Opinion: SBJ's 'Under 40' class inspires action

They’re quite a group, working in industries across the spectrum, including banking, media, construction, natural resources and nonprofits.

It’s possible that this special publication means a little more to me than those from years past – this version is the first I’ve handled in my new role as features editor.

But one thing hasn’t changed: Reading about the accomplishments of this under-40 crowd makes me feel like a bit of a slacker. These people are my peers – we’re all under 40, and we all live and work right here in the Ozarks. But what I can’t figure out is when these honorees find any time to sleep, between balancing their careers, their community work and, in many cases, their families.

I think I’m doing well to fit in church and PTA activities among my work at SBJ and all the activities my kids are involved with – baseball season has just begun, and games start the first week of June. These individuals, on the other hand, seem to be able to balance those things, in addition to pitching in for local nonprofits, reading some really good books and thinking and planning for the future.

I enjoyed reading about all of the honorees, but some did stand out, not only for their recent accomplishments but also for the journeys that brought them to today.

Take, for example, Kendra Williams, who now works as the administrator of community health and epidemiology at the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. In 1990, her life was very different: She was a divorced high-school dropout with an infant. But rather than accept that as her lot in life, Williams decided to rise above it. She went back to school, earning her GED and a college degree. She credits her husband, who she’s been married to for 13 years, and her daughter, now 15, with supporting her quest for a better life.

There’s also Anjanette LaBellarte, who in 2003 was a stay-at-home mom that was forced back to work when she became a single parent. Today, she’s an account executive for Welcome Wagon, which promotes area businesses to new homeowners. And she’s proud – as she should be – of the fact that in three years, she’s gone from using government assistance to a successful career in sales. It took hard work and studying, but she did it.

And while community involvement is pretty much a given among 40 Under 40 honorees, what’s most interesting for me, is why some of them choose to volunteer.

Jacob Sappington, for instance, grew up with a single mom and learned that to achieve success, he’d have to work hard, with dedication. Today, he’s a civil trial attorney at Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, and he volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks. The reason? Growing up, he had a “big” who spent time with him, and, he says, he hopes that he is helping his own “little” in the same way he benefited from the organization.

The 2006 class of 40 Under 40 is the eighth for SBJ. A quick look through the rosters of each year shows that the honorees have continued to work for success. There’s Gov. Matt Blunt, a 40 Under 40 honoree in 2000, when he was a state representative and development and research manager for Churchill Coffee Co. Raymond “Rusty” Worley, a 2001 honoree, who in 2005 left his post as vice president for administration at Drury University to serve as executive director of Urban Districts Alliance. Russ Marquart, a 2001 honoree, was named president of Empire Bank in April. And 2005 honoree Michael Homeyer was promoted May 12 from senior vice president with Bank of America-Missouri to serve as president of the bank’s Springfield region. (Both Marquart’s and Homeyer’s promotions are addressed more fully in this week’s In Focus on financial services.)

Those continued accomplishments are surely just a few among the 320 individuals who have been named 40 Under 40 honorees. We’ve often referred to them as “movers and shakers” on the business scene, and it seems as though they’re all doing their part to live up to that.

Maria Hoover is SBJ features editor.