Lakeland Business Guide 2019 Chamber Guide_2019 | Page 58
nation had started organizations focused
on equipping young professionals in an
effort to retain young talent in their cities.
“I grew up in Lakeland and I wanted
to get out of Lakeland. I would hear it
all the time that Lakeland was not as
attractive as Tampa and Orlando when it
comes to salaries and excitement,” admits
Hamid. Which is not an uncommon
opinion among young people in our
city. The draw toward other cities can
be strong especially when not truly
presented with the opportunities that
exist in Lakeland. “So you have people
who want to get out. But, for me, once
I came back from college, I realized
Lakeland has everything I would ever
need,” says Hamid. “You need to have an
organization that can show you more of
Lakeland.”
The Lakeland Chamber was aware
of the young professionals who were
previously and currently rooted in
Lakeland, and were determined to remind
these talented individuals the abundance
of opportunity Lakeland has to offer.
At the same time, the United Way
of Central Florida was also becoming
aware of how the United Way
organizations across the country were
also placing emphasis on recruiting young
professionals and cultivating them for
philanthropic endeavors. The United
Way desired to develop a culture of
volunteerism in young professionals which
would encourage them to contribute their
time, talents, and resources to their local
communities.
In December 2003, the United
Way and the Chamber of Commerce
became aware of their shared goal of
reaching young professionals, and the two
organizations saw a possible collaboration.
Both groups met and detailed out
their goals and visions for the young
professional organization and decided
that the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce
would administer the new group.
EMERGE is aimed at supporting and
networking young professionals ranging
from ages 21 to 42 in Lakeland. “We get
58