Chamber group names its '20 Under 40' for 2023

Abilene Young Professionals, a program of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, last week announced this year's class of i "20 Under 40" recipients.

These are professionals who have reached a level success and community service.

Honored are:

• Jessica Ambrose, Eide Bailly LLP

• Samantha Baker, First Financial Bank

• Holly Cox, Hendrick Home for Children

• Kimberly Eickholt, Wisteria Place Retirement Living

• Brent Hill, First Financial Trust

• Kaden Kimberlin, Community Broadcast Partners

• Chris Mabry, Betty Hardwick Center

• Dr. Stuart Martin, Hendrick Health

• Heather Ray, Hendrick Health

• Reagan Berry, Wylie Independent School District

• Luis A Alayón, city of Abilene

• Benjamin Hudman, Hudman Investment Group LLC, 325 Guys Construction, Doc’s Bar & Grill

• Colden Rich, Enprotec / Hibbs & Todd Inc.

• Melanie Unger, Diamondback Painting

• John Willey, Edward Jones

• Benjamin Young, Brightway Insurance, The Young Agency/ Young Tumbleweed LLC

• Dr. Garrett Turner, Stan Turner DDS, PC Cosmetic & Family Dentistry

• Marcus Dunn, Abilene Christian Sports Properties – LEARFIELD

• Ethan Kunkel, County Waste Service

• Kyle Swearingen, Funeral Directors Life

Here is a bit about each of the winners from the chamber:Ambroseattributes lists, coffee and making time for her family as three daily habits that have helped her become successful. She loves math, which led her to the accounting profession at Eide Bailly LLP. In 10 years, she hopes to still be helping businesses thrive and succeed in her company and that she has helped startups become strong pillars in their industry.Regional marketing director for First Financial Bank, Baker describes herself as driven. If she were to give advice to someone starting in her field it would be to work hard, listen, challenge yourself, seek opportunities, network and not to be afraid to ask questions. She is active in the community, having served as a board member or a member of more than 10 organizations, including Noah Project, Taylor County Expo Center, Hardin-Simmons University and Abilene Young Professionals.Cox serves as administrator of programs and licensed marriage and family therapist at Hendrick Home for Children. She describes herself as intentional and claims the best advice she received is “the best leaders are far more concerned with learning and getting it right, than they are with knowing and being right.” You can find her enjoying time off with friends or family, enjoying good food.Eickholt, the executive director for Wisteria Place Retirement Living, said her No. 1 goal for working in this industry is to make a difference for all the people she encounters. She attributes her ability to overcome her personal fear of taking risks as an accomplishment that helped shape her career. She enjoys cooking and baking.Hill, senior vice president and trust officer for First Financial Trust, credits daily physical exercise, active organization of email, and getting a solid 7-8 hours of sleep each night as three daily habits for his success. If he were to give someone advice for starting out in his field, he would say to never hesitate to ask questions – diversity of thought optimizes decision making.Kimberlin describes himself as engaging in his role of VP of programming and morning show host on 95.1 The Wolf for Community Broadcast Partners. He said Kidd Kraddick is someone who has most influenced him in business, and the best advice he received is, “If it’s important, you will find a way. If it’s not, you will find an excuse.”Mabry, chief financial pfficer for Betty Hardwick Center, describes himself as steady. Chris enjoys working for an organization that is addressing our community’s needs in a meaningful way. His three daily habits for success are starting the day with a win – make up the bed, treat being home for dinner as the most important meeting on your calendar and express gratitude.Martin is an attending physician in obstetrics and gynecology for Hendrick Health. He’s personally connected to the field through his family history and that gives him daily motivation to provide optimal care in the field of women’s health. Martin describes himself as charismatic and hopes that in 10 years to be doing the exact same thing, with a larger clinical team and an emphasis on offering a greater variety of birthing and robotic surgery services.Ray, assistant vice president and assistant chief nursing officer for Hendrick Health, credits Tam Luedtke with some of the best advice for her profession: “You will never go wrong if you always keep the patient at the center of everything you do.” She describes herself as deliberate, and attributes taking advantage of every opportunity to learn and develop, listening with the intent to understand and remembering to see and enjoy life through the eyes of her four-year-old as her three daily habits of success.

