ColoradoBiz Magazine’s Spring 2024 Issue: Young Professionals of Yesteryear — Where Are They Now?

Back in 2011, ColoradoBiz launched a feature to recognize some of the state’s top young professionals, selected by a panel based on the applicants’ career achievements, community involvement and, in some cases, obstacles overcome.

We branded this tribute to 25 standout professionals under 40the “Gen XYZ Awards” in reference to the age range and generations represented by the honorees.

Well, 13 years later, we’re in need of a rebranding.

The youngest of those Generation Xers are now 43, leaving us with only generations X and Y among the eligible. Meanwhile, even the oldest members of the presumed replacement age group, Generation A, are only about 14 years old. So it might be a while (though we’re not ruling teen phenoms out) before we consider rebranding our 25 Top Young Professionals as “Gen YZA.”

We’ll have some time to figure that out. In this issue, instead of anointing a new 25 for 2024, we’re pausing to look back at some Gen XYZ winners from at least 10 years ago to see what they’re doing now.

Writer Nora Caley caught up with eight of them, many of whom she interviewed years ago when they were originally recognized as Gen XYZ winners. They share what they’ve learned as their careers have evolved and the business landscape has shifted (and boy, has it ever — remember barely 12 years ago when home foreclosures were rampant and the short-sale business was booming?).

Also in this issue, writer Jamie Siebrase visits Colorado’s Western Slope wine country to see how some of the region’s vintners have expanded their businesses beyond winemaking with tours and tastings that not only boost their own bottom lines but that of nearby towns, too.

Similar to our Gen XYZ “Where are they now?” section, our Family-Owned Business feature by Eric Peterson looks at five family companies that have been in business at least 50 years, including two that are now in their fourth generation of family involvement.

One of those, O’Meara Motors in Northglenn, founded by Alfred O’Meara Sr. in 1913, was Colorado’s first Ford dealership and is still going strong with two of Alfred’s great-grandsons in leadership roles. 

Elsewhere in the magazine:

• Our Ag Report looks at how ranchers are dealing with the reintroduction of wolves and what these ranchers think of the compensation policy for livestock lost to predation.
• Our Real Estate Report examines the new law in Denver requiring landlords to be licensed and for their properties to pass an inspection every four years.
• Susan Fornoff, perhaps the state’s foremost authority on golf as it applies to business, presents our annual Executive Golf Guide, her eighth for ColoradoBiz.