“I knew that research was out there, but 62 percent is really eye-opening,” said Porter, current vice chair of Metro EDGE, the Metro Chamber’s young professional program.

That number, presented by Downtown Development District of New Orleans CEO Kurt Weigle, was part of a body of research that found most young professionals across the nation pick a city based on things they value before finding a job.

“Earning a good living is important, naturally, but the best and brightest are looking for more than just a paycheck,” said 2012 Metro EDGE Chair Sean O’Brien. “Young professionals are looking for a place to live the best life they can—they want to make it count.”

What do young professionals base their locale choices on? In New Orleans the research pointed out things like diverse and unique neighborhoods, convenient housing and public transportation, and a clean environment. A vibrant arts community, access to entertainment and outdoor recreation also top the list.

“We want Sacramento to be a place where young professionals are excited to live. We want to keep our homegrown talent and attract the best from across the country. We want those who will help lead this region toward a prosperous future. That under-40 talent pool is the future of this city,” said O’Brien.

Ensuring Sacramento’s future is at the heart of Metro EDGE’s mission. The goal: to Engage, Develop, Give and Empower the 40-and-under young leaders of the Sacramento region.

Founded in 2009, membership has grown to more than 450 strong. Members come from a myriad of business sectors, ethnic groups and education levels. They have access to various professional enrichment opportunities that are offered throughout the year. EDGE-ucational Forums, networking events and philanthropic projects are among the many Metro EDGE offerings that bring young professionals together.

More than purely social, Metro EDGE provides future leaders a chance to contribute today. Since inception, Metro EDGE has logged more than 1,200 hours of community service and raised more than $8,000 in cash and in-kind services for charitable causes in 2011.

“Our members are incredibly engaged. We want to help, and we want to be a part of positive change,” said O’Brien.

The group encourages members to get involved. From city council meetings to Metro Chamber events to the Next Economy Regional Forums, our members are everywhere.

“Metro EDGE represents the voice of young professionals in the region,” said O’Brien. “We’re not going to be heard, or contribute to any kind of solution, by sitting on the sidelines.”

Not only civically active, Metro EDGE is leading the charge in taking pride in our hometown.

“New Orleans has a very unique brand. It has a culture all its own. It has swagger,” said Porter. “Sacramento desperately needs to embrace its own identity, and Metro EDGE is working toward that end.”

Porter went on by saying, “We have some of the best weather and freshest food in the nation, we’re the state capital, and we have an amazing community and family atmosphere. We all need to take some pride in how great this region is. We all need to believe it and live it every day. Metro EDGE members are doing it, and we want everyone to.”

Metro EDGE is encouraging a larger contingency of its members to join the 2012 Metro Chamber Study Mission to Denver this fall. Part of that program will be devoted to studying the Downtown Denver Partnership’s strategy to attract and retain young professionals. That strategy includes creating a vibrant center city for the surrounding region by building up downtown physically, culturally and socially.

“Young professionals in Sacramento have chosen to live here. We all have a stake in this community and we want it to thrive,” said O’Brien. “It is truly a great time to be a young professional. And it’s an even better time to be in the Sacramento region.

We get the feeling like we’ve been here before. In case you haven’t heard, Sacramento has, yet again, been named one of America’s Most Miserable Cities by Forbes. Below, 2012 Chair Sean O’Brien gives the writer his feedback.  

Hey there Kurt –

I’ve felt truly miserable a few times in my life. Once I ate some bad mussels for dinner. (the funny thing is – I was in San Francisco I swear)  Around 2 a.m. I awoke and had horrible food poisoning. I was sick for two days and it was miserable.  Once I was in a horrible car accident, they thought I had internal bleeding and things didn’t look good. My mother was crying at my bed side and there was nothing I could do. That was miserable.

It’s hard to argue against the fact that the above are two pretty solid examples of misery. I survived both and am looking pretty good. I believe Sacramento will enjoy the same fate.

