exper i e nc e e me r g e :
Expand you r n e t w o r k – a n d your sk ills
MEREDITH SPRESSER
Lakeland Regional
Health
C
] O N N E C T
EMERGELakeland.com
At the end of 2008,
my personal life was
in turmoil. Despite
a lifetime in this
community and a
fledgling career at Polk
Museum of Art, I had no
friends outside of work
or family. I was reeling,
emotionally, and unsure
of my next steps.
I joined EMERGE as
a way to make some
friends and find my
footing again. A year
later, when the invitation
was extended to join the
Steering Committee, I
didn’t know if this was
a role I could handle.
How could I contribute?
I’m an artist. I didn’t
have connections. I was
just some 30-something
who didn’t know how to
4 | FORUM FOR BUSINESS
define herself anymore.
But I swallowed my
fears and did it.
Over the next
five years, I learned
about leadership by
watching the amazing,
intelligent, energetic
and driven young
people around me. I
discovered confidence
in my ability to bring
thoughtful consideration
to strategic decisions
faced by the Steering
Committee. When
I stepped out of my
comfort zone and took
on the role of Marketing
Committee chair, I
realized that my skills as
an artist and marketer
could further EMERGE’s
social media advertising
campaigns. At the same
time, I took the lessons
I was learning through
EMERGE and applied
them to a leadership
role at one of my favorite
organizations, Florida
Dance Theatre, serving
as President of the Board
in FY2012.
During this time,
EMERGE itself stepped
out of its infancy. The
organization established
leadership programs like
Folllow the Leaders and
EMERGE Serves, created
long-term philanthropic
connections with local
not-for-profits, and
broke new ground
with fun, adventurous,
and engaging social
opportunities for its
memebers. Through
this myriad of activities,
EMERGE made a
reputation for itself
as the place for young
professionals, whether
new to Lakeland or
native to Central Florida,
to connect with likeminded individuals
looking to shape the
future of our community.
Here’s where
everything ties back
together: Those
connections, beyond
anything else, are
what keep these young
people in Lakeland. As I
floundered for a couple
of years, exploring ideas
of graduate school in
New York and Chicago
or toying with finding
a job in Asheville, my
connections in Lakeland
and to EMERGE
ultimately kept me here.
The friendships I had
developed as I served on
the Steering Committee
became the ground I
needed when I felt like
everything had fallen
away. I reached out, and
with their help, I found
meaningful work, and I
found myself.
Looking around, I
see all of my EMERGE
friends coming into
their own. We all serve
on boards, volunteer,
donate or raise funds for
organizations that are
doing the hard work of
serving the underserved,
and find ourselves being
asked to do even more.
And we owe a big
piece of that growth
to EMERGE.