A local networking group is coming back online after a hiatus, with a significant public event on tomorrow’s calendar to kick things off.
The Young Professionals of Henry County (YP Henry) will meet Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. at Story on the Square, 19 Griffin Street in McDonough. This meeting coincides with a book signing at the store for a prominent figure in the business world both in the Atlanta area and beyond.
Michael Coles, co-founder of Great American Cookie Company and former CEO of Caribou Coffee, will talk about his new book, “Time to Get Tough: How Cookies, Coffee, and A Crash Led to Success in Business and Life,” which illustrates key moments in his life including the start of his $100 million company, his campaign for U.S. Congress, a near-fatal motorcycle incident and his three transcontinental cycling world records.
“We just thought this would be a good opportunity,” said Beau Kelley, who founded YP Henry with his wife Julia in 2009. Michael Coles started his first cookie store when he was just 33 years old. He’s somebody I think most young professionals would relate to as far as some of the things he has gone through.”
There are two options for attending this event. A general admission ticket is $5, which includes a complimentary wine/beer drink ticket. Premium admission is $24.95 and includes a signed copy of Coles’ book and a complimentary wine/beer drink ticket. Tickets can be bought in advance at Eventbrite or at the door the day of the event at the same prices.
YP Henry was active for about five years after its founding but, as Kelley pointed out, “life gets in the way sometimes.” But now he thinks the time to resurrect the organization has come.
“I’ve had people talk to me about it and say that we need to get the group back together. They enjoyed it, met so many people and made some great connections. With some of the new activity at the Square it seems like there it is a lot of new energy and it’s a good time.”
The group will meet every month but not usually with an event of this scale. Often it will be designed strictly as a chance to “mix and mingle,” as Kelley put it. There is no age restriction, but the targeted demographic is the 21-45 age group.
“If you are looking to network and gather business leads, to plug into a county that might be new to you, or just to make new friends in a community where you’ve lived your entire life, YP Henry is a good place to start,” said Kelley. Follow the YP Henry page on Facebook to keep up with the latest developments.
