Yes. You can nominate as many people as you’d like— including yourself—and you can nominate colleagues, friends, family members or someone you know through their work in the community.

Yes. We know that many people’s success is as part of a team. That said, the intention of the Top 40 Under 40 is to recognize the outstanding work of people, so typically groups of two or three are the most likely to make it through our process. For example, two people who have started and run a business together, or a CEO-CFO team that has really grown a company. All of the co-nominees must be over 18 and under 40 on November 1, 2024 and must have a strong tie to the area. To co-nominate people, fill out a nomination form for each individual and note the other people that they are co-nominated with in the box that asks about co-nomination. In order for each candidate to be eligible we must receive a separate form for each person.

Congratulations, someone has nominated you for Avenue‘s Top 40 Under 40. We have a two-step nomination process and you must now complete the nominee acceptance form on or before 11:59 p.m., May 10, 2024. The form includes questions about your career achievements, education, volunteering and community work. It also asks for references from your work and volunteering experiences. The e-mail you received telling you that you were nominated includes a link to the nominee form on Survey Monkey.

The following questions are asked in the form:

1. I will be over 18 and under 40 on November 1, 2024. Y/N

Demographic Information: This information will be used in aggregate to help inform the editors and program coordinators about who has been nominated but will not be used in the individual judging process.

2. Do you identify as:

Female

Male

Non-Binary

Prefer not to answer

Other (please specify)

3. Which pronouns do you use?

4. Do you identify as:

Indigenous

Black

Person of Colour

Other

Prefer not to answer

5. Do you identify as a person with a disability? Y/N

6. Do you identify as an immigrant? Y/N

Co-Nomination Information: If your nomination should be considered a co-nomination with one or more other nominees, list them here and provide their email addresses. Each co-nominee must fill out a separate nomination acceptance form. If you do not provide an email address for each co-nominee we may not be able to ensure they fill out their form and that your nominations are linked. If your nomination is not a co-nomination, please skip this question.

7. Names of co-nominees and their email addresses:

*8. Please enter your contact information

Name:

Company:

Job Title:

City/Town (must be in Calgary and area):

Email Address:

Phone Number:

9. If you have ever used another name, please enter it here:

10. Please enter your personal information:

Birthdate (yyyy-mm dd):

Highest level of formal education:

11. Give us your elevator pitch. In 100 words or less, tell us why you should be included in Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40.

12. Briefly explain your company’s primary business. (If you are an artist, athlete or sole proprietor, consider your body of work your primary business and explain it here.)

13. What do you do in your work role? Remember that the judges may not be familiar with your industry or field, so try to avoid jargon.

14. What impact have you made within your field in this role? Please note any specific growth numbers (e.g. revenue, client, employee or profit growth), publications or shows, or the start of groups or businesses.

Try to avoid using percentages and instead provide specific absolute numbers. (Try to be as specific as possible. For example, provide numbers of clients or employees, growth in profit or completion of major initiatives.)

If you are including information here that cannot be published in Avenue, please note that in your response.

15. Please provide a name and phone number for reference at your current workplace (if you do not have a workplace per se, this can be a peer in your field)

16. Please describe your career accomplishments, including the length of time you’ve been in various roles, if applicable.

17. Describe your community contributions, including dates and length and amount of time you have volunteered or amount of money raised or donated as applicable. Do not include industry-related groups or professional associations here, we will ask about that later.

18. Please provide a name and phone number for reference with one of the groups you give to, volunteer or work with in the community.

19. Describe any industry-related or business association affiliations or contributions that you make, including annual time commitment if you volunteer with a professional association.

20. Describe any awards and honours you have received for your career or community work.

21. Please list ALL post-secondary institutions and the names of the programs you have attended, including those where a diploma or degree was not granted.

22. Describe how you have made a difference in or raised the profile of the city.

23. Provide any other information that the judges should know in considering you for the Top 40 Under 40.

*24. I would like to receive information about the Top 40 Under 40 gala and events. Y/N

25. I would like to receive information about other Avenue events and promotions. Y/N

26. I would like to receive Avenue’s weekly newsletters (check all that apply)
Food & Drink
Weekender
Home & Real Estate
Insider (messages from our partners and sponsors)

* 27. By completing this form, I agree to abide by the rules and regulations of Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40; I agree that the information in this form is true at the time of completion; I agree that the decisions of the Avenue judging panel are final and non-appealable. Y/N

Thank you for completing your nomination for the Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2024. The judging process should be complete by early August and the results will appear in the November issue of Avenue. If you have any questions, please contact Avenue editor in chief, Shelley Arnusch, at sarnusch@redpointmedia.ca.

