exper i e nc e e me r g e
CHAD BEARDEN
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
C
] O N N E C T
EMERGELakeland.com
I grew up in a town
of just about 7,000
people, so when I
moved to Lakeland 10
years ago, it was pretty
intimidating. Since I
didn’t know anyone, I
did what most people
do and I hung out
with coworkers and
visited local hangouts
to introduce myself to
the folks there. But,
none of that really
connected me to the
community. Until,
someone invited me to
an EMERGE Lakeland
event.
My first exposure to
EMERGE was through
a volunteer event that
was held at the Florida
4 | FORUM FOR BUSINESS
Baptist Children’s
Home. Even though it
seemed like we were
playing fun games
with kids, we were
mentoring them – and
they were mentoring
us. I left that event
feeling proud to be
part of something
bigger than myself and
I knew right away that
I wanted to become
more involved with
EMERGE.
Fast forward two
years and many
amazing events… I
am now a member
of the EMERGE
Steering Committee
and the Membership
Committee chair. My
duty in these roles
is to engage young
professionals the
way I was engaged
initially. Retention
and outreach are my
committee’s highest
priorities. We have
implemented an
initiative to identify
and engage new
members at events
in a more deliberate
way. We also have a
short presentation
prepared to help other
groups understand
what EMERGE
Lakeland is all about.
If you’re interested
in learning more
about EMERGE or
meeting new people,
the Membership
Committee has a new
and exciting event
planned on March
19. The event is called
EMERGE Madness
and revolves around
“Minute to Win It”
style games. The
games are meant
to create friendly
competition as well as
initiate interactions
between potential and
seasoned members of
EMERGE.
If you are interested
in attending please
visit our website at
EMERGELAKELAND.COM
for details.
MAKING
CONNECTIONS
THAT GO
BEYOND
JUST BEING
MEMBERS OF
A GROUP IS
WHAT EMERGE
STRIVES FOR
AND WILL
ULTIMATELY
MAKE THE
COMMUNITY,
AS A WHOLE,
A BETTER
PL ACE.