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thePeorian.com
The Future
Weeks is somewhat typical
of the YPGP membership. The
LaSalle-Peru native got involved
with the group while a student
at Bradley University and stayed
active when she decided to stay
in Peoria after college. “I started
working on the social develop-
ment committee because I wanted
to give back to the community
that had become my home. I’ve
found out that is what motivates
a lot of our members.”
An accountant at Caterpillar
Inc., Weeks also is part of the
Caterpillar Young Professionals,
a growing group that recently
raised more than $1,000 for Easter
Seals with a trivia night.
“
I believe our group is help-
ing to recruit and retain talented
young people in Peoria. That’s
very important to the commu-
nity’s future,” she said.
Cundiff agreed. He’s a na-
tive of metropolitan Peoria who
started with the group while
still in college, brought in by
co-founder Jessica Mroz. An-
other co-founder, Brett Ellis, has
become his best friend. “The first
Young Professionals social I went
to was in June 2008 and it was
the start of my rebirth in Peoria.
I got involved, I enjoyed it. You
know, for a transplant Peoria is
nothing more than a black dot on
the map. Our social events show
them more of the city than they
would otherwise learn as quickly
and they meet people, people
of Peoria. That’s why our social
events are so important and they
are part of the secret of our suc-
cess.
“
But the bottom line is, we
are a professional development
group that is building the future
of Peoria. We do outreach, fund
raising, charity work. I took it
upon myself to start the Murray
Baker subcommittee because I felt
we were missing the historical
perspective of Peoria and now
we do talks on city history, we
give trolley tours and scavenger
hunts. Yes, we are the future of
Peoria but we can’t go forward
without knowing about our
past. We call it the Murray Baker
subcommittee because we are the
bridge between the city’s past
and its future,” Cundiff said.
Dr. Tim Cundiff, who led the Young Professionals of Greater Peoria campaign,
is shown in his optometrist's office in Peoria.
Peoria
2013
