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Nearly 80 nominations have been submitted to participate in the 2013 Forty Under 40, a record number according to organizers.
"When we put an event like this together, we're always concerned about getting enough participants," said Wagner Dotto, publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine, which organizes the program. "We were surprised with the high number of nominations. They just kept coming and coming."
A golf pro, a dentist, a chief financial officer, a doctor, administrators, journalists, attorneys, business owners and politicians are among the 77 nominations received.
In the three previous events, an average of 50 to 60 nominations were presented for consideration.
Dotto credits the increase to the fact that the event was better publicized this year.
"We did a lot of publicity, ran some advertisements and sent many letters and emails," Dotto said.
The goal of the event is to identify and recognize those under the age 40 who have made a difference in Oswego County.
"This is one of our most rewarding programs," Dotto said. "It shows we have a great pool of individuals who are or will be leaders in Oswego County."
The event is sponsored by Pathfinder Bank, SUNY Oswego, Oswego Health and Bond Schoeneck & King, PLLC.
Members of the selection committee met April 29 at Oswego County Business' office in Oswego and went over each application. Nominees were judged based on four criteria: education, career, community involvement, awards and recognitions.
"I think we got a good balance. We don't assess applicants based on professional career alone. That's a major factor but we want to make sure the person is involved in the community, has good educational background and have been recognized elsewhere."
All four criteria have the same weight in the candidates' assessment.
Judging the nominations were Marion Cicciarelli, Oswego Health; Jeff Grimshaw, SUNY Oswego; Beth Hilton, Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce; Scott DelConte, Bond, Schoeneck and King, PLLC; and, Robert Butkowski, Pathfinder Bank.
"The only bad thing is that while all of nominees are worth receiving the award, only 40 of them were selected," said Dotto.
Winners will be notified in the coming weeks.
