Paige Davis moved her family medical clinic from Starkville to Columbus in May. When she arrived, she didn’t know who to talk to or where to begin connecting with her newfound community. That all changed after she met Cathryn Borer.
Borer, who was hired as director of the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce in March, had been busy gathering participants to aid in breathing new life into the Columbus Young Professionals program. A few days before the June ribbon cutting ceremony for Davis’ Premier Family Practice, Borer asked if she would be interested in joining. Davis happily accepted.
“As a business owner, especially new to this area, I needed to branch out and meet people and preferably people that are doing what I’m doing,” Davis said. “It’s great for marketing and networking.”
CYP was adopted by the Chamber in 2014 to provide networking and community service opportunities for young business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals. According to Borer, the program faded away in 2020 when COVID-19 kept most members inside their homes and away from social gatherings.
“Everyone was just so overwhelmed with trying to keep their head above water over COVID in the business industry,” Borer said.
According to Borer, former Chamber director Wilson Beck and other board members tried to restart the program in 2021 but found there was still too little interest to warrant a full resurgence.
Tyler Farnham, vice president of JTS & Company, a mortgage brokerage firm in Columbus, told The Dispatch that by that point, the program was little more than a social affair with little to do with networking or the community service projects it was known for before the pandemic started.
“It can be a social gathering, but also it needs to be something with some positivity for members to leave with,” Farnham said.
Farnham joined the program in 2016 but never participated much while it was around. Several weeks ago, Borer reached out to him about getting involved to help her bring back the program, and he agreed on the spot.
“Being able to try to help younger people that are in their own career be able to have that ability to come somewhere and feel comfortable and meet new people that may help them further their business or give them ideas,” Farnham said. “Honestly I see that as a big part of the job in my line of work.”
On Aug. 11, Borer, Farnham and other members of the Chamber held the CYP’s first official meeting as a fully renewed program. To start the CYP fresh, the board adopted a new mission statement and appointed Davis as the secretary-treasurer and Farnham as the board chairman.
Borer says 15 people have signed up for CYP. New members pay a $75 annual membership fee for access to events, networking opportunities and the service projects that the program will engage in. To get involved, people can contact Borer through the Chamber.
Borer said there are a few service project ideas that have been discussed, but a top pick seems to be a welcoming party to the new class of resident doctors at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in North Columbus.
CYP will also have four events a year, the first will be on Sept. 8 at the Lofts at Lee at 1815 Military Road as a public interest meeting to grow membership and give local young professionals a chance to become familiar with the new program, Borer said.
“I have a servant’s heart, I think most people that work in health care do this, that’s why we do what we do and want to help people,” Davis said. “So (CYP is) just another way that I can get physically out in the community and do something other than just what I do here.”
More info
- Details on the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce and its programs can be found online at clchamber.org.
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