Speak up

Manatee County officials don't want to just talk about millennials. They want to get the generation involved in shaping the county's future.

That's the goal of the Manatee Millennial Movement, which began in January 2015 when several county employees were tasked with studying the housing needs of millennials. The group, known as M3, now numbers almost 40 millennial county employees from various departments who work to educate younger residents about their community and how to play a bigger role in it.

“Leadership recognized that young people were not being engaged in the process that's currently going on to determine what Manatee County looks like 20 years from now,” says Ogden Clark, 32, one of the group's co-founders and an employee in the county's Neighborhood Services department. “It's easy for young people to say maybe later on I'm going to be thinking about that, but then it's a little too late because there's policy being decided right now.”

M3 has experimented with a variety of methods to reach this age cohort, everything from the expected use of social media to fliers, word of mouth and visits to local colleges and organizations.

Through these efforts, regular meetings and special events, it's learned of millennials' desire for things such as affordable rentals, increased connectivity to the urban core and entertainment and leisure options that appeal to their age group. And it's helped provide them with the resources and tools to make their voices heard and affect change.

“It's about getting people to recognize that now is the time to voice their opinions,” says Simone Peterson, 26, another group co-founder. “Ultimately, we want them to become the future leaders of Manatee County.”

M3 plans to continue the conversation by bringing millennial residents, county government officials and other interested parties together for its first-ever #4Progress Millennial Con, scheduled for April 1 through 3. And the group is already planning the 2017 conference, with hopes of drawing attendees from outside the area.

That could help with another goal: changing the image of Manatee County as just a retirement or vacation spot. M3 members say many area college students don't see Manatee as a place to live and work long-term. But this age range will be desperately needed to help fill jobs as baby boomers retire.

“We don't have a lot of young professionals coming into the county, so we're probably going to experience somewhat of a workforce shortage in the next five years,” says group co-founder and Neighborhood Services employee Anisley Mena, 25. “We live in a beautiful place and there's so much to do here. Maybe we can change the perception of Manatee County to be more young professional friendly.”