The term "young professional" might bring to mind a young, white collar individual who works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Kootenai County Young Professionals President Ryan Bones is encouraging community members to "think outside the box" as they prepare to nominate a young professional in their lives for the fourth annual Top 30 Under 40 contest.

"Top 30 Under 40 stands for anybody in any profession doing amazing things," Bones said Monday. "In 2020, it could be an increase in first responders and all the people who kept our community moving forward during the struggle of COVID-19."

The KCYP Top 30 Under 40 nomination period is open now and closes at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 15.

This contest provides opportunities for community members to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments and successes of the younger workforce. In the year of a global pandemic, those accomplishments and successes are countless.

"Success in 2020 looks vastly different than what success in previous years has looked like," Bones said. "In previous years, one might look to see how many things somebody accomplished or how many organizations someone was a part of. But in 2020, rather than quantity, it could very well be that one thing was done very well, or one job they went above and beyond for."

How success is defined this year is going to use some different adjectives, Bones said — adaptability, flexibility, resourcefulness, determination, creativity.

"When we’re thinking of people who did great things this year, don’t get tunnel vision on 'white collar professionals,'" Bones said. "There were a lot of people in smaller roles who went above and beyond in those roles to make a difference for their community."

Anyone can nominate anyone under 40, Bones said.

"It’s really anyone doing great things," he said. "Like teachers, I would love to see more teachers nominated, or anyone in education. We’d really like to see first responders, police, fire, trades. I would love to see artists, people who contributed art for different fundraising activities."

The judging will take place in November with winners announced in early December. The 2020 Top 30 Under 40 winners will be celebrated during Elevate, an elegant evening in the Hagadone Event Center, on Jan. 9. The Top 30 will receive trophies, swag bags, personalized KCYP social media announcements and bragging rights. Winners will be treated to a special private reception before Elevate begins.

Visit www.kootenaicountytop30.org/nominate to nominate someone and lift up Kootenai County's young professionals.

Info: https://www.kootenaicountytop30.org