40 Under Fourty

I have been honored to be a Emcee of 40 Under Forty in Syracuse since moving to New York in 2003. This event honors people in the community working to make the community a better place. As a 2006 Recipient of the award and a person to nominate people who have gone on to receive the award I have seen how truly moved people are to be recognized for their efforts.

It costs nothing but time to fill out the nomination form and the honoree gets to come to a wonderful luncheon at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center and be honored and receive a wonderful item to display on their desk.

As host of this event I try to encourage people to cheer for their colleague when they see their picture up on the big screen and everyone loves that it is a more relaxed atmosphere. I always have fun telling them that it's my job to keep all 40 honorees up on stage for one big final picture at the end- and I'll hunt them down if they leave. They always get a big kick out of that- because we usually have one or two that try to get away- hehe. People ask me if I get the jitters when I'm up in front of a big crowd like this. My answer is sometimes. Usually it happens when I have to say a lot of names- because I care to get them all right! But this event is so wonderful and I truly love the fact that people are being recognized so the enjoyment far out weighs any jitters.

If you know someone under the age of 40 who deserves recognition for their efforts- contact your local 40 Under Forty group. For Central New York click HERE. For Capital Region click HERE. There are several regional 40 Under Forty groups in Western New York and the Hudson Valley and beyond- so if you are in an area aside from the two links I encourage you to do a Google search for 40 Under Forty for your county.

For news coverage on YNN of this week's event click HERE.