These Young Floridians Are Well-Connected

Barbara Miracle | 11/1/2008

Network of Young Professionals

Clockwise from back: Dennis Bonga, Jake Money, Johanna Williams and Erin Malone [Photo: Ray Stanyard] “There has been a definite progression in people’s commitment to Tallahassee.” — Erin Malone

When Erin Malone first moved to Tallahassee from Georgia in 2005, her social and business network was limited. She spent most of her time working at the family business, MoreSpacePlace, with her mother and brother. Unlike many young Tallahassee professionals, she hadn’t attended Florida State University or Florida A&M, so she reached out to the Network of Young Professionals.

NYP’s tag line, “Live Work Play Stay,” promotes the idea that Tallahassee is a good place to build a career and a life. That message — that a young professional doesn’t have to move to Miami, Tampa, Orlando or Jacksonville to have a fulfilling life — is one that many young professionals organizations in Florida’s smaller cities and rural counties are pitching to young workers.

Network of Young Professionals (networkyp.org) Location: Tallahassee President: Erin Malone, 28,sales associate,MoreSpacePlace Tallahassee Members: 250 (900 subscribers to the group’s semi-monthly e-newsletter) Ages: Typically 21 to 40 Formed: 2003 Dues: $30 annually Social networks: LinkedIn, MySpace (groups.myspace.com/ tallahasseeyoung professionals), Facebook

Malone says that NYP uses its annual survey of young professionals, which is published on its website, to get ideas for the group’s signature event, an annual community forum held in February. This year, for example, the focus was on the Knight Creative Communities Initiative. Like most young professionals groups, there are monthly social gatherings, but NYP also hosts frequent “how to” and “get informed” workshops.