LAST CHANCE: 40 Over 40 nominations close tonight
This Presidents' Day, help us find and recognize Charlotte's unsung leaders. It's easy to nominate — and the deadline is 11:59 p.m.
Today is Presidents’ Day, and there’s no regular edition of The Ledger.
But if you don’t mind taking a break from reflecting on the importance of Chester A. Arthur and other presidents from our past, take a moment and nominate somebody for The Charlotte Ledger 40 Over 40 awards. The deadline is tonight at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time).
We all know 2020 was a challenging year. But I can tell you from looking at some of the nominations that there is reason for optimism. There are people out there — lots of them — who are working to improve Charlotte. You don’t always hear about them, but they are there. We want to highlight them and celebrate them. (Full contest details here.)
We’ve pulled out all the stops, searching high and low for people born before Feb. 15, 1981, who are working hard in different ways to make our community a better place: We’ve taken out online ads. We hired celebrities — Paula Abdul, Luke Maye and a guy who is definitely Tom Cruise — to appear in promotional videos. We produced a few TikToks, including some that didn’t run afoul of music copyright restrictions. We even sponsored a few episodes of The Charlotte Podcast, a long-running local podcast with talkative hosts that is often described as listenable.
But we could use your help, too, to identify contenders. Do you know an inspirational business figure? A teacher who’s working harder than ever for students? A nonprofit leader doing essential and unsung work? A dedicated healthcare worker? A volunteer who devotes time to an important cause? Who in your network, aged 40+, stands out? Let’s get that nomination in — it’s an easy, quick form to complete.
Our wise millennial and Gen Z judges are eager to get to work. We want them choosing from among the best candidates.
Unheralded greatness? And who was Chester A. Arthur? He was elected as vice president in 1880 and assumed the presidency in 1881 after the assassination of President James Garfield. He’s generally considered one of the most obscure presidents in American history. Yet he had some significant accomplishments, including civil service reform and taking the first steps to build a modern navy. He took office at age 51.
In other words, sometimes people are doing important work — even if we don’t know who they are. Help us find Charlotte’s Chester A. Arthurs. Nominate for 40 Over 40 today!
—Tony Mecia, executive editor
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith