One Chamber of Commerce employee’s “meet cute” helped inspire the event.
Author: Olivia Dunne
Published: 11:43 PM EDT August 20, 2025
Updated: 11:43 PM EDT August 20, 2025
MACON, Ga. — Ian McNeal wasn’t looking for love when he attended a Macon Chamber of Commerce networking event last year. But he found himself talking to one woman the entire time.
“I finally got the gall to ask her out,” McNeal said.
That woman was Rebekah Hollar, who works for the Chamber of Commerce. She and McNeal just celebrated one year of dating, and their relationship helped inspire something larger: an effort to help other young professionals find community and maybe even love in Macon.
Their own “meet cute” sparked the creation of “Mingle with Singles,” a recurring event designed to help young professionals connect, make friends, and potentially find love while building stronger ties to the city.
McNeal says he’s attended several “Mingle with Singles” as a wingman and says it’s about more than finding a date.
“It creates community that’s essential for people trying to ground themselves in where they’re working and living,” he said.
As a lifelong Macon resident, McNeal says he’s seen many people leave the city because they weren’t able to find community, which is exactly what Mingle with Singles hopes to solve.
J.R. Olive, Vice President of Operations for the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, emphasizes that Mingle with Singles goes beyond typical mixers. The goal is to convince young people to stay in Macon by helping them find community and develop a sense of belonging.
According to Olive, the events foster pride in the community that ripples throughout the entire city.
“I think that encouraging people to stay in a place goes a long way to creating a sense of place and a collective happiness or a collective satisfaction with where we live,” he said.
Friday’s event will be held at Overlook on Third and starts at 6 p.m. To sign up or learn more, visit choosemacon.com