LOUDONVILLE – A group of young entrepreneurs from the Mohican area have banded together to form a group for like-minded people, and they are planning their first event to help spread word about their group.
Mohican Young Professionals is dedicated to providing regional professionals with social events and programs to help build professional relationships and generate new business in the Mohican area.
MYP board president Jimmy Landoll said the idea for forming the group came from discussions he had with other young entrepreneurs about how to keep young people in the area and how to attract new business people.
“We were saying it would be nice if Loudonville and the Mohican area had a group like this, a group to help mentor younger people and open people’s eyes to the Mohican area,” Landoll said. “A lot of people just kind of view it as a camp and canoe type of place. And that’s great, but that’s not all we are. There’s a lot more going on down here.
“We want to try to attract younger entrepreneurs to this area that maybe want to start a new business but they can start a business here as opposed to say in Mansfield for a little bit cheaper and still have a really successful business.”
The group hopes to attract young professionals from the whole area, not just Loudonville.
“We want to be a regional group,” Landoll said. “We want Richland County, Wayne County, Ashland County people to come out here and really see what Loudonville and the Mohican Area have to offer beyond just weekend camping and stuff like that, because there is a lot going on here.”
The group started taking shape in February and a board was established by the end of month. The Loudonville Chamber adopted MYP, making it a program of the Chamber.
“It’s beyond just mixing and networking. It’s about the political structure here in Loudonville and convincing younger people to get involved there. Everybody’s been really positive about it,” Landoll said.
Young people in all stages of their lives are welcome to join and membership is free. The group is targeted at people age 18-40 but Landoll said there is not a strict age cutoff at 40.
Landoll said he wants to see the area thrive and for more local young people to stay in the area and help the area continue to grow.
“I went to school here, I went to high school in Loudonville and the majority of my friends don’t live here anymore,” Landoll said. “They went off and moved to other areas, some regionally, some out-of-state. I want to help create a thriving economic area here in the Loudonville Mohican Area that helps retain our young people and retain my children someday when they’re ready to graduate to want to stay here and see why this place is so special.”
The group will have its first quarterly event Saturday, May 6, at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. Social hour starts at 6 p.m. and the comedy show begins at 7 p.m. Comedian Josh Alton will perform. Tickets are $5 and the event is open to the public. The event will feature a full bar, 50/50 drawing, appetizers and more.
“It’s just a way for people to come out and visit and see the area, meet local young professionals and see what there is in this area,” Landoll said.
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, Alton moved to Chicago where he studied improv at the famous Second City Theater and continued doing stand up. Eventually Alton became a regular performer at several Chicago comedy clubs. Alton was also featured in the stand up comedy documentaries, “Road Dogs” and “American Smartass” and once did a commercial for the AMC Channel.
Now he lives back in Des Moines and tours all over the country, headlining comedy clubs and private corporate shows.
