Do you know a young person who has served as a leader in their business or the community? Have they contributed to the positive growth of the Fort Dodge area?

Then they are eligible for the 10 Under 40 program.

An annual collaborative effort between the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, the Fort Dodge Young Professionals and The Messenger, 10 Under 40 is a program that recognizes 10 high-achieving individuals from the region, according to Jill Nelson, community development director for the Growth Alliance and a Young Professionals board member.

“When we say high-achieving, we’re looking for individuals excelling in their place of business where they work, but they’re also leaders in the community and have shown community engagement, involvement and leadership,” she said.

Nominations are now open for the program. Forms are on the Growth Alliance’s website and are due in the Growth Alliance office, 24 N. Ninth St., by noon on July 12.

Nelson said the nomination form includes a section where the nominator can provide examples of why the person they’ve selected should be honored as a 10 Under 40.

“So they’ll have the opportunity to say what some of the recognition they’ve received at work, what is their job, what are their duties, how they’ve had a positive impact,” Nelson said. “They’ll also have the opportunity to share some examples of community involvement, community engagement, leadership, how the nominee has taken an active role in the community.”

Once all the nominations are received, Nelson said a selection committee comprising Growth Alliance members, Young Professionals and Messenger staff members will review the forms and score them on the two points of criteria.

“Once the winners are selected, they will all be recognized in a special section of The Messenger on Sept. 15,” she said. “I would just encourage everyone to nominate someone. I think everyone knows of an individual under the age of 40 that has made large contributions to the community and excelling in their place of work and we want to recognize those individuals.”

Nelson believes it’s important to recognize young leaders.

“Recognizing our young leaders in the community is very important, in my opinion, because we have so many people that contribute to the success of the region, and a lot of them are young leaders,” she said. “So we want to recognize those individuals and encourage other leaders in the region, too, and encourage other leaders and young professionals to get involved.”