New Yorkville Chamber Group Gives Professionals Chance to Network

Aleah Francis works full-time as an insurance agent for an independent insurance agency in Plano and Sandwich. She also helps her husband run his karate studio.

It's not unusual for Francis and her husband to work 15-hour days.

For Francis, this is one of the reasons why Professionals Advancing in Yorkville, an affiliate group of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, is so important. The group gives Francis the chance to brainstorm with other professionals and entrepreneurs in the Yorkville area on such important topics as time management.

"Time management can be such a difficult issue," Francis said. "I, for one, definitely am challenged by it. Sometimes you're just pulled in too many separate directions. It's nice, though, to be able to talk about the challenges you face with other business people who are facing the same situations."

That's the goal of Professionals Advancing in Yorkville: The group, which started about four months ago, gathers area business people together for meetings and guest lectures. Group members can then network, exchange ideas and seek out solutions to their career challenges.

Francis sits on a committee of five local business people who plan the meetings and find speakers for the group. So far, meetings and events have averaged 10 attendees.

Known by its acronym of PAY, the new chamber group meets on the second Friday of every month from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. at the office of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, 26 W. Countryside Parkway in Yorkville.

Meetings are free and open to the public, but if professionals plan to join the group, they also should plan to join the chamber, if they aren't already members.

Group members, though, do plan several special events throughout the year that carry a price tag. The hope is to raise money for a chamber-sponsored scholarship program designed to help graduating high school seniors who are interested in pursuing business careers.

PAY's next special meeting will be held Monday at Caywood & Associates, 11000 E. Route 34, Suite 1, in Plano. The lunch and seminar will take place from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

The event will feature speaker Connie Roeder from , who will talk about how business professionals can use social media to market their services and products. The cost of the seminar is $5, which includes lunch.

Sherri Farley, executive director of the Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce, said that she is pleased with the growth of PAY so far.

"This is another way of getting together some of our members who face similar issues in business," Farley said. "They can now get together and have a roundtable discussion. They can mentor each other. It's another opportunity to connect our members."

The group is also a tool that can help both new and veteran business professionals tackle the challenges that come with working through a difficult economy, Farley said.

"We used to have a young professionals group with the chamber," Farley said. "But we've found that a lot of people who no longer consider themselves young are interested in a group like this.

"The economy has had an impact. Many people in the area have been let go from jobs that they held for 20 years. They are now striking out on their own. They need a diffrent skill set now that they are seeking to become a new professional. This group can give them an opportunity to talk to other business professionals who are facing the same challenges that they face."

For more information about PAY, contact Francis at 815-641-6157 or e-mail her at aleahfrancis@yahoo.com.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that PAY's next event will be held Tuesday. Yorkville Patch regrets the error.