Making Waves

 >>Some people are leaders. Some are joiners. Dan Sinclair is both. Gregarious and social, Sinclair founded the Young Professionals of Lee County, which is now more than 1,000 members strong.

“I was with friends who had just come from a business networking event where most of the attendees were over 60. They wanted a group of people their own age to associate with,” he says. And so the first YP organization in the state was born. Six years later, the group has grown exponentially, and Sinclair has helped create other YP groups across the state.

As president of Sinclair Associates, an industrial and commercial real estate firm, Sinclair uses his business savvy to make YPLC a win-win for corporations and members. “We help businesses retain employees by getting them involved and invested in the community,” he says. “We help members build résumés through charity work and leadership development.” 

Unlike other groups of its kind, which often use the resources of established chambers of commerce, YPLC is an all-volunteer group with no budget. “We’ve grown mainly by word-of-mouth and lots of blood, sweat and tears,” Sinclair says.

Officially the group is for people under 40, but Sinclair, who gives his age as between 34 and 41, says it’s being more flexible since membership has declined—which he blames on the poor economy. “It’s difficult for people to donate their extra time right now. They’re just trying to figure out a way to survive,” he says.

The economic climate has been hard on Sinclair, too. Earlier this year he was forced to close his residential construction business. Even so, “Dan is never down and out,” says Thomas Burt, past president of YPLC and Sinclair’s good friend. “He’s never afraid to try anything, and is constantly thinking of new ideas and approaches.”