Every year, the Portland Business Journal releases a list of “40 under Forty,” the most notable Portland people who have managed to accomplish a great deal of business and civic good prior to hitting the “big four oh.” And every year, I anxiously thumb through the awards, hoping to see all of the awesome Portland entrepreneurs who are doing cool things around here.
Unfortunately, I’m usually disappointed. I mean, there are a bunch of great lawyers and CPAs and such. But startup types? Not so much.
So this year, I thought I’d see if we could stack the deck a bit. You see, nominations for the Portland Business Journal 40 under Forty are open.
We are looking for 40 FABULOUS executives under 40 years old; candidates who have character, achievement and involvement as a consistent theme in their career. Know somebody who fits this description? Nominate them! They will be featured in The Business Journal 40 Under Forty special publication and honored at an awards celebration at the Armory in the Pearl on February 18, 2010.
And yes, self-nominations are accepted and encouraged.
In addition to the basic info, you should be prepared to provide a reason for the nomination, as well as examples of the nominee’s leadership in business, awards, and civic contributions.
So get to it, you crazy kids. And start nominating those other, um, crazy kids.
I’ll look forward to opening the 40 under Forty issue next year and seeing some familiar faces—and introducing Portland to some of the amazing entrepreneurs here in town.
For more information, see the Portland Business Journal 40 under Forty nominations.
[HTML1]
Comments are closed.
[…] been the Portland Business Journal’s annual Forty under 40 list. I always look. But I’m always disappointed. Like a sad little game of “Where’s Waldo?” CPA, CPA, CPA, lawyer, realtor, […]
I found your blog on google, keep up the good work!
Found this post when researching the 2010 “40 under Forty” awards. Just wanted to let you know your plea to incorporate more start-up nominees is working…
Ben McKinley, my coworker and founder of Cascade Web Development, was nominated to this year’s group. We try to support the city (just launched our “Plant an Evergreen” project) and stay active in the business community so it was great to hear your opinion of what constitutes a nominee.
I just wanted to say thanks on behalf of Cascade Web Development for your efforts to push us start ups types in the limelight and share in award these celebrations.
If we’re nominating people under 40 and then focusing on ‘forty over forty’ (which I completely agree with) aren’t we neglecting the potential brilliance of people who are actually 40 right now?
Yes, it would be great to see several folks nominated who’ve been able to create successful (profitability, I think ought to be a major factor in the judgement) entities in the tech-related sector.
I also think there ought to be focus on ‘forty over forty’ (or some other cute name) since I would argue that it’s equally (or more) worthy of recognition for those who accomplish big things later in one’s career, especially if a restart or retooling is part of the equation.
Maybe we should organize and focus our efforts for a greater chance of getting some SilFlo startups included? Maybe agree on 3-5 people and all submit from that list?
So: Jmartens, Rick Turoczy, and…..
😉