One year ago this month the Denver Young Professionals hosted its first Social/Biz Networking Night at the 9th Door in Denver.

One hundred people max walked through the door that evening.

Denver YP president and go-to-guy Ira Johnson and I agreed then that we'd be quite happy if we could duplicate that number in a year.

Instead, we're going to see 100 people come through the door in the first 15 minutes of the DYP's next event this Wednesday, June 17.

If you go:
When: 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 17
Where: Katie Mullen’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, 1550 Court Pl., on the 16th Street Mall
Etc.: $2000-plus in giveaways including a stay at Cheyenne Mountain Resort; see www.denveryoungprofessionals.com for more information. Denver YP is also on LinkedIn, Facebook, Buzzherd, Twitter and Brightkite. Join YP in Colorado Springs and new chapters are in development in Pueblo, Boulder and Fort Collins.

In the past year, the DYP has gone from averaging 100 to 200 people at events to attracting as many as 400; this week's event, starting at 6 p.m. at Katie Mullen's, 1550 Court Pl., on the 16th Street Mall, should be no different. DYP now has 1,700 members and is growing every month.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best venues in Denver -- and have featured some of the most amazing nonprofits at our events. We've worked with ski resorts, including Winter Park and Copper Mountain, as well as the Denver Nuggets and the Glendale Raptors rugby team. Most recently, the Young Professionals helped raise money for Wish for Wheels through a charity pool tournament hosted by The Wynkoop.

We’ve been written up in Coloradobiz magazine, the Denver Examiner and YPNation, as well as in a number of discussion groups and blogs.

Often we're asked, “How did you do it?”

A big part of the organization's success is the fact that Ira and I have been bringing people together since we met 16 years ago as freshmen at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He happened to be from the town my mother grew up in and grew up with her cousins' kids.

When we launched DYP, we did what came naturally: We reached out to the best people we knew from college and other channels here in Denver. Those people then reached out to the best people they knew. In essence, you really could say it’s the quality of people who attend our events that has made every gathering -- and the group -- successful.

The Denver Young Professionals is made up of men and women, who are great, fun-loving people, and they're also at the top of their fields because they're ready to work with others to improve personally and professionally.

We’ve gotten it all: engineers, new media gurus, teachers, sales reps, non-profit employees, doctors, lawyers, account reps, directors, vice presidents, presidents, owners, and, of course, fresh-out-of college newbies, as well as early retirees.

If you have yet to join the fun, come see for yourself why the group has grown so quickly.

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