Young professionals group aims to promote community

WORTHINGTON - While some people may say there is nothing to do in Worthington, members of the Worthington Area Young Professionals Network beg to differ.
“One of the biggest things we hear is that there is nothing to do in Worthington, but for us it’s almost the opposite,” said Aaron Hagen, a member of the leadership team for YPN. “We have so many options, it’s tough to decide on where to have events.”
Members of the Young Professionals Network want other young professionals - especially those new to the area - to build relationships and create a sense of community for others.
Jordan Huisken, another member of the YPN leadership team, said he believes that communities like Worthington need to invest time and energy into its young professionals, and that this group is one way to do that.
“Young professionals are someday going to be future community leaders of Worthington,” Huisken said. “Without the longevity of people being here, how effective are those young professionals going to be? Or are they even going to be here? We want to keep young professionals in Worthington.”
Hagen agreed.
“Unfortunately, Worthington is sometimes viewed as a stepping stone for a lot of people,” he said. “And how do you avoid that? … We have events that allow young professionals to network. … It’s a lot harder to leave a place when you have friends, you know people and you volunteer and are on committees. We just want people to feel that connection to Worthington.”
The Worthington Area YPN took another step forward by making themselves more recognizable, creating its first logo.
The organization called upon a local graphic designer, Nate Einck.
“Basically, every organization or company has a logo, and we didn’t have one,” Hagen said. “We thought it would be a good way to help identify the group, and if we help out in the community or out and about doing events we can have a banner, we can have T-shirts and things like that. Then people can identify with us more.”
Hagen said the group really didn’t know what it wanted, so Einck didn’t have much to work from. However, the organization is more than satisfied with the design.
“It turned out great,” Hagen said. “It’s different than any other logo in town. … It looks professional, but yet it looks young and hip and cool and all those good things, too.”
YPN has a couple of upcoming events.
On July 29, the group will be meeting at Pizza Ranch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. for its first “Meet & Eat” gathering. 
“Since we started the young professional network we have tried to put on events, and we are trying to make them a little more frequent,” Huisken said. “We are hoping they are young professionals will come out and socialize, network and get to know a little bit more about us.”
There will also be a social beginning at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Worthington Country Club and continuing until everyone wants to leave. GreatLIFE will be putting together an all-you-can-eat pasta bar.
“One thing we like about our events is they showcase different things available to us here in Worthington,” Huisken said. “We don’t like to go and promote things out of town. We’re not about going to Sioux Falls and doing everything out of town. That’s not what our organization is about. It’s about showing how great of a community Worthington is, and hopefully keeping younger professionals here for more than just a year or two.”
Both Hagen and Huisken said that anyone in the surrounding Worthington area is welcome.
To find out more information on the Worthington Area Young Professionals Network, find it on Facebook or email them at worthingtonypn@gmail.com .