By Corinne Lestch
The Daily Northwestern
The race was on Thursday night as a pack of young professionals rushed to find a specialty store for removing upper lip hair.
The Young Professionals of Evanston, which is affiliated with the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, held its first “Amazing Race,” which took members on a scavenger hunt through the city to network and learn more about local businesses.
The hair removal store was the 15th destination on the four-page list of clues and riddles that participants had to solve to win prizes.
Starting with a kickoff at 1800 Club, 1800 Sherman Ave., people began streaming in around 5:30 p.m. to chat with friends and meet their team members. About 10 four-person teams competed.
The idea for the event came from the Young Professionals National Summit held in Madison, Wis., last fall. Events Chairwoman Sian Stevens had been a participant in Madison’s scavenger hunt and modified the event for Evanston.
“As part of the conference, they did this ‘Amazing Race’ scavenger hunt, so that kind of gave me a template,” said Stevens, director of marketing at a retirement home. “It was such a fun experience that I thought we should do it in Evanston.”
Equipped with orange bandannas and about 24 clues, the young professionals set out to learn more about the different types of businesses in the community.
“(The race) is going to familiarize them with commercial businesses and civic venues,” said Special Projects Chairman Jonathan Netzky. “Part of the focus was to give a name to some of the newer, smaller mom-and-pop stores that give Evanston its culture.”
Ian Carswell, president of the organization, has been a member since its inception in June 2005. The Chamber of Commerce invited about 20 professionals to form a group, he said.
“It’s hard as an individual to get things organized, so finding a group where they can get this legwork done for you to put together fun things for our demographic is great,” said Carswell, executive vice president for an intellectual property services company.
Jonathan Perman, executive director of the chamber of commerce, grew up in Evanston and said having this group is important because more young people are needed to replace retirees.
“This is part of our strategy to try to inspire more young people to stay in Evanston so they feel more emotionally attached,” Perman said. “One way that we can better compete for talented people is to do these types of events, which make people more connected to their community.”
Member Monica Leahy, who lives in Chicago and works for North Shore Magazine in Glenview, drew a friend into the already growing network at the event. Another connection was made when Carswell and Leahy’s friend, Melissa Shapiro, exchanged job information.
“I’ve closed business deals, got contacts from speed networking events and an incredible group of friends that I actually spend a lot of time with,” Carswell said.
Reach Corinne Lestch at [email protected].
