Nominate Your Colleagues for the Engage Charlotte Young Professional Awards

I meet young professionals in this city all the time who are doing great things--advancing in their careers while creating opportunities for others, giving back to their community, creating avenues for people to be entertained and get to know each other, and helping make Charlotte an all-around more vibrant city. Charlotte regularly ranks near the top of national studies of cities that appeal to young professionals, including last year's fourth-place ranking on the Forbes list of Happiest Cities for Young Professionals.

Now, there's a new way for some of these deserving local people to be recognized.

Engage Charlotte, the Charlotte Chamber’s young professionals’ initiative, is planning its inaugural awards gala: the Engage Charlotte Young Professional Awards (The YPs). The awards will honor Charlotte-area professionals between the ages of 21 and 39 who exemplify excellence in business, leadership, and community service. More details about the gala itself are to come, and Engage Charlotte is currently accepting nominations for four distinguished awards:

• Young Professional Newcomer of the Year
• Young Professional Entrepreneur of the Year
• Young Professional Non-Profit Leader of the Year
• Young Professional Business Leader of the Year

Attendees at a recent Engage Charlotte event. Credit: Facebook

“As Charlotte’s premier business organization, the Chamber’s YPs is an important step in elevating the profile of young professionals within the Charlotte business community,” says Rod Garvin, director of member engagement for the Charlotte Chamber.

"The Charlotte Chamber Young Professional Awards stands to recognize the very best YPs in our community for their outstanding achievements," adds Ollie Chandhok, chair of Engage Charlotte and a business development consultant for Charlotte Business Journal. "We are excited to host this inaugural event and create a benchmark for success in Charlotte."

The deadline for nominations is November 9. Visit engagecharlotte.com for more details.