A funny thing happens when you get 460 young professionals together in a room, let them hear a wonderful speaker and then feed them beer and brats afterwards. They get energized, start thinking and begin cultivating new relationships. They also begin to see their city in a whole new light.

The "young and young-thinking" professionals are skeptical, technically savvy, and all but immune to traditional "your father's" sales pitches. Many call Milwaukee's young professions and consumers (ages 19-39) "the MTV generation." They rock and roll, make good money, want to make a difference and need to have their voices heard.

To facilitate this need to package and promote Milwaukee's younger generation, the MMAC (Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce) in association with several area companies including OnMilwaukee.com, created YPM (Young Professionals Milwaukee), a networking, development and social group for you fast tracking young professionals.

OnMilwaukee.com was honored to help fill the Todd Wehr Theatre for the kick-off event on Thurs., Aug 9. Our active, younger demographic was the perfect fit for the evening. We also felt privileged to spend a good part of the day with Ron Lieber, a senior editor at Fast Company and the speaker for the evening. Leiber's insights were thought provoking, witty and fun. In fact, the entire evening was incredibly lively -- a true testament to a city that's on the rise, and is finally catering to its younger generation and in turn, getting them jazzed about Milwaukee's future. If we aren't telling a good story about our city, who will?

But don't take our word on YPM. Here's young professional and Norlight Telecommunications employee Greg Quigley's take on the evening:

Fast, Young and Professional…How cool is that?
By Greg Quigley

When I first heard about the Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM), I thought to myself "that's a group I need to get involved with." Being a young professional and someone that avidly enjoys networking, it seemed like the right place for me to be on a Thursday night after work.

The meeting was held at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and was promoted as a place for young "fast-trackers" to network with other professionals from their age group. YPM intends to have all of their meetings in unique and trendy locations with speakers who are younger and interact with the audience.

The kick-off meeting featured Ron Lieber, a senior editor for Fast Company magazine. When I heard about the speaker I thought it would be cool, but I figured Ron would be an older guy in his 40's or 50's. I was wrong. I guess that's what I get for not reading his bio.

Ron Lieber, still in his 20's (29 to be exact), isn't doing too bad. I thought this fact was one of the event's biggest benefits to its young attendees. The fact was that Lieber is only 29 and a senior editor for Fast Company. I know this gave me some inspiration and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.