Young Professionals Of Wellington
NEW GROUP AIMS TO GIVE VOICE TO THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW As a member of Wellington’s Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board, Michael Drahos has seen many important issues decided by local leaders with little to no input from his demographic group. To remedy this problem, Drahos approached the Wellington Chamber of Commerce with the idea of partnering to create an organization for young professionals that would represent the community from another perspective. Drahos’ vision for the group would be different, however, from other such organizations of which he’d been a member. “I was not looking to organize happy hours or host carwash fundraisers,” he explained. “This group was going to have a very ambitious platform aimed at making an immediate impact. We wanted to find and cultivate the new generation of leadership in Wellington.” The result was the Young Professionals of Wellington, an invitation-only network of professionals from ages 25 to 45 who either live or work in Wellington. “I found that as I was
reaching out to friends and colleagues in the area who I noticed had a penchant for community service, there was a tremendous amount of interest and excitement in what this group could become,” Drahos recalled. By late 2012, an organizational meeting attracted those who had expressed an interest in joining, many of whom had grown up in the community and returned to raise families of their own. Among them was Kevin Swerdlin, a Realtor who had attended school with Drahos as far back as Wellington Elemen-
Members of the Young Professionals of Wellington at a recent event. PHOTO BY ABNER PEDRAZA
10th Anniversary |wellington the magazine| April 2014
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