I work in finance and I’m a numbers guy (my poor writing didn’t give it away?) so I get that you looked at crime, unemployment & property taxes, put them into a spreadsheet and determined your misery index. I understand that Sacramento is not without its problems but I’ve got to tell you that we are not a miserable city. Not even close. We worked hard during the boom, built Sacramento up and we now are facing challenges like everyone else in this world.

I admit the 2002 Western Conference Finals brought a few tears to my eyes (I’m a sensitive guy) but my beloved Kings have never made me feel miserable. You say we might not miss them? That’s crazy. I’d like direct you to the March 2011 SBNationarticle by Tom Ziller. To quote Ziller, “The Kings have sold out all 41 home games in 17 of their 26 seasons in the Sacramento. Think about that: The gym was packed in every game for an entire season 17 out of the 26 years the team has been in town. (All of this comes despite a .438 winning percentage since the Kings moved to Sacramento.)”

Sacramento is a town where people are taking action to foster positive change! I urge you to look at Metro EDGE, the Sacramento Metro Chamber, SARTA, SACTO, Valley Vision, and others! The list could go on and on. There are talented and engaged people in Sacramento who are working on making our future the best it can be. It will be a bright future and I know Slamson, Evans and Mayor KJ will agree.

Let’s stop looking through this, “miserable,” lens and look at the long term.  Pessimists are correct at any given point in history but never the long term. You’re a New Yorker and maybe you don’t understand the strength of a Californian. You might think it’s all sunshine, beaches, and ski slopes for us best coasters. I’m almost positive you’ve never been to Sacramento so let me tell you that we’re a pretty resilient bunch out here. I believe what you, and many others, call “miserable” is a walk in the park for a Sacramentan!

When you’re ready to call and apologize I will consider taking your call. But don’t call me this Thursday night – I’ll be with more than 100 Kings-loving young professionals who make up Metro EDGE – cheering for our Sacramento Kings!

SOB
Sean O’Brien (Gotta love my initials)
2012 Chair of Metro EDGE

MacKenzie Gilmore is the 2012 Chair of the Metro EDGE Regional Action Committee. She recently began a new job and shares below how her experience at last year’s Executive Insight event helped her focus on what she wanted in a job and in herself.  

At some point in every young professional’s life, there come various points when it’s time to make a change.  It could be that we’ve outgrown our position.  It could be that the environment is no longer conducive to our development.  It could be that we just need a change of pace.  The problem becomes determining just want to do next.  That is the position I was in toward the end of 2011.  I knew it was time for a change, I knew the parts of my job that I didn’t enjoy, and I has a sense of what I might want to do.  But I really couldn’t clearly articulate any of it, which isn’t exactly a strong answer in an interview as to why you want the job, nor is it a great explanation to your spouse why you should make a change.

That changed when I attended the Metro EDGE Executive Insight event last fall.  Among the executives I had the opportunity to speak with was Mike Heller.  He spoke, as did others, about the need to have passion for what you do each day, work hard but still find balance, and give back to your community.  But then it happened.  Someone at my table asked Mike about how he chose who he wanted to partner and work with on projects.  And he said he wanted to work with savvy, sophisticated partners.  He didn’t want to have to explain the basics of his business, defend his hard work if things didn’t go according to plan, or justify his decision making.  That was it – the thing that was missing in my current role: the opportunity to work with the savvy, sophisticated side of my business.  Suddenly I could clearly explain to my husband why I wanted to shake things up for our family, articulate in an interview why I wanted to make a change, and clarify in my own mind what had been bothering me in my job. 

And it worked.  I started my new job last month and eagerly look forward to the next Executive Insight event as an opportunity continue to learn and grow along with other young professionals in Sacramento.

Kelly Brothers, Partner and Financial Advisor with Genovese Burford & Brothers, sat down with Metro EDGE during the latest EDGEucational Forum to chat about financial planning for young professionals. The biggest takeaway? Just get started! “Do it yourself or, if you’re not comfortable, work with an advisor to make sure you’re doing it right,” said Brothers.

