Month: January 2024

December – Lattes with Leadership

Post author By Connect Team
Post date January 4, 2024
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Blade Mages, a well-known community advocate and dynamic entrepreneur, joined Hype members as the speaker for Decembers Lattes with Leadership program. As a driven K-State student, Blade embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, founding Middle (originally 502 Media Group) in 2008. Evolving from a video production company, Middle has grown into a distinguished full-service creative agency, specializing in the food and agriculture sectors, and serving a wide range of regional and national clients.

Apart from his business endeavors, Blade is a notable figure in community development. He co-founded HYPE (Helping Young Professionals Emerge) as part of his commitment to the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, emphasizing his dedication to nurturing emerging talent and leadership within the community.

Blade’s latest venture is a testament to his commitment to cultural and community enrichment. He is spearheading a significant capital campaign to renovate the historic Wareham Opera House. With over $12 million already raised towards the ambitious $25 million goal, this project aims to transform the building into Wareham Hall, envisioned as a premier venue for a variety of performances, enhancing the cultural landscape of the area.

Blade’s experiences weave a story of pluck, courage, community engagement, and leadership, offering invaluable insights and inspiration to young professionals navigating their careers. He offered key advice to Hype members about identifying their passion and sticking to it through the duration of their professional career. Blade emphasized being confident during business interactions with influential leaders and challenged those in the room to think of each interaction as a way to solve an adaptive challenge alongside others who share the same vision and commitment. Lattes with Leadership occurs the third Thursday of each month at 8:00 A.M. and is a program dedicated to proving young professionals the opportunity to learn from leaders within the Manhattan area. To attend an upcoming program, please visit the events page located on our website.

#LoveMHK

“Wrapping Up the Year” – Hooray Thursday!

Post author By #LoveMHK Team
Post date January 4, 2024
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Hype members celebrated the end of a successful year with a Hooray Thursday event hosted at Meadowlark Hills. This informal opportunity was a chance for young professionals to make connections, enjoy a beverage of their choice, and embrace the holiday spirit by wearing festive holiday attire.

BHS Construction, a Founding Investor of Hype, graciously provided appetizers for the group to enjoy and Lucia Novelly, Marketing Coordinator at BHS Construction, provided a brief speech about her organization and why they support young professionals in the Manhattan community. “As a founding investor of HYPE, BHS understands how important it is that current and emerging leaders in Manhattan have an opportunity to be able to get together, share ideas, and learn from one another. This will help to build relationships that will extend far beyond the workplace” said Novelly.

The highlight of the evening was the generous giveaway by BHS Construction, who provided tickets to a Kansas State University basketball game. Kendahl Goetzmann emerged as the lucky winner of the raffle prize, adding an extra layer of excitement to the festivities.

Looking ahead, Hype is gearing up for a robust start to the 2024 year, with programs set to commence in the second week of January. Prospective attendees are encouraged to visit the events tab on the Hype website for details on upcoming programs.

Develop

Emerging Leaders Summit

Post author By Develop Team
Post date January 4, 2024

Manhattan Area Young Professionals debuted their first annual Emerging Leaders Summit on October 17, 2023. This event was dedicated to empowering young professionals to reach their full potential by providing them with tools, skills, and connections to fuel their personal and professional growth. The half-day summit featured an array of exciting opportunities:

Interactive Breakout Sessions: Led by industry experts, the summit featured engaging breakout sessions covering a wide spectrum of topics, including financial planning, work-life balance, conflict management strategies, goal setting, childcare resources, and advice for serving on a board. Attendees had the chance to dive deep into two subjects that mattered most to them.

Networking Opportunities: Opportunities were provided during breakfast, lunch, and between breakout sessions for attendees to connect with other young professionals in the region. During that time, local organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, WTC, and Made for Manhattan had booths to provide information about their organization and how to get involved in the community.

Inspiring Keynote Speaker: The summit commenced with an inspiring keynote address from renowned speaker and Kansas City Chiefs mascot, Dan Meers. During his presentation, Dan emphasized that your life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish but you will only get to spend it one time, so spend it wisely. He shared valuable lessons he has learned as a professional mascot and the obstacles he overcame after coming within inches of losing his life while practicing a zipline stunt at Arrowhead Stadium. As his speech commenced, Dan stressed that whether we are at home, at work, or in our community, we should strive for the best in life and enjoy it along the way.

The Emerging Leaders Summit was successful with over 110 participants registered for the day. This event would not have been possible without the help of our sponsors, Meadowlark and CivicPlus, and the numerous volunteers who dedicated their time to developing and running the summit. The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce appreciates all businesses that allowed their young professionals to take part in this event and looks forward to seeing them back at next year’s summit.

Join the team!