Mount Washington Valley News Brought To You By Horsefeathers

Tom Eastman
Reprinted from The Conway Daily Sun

CONWAY — Staci Blair and David Rudewick have been named the new co-chairs for the Young Professionals of Mount Washington Valley, according to Janice Crawford of the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce and Jac Cuddy of the Mount Washington Valley Economic Council.
The latter two organizations are the sponsoring agencies for the Young Professionals group, which is an affiliate of the chamber and the economic council.
The Young Professionals engages young professionals to explore educational opportunities, community connections, and possibilities for mentorship. They aim to encourage and empower the next generation to contribute their best to the greater Mount Washington Valley community. The Young Professionals offer support, education and networking opportunities for young people of the Mount Washington Valley.
Rudewick is the executive director for the Mount Washington Valley School to Career Partnership, serving SAU 9 and 13. He has run the School to Career Partnership since November of 2007.
“I hope my work with the Young Professionals will help connect young leaders and businesses from the economic council and chamber of commerce with teachers and schools to encourage student aspirations,” said Rudewick, who serves on several boards and task forces and said he is looking forward to new possibilities from the network of associations he has forged.
Blair is currently the manager of Flatbread Company in North Conway, where she has worked since 2003. Earlier in the year she received the Respect Award from Valley Outreach, honoring Flatbread and her, as manager, for their “commitment to progressive policies and family friendly practices.”
“Flatbread is incredible to support me to lead the Young Professionals and shows other businesses how important it is to support your employees and your community,” said Blair, who was an active student leader throughout her years at Kennett.
Crawfordand Cuddy both praised the young leaders’ enthusiasm for getting involved in worthwhile causes in the valley.
“Both Staci and David were graduates of the inaugural class of Leadership Mount Washington Valley this past spring and together make a terrific pair,” said Crawford.
Leadership MWV is the primary program of the Young Professionals and is a nine-session long seminar program that provides mentorship from existing community leaders, educates participants about how to serve on local boards and committees, and empowers young leaders to act effectively to help solve local problems. Modeled after similar programs such as North of the Notches and Leadership NH, Leadership MWV had 13 graduates in June 2008 and will be offered again January of 2009 with applications available Oct. 15.
The Young Professionals on Nov. 6 are scheduled to host a five-minute networking session at Tuckerman’s Tavern in Intervale. Based on the popular “speed dating,” it will maximize time to allow participants to meet their business complement based on criteria selected during registration. The Young Professionals group is offering this free to the first 40 people who register.
To learn more about the Young Professionals or any of the programs mentioned, contact Rudewick or Blair at chair@mwvyp.com. “The Young Professionals members range in age from 18 to 40s, but young at heart are always welcome,” said Rudewick, adding that prospective members do not need to be a member of the chamber or the economic council to join.
For more information, call the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce at 356-5701.