Encouraging YPs to give back through service

Helping the new Young Professionals of Johnson City to grow and serve the region is a big goal for Nathan Farnor in 2024.

Helping a relatively new organization to grow and serve the region is one of several items on the plate of East Tennessee State University’s Nathan Farnor for the new year ahead.

Farnor, coordinator of Leadership and Civic Engagement at East Tennessee State University, is chair-elect of the Young Professionals of Johnson City (YPJC) for 2024.

YPJC will celebrate its second anniversary in February. Farnor, who joined the organization in the fall of 2022, has served this year as a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council. In addition to providing guidance on YPJC’s priorities and programming, this council offers support to McKenzie Templeton, director for Young Professional Development for the Chamber of Commerce of Johnson City-Jonesborough-Washington County.

Farnor and Templeton, both alumni of ETSU’s prestigious Roan Scholars Leadership Program, were instrumental in bringing the 2023 YP Unite Summit to Johnson City, leading the planning, coordination and marketing efforts for the event along with other members of the Young Professional Advisory Council. Farnor credits Templeton with initiating the process after she attended the 2022 event and saw that young professionals in the Appalachian Highlands region needed something similar.

This was the first time this annual gathering of young professionals from throughout the Southeast was held outside of Kentucky. The summit brought participants from Pennsylvania to Florida together in Johnson City in November for three days of professional development, networking and collaboration.

“Reflecting back on the summit as a whole, I hope it can serve as a reminder that the Appalachian Highlands has so much to offer and contribute to our state and country,” Farnor said. “The people, communities and industries in our region have made a positive name for themselves and continue to make our home a place that others want to visit, live and learn from.”

As YPJC chair in 2024, Farnor looks forward to continuing to bring young professionals together from throughout the Appalachian Highlands to connect, participate in professional development activities and give back to the region through direct service.

“I am a firm believer in the importance of young professionals being active and engaged members of our community,” he said. “For 2024, we have big plans to support young professionals in getting more involved outside the workplace through non-profit board service, city boards and commissions, and even our first YP Day at the Capitol. Overall, I hope we can support young professionals in shaping the futures they wish to live and work in.”

Farnor invites young professionals and leaders from many industries and fields to take a look at YPJC.

“Whether you are an office professional, independent contractor, educator, freelancer or entrepreneur, or if you are practicing a professional trade, I encourage you to join us in Young Professionals of Johnson City,” he said. “All are welcome.”

Learn more at ypjohnsoncity.com.

Farnor is a 2018 graduate of ETSU with a B.S. in political science and a B.A. in Communication Studies. He was recently appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to serve on the Volunteer Tennessee Commission for the State of Tennessee. At ETSU, he is the staff lead for the university’s award-winning and nationally recognized voter engagement initiative, ETSU Votes, and is a member of the “Go Beyond the Classroom: Community-Engaged Learning” Quality Enhancement Plan leadership team.

ETSU faculty and staff are engaged members of the community and often win competitive grants and fellowships.

East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.