VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Sometimes you meet another person who impresses you well past their age. Some call it a prodigy, a wunderkind — or a "40 under 40."
For the past 25 years, Inside Business has been recognizing 40 professionals who have reached success under the age of 40. Some young professionals recognized in Hampton Roads come from Towne Bank, Kaufman and Canoles and Dominion Energy.
The office of Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer is holding a networking event for the honorees and alumni of the 40 Under 40 award. The event aims to inspire the next generation of young professionals.
"Hopefully a lot of [40 Under 40 alumni] are going to come and encourage and just really network with a lot of 'The Next 25 Years' of young professionals," said Marcus Calabrese.
Youth from The Up Center's Team Up Mentoring program and Junior Achievement will also be in attendance.
The UP Center is "bringing some of that younger generation to the event to be around some of the individuals trailblazing as per se, give some motivation, encouragement, just make sure they see what it could be like and for us to just have those conversations because exposure is what can really can change things — conversation," said Cavelle Mollineaux.
Many past honorees are expected to make an appearance. The free event will be at The HIVE by the City of Virginia Beach on Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
"Definitely bring folks, like you said, that you think need to be under the mentorship, under the guidance, to be the next trailblazers for sure," Mollineux added.