'40 Under Forty' honors Volusia-Flagler's young professionals. Here's who won this year
DAYTONA BEACH ― Savannah-Jane Griffin, CEO of the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, was honored Thursday evening as the Volusia-Flagler area's "Young Professional of the Year" for 2024.
"Wow!," said Griffin, who was stunned to hear her name announced to receive the top honor at The Daytona Beach News-Journal/LocaliQ's annual "40 Under Forty" awards event.
Gazing at the a packed crowd of 150 people at the Cici & Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, Griffin said, "Just being in a room with so many incredible leaders, I just think about the impacts of the individuals in this room and all that we can do."
What is the '40 Under Forty' event about?
Since 2006, The News-Journal has been recognizing outstanding young professionals in Volusia and Flagler counties each year for their achievements both in their professions as well as in the community through volunteering.
"We've recognized 680 professionals over the course of 17 years," said Jane Katona, general manager of The News-Journal, who served as the event's master-of-ceremonies. "All these honorees have demonstrated extraordinary dedication and resilience, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations. They have ranged from small business owners to executives of major corporations, nonprofit executives, local government, chambers, and trade association leaders."
LocaliQ is the digital marketing arm for The News-Journal and USA Today Network which also helps to put on the event.
Forty people under the age of 40 are selected to be honored from nominations submitted by News-Journal readers. Six special awards are also given out, chosen by a panel of judges consisting of the previous year's special award winners.
Who else won special awards?
In addition to Griffin, here are this year's other five special award recipients:
The Most Charitable Young Professional Award went to Wade Hunter, general manager of Sonny's BBQ in DeLand.
The Young Local Government Officer of the Year Award went to Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Rachel Myers.
The Young Small Business Professional of the Year Award went to Samantha Tribble, co-owner (with her husband Stephen) of Lunar Studio, a photography business in New Smyrna Beach.
The Young Private Sector Professional of the Year Award went to Kris Rowley, a senior project manager/engineer with Zev Cohen & Associates in Ormond Beach.
The Young Professional Rising/Shining Star of the Year Award went to Khelsea Bauer, chief operating officer for AdventHealth New Smyrna Beach.
Who is Griffin?
This year's Young Professional of the Year is a 39-year-old mother of two children whose husband Christopher is an Army veteran.
Griffin leads a nonprofit agency in DeLand whose mission is to help the hungry and prevent homelessness.
This past year, the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia helped more than 29,000 individuals from throughout the county's west side.
Griffin also worked to establish strategic partnerships in the community to tackle the shortage of affordable housing and secured more than $900,000 in grants and donations to be directly used to help prevent homelessness in Volusia County.
She chaired the recent Volusia and Flagler County Point in Time Count effort where more than 100 volunteers went out to survey the unsheltered homeless population in the two counties over a 24-hour period to identify the need for more services.
"There's a huge need right now, I'm sure you are all aware," Griffin told the audience upon receiving the Young Professional of the Year award. "There was a 17% increase in homelessness last year in Volusia County. We need more volunteers. We need more funds for affordable housing. ... If you know people that are in hunger or need housing, reach out to the Neighborhood Center. We'll connect them with resources."
Griffin also serves as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant and is a member of the boards for the MainStreet DeLand Association, the AdventHealth Foundation, and Greater Union Life Center. She also teaches a course on global citizenship at Stetson University as part of the university's First Year Seminar Program.
Her reaction on receiving the top award
Following the event, Griffin said, "I'm just overwhelmed, humbled by this honor. I was not expecting this. ... To get this recognition means the world to me, but also to our community. To see that the work I do everyday is being recognized and that people realize the need is out there."
Who are this year's '40 Under Forty'?
The complete list of this year's "40 Under Forty" honorees are as follows: Brent Atkinson, Caroline Cline, Casey Williams, Chad Hass, Dr. Kristen Nelson, Emmanuel Delgado, James McCarthy, Jessica Gow, Josh McEnany, Jusan Hamilton, Karly White, Kelli Cosentino, Khelsea Bauer, Kirstyn Seward, Kristen Green, Kristin Green-Vogt, Kristopher "Kris" Rowley, Krystal Sperry, Lacy Martin, Lauren Benning, Lauren Sanders, Monique Evelyn, Nicole Haves, Nikki Risley, Parker Cook, Rafael Garces, Richard White, Ryan Ossowski, Samantha Potts, Samantha Tribble, Sarah Jacobs, Sasha Staton, Savannah-Jane Griffin, Summerlyn Kendrick, The Honorable Rachel Myers, Tron Griffin, Vishnu Nitta, Wade Hunter, and Wilson Kowaleski.
A special section featuring this year's "40 Under Forty" honorees, and mini-profiles on each of the six special award winners will be published in the Sunday's print edition of The Daytona Beach News-Journal and will also be available at news-journalonline.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: '40 Under Forty' event honors Volusia-Flagler's young professionals
