Earlier this year, when Omaha received a C+ in social media savvy, part of me wasn’t surprised – yet part of me, as you can read in my blog, was offended. As I stated before, I think we do great work in Omaha, both offline and online, and have a lot of young, visionary talent. Such talent deserves to be recognized.

This week Omaha will be able to recognize a sampling of the abundant young talent who are leading our city into the future. On Friday morning, the Midlands Business Journal will honor its 2011 40 Under 40 recipients – 40 young, local professionals who have accomplished significant business milestones or made a notable difference in our community.

We have the pleasure of working with three of this year’s winners, and I can attest that they are all extremely deserving of the honor. Albers clients who are being honored in 2011 are:

Nicole Mitchell of M7 Marketing, Inc. – We started working with Nicole six weeks after she opened the doors to her full-service, organic transportation solutions company. It’s been our pleasure to accompany Nicole on her quick journey to becoming an industry leader. We also helped Nicole launch her organic nonprofit, My Organic Nation, which combines her personal and professional passion and expertise.

Steve Heller of P&L Technology – Steve has had a bright career at P&L, leading the company’s client acquisition efforts and contributing to its 35 percent growth in 2010. We’ve been fortunate enough to work with Steve and P&L this year, and it’s easy to see how he helps the company remain on the fast track; P&L was named one of Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. for 2011.

Clark Bellin of Mundy & Associates – Clark has been a longtime client, and he is truly a brilliant financial advisor. His ability to stay on top of the ever-changing economy, especially through the turbulence of the stock market, is a testament to his passion for his work. He always keeps his clients aware of how the stock market is impacting their investments, and he understands that open communication is key to building a long-term, trusted relationship.

We’re so honored to work with each of these bright, young individuals and look forward to celebrating this honor on Friday. Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients on your success.