Mountain Times - Volume 49, Number 48 - Nov. 25- Dec. 2, 2020

The Mountain Times • Nov. 25 - Dec. 1, 2020 COLUMNS • 35
RYP celebrates seven years
By Elicia Pinsonault
Rutland Young Professionals
celebrated its seventh birthday this
year. Throughout the past seven
years, our energetic group of volunteers
has worked tirelessly to create
a vibrant Rutland area that attracts
and retains young professionals.
Chances are you’ve heard of us
by now. But you may not understand
who we are, what our
purpose is, and why we do what
we do. We hope that through these
new monthly columns,
you’ll learn more about
us, what we’re accomplishing,
and get to
know our members.
Rutland Young Professionals is
an all-volunteer organization. Our
mission is to engage with our community,
create social and professional
networking opportunities,
and work to build a Rutland area
that attracts and retains young
professionals.
Unlike many other nonprofits,
we do not have any paid staff
members. We rely heavily on our
11-person board and dozens of
other committed volunteers to
keep us going and to carry out our
mission. Our board members and
volunteers come from diverse
backgrounds. We are Vermonters
– either by birth or by choice. We
are young – all under the age of 45,
but youth is a state of mind, right?
And we are professionals – lawyers,
business development managers,
communications professionals,
healthcare workers, business owners
and leaders, realtors. We’re also
restaurant servers, retail associates,
and yes – some of us are even
unemployed and looking for our
next career opportunity. We take so
much pride in being all-inclusive.
You’ll learn more about us, and why
we chose to live, work, learn, and
play in the greater Rutland Region,
in future columns.
Rutland Young Professionals was
one of the first young professionals
groups in Vermont, but several
more have emerged across the state
in recent years. There’s no denying
the critical need for support of this
We are young – all under the age of 45,
but youth is a state of mind, right?
demographic group.
According to the Vermont Futures
Project, Vermont continued to
lose population in 2019. Last year,
we saw 400 fewer residents than the
year before, and 1,800 fewer than in
2010. We’re currently seeing an uptick
from people of all ages seeking
a safe sanctuary from the Coronavirus
pandemic, but it’s not enough
to reverse the years of population
decline we’ve faced. A growing
percentage of current Vermonters
are now over the age of 50. We want
to change that trajectory. Rutland
Young Professionals’ programs and
initiatives promote our region to
young professionals near and far
– ones who will grow or bring their
businesses, start their careers, and
raise a family here. This is important
not only to Rutland County, but
to our state as a whole.
Research suggests that one of the
most significant factors that influences
where someone decides to
take root is the social factor. That’s
why we’ve continued to engage our
community in social and professional
networking opportunities
through in-person and virtual
mixes and casual meet-ups. It’s why
we participate in the Red Carpet
Concierge through the Real Rutland
regional marketing initiative.
We know that local employers often
struggle to recruit high-quality talent.
That’s why we offer our Let’s Dish
program and serve as a welcoming
committee for people who are considering
making Rutland
County their home.
We know that one of
the greatest barriers to
career advancement for
young professionals is a lack of professional
development opportunities.
That’s why we’ve offered series, summits,
and our professional development
grant.
For the past seven years, our
focus has been to find creative ways
to connect people, jobs, volunteer
and mentorship opportunities,
professional development, and
fun. This is important work, and
we know it’s had an impact on our
community.
We look forward to sharing more
about Rutland Young Professionals
and our members with you in
the coming months. To learn more
about RYP and how you can get
involved, visit rutlandyoungprofessionals.org,
find us on Facebook or
Instagram, or email info@rutlandyoungprofessionals.org.
Elicia Pinsonault is presidentelect
of Rutland Young Professionals
and chair of the organization’s
marketing committee. She works
as communications coordinator at
Castleton University.
Police to increase patrols
for Thanksgiving weekend
Vermont has experienced 60 traffic fatalities so
far this year. Of those killed, 57% were not properly
restrained with seat belts, and more than 45% of the fatal
crashes involved impaired drivers.
As part of the continual and ongoing efforts to reduce
deadly and serious injury crashes on Vermont’s roads,
the Vermont State Police will remain vigilant on aggressive
and impaired driving behaviors that are responsible
for our highway
deaths — namely:
speed, aggressive,
impaired and unrestrained
motorists.
The Vermont State
SUDOKU
45% of the fatal
crashes involved
impaired drivers.
Police encourages every motorist to drive responsibly
and to have a designated driver. There will be no tolerance
for people who make the reckless decision to drive
under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“Traffic enforcement is a critical mission to the
Vermont State Police and remains one of the most effective
tools in keeping our roads safe, but we cannot do it
alone,” said Vermont State Police Lt. Tara Thomas. “Seat
belts and designated drivers save lives. Please buckle up
and don’t drive impaired this Thanksgiving holiday.”
PUZZLES page 19
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Invest: Strategies for keeping your money growing, pandemic or not
from page 33
compensate for the temporary loss of your employer’s accounts provide no tax advantages, but they are liquid
401(k) match.
and still offer growth.
Another alternative is redirecting a portion of your Having a growth mindset is central to building a
retirement contributions to a Roth Individual Retirement good retirement plan while young. With many years
Account. Contributions to a Roth IRA are made with until retirement, a young investor’s accounts should be
funds on which you’ve already paid income tax, and in weighted toward stocks, with enough diversification to
many cases offer more flexibility when it comes to investment
protect against poor performing stocks or industries.
choices. But whatever you do, keep contributing. By Success in the stock market comes over the long haul,
staying the course, either in your 401(k) or Roth IRA, you and young people have time to ride out cycles and
can continue to grow your nest egg and take advantage of downturns.
a market recovery when it arrives. And if you can afford to With a long time horizon and relatively low income
increase your contributions, you’ll keep your retirement relative to their later career earnings, young investors
plan on track. While these are all positives, it’s important are in a unique position to realize the benefits of these
to save elsewhere. Remember, qualified retirement funds vehicles. Using a mixture of these different account types
are functionally locked away until age 59 1/2, so they will diversify tax exposure and balance savings and earnings
aren’t available in the event that a cash need arises. Moreover,
with accessibility.
401(k) savings are taxed at the time of withdrawal. For young investors, it cannot be emphasized more:
Young investors should consider balancing traditional start saving early, be consistent, be diligent, be growthminded.
401(k)s with a Roth IRA – or Roth 401(k) if it’s offered – or a
Start saving in a systematic way and diversify
normal brokerage account. Roth contributions are made as you can. Whatever 2020 is throwing at you, it doesn’t
after tax, but they allow tax-free growth and withdrawals
have to stop you from having a good, disciplined plan
in retirement. They also typically allow penalty-free that will pay off many years from now.
withdrawals up to the amount contributed. This provides Albert Lalonde, a financial planner and investment
some liquidity as well as an excellent tax benefit for accounts
advisor representative, is the founder of Kaizen Financial
that appreciate substantially. Regular brokerage
Group.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE