Page 10 - BusinessWest October 31, 2022

benchmark, much less a requirement. “You can be young of age, you can
be starting a career, you can be 40 years or older starting a new career,” Hadley said. “There’s lots of ways to be ‘young.’”
And YPS has celebrated all of them through a progress of birth, growth, evolution, and diversification, said Plante, adding that one of the early steps was to create a path toward sustainability.
This was accomplished by estab- lishing a board of directors and officers and generating revenue through mem- bership, which comes on several tiers, from ‘partner business membership’ to
nonprofit and student membership, as well as sponsorships, events (beyond Third Thursday, such as the annual golf tournament and dodgeball tour- nament), some bylaws, and endeavors such as the CEO Luncheons.
By giving YPS that needed structure, the organization was able to move past that ‘party group’ reputation, to some extent, and become a stronger force within the local business community.
Today, the attendance at Third Thursday events is a fraction of what it was in the beginning, say the current board leaders. (The after-party at Busi- nessWest’s 40 Under Forty gala in June was a notable exception.)
There are many reasons for this, but among the clearest is the fact that there are now several organizations devoted
“There’s all this talk about the brain drain at the colleges ... 22-year-
olds want to do what 22-year-olds do, and if your city or town doesn’t give that social outlet and opportunities that 20- and 30-somethings want, then you’re never going to retain them for jobs; they didn’t graduate from college to be a drone.”
to young professionals. Indeed, each county now has its own, and some businesses, including MassMutual, have their own groups, which have the same basic mission — to bring young people together to connect.
Meanwhile, the pandemic forced groups like YPS, which currently boasts roughly 140 members, to come togeth- er in different ways, including Zoom, and now, hybrid formats have become the most popular option, and for a rea- son — they make it easier and more convenient for people to take part.
But Third Thursday lives on, and
at a wide variety of venues across the region, including the Boathouse in South Hadley, the Student Prince in downtown Springfield, the Town Tap in Agawam, Hardwick Winery, and even a local Fred Astaire Dance Studio.
“They gave everyone a quick, 30-minute group dance lesson; it was a lot of fun,” said Hadley, adding, as oth- ers did, that with COVID receding into the past tense, there is more of a will- ingness on the part of many people to
YPS
Continued on page 80
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THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
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10 OCTOBER 31, 2022
FEATURE
BusinessWest