The business press celebrates young people, with 40 under 40 success

Some of Fort Worth’s best and brightest young business men and women were once again honored when the Fort Worth Business Press held its annual 40 Under 40 event Thursday night at the Ridgelaw Theater.

The name of the event was a little misleading this year because there were more than the usual 40 honorees – 42. It’s not the first time this has happened, said Richard Connor, president and publisher of Business Press, who was both a host. And the main event. Sometimes, it is very difficult to cut down the list of deserving candidates to 40, he said.

Connor also told the crowd of 300: “It just goes to show that journalists can’t count.”

The 40 Under 40 Awards were first presented in 2011. Over the years, several honorees have been ranked among the most effective, influential and recognized citizens in the area.

This year’s event featured an inevitable “first” for the event, which has been going strong for 28 years: Reilly Freeman, 25, became a second-generation honoree as director of business administration for Steel & Freeman Inc. His father, Mike Freeman, is a member of the 2003 40 Under 40 class.

“It was bound to happen,” Connor said.

Making History: The three honored couples are:

• Sarah Bowden, 31, Net’s Chief Operating Officer and founder of Net’s Worthy Company; and Ty Bowden, 29, associate director of Net.
• Franklin Moss Jr., 39, owner/tailor/designer of Franklin & Anthony; and Mia Moss, 38, owner of Black Coffee.
• Chandler Wallace, 34, director of marketing and business development for The Shops in Clearfork, Simon Property Group; and husband Gavin, 39, IMA Inc. senior vice president.

Connor encouraged the audience to do the opposite of what they are asked to do at most meetings. Instead of telling people to turn off their cell phones, he asked the audience to go ahead, take lots of pictures and post like crazy on social media.

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“We haven’t had as many winners in the nonprofit world this year,” Conner said, adding that the event featured several honorees representing charities.

One of those winners was Shakita Monique Johnson, 39, executive director of United Way of Tarrant County’s Environmental Agency on Aging County, whose 7-year-old son, Jeremiah Johnson, drew attention.

“Get that kid off the stage before he steals the whole night,” Connor said. “He loved the spotlight. He didn’t want to leave the stage.

Encore Live/Encore Nights CEO Walter Kinsey, 39, mentioned that he made his debut at the age of 7 and later mentioned Connor Jeremiah on the show. Maybe we’ll call it 10 under 10 and nominate Jeremiah for the award here.

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Prior to the presentation of the 40 Under 40 awards, four members of Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep’s Class of 2022 were recognized: Amy Arteaga, who attends Augustana College in Illinois; Kevin Gonzales, who heads Texas A & M; Jocelyn Garcia of the University of Texas; And Leon Kimani, who will attend Baylor.

The Cristo Rey program and its first graduating class were featured in a cover story in the August 8-21 issue of the Business Press.

The full list of 40 Under 40 honorees for 2022 is as follows:

Sarah Bowden
The net

You Bowden
The net

Dr. Whitney Boyd
Texas Christian University

Joe Brown
HF Customs Solutions

Chris Canfield
Tarrant County Girls Inc

Allen Cardozo
PAVLOV notice

EJ Carrion
Student Success Agency

Kimberly Casarez-Harro
Goodwill North Central Texas

Ariel Davis
Love Texas Art at Artspace 111

Anthony DeFelice
Amples Agency

Taylor Dukes
Taylor Duke Health

Sara Fairley-Luna
Leadership Fort Worth

Riley Freeman
Steele & Freeman Inc.

Dr. Catherine Harrell
FW Dermatology Specialists

Katelyn McFarlane Hellman
Chronicles of Frivolity

Andy Hines
Whitley Penn

Katherine T. Hopkins
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP

Kate Jennings
The Bug and Bee PLLC

Shakita Johnson
Taran County United Road

Christian Jones
Expedia

Dylan Jones
Animal Cloud Device Connection

Walter Kinsey
Live/encore nights

Shawn Lassiter
Brave/R together

Jeanette Martinez
Tarrant County

Franklin Moss
Franklin and Anthony

Mia Moss
Black coffee

Kate Murphy
Nanda Yoga

Drew Neal
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP

Brandon Nelson
Parenting Center

Kam S. Phillips-Sadler
KidKare

Erica Ramos
Game Theory Restaurant + Bar

Melissa Rankin
Edward Jones

Dr. Christina Reed
Cooking children’s health care system

Juan Rodriguez
Magdalena food and events

Trey Shuler
IMA Financial Group Inc.

Dr. Veena Somareddy
Neurorehabilitation VR

John Stevenson
Project team

Lexi Summers
Worthington National Bank

Ashton thesis
Ashton Agency

James Thorne.
The development of the crack

Chandler Wallace
Simon Property Group

Gavin Wallace
IMA Financial Group Inc.