LANSING, Mich. — More than a decade ago, Lansing was remarkably different from the dynamic region we know today. Convincing young adults to live in the Lansing area, invest in the communities, and find a career was significantly more challenging. Over the years, the capital city’s metropolitan area has evolved into a collection of exciting destinations and thriving districts – populated with unique retail, locally-owned restaurants, and increased nightlife – that previously did not exist.
The region has seen a resurgence, a renewed sense of energy, and a better understanding of its strengths in the past decade. Lansing has played host to significant investments in infrastructure, welcomed a newly crafted skyline, and developed a buzzing creative sector that draws local and global talent.
In the spring of 2005, there was no viable social network for those transitioning between life as a college student, to young professional, to settling down as a family. To fill that gap, Grand River Connection (GRC) was established to offer monthly networking events for young professionals in their 20s and 30s. The diverse, non-partisan group provided fun, social, and professional connections that encouraged economic growth and community involvement in the Lansing region.
Recently celebrating its 15th Anniversary, Grand River Connection boasts a networking event on the fourth Tuesday of every month, a quarterly professional speaker series, and co-leads the annual Ten over the Next 10 awards recognition event.
Lansing 5:01’s acquisition of Grand River Connection will marry each organizations’ strengths to foster the region’s talent retention and attraction efforts into the next decade and beyond.
As the economy in the Lansing region has grown, so has the need for highly skilled talent, which was the genesis for creating Lansing 5:01 – a talent attraction and retention initiative showcasing the best of Lansing to Lansing’s future. The organization, which started as an idea five years ago, now partners annually with nearly 30 of the region’s top employers and presents a series of large-scale events throughout the summer for young professionals and college interns, as well as a “Comeback” event series to recruit former Michiganders and Lansing expats. Additionally, the organization’s website, lansing501.com, visually positions Lansing as a great place to call home – serving as a digital tool for employers and hiring companies looking to recruit talent to the area.
The acquisition of Grand River Connection is a strategic opportunity to provide talent attraction and retention programming to the full spectrum of emerging professionals, including college interns, young professionals, and “boomerangs” looking to relocate to the area.
Lansing 5:01 is a non-profit organization, and will retain the programs, name recognition, and logo for Grand River Connection. Rather than operating as two separate organizations with similar missions, Grand River Connection will become a regular networking and professional development series for local young professionals, as part of Lansing 5:01’s suite of events.
Grand River Connection Events in 2021!
While in-person gatherings are on pause during the pandemic, Lansing 5:01 has announced the creation of three virtual opportunities for the first quarter of 2021. Beginning in January 2021, Lansing 5:01 will present monthly events on Zoom to hear from a local leader about a topic that can be influenced by emerging professionals in the community, followed by a roundtable discussion of ideas, solutions and suggestions. Each event will also feature a fun presentation by a local brewer, distiller or restaurant owner to highlight local businesses that deserve our support.
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