MOUNT VERNON — A fledgling young professionals group is looking to make a mark on the town they call their own – and maybe even draw in more millennials while they’re at it.
Tanner Salyers is part of Millennial Mount Vernon, an organization comprised of millennials working to engage in their community.
“We’d like to see the city grow and develop in a way that would really appeal to millennials,” explained Salyers.
He pointed out that millennials are currently the largest generation in the workforce and believes Mount Vernon could tailor itself to be a town for what he calls are “the people of the future.”
The millennial generation is defined as people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. They typically have a strong grasp of digital technology, communication, and media, so it comes as no surprise when Millennial Mount Vernon got its start through meet-and-greets and on Facebook.
“Our goal is to become that networking organization for engaged young professionals,” Salyers said. “Whether that’s finding a job, starting a business, or buying a house or (starting) a family, we want millennials to do it here and we want to help them as best we can.”
Millennial Mount Vernon is still new, having gotten its feet off the ground a few months ago. In that time, however, the group has experienced an outpouring of support from the community.
“The ground is fertile for something like this,” Salyers confirmed. “We’re focused on Mount Vernon’s success, specifically. Knox County will flourish if Mount Vernon flourishes, but we’re mostly focused in Mount Vernon.”
Salyers and the rest of Millennial Mount Vernon claim that a framework has already been set in place for what they see as a “Mount Vernon Renaissance.”
“We want to take advantage of our growing economy and our tech advantages and advances that are in our time. Definitely tailor our local economy to a more service-driven and tech economy. We want to see those jobs come in,” Salyers said.
He believed that was doable, especially with Columbus’ forecasted exponential growth over the next few decades.
“We want to be that town (where people move to),” Salyers said. “You don’t have to live in Columbus, you don’t have to pay $1,200 for a 200 square foot flat with a couple of people living with you. We want to make sure the millennials that are moving here, that are active, that are engaged, that are professional, they know that Mount Vernon is a place to live.”
Salyers knew Millennial Mount Vernon may have a small uphill battle when it comes to convincing some people that this generation is more than the bad rap it is sometimes given.
“The reason millennials get a bad rap is because we’re kind of misunderstood. We grew up at a very interesting time,” Salyers said. “We tend to support small businesses, we’re kind of hyperlocal in our activism, but at the small time we have a global approach to it. We do a lot of our shopping online, we get a lot of our advertisements from social media, we rely on each other to kick information back.”
Even more, Salyers explained, millennials have a different view when it comes to the 9 to 5 job.
“We have kind of an outlook that says, ‘as long as I get my work done, does it matter if I’m in a cubicle or on a beach in Tahiti?’ To a lot of people, especially in this established business culture, it’s radical and it’s crazy, but it’s the way of the future,” Salyers said.
With all the dichotomies that make up millennials, Salyers was not surprised by the bad rap label. But he hoped that Millennial Mount Vernon would bridge the gap and show that millennials were ready to carry the torch – even if they did it a little differently than the previous generation.
Millennial Mount Vernon will be gaining a little more ground in 2018. Salyers said they have an open business meeting set for January and more committee meetings planned over the next few months in order to become more professionally organized. Right now, the group is comprised of 12-14 people that are bringing different ideas to the table, from business support to social activism. He hoped the group would be more active and visible in the community by summertime.
Millennial Mount Vernon can be found on Facebook. Salyers said interested parties can “like” the page to stay updated on the latest news from the group and upcoming events. He also suggested visiting the Millennial Mount Vernon Action page to join the a group of members who are actively involved in promoting the organization.
Knox Community Hospital proudly supports the vibrant pulse of our community by sponsoring the Life & Culture section on Knox Pages, celebrating the stories and experiences that make our region unique.
