SALISBURY- On Thursday evening the Rowan Chamber’s Young Professionals program hosted a successful Speed Networking event at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s North Campus in Salisbury. The group had over 30 in attendance and participants came from Rowan County and surrounding areas as far as Concord and Greensboro.

“Events like this are why I love Rowan Young Professionals,” said Mollie Ruf, chair of the group and Marketing and Communications Manager of the Rowan EDC. “There were so many new faces with us tonight and everyone left feeling excited about attending more events in the future.”

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) provided the space for the event and sponsored it. Dusty Saine, RCCC’s Director of Events, Logistics & Special Projects, led the group in a fun Family Feud ice breaker game that resulted in a lot of laughs.

Following introductions and the game, the group paired off into groups of two for 3-minute networking sessions and rotated over the course of 1-hour.

“Thanks for putting this on,” said attendee Jim Amaral, Water Resources Manager at the City of Salisbury, on the Rowan Young Professionals’ Facebook Group. “It was my first time attending a young professional event. I had a great time!”

Those interested in joining the Rowan Young Professionals are encouraged to join the official Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming events and opportunities to connect and engage with the community.

The next event will be on Wednesday, February 22 from 8- 9 a.m. at Koco Java in Downtown Salisbury. This informal meetup is the first of a new series the Rowan Young Professionals group is launching called “Coffee & Conversations”. The group will rotate coffee shops around Rowan County on the 4^th Wednesday monthly during work hours to offer an alternative networking opportunity that cannot attend events after hours. Register to attend on Eventbrite here. The group will meet up in March at Mean Mug Coffee Company in Downtown Salisbury on March 22 from 2-3 p.m.

The Rowan Chamber is sponsoring an Escape Room Night for the Rowan Young Professionals on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. at Escape Central in Downtown Salisbury. Space is limited. Register to attend on Eventbrite here.

“We are in the midst of planning more events for 2023,” said Ruf. “Organizations and businesses that desire to get involved with the Rowan Young Professionals and sponsor events, now is the time! Our group serves as a welcoming wagon for new, fresh talent to our area. We are here to help individuals establish roots in our community, so they want to stay in our area long-term.”