Celebrating its sixth anniversary, Topeka’s Top “20 Under 40” award honors members of the Topeka/Shawnee County Community for their commitment and contributions both professionally and personally. Each spring, members of the greater Topeka community are invited to submit nominations for the “20 Under 40” award and then nominees are sent an invitation to formally apply for the honor. After the application deadline close, a selection committee of more than 20 Topeka community leaders spend countless hours reviewing every submission. This year, the program received more than 115 nominations and 85 applications. The decision to select only 20 honorees out of such a large pool of worthy candidates each year continues to become an increasingly difficult task.
It is our pleasure to announce the following community members as this year’s honorees:
Amber Beckley, Beckley Chiropractic Leo Cangiani, Scott Dual Language Magnet Elementary School / USD 501 Jessica Domme, Kansas Attorney General's Office Brett Durbin, Trash Mountain Project Sparky Edwards, Dept of Veterans Affairs Andrea Etzel, Kansas Dept. Wildlife, Parks & Tourism Suzie Gilbert, Security Benefit Corporation Billie Jean Graham, BNSF Railway Jennifer Harader, Oasis Family Medicine Associates, LLC Brendan Jensen, Jensen Communications, LLC Brett Klausman, Midwest Health, Inc. Jay Loschke, Equity Bank Rachel Sachs, Advisors Excel Randall Schumacher, PediatricCare Jamie Stafford, Key Staffing Emma Starkey, Community Resources Council Tiffany Strohmeyer, Barry's Drug Center/Dunne's Pharmacy Juli Watson, USD 501- Highland Park High School Krystal Wiltz, The Home Depot and Washburn University Sabrina Womack, Silverbackks, Inc
“On behalf of the ‘20 Under 40’ Selection and Steering Committees and Jayhawk Area Council, thank you for the incredible response to the call for nominations for this year’s award. We are in awe of the talent and accomplishments of our young leaders in the Topeka community,” stated Nick Xidis, Vice President of Finance for the Jayhawk Area Council Board of Directors. “We are excited to recognize our Honorees through an event that provides financial support for the more than 6,000 youth involved in Scouting in the Jayhawk Area Council. This includes critical funds that help the Scouts of the Highland District participate in year-round programing and summer camp experiences. The Highland District serves Scouts who are the most at risk to not succeed due to economic and family situations. Through their scouting experience we aim instill the values of good conduct, respect for others, and honesty that are the foundation of tomorrow's leaders.”
The 2015 Honorees will be recognized at a banquet on Thursday, November 12th, at the Ramada Downtown Convention Center. More information about purchasing tickets or providing sponsorship to the event is available online at http://www.jayhawkcouncil.org/
To learn more about Topeka’s 20 Under 40 program, visit: www.jayhawkcouncil.org or www.facebook.com/20Under40.