On Thursday, March 30th 2017, the first SXM Young Professionals Mixer at Oranje Café on Walter Plantz Square drew 120 young professionals looking to expand their network and to introduce them to SHTA. The crowd consisted of young Sint Maarten business talent invited by the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and ORCO Bank.

The Young Professional Mixer was an initiative to encourage networking amongst the newest professionals having recently entered the workforce, as well as those well established, to mix and mingle and navigate future opportunities or just simply meet each other.

By means of the Young Professional Mixer, ORCO Bank and the SHTA tried to recognize those Sint Maarteners relatively new to the workforce and committed to structurally contribute to the entrepreneurial future of the island. Both organizations want to be of assistance to foster this new generations of professionals.

The mixer was the first of its kind and was well received by attendees. Some especially appreciated the dynamic business character of the event. “Good initiative. It is nice for the youth to get in touch and if they think about setting up their own company they get to know a bit how to do it!” – said Mabel from InselAir. Others, like Sara and Tibor from Trisport stressed the networking character “This was a great way to meet new people with a professional yet inviting ambiance. Looking forward to the next event”.

As various attendees stressed the interest to meet some more experienced entrepreneurs, various SHTA “young at heart” members were present too.  Ricardo Perez, General Manager at Oyster Bay Beach Resort was inspired by the presence of a new generation of Sint Maarten businessmen and women. “I think it is a great initiative and different than our regular member mixers. It is nice to see the up and coming young professionals and hear their views on Sint Maarten’s future of hospitality and business”.

In a further show of their commitment to assisting young professionals in achieving their dreams, via home ownership and providing financial alternatives the entire ORCO Bank Team was present, where they mixed and mingled with the event attendees as well.

I think that the initiative that SHTA and ORCO Bank took tonight is something that is very much needed.” says Marvio from 365SXM. He even roots this possibly recurring event in Sint Maarten’s history. “St. Maarten was built upon events like this. Historically, this country is about people from different skill sets from different places coming together to put those skill sets, cultures and experiences to the work and for the benefit of the island. The event itself was organised very well, it’s a good take away. I’m meeting people that I would never have met just on a regular daily basis.”

The organisers thank Walter Plantz Square, Oranje Café, DJ CD Rankin for creating a great atmosphere, and all the young professionals who came out to the event and supported this initiative. As the mixer was well received, if you would like to take part in another young professionals mixer please email info@shta.com .

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