SHIRES YOUNG PROFESSIONALS EMERGE AS NEW YOUNG PROFESSIONAL GROUP OF THE REGION

On Thursday night, the Shires Young Professionals chose Bennington’s new nightlife hotspot, Miller’s Toll Dinner Club and Lounge, to announce a reinvigorated mission and brand. 

In partnership with the area Chamber of Commerce, the former Bennington Young Professionals group has been working behind the scenes over the past few months to develop a new look and strategy.  A new logo and website have been launched, and a new mission statement, vision, and goals were shared at the event.

“A change of leadership and efforts to redefine the group presented the perfect opportunity for the chamber to partner and help support the group in this period of transition,” said Matt Harrington, the executive director of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce serving the Shires of Vermont. “The Young Professionals group is close to my heart as it was one of the key resources I used to connect to people of similar interests when I first moved back to Bennington.”

Six months ago the Chamber of Commerce approached the advisory board of the Bennington Young Professionals, the group’s governing body. Both the chamber and the young professional board agreed that in order to create a more structured and strategic investment in the region’s young professionals, the young professional group should move under the leadership and umbrella of the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce.  This move would help to consolidate efforts to create a critical mass of engaged and committed young professionals in the region, provide more consistency and resources for the group, offset duplicated efforts and provide the Chamber with a source for their “pathway to leadership” strategic goal.  The move would also help the chamber eliminate the borders and boundaries that have prevailed in the region and grow a culture of the young professionals with other community agencies within the region.

The redefined mission of the Shires Young Professionals is to, “engage and empower young professionals in our community helping them to emerge in their professions.”

The group’s first year goals are to produce four quarterly networking events/programs geared to the Young Professional culture, recruit and communicate with as many young professionals in the region as possible, create a modern and fresh brand for the group and to continually work with the Chamber to communicate needs and ideas for further development of the group.

The new circular logo is a play on the current Chamber of Commerce rebrand that came out last year.  Filled with cool blues and greens that act as the rolling hills of the Shires, the sunrise in the background eludes to a new day, growth and possibilities. The website, www.ShiresYP.com, is a clean and modern website where anyone can get ongoing information about the group.  There is also a mentorship application, community events, and a contact us form on the website.

Membership in this group is targeted for young professionals (21-40) with an “open access” policy allowing everyone to participate and join.