Like any community Austin takes some getting used to, but community leaders say there’s no better place to live.

That was the message behind Awesome Austin’s first event Friday, where more than a dozen new Austin residents met with community leaders to discuss the city and its culture.

“We wanted to make it easy for people to connect,” said Community Concierge Kristen Olson.

Awesome Austin is the latest part of AustinWorks, a program formed through the chamber and Vision 2020’s Business Friendly Environment committee to address the loss of talented young professionals by connecting workers and their spouses to the community.

The program is designed to introduce and connect new employees and their families to Austin in the hope it will help people become a part of the community and make them want to stay in town.

That was the hope behind Friday’s lunch at the Hormel Historic Home, where new residents learned about the area as well as major projects in Austin such as its growing arts movement and Vision 2020.

“Austin is a town that has so much possibility,” said Kelly McCalla, Riverland Community College’s new dean of arts, humanities and social sciences. “And the college is trying to engage in that and trying to be a part of that.”

McCalla moved to Austin with his family in July. He said he enjoys the city thus far and looks forward to finding more ways to connect people with Riverland.

“We clearly need to find these opportunities together,” he said. “An event like this really helps me understand the efforts that go into making this community really special.”

Mower County Historical Society Executive Director John Haymond agrees. Though he commuted to Austin for a bit, he and his wife, Elena, decided to move to Austin last month after Elena took a job with the Austin Public Library.

“The town made a really good first impression,” Haymond said.

Mayor Tom Stiehm shared his first experience in Austin with the group, as he and his wife had a tough time in the city for the first few years they lived here. However, he said things changed when the Stiehms decided to get more involved.

“That’s the key, you’ve got to get involved,” he said. “Staying home and watching TV is the worst thing you can do.”

The next Awesome Austin event will be at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 18. Though only three are set up thus far, Olson hopes to continue the events as more residents come to town.

“We’ll fine-tune the experience and learn from it,” she said.