~ C. S. Lewis
As many of you know, Mitch, Sandy and I recently returned from our Annual SEDC conference. This year the conference was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was my first time in South Carolina, and I must say they did it right! What a beautiful part of our country!
SEDC is the Southern Economic Development Council. It is a seventeen state organization comprised of Economic and Community Development practitioners who come together to share ideas and best practices of how to do business in the Southeastern part of the United States. Following our motto, at SEDC we Connect, Develop and Grow. (That being both as individuals and as the communities we represent).
One of the things I most admire about SEDC and one of the things I am proud to say I helped move forward is our YP (Young Professionals) group. Two years ago Chad Chancellor (originally from Waynesboro, currently in Paducah, KY) and I co-chaired the first YP committee. As co-chairs we officially got the ball rolling and have helped build the group into a pretty large collective of about fifty members. We don’t always get together in one location, however at the annual conferences we typically have better than half the group show up.
Now I am sure you are wondering, “So what? Everywhere has a YP group.” I would say that is very true. Most communities today are starting or have well established YP groups. The thing that most impresses me about this YP group is not that we are all 35 and under (and yes they are talking of unceremoniously removing me from the group since I am the oldest) but the fact that we all come from different geographic locations throughout the Southeast. Few of us come from the same state. Those of us that are in the same state are usually spread out and the only time we get to see each other face to face is at our state conferences and SEDC.
In addition to our backgroundsand location, what impresses me is that when we get together, many of us you would think we were siblings rather than professionals who work in the same field. I equate it to the “high school gang”. We all hang out. We share our lives with each other. We share our personal successes with each other. We even share our defeats with each other. We are more than friends.
I suppose it is because there is a security in knowing that many of us don’t have someone else in the group from “back home”. We can be ourselves and we can ask truly meaningful questions. And although we may not want to hear the answers, we can get brutally honest answers and direction.
To me, this group is more than just friendship. It is way beyond professional relationships. It is every bit fellowship.
Through fellowship we have a purpose. We have a mission. We are growing the profession through our community’s successes but we are also growing individuals through honest feedback, through compassion for one another and through our own experiences. Fellowship is not just a bunch of folks with common interests hanging out and drinking coffee. Fellowship is caring for the outcome of your fellow man (or woman).
I am very thankful for the time I am able to spend with this group. I am grateful for their feedback and I am hopeful for the future of this group and the future success of the Southeastern United States. If this is the leadership to take us into the future, I think we will be doing very well.
If you don’t currently have a group to fellowship with in your life, I encourage you to seek one out. They can be local, state-wide or regional. Find your commonalities. Find people who you can be honest with and who will in turn be honest with you. Through continued growth and development as individuals and as the collective community we will all grow and develop Jones County for generations to come. Good Luck!
Larkin
“Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.”
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