page and
website and can download the 40 Below
application online. There is a $50 annual fee to be a member.
Julia Woehrer is a freelance writer, photographer and social media coordinator. She attended the School of Art and Design at Northern Michigan University where she concentrated in photography and minored in journalism. She volunteers at a local no-kill cat shelter and enjoys spending time with her cats, Bella and Macy.