In this video clip he tells the group of what he likes to call “The Starbucks’ Savings Plan.” :: Kelly Brothers :: The Starbuck’s Savings Plan

Other financial planning tips from the presentation/round table discussion included:

1. You have to take charge of your retirement. No one is going to do it for you.

2. When picking a 401(k) plan, diversification is the key :: “Don’t bet it all on red.”

3. Target-date (age-specific) funds are a good option.

4. With your 401(k), always match the employer match – make it a habit.

5. Morningstar is a great resource for research.

Brothers stressed taking action … not letting your retirement planning wait for another day or another person to think about. There is no one-size-fits-all solution either. There are many options for retirement and you can customize based on your unique situation. With a little legwork, you can get ahead of the game and gain perhaps the most precious commodity of all … a little peace of mind.

Sacramento Business Journal

Survey: Young professionals favor redeveloping downtown plaza

Monday, July 11, 2011, 1:52pm PDT
A survey of young Sacramento-area professionals found that many thought redeveloping the downtown plaza is important to the future of the city.

Metro Edge, an organization of professionals under the age of 40, found that those surveyed were split on how the plaza — currently under the ownership of Westfield as the Westfield Downtown Plaza — should be redeveloped. Some favored high-end retail, others favored mixed-use housing and retail and still others supported a sports and entertainment complex.

“Sacramento’s young professionals understand the economic impact of a strong retail hub in the downtown area,” said Alexis Fitzpatrick, chair of Metro Edge, in a statement. “It is important Downtown Plaza be redeveloped not only to attract new investment opportunities, but to keep the downtown area a desirable area for local businesses.”

To read the full article with more results go here »

Sacramento Bee

Read the full story here »

Five members from the Leadership Council were invited to represent Metro EDGE at the Mayor’s Institute on City Design : Creative Class Luncheon on Tuesday, February 15, 2011. From our perch on the 25th floor of the US Bank building at 621 Capitol Mall, we had an expansive view of the region, which framed our conversation beautifully. The Office of the Mayor and Downtown Sacramento Partnership put together a diverse panel of creatives, entrepreneurs, advocates, designers, developers, planners and more. The discussion focused on the JKL corridor, but ventured from downtown to mid-town and the R street corridor. We discussed what’s working, what isn’t, what the city needs, where we can draw inspiration from and more.

We’ve asked a couple attendees to share their thoughts on the discussion to help you get an insight into what the discussion was like. We also invite you to participate in the discussion in the comments below.

Sean O’Brien : : Merrill Lynch

2012 Metro EDGE Chair-Elect

Thanks’ to EDGE I got to partake in an amazing event today with the Mayor’s Institute on City Design and the Office of the Mayor. We got the opportunity to have an open forum with city planners from around the US and discuss the future of Sacramento. Let me tell you – sitting on the 25th floor of the US Bank tower overlooking Sacramento sure is the best place to dream about the possibilities. With all the things discussed – I walked away with the same positive opportunistic attitude that makes me love Sacramento. I’m looking forward to hearing our members thoughts in the comments below.

Alison MacLeod : : KP Public Affairs

Philanthropy Chair

Today’s discussion on the revitalization of the J/K/L corridors in downtown Sacramento showed that there is no shortage of good ideas on how to bring our city’s downtown to the next level. We have a ton of local strengths, and huge opportunities that we can capitalize on – from thriving local agriculture that supports farmers markets, to beautiful river landscapes, a huge population of young professionals working in the capitol community, to the arts and dining expertise – we have a lot of potential. At today’s brainstorming session we talked about cities and urban lifestyles that are appealing, and there are good lessons to be learned and practices to emulate. But really the question comes down to implementation. How do we turn these good ideas into action? How can we leverage the interest and enthusiasm of Sacramento’s young professionals, our business leaders and community residents to really transform our downtown? While excitement has grown for midtown, there are still a ton of vacant properties and less-than-appealing locations on downtown J/K/L. I know there is a lot of frustration around town regarding what the downtown core is missing – so how do translate those frustrations, and all the good ideas of what a new J/K/L vision should look like – into ACTION? The City Initiative will announce its recommendations tomorrow, and I hope that we can find a way to tackle them in a real and meaningful way, so that we maximize the energy and enthusiasm of the Sacramento downtown community to push for real improvements. The opportunity is there, and I hope we can bring together the stakeholders to make real progress toward our shared goal.

