Best and brightest in business honored at Forty Under 40 ceremony

By Melissa Westphal

BusinessRockford.com

As it honored 40 young leaders Wednesday night, the Rockford Chamber of Commerce shined a spotlight on the region’s bright future.

The chamber hosted its first Forty Leaders Under 40 reception at the Rockford Art Museum, 711 N. Main St., with a crowd of about 325 people.

Twenty-five men and 15 women, ranging in age from 25 to 39 — including one man who is just days shy of the 40-year-old cutoff age, rounded out the list of political, business and nonprofit leaders.

Chamber officials received 111 nominations for the first-time awards, and the list represents a diverse and regional cross-section. A 13-member committee decided the winners.

Rockford Chamber President and CEO Einar Forsman noted that the program is twofold: to recognize young community leaders and encourage others to get involved.

Tom Muldowney honored his co-worker, LaVonne Brown, during his brief speech representing Savant, an investment management firm in Rockford, the event’s presenting sponsor.

Brown was one of the honorees, and as Muldowney congratulated her at the podium, he unrolled a banner that read “wow.”

“Rockford has a great future to look forward to,” Muldowney told the crowd. “This is a historic event for the community. ... Rockford is very proud of you.”

John Groh, the chamber’s senior vice president of marketing and public affairs, shared a few tidbits about the honorees — 18 of 40 were born in Rockford; five owned up to having tattoos.

Only 11 said they were part of the social networking sites Facebook and MySpace, and 33 of the 40 are married or engaged.

Pam and Brendan Maher were both honored with awards Wednesday night. Pam is with KMK Media, and Brendan works for Williams McCarthy.

They have two children and another on the way, so work doesn’t necessarily end when their day jobs do. That’s why it’s especially nice to be recognized when you least expect it, Pam said.

“Neither one of us knew the other had been nominated,” Pam said with a laugh. “I think it’s really great that the chamber took the initiative to honor young leaders like this, and it’s definitely an honor to be part of this inaugural group.”

At 25, David Sidney was the youngest honoree. He’s an urban planner with Gary Anderson Associates, and his parents, Peggy and Roosevelt Sims, were there to support him during Wednesday’s reception.

“He has always shown leadership and the desire and ability to get involved,” Roosevelt Sims said.

Staff writer Melissa Westphal can be reached at 815-987-1341 or mwestpha@rrstar.com.

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In the winner’s circle: 40 leaders under 40
Name: Chandler Anderson
Age: 38
Job: Owner of Icon Development Group

Name: David Anderson
Age: 37
Job: President of Spring Creek Development Co.

Name: Lisa Anderson
Age: 31
Job: Assistant vice president of preferred services at M&I Bank

Name: Nicole Baxter
Age: 37
Job: Manager of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 gearbox program at Hamilton Sundstrand

Name: Conor Brown
Age: 29
Job: Government affairs director for the Rockford Area Realtors

Name: LaVonne Brown
Age: 33
Job: Director of client experience at Savant Capital Management

Name: Mary Cacioppi
Age: 35
Job: Director of economic development and business attraction/retention/expansion for the village of Roscoe

Name: Luan Dean
Age: 39
Job: Co-owner of Lula’s Vintage Boutique

Name: Russ Dennis Jr.
Age: 36
Job: Vice president for Leading Edge Hydraulics

Name: Jeremy DeWeerdt
Age: 38
Job: Lead pastor at Rockford First Assembly Church

Name: Earl Dotson Jr.
Age: 38
Job: Deputy administrator for the Winnebago County Board Chairman’s office

Name: Lisa Frost
Age: 38
Job: Artist and teacher, owner of Lisa Frost Studio

Name: Mike Hakanson
Age: 38
Job: Vice president and Realtor/homebuilder/developer for Gambino Homes

Name: Amanda Hamaker
Age: 38
Job: Chief operating officer for the Girl Scouts of Rock River Valley

Name: Shane Hartje
Age: 36
Job: CEO of 1st Step Mortgage

Name: Emily Hartzog
Age: 31
Job: Community relations officer for the Rockford Public Library

Name: Jorge Herrera
Age: 31
Job: Assistant vice president of commercial banking at JPMorgan Chase

Name: Jeff Hultman
Age: 35
Job: Senior vice president and division manager for JPMorgan Chase Bank

Name: Cedric Johnson
Age: 25
Job: Community relations specialist for the American Red Cross

Name: Dustin Kaap
Age: 35
Job: Ram Air turbine engineer for Hamilton Sundstrand

Name: Ian Linnabary
Age: 34
Job: Partner and attorney with Reno & Zahm

Name: Brendan Maher
Age: 37
Job: Partner in litigation group for WilliamsMcCarthy

Name: Pam Maher
Age: 35
Job: Vice president for direct sales and marketing for KMK Media Group

Name: Bill Miller
Age: 39
Job: Assistant vice president, regional HR manager for Associated Bank

Name: Melissa Miller
Age: 39
Job: Commercial broker, associate for Century 21 Country North

Name: Larry Morrissey
Age: 38
Job: Rockford mayor

Name: Amy Ott
Age: 38
Job: Deputy director of administration and finance for Chicago Rockford International Airport

Name: Jennie Pollock
Age: 35
Job: Deputy managing editor at the Rockford Register Star

Name: Peter Provenzano
Age: 36
Job: CEO of SupplyCore

Name: Bharat Puri
Age: 35
Job: Director of finance and development for First Rockford Group

Name: John Quinn
Age: 38
Job: Vice president, health-care philanthropy practice for the Furst Group

Name: Antonio Ramirez
Age: 27
Job: Associate program director of youth and teen development at the YMCA of Rock River Valley

Name: Brent Scott
Age: 32
Job: Vice president of commercial banking for JPMorgan Chase Bank

Name: David Sidney
Age: 25
Job: Urban planner for Gary Anderson Associates

Name: Paul Sletton
Age: 30
Job: Owner, chef for Brio, Cru and Jackson’s

Name: Shari Snyder
Age: 35
Job: Assistant vice president of consumer lending at Belvidere National Bank

Name: Joe Sosnowski
Age: 31
Job: Rockford alderman, vice president of commercial real estate for Buckley Real Estate

Name: Tim Storm
Age: 39
Job: CEO of FatWallet.com

Name: Holly Swanson
Age: 33
Job: General manager for Total Living Network (TV51)

Name: Tonya Thayer
Age: 36
Job: Executive director of Habitat for Humanity

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