Friday, April 19, 2024
They don’t need your rocking chair. It may not have been all that long since they were rocked in one, but retirement for this crowd is still decades away.
Increasingly, young professionals are choosing to live and work in fast-growing Granbury, which is largely considered a retirement community.
Chamber leaders began noticing younger adults interacting at events and thought that maybe the chamber should create a group just for them.
That’s how Granbury Young Professionals was born.
Through GYP, the chamber works to address the needs of young professionals and help them network with each other, according to Rachael Derrez, the chamber’s membership and events director.
The first meeting, held at Bob’s Off the Square, drew about 75 attendees, Derrez said. Mayor Nin Hulett was the entertainment. He sings and plays guitar.
There have been other events since, including a February get-together at Farina’s Winery & Cafe.
When COVID-19 hit, meetings were forced online. That had a bit of a dampening effect, Derrez said, but not much. Luckily, young adults are accustomed to online platforms.
“There was still good attendance, but not as many,” she stated.
GYP has an eight-member committee that oversees the new organization. Derrez chairs the committee.
The GYP is for those age 21 up to “forty-ish,” Derrez said.
“We actually had a 19-yearold come to one of our events,” she stated. “It was at the Silver Saddle (Saloon). She had seen it in the newspaper and she said, ‘Well, I’m a young professional.’”
Crystal Douglass, sales executive for the Lake Granbury Conference Center, is also part of the GYP leadership committee.
“She really knows how to engage people,” Derrez said. “She’s just a lot of fun, and she has good ideas for engaging young professionals.”
Derrez said that the group’s launch at Bob’s Off the Square got people’s attention.
“People said, ‘Wow, we didn’t know there were so many young professionals in Granbury,” Derrez said. “It’s been really neat to see them come out of the woodwork”
The GYP has a Facebook page. Those with questions can send a Facebook message or contact Derrez through the chamber at 817-573-1622.
kauz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext 258