Phil Tretheway : : Marketing by Design

Communications Chair

This was a great discussion that I wish every EDGE member had a chance to participate in. It was refreshing to hear the  variety of opinions coming from similar and disparate backgrounds. I was proud to see that we are all an optimistic bunch, but also unafraid to acknowledge the big challenges we have ahead of us. We discussed our favorite spots in downtown/midtown, the challenges of JKL, the potential of JKL, the needs of downtown, the perceptions of downtown, parking, the success of midtown and second Saturday, and cities and neighborhoods that we wish Sacramento could emulate. Kunal Merchant, the mayor’s Chief of Staff, and the amazing panel of experts from Mayor’s Institute on City Design (MICD) did a great job leading the conversation and asking great questions. I’m excited to see the recommendations that the MICD will be presenting to the City Council today at noon.

Ryan Porter : : Rudolph & Sletten, Inc

Events Co-Chair

I was lucky enough to participate in this great event with my peers noted above and I can’t even express how refreshing it was to feel like my opinion can and IS making a difference locally. Although every EDGE member was not represented we made it our goal to relay any and all information / feedback we have received through our member surveys and through word of mouth at our events.

Over the course of this round table discussion roughly 20 local residents from a vast array of careers and backgrounds were asked pertinent questions about what the J/K/L street corridors needed from a development standpoint. Our feedback jumped around from discussing safety concerns specifically in the J/K/L area, to exploring development options of new and exciting mixed use buildings to creating an overall goal and vision for the Sacramento downtown area. With our feedback this panel of experts will give their best recommendation for how best to sum up the needs and desires of Sacramento’s residents and put a game plan in place for the revitalization effort to continue in the heart of downtown. The great ideas, concepts and designs mentioned during the round table are a start, but the real challenge will be to make sure we carry the torch forward once the recommendations are handed down.

Overall I felt honored to be apart of such discussions and it was humbling to realize there are so many people in the area who are doing their part to make a difference in our town.

Today, 2/16/2011, the group will present its findings during a public meeting at Noon – 1:00 pm at City Hall. This meeting is open to the public, and all MetroEDGE members are  encouraged to attend.

We would love to hear from our members:

What are your favorite spots in Mid-town and Downtown?

What is JKL missing? What is downtown missing?

What cities, streets or neighborhoods that you’ve visited do you wish Sacramento would emulate?

Here’s your third sneak peak into the background of one of the four local entrepreneurs we have lined up for you at next Thursday’s EDGE Insight event. First us was Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO, click here to read his profile. Then came Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer, click here to read his profile. Third came John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CEO, click here to read his profile. Last, and most definitely not least, came Robb Moore, ioSafe – Founder & CEO, click here to read his profile. The event will be held at Spataro on October 21st at 5:30pm. This intimate venue will give you a unique opportunity to ask questions and network with  speakers as well as attendees.

Meg Arnold, SARTA – CEO
(EVENT MODERATOR)

Meg Arnold became CEO of SARTA in November 2009, after being closely involved as a SARTA Board member since late 2005. Prior to joining SARTA, Meg was with UC Davis for six years, supporting technology commercialization and entrepreneurship on the campus, with both UC Davis InnovationAccess and UC Davis CONNECT, where she developed programs to support campus-originated start-up companies, and participated in technology transfer licensing to new start-ups.

