Two people from the University were nominated for this year’s 20 Under 40 award.

The award is given yearly to 20 individuals under the age of 40 in the Toledo region who have exhibited exceptional leadership qualities.

Daniel Gordon, a city council member and graduate student at the University, was nominated by fellow city council member Sandy Rowland for his work with the city council in trying to revitalize the neighborhoods on the east side of Bowling Green.

“I would be very proud to be a winner, but it’s privilege enough to be nominated,” Gordon said.

Gordon also expressed his desire for others to take leadership roles in their communities.

“We should do what we can to encourage people our age to step up, take leadership roles and give back to the community,” Gordon said.

This is Gordon’s second year being nominated for the award.

Matt Haschak, director of IT and security at the University, was also nominated for the award. He was nominated for various talks at the University on topics such as cyber-bullying, as well as work with Family Promise, a group from greater Toledo that helps coordinate shelters for homeless families.

“This is definitely something I wasn’t [expecting] … it’s an honor just to be nominated,” Haschak said. “There’s a level of recognition to it, but it’s not so much about winning. It was just truly nice that someone was thoughtful enough to put my name into the ring for this opportunity.”

Haschak went on to say he was humbled by his nomination.

“I know of a lot of people who have been nominated who have accomplished a lot more [than me] under the age of 40, so I really didn’t consider myself in the same league as them,” Haschak said.

The award was created in 1996, with this year’s ceremony being the 18th.

“If you look at a list of these folks … it’s many of the leaders of our region who are past recipients,” said Sanford Lubin, editor at the Toledo Business Journal, which hands out the awards.

Haschak and Gordon are two of the 109 nominees this year.

Haschak and Gordon will find out if they are one of this year’s 20 winners at the award ceremony being hosted this Thursday evening, with a reception at 5:45 p.m. and the actual program at 7 p.m. in the lobby of the 5/3 Center in Toledo.

“It’s [going to be] a cool evening, a very positive evening,” Lubin said.