No. The nominees will only be told that they were nominated and that they need to fill out a second form, the nominee acceptance form, but we won’t tell them who nominated them (but feel free to tell them yourself if you’d like).

Top 40s are the best and brightest in the city. They are uniquely different from one another but they are all high achievers. They include business people, entrepreneurs, artists, designers, athletes, community organizers, politicians, teachers, inventors and more. They give back to the community and elevate the city through their work, whether it be in their career or volunteer work. They inspire us through everything they do.

No. The judges look mainly at the nominee acceptance form that has been filled out by the nominees themselves. While you may want to ensure that your nominee was considered and nominated, it won’t make a difference. Nominee only get one notice of nomination.

Yes. All Top 40s should have a strong connection to the city of Calgary. They can live outside of the city limits, but should work or volunteer in Calgary if this is the case.

Absolutely. There are a number of reasons nominees might not get selected including that the judges consider their achievements not yet proven. An additional year may have made them better candidates.

We have found that often the people who nominate someone for Top 40 don’t have enough information to give us a clear picture of who the nominees are and what they have accomplished. So, we go straight to the source and ask the nominees to tell us themselves what they’ve done. Your nomination is judged mainly on what you put in the nominee acceptance form — the information you provide and how clear it is.

If you have been nominated but you do not complete the nominee acceptance form you will not be eligible for the Top 40 Under 40 and your information will not be sent to our judges for consideration.

No. When you’re a Top 40, you’re a Top 40 for life. If you have been a successful Top 40 Under 40 in the past and featured in Avenue or CalgaryInc, you are not eligible to be featured in the Top 40 Under 40 again.

Each year, we receive hundreds of nominations for the Avenue Top 40 Under 40. From those nominations our editorial staff create a short list of approximately 80 nominees who have demonstrated the highest levels of achievement, whether in their career or community work. We also look for well-rounded candidates who have achieved high levels in both career and volunteer work.

The short list is sent to our judging panel made up of leaders in the community, Top 40 Alumni and members of the Avenue staff. The panel goes through these nominations with a fine-toothed comb and debates the merits of the candidates, weighing their achievements until they find the Top 40 Under 40 for the year.

Our judges look for nominees who have achievements in their field, which includes community work, so try to be as specific as possible when you are filling out the nomination or nominee completion form. Measurable achievements should be included and could include achievements such as increasing profits, awards from professional associations or other groups or completion of a project, but we know that many achievements aren’t easily quantified or previously acknowledged, so give us as much detail as you can. The judges will also look for community and volunteer involvement that speaks to the nominee’s willingness to help others as well as their commitment and contribution to our city. Again, be as specific as possible.

The short list is sent to our judging panel made up of leaders in the community, Top 40 Alumni and members of the Avenue staff. The panel goes through these nominations with a fine-toothed comb and debates the merits of the candidates, weighing their achievements until they find the Top 40 Under 40 for the year.

The form asks if Avenue can contact you for a number of different things: for more information, to let you know when gala tickets go on sale and to receive our newsletters. You are not obligated to agree to receive any further information from Avenue or our partners and agreeing or not agreeing is not a factor considered when we judge the nominees. However, if you say that we can’t contact you for further information or to inform you of the results, we will be unable to contact you to tell you if you have been selected as a Top 40 and so you will be ineligible. You can unsubscribe from any and all contact from Avenue at any time.

Due to the high number of nominees, we are unable to contact all nominees to let them know the status of their nomination. Only those who are selected for this year’s Top 40 will be contacted. The Top 40 will be announced in the November issue of Avenue.

Congratulations! You will be contacted by the editorial department of Avenue to arrange for an interview and photo shoot. If you plan on being away for any length of time between the middle of July and the middle of September, please notify the editorial department when you are contacted.

Yes. Avenue reserves the right to remove nominees from the Top 40 Under 40 at any time for ANY reason, including but not limited to if the nominees can’t make themselves available for sufficient time for interviews and original photography, or if any of the information submitted in the nomination package is found to not be accurate or if employment details change.

Yes — but not until the story is released in November. We know that if you are selected you will be excited and we don’t expect you to keep your selection as a Top 40 a complete secret, but we want the announcement of the list to be a surprise, so please refrain from advertising your selection to the Top 40 in any form, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Failure to abide by this rule may result in your removal from the list.