Young professionals Carolyn Walley and Amber Logue of Nashua attended FLEX in Milford on May 12.

MILFORD – A group of young Nashua professionals mingled and shared information at Greenleaf Restaurant’s outdoor patio on Wednesday night for “FLEX,” an acronym for Future Leaders + Entrepreneurs Exchange, a community networking group.

The event was sponsored by Kristin Hardwick, co-founder of Coworking House, 52 Nashua St., in Milford in conjunction with the Greater Merrimack Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Coworking House was created to support and facilitate professionals in the Milford area who needed an office or use of a conference room – a trend which has seen a huge increase in recent years.

Hardwick said she was pleased with Wednesday’s turnout.

“I thought it went great,” she said. “With COVID and people just getting back out there, I didn’t want to have any expectations. I didn’t know if we’d have five people show up or if we’d have a ton. The people who were there were there to meet other people. No one was just standing in a corner by themselves.”

The only local networking group for young professionals working or living in the area, the goal of FLEX is to create an intentional space for 20, 30 and 40-somethings (and the young at heart), to connect and grow professionally.

The idea began last January 2020, when Hardwick realized there wasn’t a young professionals group in Milford.

“I don’t like driving to Nashua for events during the week,” she admitted. “It’s the same trying to get to Manchester or Derry, who has a great program going on. But we didn’t have anything.”

Nashua professionals that attended included Amber Logue, the chairperson for the City of Nashua’s Master Plan Committee, which looks at land use and zoning in the city, which includes Main Street and the Daniel Webster College property.

Oscar Villacis and Carolyn Walley also attended.

Logue’s company House of Morgan, which pairs ancient scents to honor the tradition and ritual of candle burning, is launching in June.

“I loved it,” she said of the FLEX event. “I also sit on the board for Nashua’s IUGO, which hasn’t been able to have any events because of COVID. But last night’s event was awesome – I’m looking forward to more.”

FLEX plans to host monthly events, with after-work networking functions outside during the summer months.

“Coworking House operates to support local businesses and professionals,” Hardwick said. “This felt like a natural fit.”

While the Nashua Chamber of Commerce hosts the young professionals group, Hardwick reached out to the Greater Merrimack Souhegan Valley chamber to partner.

“They agreed and I said I would do all the heavy lifting,” she said. “I said I would just love it if they could promote it to their list of members.”

When the vaccine rollout began in February Hardwick was optimistic that she could proceed with the FLEX event.

“We realized that maybe we could start doing something again,” she said. “If we waited until May and held it outdoors when people had the choice or the option to get vaccinated, we thought it would be a safe plan.”

Hardwick said that during the pandemic, Coworking House continued to operate safely for professionals who have office space there. That she added, was a boon.

“All of our private offices were used every single day,” she said. “All of our day offices are used and our conference room hours are up 150 percent.”

The gap that Coworking House is trying to fill is that some people weren’t necessarily comfortable sitting in an open space but that has seen an uptick in activity within the last two weeks.

“It’s getting busier,” she said. “Coworking cultivates conversation. And if you’re an extravert and you’re working from home for 12 months because you’re forced to, that takes its toll on a person mentally. We’re finding that people are ready to be out in the world again.”

For more information about Coworking House or FLEX, visit cohonh.com.

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