Elite presidents' club to start chapter serving much of Virginia

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
January 2007

It's lonely at the top when you're young and successful. That's why some entrepreneurs plan to start a Virginia chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) next spring.

YPO is an exclusive peer network designed to help members exchange ideas to achieve personal and professional growth. To qualify for membership, candidates must be 49 or younger and run a company with at least 50 employees and $8 million in gross sales.

Newport News Realtor Greg Garrett will serve as chairman of the Virginia chapter. It will serve YPO members along the Interstate 64 corridor south of Fredericksburg from the Shenandoah Valley to Tidewater. Three YPO chapters operate in the Washington area, but until now most Virginia members were part of the Southern 7 chapter, which is open to members spread across seven states. Members of that chapter often had to travel to regional meetings and really couldn't participate in many networking opportunities, says Garrett. "We felt like the goals and benefits of the organization could be better achieved if it was more localized," he says.

Based on interest expressed so far, Garrett expects the Virginia chapter to start with 20 members. He hopes to have 60 within the first three years. The chapter will hold monthly meetings in various locations around the region. Members also will have access to local forums. Garrett explains that these confidential groups of six to 12 members will meet regularly to discuss any number of issues. "The forum is a key part of YPO," says Garrett. "Members can talk about anything, whether it's to discuss family or personal concerns or to ask for advice about some idea they're thinking about implementing in their business."

Entrepreneurs already committed to joining the chapter own companies in a variety of industries, including wealth management, telecommunications, construction, high-rise development and government services.

Although members can be no older than 49 when they join, they can stay in the organization until they reach 55. Once accepted, members can enjoy a wide number of perks, including access to an international network of 10,000 other members in 80 countries. Garrett recently joined a YPO member on a trip to Guatemala where they met with President Oscar Berger.

"It's like being part of the most amazing fraternity, because you have access to things that you could never, ever create for yourself," says Garrett. "To be able to call on people in this peer group is really invaluable to a business owner."