07/25/2024
EMERGE Lakeland, the brainchild of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Central Florida, is a networking organization dedicated to the betterment of Lakeland’s young professionals. Originally launched in 2004 and designed to help recruit and retain talented young professionals, it has evolved into a vibrant networking organization with a strong philanthropic spirit. After two decades, EMERGE continues to thrive, boasting a diverse membership that spans various professions and industries across Lakeland’s business community.
Through a network of volunteer committees, EMERGE plans and executes its own programming focused on civic engagement, networking, personal and professional development, and volunteerism. Several signature events have become synonymous with organization. Follow the Leaders, an event providing young professionals the opportunity to speak in small group settings with established leaders of the Lakeland community, has proved valuable in connecting various generations of local leadership and The Emerging Race has provided young professionals the opportunity to explore our community in an exciting race against other teams while completing physical and mental tests along the way. EMERGE, through its program EMERGE Serves, has also taken the lead in training young professionals on how to serve as effective board members for non-profit organization.
I joined EMERGE a few years ago as a young professional who returned to Lakeland after leaving school. Since I have been a member, I have been involved in EMERGE Serves and now serve on the steering committee. This year, I took the next step and became the chairman of the Professional Development Committee. As committee chair, I organized the Follow the Leaders dinner, which connects our members with the leaders in the community most young professionals cannot communicate with. This year’s event focused on a political theme and invited elected officials to speak on how they got elected and the impacts of local politics on young business professionals and Lakeland. Last year, I participated in the Emerging Race, an Amazing Race-style event where racers compete in different team-based challenges at various locations in downtown Lakeland. While my team did not win, we did connect in a way that traditional networking events don’t offer.
I have found EMERGE to be an effective tool in integrating myself into the Lakeland business community and encourage any young professional not knowing how to connect with others in the community to consider EMERGE to be the right first step.
Landon Schneider | ATTORNEY