The principal for Wylie High School, Berry is a third-generation educator who attributes her career as something that is never full and brings her joy each day. That allows her to use her gifts and talents in a fruitful way. Her advice for someone starting out in her field is to figure out a way to find joy day to day. Stress never should outweigh joy in a career. You’ll find her enjoying her time at home reading a book, watching her kids play and hoping for a steak on the grill.

Alayón, assistant director of human resources for the city, describes himself as patient. As a certified public accountant and with his experience (accountant, payroll manager and deputy CFO) in the public sector, he wants to ensure that public funds are being used accurately and in compliance with all policies and regulations. He enjoys the search for great food or going anywhere near a body of water.Hudman is a serial entrepreneur serving as the CEO of Hudman Investment Group LLC, 325 Guys Construction and Doc’s Bar & Grill. He loves being an entrepreneur because it allows him to have a flexible schedule while still providing for a growing family. He says his grandmother, Sara Graham, was the person who most influenced him in business, and he hopes that in 10 years he still is doing what he loves while helping grow business in Abilene.Rich, associate vice president and senior project manager for Enprotec / Hibbs & Tod, Inc., enjoys working with communities to identify solutions to the issues they face. He attributes three daily habits of purposeful communication, prioritizing tasks and finding an outlet to relieve stress to his success. His first summer job was a farm hand, and he describes himself as consistent.Unger is the marketing and public relations manager for Diamondback Painting. She describes herself as charismatic, and if she could give advice to someone starting out in her field it would be to make friends, get to know the people in your community, and to not be afraid of networking. When she is not working, she enjoys dabbling in Abilene’s musical theater and art scenes.The best advice that Willey, a financial planner for Edward Jones, has received is “actions speak louder than words.” He enjoys being a financial planner because he believes he has a greater sense of purpose working with families and small businesses by adding value in educating people through their financial lives. His three daily habits for success are exercising, getting enough sleep and spending today preparing for tomorrow, as much as possible.

Young is the owner/managing partner of Brightway Insurance, The Young Agency. His first summer job was mowing lawns to save up money to buy a drum set. He describes himself as loyal, and the best advice he received was, “If you act enthusiastic, you’ll be enthusiastic. You choose your own attitude.”Associate and dental director for Stan Turner,DDS, PC Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, Turner’s accomplishment that helped shape his career was earning the Bronze Palm Eagle Scout and being senior patrol leader to the 2001 National Jamboree. He credits the leadership that he learned in his scouting career as playing a major role in shaping how he tries to uplift the team around him. The best advice he received is from his dad: “I’ll only ask you to give me your best.” When not working, you can find him summiting Longs Peak in Colorado and other mountaintops.Dunn is general manager for Abilene Christian Sports Properties – LEARFIELD. He chose this industry because he enjoys learning about a wide range of businesses on a strategic level and assisting them in reaching their marketing objectives through the passion, excitement and traditions of college athletics. He describes himself as genuine, and the best advice received is, “People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”President of County Waste Service, Kunkel’s three daily habits for success are prayer, calling or meeting vs texting/emailing and choosing to serve his team and customers daily. He attributes Alan Broxson as the person who most influenced him in business, giving Kunkel the best advice he received: “First things first, second things never.” He is active in the community, serving as a member and donor for more than18 organizations.Swearingen is the vice president of development for Funeral Directors Life. He didn’t initially envision himself working in the funeral industry, but stayed because he’s witnessed firsthand the value of the software his team is able to deliver to funeral homes. He describes himself as driven and the piece of advice he would give to someone starting out in his field is “fail fast, and fail forward.”

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Chamber group names its '20 Under 40' for 2023