Thank you to everyone for coming out to the January Unwind at 25 Kitchen + Bar. We had another great night of Networking with over 120 young professionals. The Speed Networking event isn’t just about “passing out the business cards” but the opportunity to build career minded relationships. This event was a big success with about 70 of the young professional participating in 4 different rounds. The membership committee received great feedback about the Unwind. There were also many great suggestions for the speed networking event.

A special thanks to 25 Kitchen + Bar for the great venue and service! They are giving GRYP 10% of the proceeds so we can continue to have free events, such as the Unwinds, for our members!

Hope to see everyone at the next Unwind February 25th!

Thank you for the 15+ young professionals who came out to let loose with GRYP on the tubing hills at the Pando Winter Sports Park on Thursday January 21st. Even in the cold weather we all had a great time tubing solo and in groups. It was a busy night with long lines at Pando but that didn’t stop young professionals from mingling in line and recruiting new members to GRYP! Join us at our next “Experience GR” event to see what all Grand Rapids has to offer!

GRYP’s first event in the Personal Growth Breakfast Series held on January 19th was a great success! More than 50 young professionals arrived at Eastern Floral at 7:30 am to listen to Kim Bode, owner of 834 Baba Design & Marketing, speak on ‘Building Your Personal Brand.’ Kim is a very energetic speaker and generated great audience participation. Questions were asked about using social media and Kim spoke about how there’s no differentiation between your personal and professional life, you are who you are. She referenced books in her presentation called “Me 2.0” by Dan Schawbel, and “Smart Networking” by Liz Lynch and she recommends them to any young professional wanting to learn more about building your personal brand.

You can access Kim’s blog through www.834design.com .

Social media links are as follows:
Kim’s website: www.834baba.com
Kim on Twitter: @834baba
Kim and GRYP on Facebook: 834 Baba and Grand Rapids Young Professionals
Join Kim on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimbode and GRYP at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=665687

Thanks again to Kim Bode for volunteering her time to come speak to our members and to Eastern Floral for letting us use their beautiful space to host the event!

New in 2010, GRYP presents the Personal Growth Breakfast Series! All events will be at the new Eastern Floral location at 818 Butterworth SW, from 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Watch for more details about these upcoming events:
March 23: Public Speaking with Jennifer Maxson from Varnum Consulting
April 22: Dress for Success Fashion Event at Younkers in Grandville
July: Networking for Beginners
September: Resume Building and Interviewing Skills via Social Media
November: New Ideas for Budgets and Personal Finance

Thank you to all of you who braved the weather to attend our Holiday Unwind at Peppino's on Thursday, December 10th! Despite the weather, we still had about 85 people attend (small for usual, but not so small considering the weather). We appreciate all of the donations for the DeVos Children's Hospital; They will be very thankful! Again, thank you to all of the people and companies that donated gifts for our members to receive in the drawing. Donations were provided by: 25 Kitchen + Bar, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Big O's, Celadon NewTown / Crushed Grape, Crown Jewel Spa & Salon of Ada, Eja Salon of Lowell, Frankie V's, Grand Rapids Art Museum, GR Ballet, Huntington Bank, IMAGOsolo.com, J. Gardella's, MarcoRiolo.reliv.com, McFadden’s, Peppino’s, Plastic Surgery Associates, The Connection with Frederik Meijer Gardens, Ritz Koney Bar and Grille, and Wenger's Bowling. All of us with GRYP wish you and your familes, a safe and happy holiday season! See you in 2010!