As the month of August draws to a close, so too will the nomination window for MoodyontheMarket.com’s annual 40 Under 40 awards.
The award series, which has been in existence since 2018, recognizes local young professionals from Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties. Nominations must be received at moodyonthemarket.com/40under40 before 11:59pm on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. The independent nominating committee will meet to review the nominations and announce winners in September.
This year’s sponsors for the award series include McGhee’s Heating & Air Conditioning, Lake Michigan College, and the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber with support from the Mason Jar Cafe and United Way of Southwest Michigan.
To nominate a local individual, click here to fill out the form. Just be sure to do so before the end of Tuesday. Check the list of past winners by clicking here, and take note that past winners are not able to be re-nominated or win more than once.
The nomination rules and qualifications for 2021 include the following:
– Nominations close Tuesday, August 31st, 2021, 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.
– Chosen young professionals are expected to attend the awards presentation, either virtually or in-person, on a date to be determined, 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 September; 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 do NOT enhance a person’s chances. 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 only be selected for a single 40 Under 40 program within a 12 month period and may not be selected for the same program more than once. Please check the previous year winners for 2018, 2019, and 2020 at moodyonthemarket.com/40under40 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. 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 2-4 weeks after the entry deadline. All young professionals will be invited as guests to the 40 Under 40 Reception at a later date where they will have two seats reserved in their honor and be presented with their award (if the awards take place in-person; otherwise, you will be invited to a virtual ceremony via Zoom). 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.
