ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: 

40 under 40 recognizes the type of people that everyone would like to be – they’re the individuals that are going above and beyond for their team and the community, setting the gold standard for others to aspire to.

No matter the person, we’d love to hear about those stellar professionals among us that are making a difference at their workplace, excelling in their industry and making valuable contributions to betterment of Michigan’s Great Southwest. These professionals clearly stand head and shoulders above all others in the region and have been able to excel at what they do regularly. Those selected for representation in the 40 under 40 will be those that set the tone for what every person should ascribe to in Michigan’s Great Southwest.

To nominate a young professional, please keep reading and pay attention to the pointers below for a successful and competitive nomination. Nominations for 2024 begin Monday, June 24 and end July 14.

The recognition event will take place in early August at the Inn at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph. All selected professionals will also be named in a special segment on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM, 98.3 The Coast, and will be featured inside a section at MoodyontheMarket.com on Wednesday, August 7

To submit a nomination during the nomination period, click the link to go to an online survey where you will be asked to answer some important questions about the young professional being nominated. Be sure to read the following information, which explains requirements and eligibility.

Before clicking the link to fill out the nomination form, please read the following requirements and tips for a successful nomination:

– Nominations close Sunday, July 14, 2024, at 11:59 PM.

– Young professionals being nominated must work or live in the following Southwest Michigan counties: Berrien, Cass and Van Buren and must be under the age of 40 before the  date of June 24, 2024.

– Chosen young professionals are expected to attend the awards presentation in mid-August, or invite someone to accept their award on their behalf.

– Selected young professionals are expected to provide a high resolution photo, and additionally be available for a short Q&A-style interview for the recognition on Moody on the Market.com in late July 2024; failure to make time to complete these assets will result in disqualification from the program.

– Self-nominations ARE permitted for this program, but all entries will be scrutinized for completeness, correctness, and honesty.

– Nominations that are not substantially fully completed or that simply feature incomplete or cursory information will be at minimum given less than full consideration or at worst, be removed from consideration completely.

–  One single nomination for your young professional nominee is requested. Multiple entries are considered, but only from multiple nomination forms that are clearly different from each other. Nominations featuring identical responses will be removed; please refrain from repeatedly submitting the same nomination or asking others to do so on your behalf.

– Only one young professional nomination is permitted in each questionnaire. If you wish to submit more than one young professional, you must submit separate nominations for each entry.

– It is highly encouraged to submit nominated professionals that are actively engaged in best practices, have outside interests in the community that they are passionate about, and include any information you have on achievements and recognitions they have been honored for elsewhere in the community, in their industry, or among their peer groups as evidence of their own drive for excellence.

– Each essay question should be answered in complete sentences. Do not use bulleted or hyphenated lists unless they are appropriate to the question asked.

– Young professionals may not be selected for the 40 Under 40 program more than once. Please check the previous year winners for 2018-2023 on this page to make sure you are not nominating a person that has already won this award.

– Nominations must be submitted through this online process only and will not be accepted via email, or any other format, under any circumstances.

– Nominated persons will be contacted by the selection committee to verify their willingness to participate.

Judging:

– A panel of independent judges will review each nomination submitted and assign a score to each entry per judge. This is done privately, and the judges do not share information. The scores are totaled and compared to all entries submitted to help the selection committee determine the 40 honorees. Outside of one vote on the committee from Pat Moody, the staff of Mid-West Family (WSJM Inc.) and this program’s associated sponsors and advertisers do not have any say or vote in the process. Sponsorship of this program does not guarantee that a business’s young professional(s) are automatically considered, or considered with any further weighting to win an award in the judging process.

If your young professional is chosen:

– Those who are chosen as the 40 honorees will be notified within 1 week after the entry deadline. All young professionals will be invited as guests to the 40 Under 40 Reception at the Inn at Harbor Shores in August where they will have two seats reserved in their honor and be presented with their award. In addition, the winners will be recognized in advertising promoting their recognition across Mid-West Family brands on-air, online, and in other advertising forms.