News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena attorney Chelsea Wallace is recognized by the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce as a young professional working and living in Alpena. She told her story to the crowd at Thursday’s Good Mid-Day Alpena luncheon and talked about what it means to her to be able to live and thrive in her hometown.

ALPENA –Critical to the sustainability and viability of communities are young people who are business and community leaders and volunteers, officials said Thursday at the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce’s Good Mid-Day Alpena luncheon.

Over the last decade, there has been a significant shift in the number of young people who are becoming prominent players in Alpena, officials said, and the Chamber of Commerce has been shining a light on them, their importance, and their stories.

The focus of Thursday’s luncheon was on people who are young and successful in Alpena. Those makers and shakers are typically in their 20s, 30s and 40s who have chosen Alpena as a place to live and make a career, officials said. Most also dedicate themselves to local causes.

Chamber President/CEO Jackie Krawczak, who also falls into the category of being a young professional, said the Young and Successful initiative was started to help mute a common misconception about Alpena: that success would likely have to be achieved outside Northeast Michigan.

“We were hearing that people can’t come back here and make a living here, so we started this series to combat that perception, because that is absolutely not true,” Krawczak said.

Four people were featured at Thursday’s event. All are college graduates who had roots in Alpena before leaving for college and beginning their careers in other cities and states. All of them reached a point in their lives when they wished to return home and were able to, with good jobs to boot.

Art in the Loft Executive Director Justin Christensen-Cooper, proprietor Jackie Nicoll, financial advisor Andrew Kowalski, and attorney Chelsea Wallace all addressed the crowd about their journey to adulthood and what led them back to Alpena. All agreed that others who wish to call Alpena home and have quality employment can do so.

Chamber Economic Development Director Jim Klarich said the business landscape now is much different than when he began in Alpena in 2011. He said most of the loans that are provided by Target Alpena, the city’s economic development firm, are to people who are just entering the workforce, and that number continues to climb. He said that trend is important to being sure the business community continues to grow and remain strong for years to come.

“I’m just guessing, but I think the average age of a business owner downtown then was late-50s or older, but look at it now.” Klarich said. “I’m betting the average age now is people in their mid-30s and early 40s. We have already closed six loans through June 1, and all of them were to people who are young. That’s great news.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpeanews.com.