Capital Rotary Club

Capital Rotary members got a lesson on “Generation Y” millennials from March 4 guest speaker Matt Vaadi, who heads ERG, a Columbia-based human resources and payroll services company.  Vaadi (at right in photo with Rotarian Darren Foy) defined millennials as those 20 to 39 years old, born from 1980-1999.  At 86.9 million, they’re today’s largest demographic and 54% of the workforce.  They contribute $1.3 trillion to the economy and are 61% college-educated.  But on average they change jobs every two years, costing some $30.5 billion in turnover/retraining.  Vaadi said millennials are often described as entitled, but should be more accurately seen as achievement-oriented, socially conscious, team players, continuous learners, digitally dependent and optimistic.  Their most valued employment benefits are training and development opportunities (22%), flexible working hours (10%), cash bonuses (14%), free private healthcare (8%) and retirement funding (6%).  Vaadi said the keys to retaining millennial workers are job flexibility, recognition of their efforts and a feeling of “work family.”  He said Generation Y likes to focus on the “why” of doing a job rather than the “how” or “what” the job entails.

After being badly injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005, Steven Diaz (in photo) was left with scars including post-traumatic stress, partial blindness, traumatic brain injury and a seizure disorder.  The former Marine told Capital Rotarians on Jan. 15 that the battle to survive led him to become a founding member of Hidden Wounds, a volunteer organization aiding others with emotional and psychological challenges.  Diaz said Hidden Wounds works to provide immediate and emergency psychological treatment for active-duty, veteran and retired military service members regardless of discharge status.  In many cases, he said, Hidden Wounds is a safety net until the Department of Veterans Affairs is able to deliver long-term treatment through government-funded programs.  Diaz believes that sharing his story promotes better understanding of post-war ailments affecting many veterans and their family members, thus helping to “ease and heal the hidden wounds of the people we love.”

Entrepreneurs looking to start or build a business can find help (and a cup of coffee) at weekly meetings in Columbia and four other communities across South Carolina.  That’s the idea behind 1 Million Cups – a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation initiative to strengthen education and entrepreneurship.  Columbia’s 1 Million Cups sessions take place at 9 a.m. each Wednesday in the Richland County Library’s main branch and are part of a network of 190 such events nationally.  Capital Rotary members were briefed on the program Oct. 2 by Sergio Aparicio and Tim Bradford (shown at right and at left in photo with Rotarian Abby Naas), local 1 Million Cups organizers.  They said 1 Million Cups is not a sales or investor pitch, but a chance for entrepreneurs to explain what they do and what kinds of challenges they’ve faced.  Each hour-long session includes networking, coaching, mentoring and encouragement.  Aparicio works in the city’s Economic Development Office and is currently pursuing International Economic Development Council certification.  Bradford has over 25 years of business management, consulting and marketing experience.  He’s president of The Bradford Group of Companies, LLC with offices locally and in Pittsburgh.  South Carolina’s other 1 Million Cups groups meet in Anderson, Charleston, Greenville and Spartanburg.