For young professionals, by young professionals. This monthly newsletter is published by Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange (FLEX), the young professionals group of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.
Click here or the image below for a PDF of the FYI.
Find articles from the FLEX FYI on the Chamber’s blog.
By Chamber Program Manager Ashley Sheffer
Over the years, we’ve shared numerous articles about the importance of bringing on summer interns at your business or organization. They provide additional help, bring a fresh perspective, and help young people become connected to our community.
Rather than provide the same information, I’m eager to share my intern experience and how it impacted my career for not only the three summers as an intern, but still to this day.
My connection to the Chamber started in the summer of 2011—it was right after my junior year at Cranberry High School and I was chosen as the Oil Heritage Festival Queen. After a fun week of attending OHF events, meeting people in the community, and becoming friends with other queen candidates, I decided I wanted to continue my involvement somehow.
I met with Chamber President Susan Williams and soon found myself volunteering for Chamber events, including FLEX Presents. A year later, as I was heading to Kent State University where I would study marketing and communications, the Chamber presented the opportunity to be their intern on winter and summer breaks.
During those breaks, I learned so much about the community, was given the freedom to try new things and apply what I learned in school, and, of course, had fun helping with the festival and other events.
Fast forward to 2016. The Chamber had received a grant for what we called the Young Professional Initiative (later rebranded as Be Here) and just a couple months before graduating, I got a call offering me a full-time position here.
As I moved back home and was adjusting to “being here” myself, I got to help form this program to encourage people to appreciate all our area has to offer. In addition, I was tasked with assisting FLEX with their events and marketing, allowing me to work with other young professionals.
A few years after I started full-time, I opened Core Goods with Marie and Shaun Alcorn, and I can’t help but credit the Chamber for making this happen. If it wasn’t for the connections I made, information I learned, experience I was given, and passion I gained for the community, Core Goods probably would have never happened.
While an internship is a great way to have extra help while providing experience to young people, it is much more than that. By trusting a student to contribute to your workplace and helping them become connected, you are setting them up for success that can impact their entire professional life.
Need help finding a summer intern? Contact us at (814) 676-8521 or chamber@venangochamber.org.
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s April 2021 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.
Young Professional of the Year nominees were recognized at an event on May 21, 2021.
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Employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, are some of the most powerful savings tools available. If your employer offers a plan and you’re not participating, you’re missing a valuable benefit.
Once you confirm a plan is available, make the most of it by understanding it, contributing as much as possible, capturing the full employer match, evaluating investment choices, and knowing your options when you leave your employer.
Understand your plan
Before you can take advantage of the plan, understand how they work. Read what you can and talk to your employer’s benefits officer, financial planner, or other professionals. Recognize features that many plans share:
Contribute as much as possible
The more you can save for retirement, the better your chances of retiring comfortably. If you can, max out your contribution up to the legal limit (or plan limits, if lower). If you need to free up money to do that, try to cut certain expenses.
Capture the full employer match
If you can’t max out your plan, at least try to contribute up to the limit your employer will match. Employer contributions are basically free money once you’re vested in them (check with your employer to find out when vesting happens). By capturing the full benefit of your employer’s match, you’ll be surprised how much faster your balance grows. If you don’t take advantage of your employer’s generosity, you could be passing up a significant return on your money.
Evaluate your investment choices carefully
Most employer-sponsored plans give you a selection of mutual funds or other investments to choose from. Make your choices carefully. The right investment mix could be key to a comfortable retirement.
Research the investments available. You may want to get advice from a financial professional (either your own or one provided through your plan). He or she can help you pick the right investments based on factors such as personal goals, attitude toward risk, and how long you have until retirement.
Know your options when you leave your employer
When you leave your job, your vested balance in your former employer’s plan is yours to keep. You have several options at that point, including taking a lump-sum distribution, leaving your funds in the old plan, or rolling your funds over to an IRA or new employer’s plan.
401(k) plans are long-term retirement savings vehicles. Withdrawal of pre-tax contributions and/or earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax and, if taken prior to age 59 1/2, may be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.
This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) April 2021 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.
For young professionals, by young professionals. This monthly newsletter is published by Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange (FLEX), the young professionals group of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.
Click here or the image below for a PDF of the FYI.
Find articles from the FLEX FYI on the Chamber’s blog.
