2012's 20 Under 40 honorees meld community involvement, personal interests

• 20 Under 40 judges

From left: Jimmy Bellamy, Branden Robinson, Jessica Stauber, Jim Filby Williams, Monica Hendrickson and Mike Seyfer are the 2012 20 Under 40 judges. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)

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• 20 Under 40 Q&A: David A. Nolle
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Chelsea Morgan
• Frank Bucar nurtures a strong work ethic
• Serving the community is a priority for Emily Kalligher
• For Jenice Meyer, the focus is on making connections
• For Pastor Gabe Green, it's not a career, but a calling
• David Chura aims to help others learn and grow
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Amy E. Lukasavitz
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Jennifer Webb
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Billy Shelton
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Jeremy Craycraft
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Travis Hansen
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Briana von Elbe
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Ken Kolquist
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Cara Lindberg
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Jason Manning
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Chris Francis
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Dan Bart
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Dawn M. Johnson
• 20 Under 40 Q&A: Anna M. Downs

There are dozens of real-estate brokers and pastors in the Northland. The same for lumbermen, National Guardsmen, university administrators and members of every imaginable profession. Everyone, I’m sure, has an interesting life story or compelling tales to tell.

So what’s so special about those in these pages?

Well, Emily Kalligher is a real-estate broker running a family business with her husband, who also clocks dozens of hours volunteering in the community. Ditto for Pastor Gabe Green of the Restoration Church, for whom it’s hard to tell where his pastoral work ends and his community service begins. The same for Dave Chura of the Minnesota Logger Education Program, Minnesota National Air Guard member Frank Bucar and Jenice Meyer of the University of Wisconsin-Superior Center for Academic Service-Learning, as well the rest of our 20 Under 40 honorees.

“I strongly believe it’s important to volunteer with organizations where your skills and experience can make a positive contribution,” Chura told 20 Under 40 writer Catherine Vaught (herself a rising young star, with colleague Mackenzie Allison.) “Everyone can make a contribution and in my opinion, we have an obligation to do so.”

Put that way — as an obligation — it might sound like work, but not with this crew. The 20 honorees make it look easy because they all approach their community service and careers with commitment and positive attitude that make it all seem like fun.

Oh, our 20 Under 40 writers? If their names sound familiar, they were both Minnesota Newspaper Association interns at the Duluth Budgeteer News this summer before returning to East High School for their senior year. Maybe they’ll be honorees themselves in the future; there’s plenty of time — they’re not even 20.

In the meantime, 20 others are doing us proud. Congratulations to all the honorees.

Tags: 20 under 40, business