After leaving UC Davis in 2008, Meg consulted to Drexel University as Director, Community Partnerships, and to Valley Vision, as Senior Project Manager for the Green Capital Alliance. In addition to SARTA, Meg has served on the Board of the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA), the Steering Committee of the Green Capital Alliance, and the High Tech Direct advisory committee.

Before coming to the Sacramento region in 2001, Meg spent ten years in the telecommunications industry, working primarily in strategic planning and business development for AT&T Canada, in Toronto, and British Telecom (BT), in London. In these roles, her work focused on mergers and acquisitions, strategic and joint ventures, as well as developing and expanding new business units. She was also involved with the then-largest telecom acquisition in Canada, and the corporate restructuring and spin-off program of BT in 2001-02.

Meg has an MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco, and a BA in English from Cornell University. She lives in Davis with her husband, son, and daughter, and would sail competitively on San Francisco Bay if it were closer.

Link to bio online and SARTA website: http://www.sarta.org/go/sarta/about-us/sarta-team/

Come out to the event!

Ever wish you could peek into the minds of local entrepreneurs? Now’s your chance!

Join EDGE for a night of mixing with local entrepreneurs. Enjoy appetizers and drinks from Sacramento hot spot Spataro as you learn about the experiences of several local entrepreneurs.

Bring your questions! You will also have a chance to ask the entrepreneurs what’s on your mind.

Who’s in the lineup?

Featured Entrepreneurs

• Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO
• Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer
• John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CEO
• Robb Moore, ioSafe – Founder & CEO

Moderator

• Meg Arnold, SARTA, CEO

Register Now!

tickets are only $20 for EDGE members

Here’s your third sneak peak into the background of one of the four local entrepreneurs we have lined up for you at next Thursday’s EDGE Insight event. First us was Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO, click here to read his profile. Then came Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer, click here to read his profile. Third came John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CE, click here to read his profile. The event will be held at Spataro on October 21st at 5:30pm. This intimate venue will give you a unique opportunity to ask questions and network with  speakers as well as attendees.

Robb Moore
ioSafe
Founder & CEO

Robb Moore is the Chief Executive Officer of ioSafe, Inc., and is responsible for setting the company’s strategic course. Mr. Moore founded ioSafe – the market leader of the emerging disaster proof computer hardware. ioSafe is a high tech startup in Auburn, CA and manufactures fireproof waterproof hard drives – like an aircraft black box but for consumer and business data protection.

With limited marketing and PR resources, Mr. Moore has used guerrilla-marketing techniques to garner top press from print, internet and television media outlets. ABC, BBC, PC World, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, CNET and many others have covered ioSafe’s unique product line. On track to grow 300% for 2010, ioSafe customers range from the Pentagon, Army/Navy, Fortune 500 to small businesses and home consumers. Products are sold through Costco, Wal-Mart, Amazon, BestBuy and Dell.

Mr. Moore has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and he is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of California.  He has developed hundreds of designs for hi-tech, medical, consumer, aerospace markets. In addition, he serves as CEO of Kollabra – a product development company and also serves on the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) Board of Directors. He is also a general aviation pilot, published author and primary inventor for multiple US patents.

Website: http://www.iosafe.com/

Come out to the event!

Ever wish you could peek into the minds of local entrepreneurs? Now’s your chance!

Join EDGE for a night of mixing with local entrepreneurs. Enjoy appetizers and drinks from Sacramento hot spot Spataro as you learn about the experiences of several local entrepreneurs.

Bring your questions! You will also have a chance to ask the entrepreneurs what’s on your mind.

Who’s in the lineup?

Featured Entrepreneurs

• Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO
• Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer
• John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CEO
• Robb Moore, ioSafe – Founder & CEO

Moderator

• Meg Arnold, SARTA, CEO

Register Now!

tickets are only $20 for EDGE members

Here’s your second sneak peak into the background of one of the four local entrepreneurs we have lined up for you at next Thursday’s EDGE Insight event. First us was Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO, click here to read his profile. The event will be held at Spataro on October 21st at 5:30pm. This intimate venue will give you a unique opportunity to ask questions and network with  speakers as well as attendees.

