You could say that this year’s 40 Under Forty are connected. After all, they all have risen in a short time to positions of responsibility and influence in organizations large and small. But of course, in today’s world, connected takes on another meaning.
When we asked all the winners what they never leave home without, 15 of them said either their BlackBerry or some manner of cell phone (one iPhone was in the mix). Is that a surprise? Hardly. Communication of the instant kind is a given – no, it is a must – in today’s business world, especially a world perched so precariously on the edge of a more severe economic nosedive.
But it was heartening to see that seven other winners said they never leave home without photographs of their families and/or children. That involves communication of a different sort, the kind that builds not just families but communities. And more than the ubiquity of electronic gadgets, that is why the 40 Under Forty is such a rewarding program for Providence Business News.
We know that no matter how difficult the times ahead seem – and with the economy having a very difficult time righting itself these days and the budget deficit continuing to loom over the state, optimism is hard to come by – the women and men whom we honor each year in this contest are a testament to the vitality of the present and the potential of the future. They are proof that we as a state are doing something right.
They also can provide a little comic relief. One winner (and you will have to find her yourselves), said that she never leaves home without … her husband. Maybe he should apply for a spot in the 40 Under Forty next year.
Mark S. Murphy, Editor
(To read about last year’s awards ceremony and view profiles of the 40 Under Forty Class of 2007, click here.)
