HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A group of community leaders say they've come up with three ways to woo young professionals and recent college graduates to the area.
Joe Newberry, executive vice president at $1.8 billion Redstone Federal Credit Union, was among the graduates of the Huntsville/Madison County Leadership program called Impact, which were presented with the challenge of brainstorming strategies to encourage those in the 25-34 age group to consider moving to the Huntsville, Ala. area.
After a year of extensive research, the 15-member group came up with developing a comprehensive marketing plan aimed at young professionals, launching a Web site specifically tailored to that group, and creating a young professionals' council that would consist of representatives from the more than 20 local groups that cater to this niche. The council would then connect with city leaders on the planning commission and city council, for instance.
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Newberry said the Impact group discovered that young people want to be heard and have a diversity of opinions to offer. As a further platform, the young professionals' council Impact has proposed creating will be expanded from the EmYrge Council, a young professionals' umbrella group formed by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce to foster communication among the many local groups for event planning and projects. Newberry said the offshoot would mainly ensure that there are no duplication of efforts or event conflicts.
The Impact group ultimately hopes all of these efforts will get young professionals to relocate and stay in Huntsville, said Loren Taylor, an Impact group member and vice president, investor relations at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. So far, companies are starting to query the chamber for marketing materials geared towards young professionals, she said.
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