Finalists chosen for The Network's young professional award

The Network, a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce organization for the region’s professionals under the age of 40, Thursday named three finalists for its 2015 Young Professional of the Year.

Finalists are Diana Day, business manager with People Centric Consulting Group; Matt Morris, associate vice president for administrative and information services at Missouri State University; and Travis Tindall, principal and architect with nForm Architecture LLC.

Paige Oxendine, coordinator for The Network, said fellow members and area business people nominate prospective finalists, who submit applications including resumes and essay answers.

An independent group of judges score the applications, with the three highest named as finalists, Oxendine said.

This year’s judges were Ann Marie Baker, UMB Bank president for the greater Missouri region; Thomas Douglas, JMark Business Solutions Inc. president and CEO; and Jay Guffey, Mercy Hospital Springfield senior vice president and chief operations officer.

Oxendine said the organization founded in 2007 has approximately 470 members representing 215 area businesses.

The recipient of the award will be announced at a June 3 luncheon to coincide with the organization’s eight-year anniversary.