Dave Kovar,
Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts
Founder & Chief Training Officer

Kyoshi (Master Teacher) Dave Kovar has been teaching martial arts since he was 15 years old.  An internationally renowned instructor with black belt degrees in ten different martial arts styles, Kyoshi Kovar founded his company, now known as Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts, in 1978 with a vision to empower people by teaching martial arts on a completely different level than could be found anywhere else. In the 32 years of its existence, Kovar’s Satori has provided martial arts instruction to over 25,000 students and their nine schools currently provide training to 2,000 students in the greater Sacramento area.  Regarded as a thought leader in martial arts for their innovative approach, Kovar’s Satori is recognized as one of the top martial arts organizations in the world.

Kyoshi Kovar is acknowledged as a “Trainer of Trainers” and people from around the world routinely visit his Sacramento facilities to learn his instructional techniques.  His unique method of instruction earned him the distinction of being the Instructor of the Year in 1992 from the United States Martial Arts Centers.  In addition, Kyoshi Kovar was recently recognized by the Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) with their 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. Kyoshi Kovar regularly provides business and instructional training videos to martial arts school owners and their teams, as well as authoring articles for several martial arts publications.

Website: http://www.kovars.com/

Come out to the event!

Ever wish you could peek into the minds of local entrepreneurs? Now’s your chance!

Join EDGE for a night of mixing with local entrepreneurs. Enjoy appetizers and drinks from Sacramento hot spot Spataro as you learn about the experiences of several local entrepreneurs.

Bring your questions! You will also have a chance to ask the entrepreneurs what’s on your mind.

Who’s in the lineup?

Featured Entrepreneurs

• Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO
• Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer
• John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CEO
• Robb Moore, ioSafe – Founder & CEO

Moderator

• Meg Arnold, SARTA, CEO

Register Now!

tickets are only $20 for EDGE members

Here’s a sneak peak into the background of one of the four local entrepreneurs we have lined up for you at next Thursday’s EDGE Insight event. The event will be held at Spataro on October 21st at 5:30pm. This intimate venue will give you a unique opportunity to ask questions and network with  speakers as well as attendees.

Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO

Mark Otero is a Sacramento native, serial entrepreneur and a social game expert. He first founded Mochii Yogurt in midtown Sacramento then returned to school to pursue his MBA from UC Davis. . Shortly after graduating, Mark built the multi-million dollar social game company, KlickNation, with offices in midtown Sacramento and San Francisco. KlickNation makes astonishingly fun, ferociously addictive games that run on social networks. KlickNation’s flagship game, Superhero City, has taken Facebook by storm! More than 800,000 people play KlickNation games online monthly and the company is creating more games at this very moment!

Mark is a sought after expert in the field of social applications and gaming and was recently quoted in Forbes and VentureBeat. He is a Google “go-to person” for social game development and was invited to speak at the Google I/O conference and in China at the Google Hackathon.

Website: http://www.klicknation.com

Come out to the event!

Ever wish you could peek into the minds of local entrepreneurs? Now’s your chance!

Join EDGE for a night of mixing with local entrepreneurs. Enjoy appetizers and drinks from Sacramento hot spot Spataro as you learn about the experiences of several local entrepreneurs.

Bring your questions! You will also have a chance to ask the entrepreneurs what’s on your mind.

Who’s in the lineup?

Featured Entrepreneurs

• Mark Otero, KlickNation – Founder & CEO
• Dave Kovar, Kovar’s Satori Academy of Martial Arts – Founder & Chief Training Officer
• John Argo, Bloo Solar – Founding CEO
• Robb Moore, ioSafe – Founder & CEO

Moderator

• Meg Arnold, SARTA, CEO

Register Now!

tickets are only $20 for EDGE members