Forty Below: Marquette County Young Professionals

It’s hard to believe that it has nearly been a year since “Forty Below: Marquette County Young Professionals” was created under the umbrella of the Lake Superior Community Partnership. Forty Below is a professional development organization designed to engage and introduce young professionals to the County’s business community and help them expand their networking opportunities.

Early in 2010, the Lake Superior Community Partnership began sharing our three-year strategic plan. With the help of many partners we were able to identify several areas of focus which offer significant benefit to our County. Through the creation of this plan, it became abundantly clear that our goals needed to include talent enhancement & leadership. How can we offer a quality professional experience and an opportunity for our young workforce to integrate into our community?

Through a little internal brainstorming, and our leadership exchange with the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce, the idea of a Young Professionals Organization (YPO) was considered. Traditionally, YPOs are dues-based, committee-led organizations that offer events and experiential learning opportunities for members who are typically working, interning or volunteering in their community and are under the age of forty. YPOs are not designed to compete with existing service organizations but rather compliment their purposes. Research shows that these organizations are popping up in communities all over the country and many of them are successful in their goal of integrating and connecting young professionals with their community.

Without hesitation a Young Professionals committee was organized, a name created, ideas exchanged and “Forty Below: Marquette County’s Young Professionals” was born. Since its inception, Forty Below has become 150 members strong, exceeding our initial goal of 100 members in the first year! They have also established a board of directors, various committees and hosted plenty of successful events throughout the year.

Events and activities are held at various locations throughout the County and are created in order to provide an opportunity for members to interact socially, exchange ideas and connect outside of the workplace. “Drinks and Links” is a casual networking event which occurs monthly at different venues in Marquette County. Held on the third Tuesday of every month, Drinks and Links feature food, cocktails and a chance to win great prizes. The events are free to members, however, if you are a young professional in Marquette County, you can check out any Drinks and Links event as a guest for $5.

In addition, Forty Below offers six personal/professional development workshops in the form of “Lunch and Learns.” Focused on personal and professional development, these seminars are presented by young professionals, for young professionals and cover a wide variety of topics. Cost is $10 to members and $15 to non-members.

To cap off the first membership year, an annual brunch and Young Professional recognition banquet will take place in the fall. Forty Below members will enjoy brunch, drinks, give-aways and fun!

For more information or to obtain a membership application, please contact Lindsay Hemmila, Forty Below liaison at