In 1990, it was new, it was a different era when there was mass media and the message got out to everyone. There were not online communities and niche groups to join. Everyone was lumped into one event. Times have changed to more splendor groups instead of one big event. However, First Fridays does have the potential to get back to the 1800 number, but they need the help of local media and young professionals to attend the events and tell their friends through MySpace, Facebook, etc. Enjoy reading…

April 5, 1990

What do you get when you cross 1,800 young professionals, a jazz band, a couple of beer trucks and a worthy charity?

No, not a Republican convention.

First Fridays at Five.

The after-business-hours social benefit, held on three Fridays last summer, brought folks together at downtown’s Century Square for a little goodwill and cheer - from 5 to 8 p.m.

Organizers, city officials and restaurant owners agree the event has proven its worth. From the first social in August 1989 until the final one last October, the crowd jumped from 800 to 1,800 people and the donation to charity rose from $1,200 to $2,000.

After incorporating the event and electing an 11-member board in January, First Fridays organizers expanded the season from April through October. Friday marks the first social of the season - same place, same time.

Barry Simmerman, one of the event’s creators and now president of the board, said he felt First Fridays was quite successful considering how little he and fellow organizers actually knew when they started planning it.

Aside from the obvious monetary and exposure benefits for selected charities, Simmerman said First Fridays was also responsible for bringing people downtown that otherwise might not usually come. Business cards collected at each event revealed a lot people coming from Salem and the Peters Creek Road area, he said.

“We’ve actually had no complaints at all,” Simmerman said.

Roanoke Special Events Coordinator Laban Johnson said he’s delighted with outcome of First Fridays, noting that events hold a lot of business downtown and is the “sophisticated event we need more of to reach younger citizens.”

Business increases by about 20 percent on the nights of the events, according to Greg Winslow, bartender at 309 First Street Restaurant.

And John Williams, owner of Billy’s Ritz, said that although Friday is the restaurant’s big night anyway, First Fridays have had an impact on his business.

But above all, the event is meant for fun. It gives professionals - young or old - a chance to kick off their weekend in a relaxed atmosphere.

Music throughout the season will be primarily jazz. The Ross Humphries Trio will perform Friday. Proceeds will go to the Literacy Foundation.

A $1 admission is charged. Beer, wine and soft drinks will be sold. The Roanoke Jaycees will handle manpower for the event.

In case of inclement weather, the event will be held on the third floor of the Market Building.

Then it hit me.  We put a lot of effort into attracting and retaining talent and we get one like this and ask, “Why does she want to move here from Georgia with all of this fantastic experience?”

If we believe our talent expansion efforts are working and our region is a great place to live, then we should not be surprised to get candidates like this knocking on our doors. Perhaps, these efforts are beginning to pay off and now we must think creatively how to incorporate these talented individuals into our workforce.

We have amassed the Roanoke Connect database (www.roanokeva.gov/connect) to over 2800 people (plus 300-400 that have opted-out) in the last 2 years with over 1000 of them coming from outside the region. Thus far we have been able to quantify 70 persons getting jobs locally through this online matching process. However, this is only a couple percent of those who contacted us.

As we are cleaning the database, I am beginning to realize that the window of conversion with some of these people when they joined our database (unsolicited) is slowly fading.

It’s obvious the demand is there from outsiders to live in the region, and the supply of certain jobs is also ample, however it seems the connections are still not being made perhaps because skills needed are not an exact match of candidates. It seems we are getting closer, but there is still something holding us up and I cannot put my finger on it exactly. Can anyone finish this thought for me?

Thanks!