After Rep. Jennifer McClellan became Virginia’s first Black congresswoman last year, her Top 40 Under 40 plaque moved from Richmond to her new Washington, D.C. office.

When she received Style Weekly’s recognition nearly two decades ago, her political future was only beginning to materialize.

It was September 2005. She worked as state regulatory counsel for Verizon. But she’d won her primary for the Virginia House of Delegates and was on her way to her first term in the General Assembly, running unopposed to represent the 71st District.

At 32, she was one of the legislative body’s youngest members, and a Black woman from the most Democratic district in the state. “It crystalized for me what a government of the people and by the people means,” she says.

After 17 years in Virginia’s House and Senate, and a bid for governor in 2021, McClellan won the special election to fill the seat of the late Donald McEachin for the 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. After winning her election Nov. 5, she’ll start her first full Congressional term in January.

But being named to the Top 40 class of 2005 wasn’t necessarily about what would unfold in the years ahead. It signified what was taking shape in the moment.

“It meant a lot for a couple of reasons,” she says in a quick break from campaigning. “One, I love the Top 40 Under 40 because it does recognize that young people are not just the leaders of the future but are leading on their own right now.”

It also resonated with her because it was a recognition in her community, alongside other young people from the Richmond area. “The whole thing was a surprise.”

McClellan — who started sending congratulatory letters to future Top 40 Under 40 class members — is one of a thousand recipients of the award, which became a name brand in Richmond during its quarter-century run.

For many young people, appearing in the issue signified a personal milestone — a unique public marker of turning points, risk-taking and plain hard work. Some were hesitant for the attention and had to be reassured that the recognition was a way to share stories of their causes and perhaps inspire others.

After 25 issues of Top 40, the pages [of our current winter print issue] are filled with the stories of 40 more recipients, the 26th class.

The Top 40 Under 40 issue was born in 1997. I worked as a reporter for a relatively new business journal that Style Weekly launched, Inside Business. Account executive Karen Wise saw the program in another state’s business journal and suggested we try it out.

The idea was to create space to highlight successful business leaders who “distinguished themselves in community involvement and professional accomplishments.” We sought nominations and rounded up a panel of community leaders to help choose recipients. We shared their stories in the issue and held a reception to celebrate their work.

The first issue appeared in December 1997. It ran six years until Inside Business closed in November 2002. In a dichotomous front page, the publication announced its new Top 40 class — selected from its biggest group of nominees to date — alongside the headline, “Journal Will Close by Thanksgiving.”

It made for a bittersweet awards reception, but Richmond Editor Scott Bass wrote in the issue that at least the journal was ending on a good note by “honoring those up-and-coming businesspeople who’ve made it their mission to give something back.”

Bass, who later became news editor at Style Weekly, now serves as opinion editor at The Richmond Times-Dispatch. He recalls some of the hesitations about the issue from the editorial team — but coming around to appreciate its role and value.

“The energy around it was always really good,” Bass says. “It was an important community connector for the journal at the time. And it helped solidify our credability in the market as well.”

There was no issue in 2003, but Style brought it back to life in September 2004, reshaping it as an annual cover story and fall event that drew some of the highest readership numbers of the year. Nominations poured in.

“I love the Top 40 Under 40 because it does recognize that young people are not just the leaders of the future, but are leading on their own right now.” —Rep. Jennifer McClellan

I recall the debates among our editorial team. Was it too business-y? Would it blur the lines between journalism and cheerleading? Would readers consider this an endorsement of the recipient’s political views or character vouching? Yes, there were a few recipients who landed in legal hot water or controversy along the way.

But we realized that Top 40 Under 40 was an extension of our editorial mission. It followed our coverage of change-makers and innovators, people in our community who were shaping that community and making an impact. The issue helped readers discover those people and the stories and organizations at work around them. It also strengthened our coverage elsewhere.

We featured educators, lawyers, emergency responders, new-media publishers, faith leaders, advertising gurus, rabble-rousers, politicos, singers, artists, athletes, nonprofit organizers, restaurant owners and startup wizards. There were duos, married couples and business partners. Name brands and new ideas rolled in — men’s apparel company Ledbury, Hardwood Park Craft Brewery, High Point Barbershop and Shave Parlor.

There were people everyone knew and people you’d never heard about.

The issue also served as a yearbook of sorts, offering signposts into a changing region.

“I still have it framed,” says Phil Conein, president and co-founder of Techead. “That was my first notice as a business owner trying to grow something in Richmond.”

Conein was 39 when he was named to the class of 1999. He’s still in business with his wife, Philise. Their operation has grown from a one-bedroom apartment setup in the Fan to a company with business in more than 40 states with government contracts.

He’s seen the tech community change from corporate-heavy to one more embracing of small businesses. The balance has helped build the ecosystem and lead to such successes as the startup accelerator Lighthouse Labs RVA and landing The Lego Group, he says.

Noah-O, who organized the first Charged Up Fest this year, was the first rapper to hit the list as part of the Class of 2011.

“We weren’t getting covered as much,” he recalls. But his work at the time gave Richmond wider recognition for its hip-hop influence, along with his community projects and productions through Charged Up Entertainment.

The award, which he still displays, was a motivating boost, he says. He found himself alongside professionals outside of the music community and received a congratulatory letter from the mayor. All these years later, he says, “Richmond is the creative capital for hip-hop in Virginia now.”

It “opened doors,” says Jonathan Zur, president and chief executive of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. After his 2009 recognition, he started a Facebook group to help bring Top 40 alumni together to network and collaborate. He recalls the issue as a springboard, a validation of the work with his organization, which has tripled in size and increased its programming reach to foster inclusive environments.

Brandon Farbstein, the youngest recipient at the time at 16, recalls being in the 2015 class alongside now-Mayor Levar Stoney. Farbstein, who was diagnosed with a rare form of dwarfism, had started speaking publicly about inclusion, empathy and empowerment.

Today he’s a full-time motivational speaker who lives in Los Angeles. He’s gained 300,000 followers across his social media channels, secured name-brand partnerships and landed commercials. But after severe cyberbullying during his high-school years, he also worked with Virginia governors to pass laws aimed at bullying prevention and curriculum changes.

Farbstein is unique in sharing a Top 40 with his dad, Steven, who was a 1999 recipient. “It was honestly a very full-circle moment,” he recalls of the awards ceremony at such a young age, “knowing that I was being seen, and I was being celebrated as well for being me, and the impact I was starting to have in the world.”

That impact on the lives of people around them ultimately was the spotlight we wanted to shine — and perhaps to inspire others to look for ways to do the same.

Army veteran and reservist LeQuan Hylton, a developer and affordable housing advocate, put it this way in 2014: “I want to be one of those people that, when I die, I’m just exhausted, like I’ve gotten everything out of me.”