CARY, N.C. -

I pressed “send” on the email to notify recipients of the inaugural “Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40.”

It wasn’t even five minutes later that I got the first response back. Then another. And another, and another.

It went on like that for a while.

As a magazine editor, this was awesome; folks in my line of work love quick responses.

But that wasn’t the best part. See, it wasn’t that people responded, it was how they responded to earning 40 Under 40 recognition.

Just a few examples:

“Wow! Thank you!”
“This is quite an honor, and I’ll be honest, I’m shocked.”
“ … wow this is amazing, thank you!”
“Thank you for such great news!

It was extremely humbling to hear such positive response from our 40 Under 40 recipients, especially after learning all the great things these folks are doing in this business and within their communities.

It’s touching to know that this award is meaningful and impactful to some of the very people who are making a significant impact in the industry.

And at such young ages, I might add.

As a 32-year-old myself, I’m right at the midpoint of the age range for our honorees. Being a part of this same generation, I can appreciate the broader economic, political and cultural environment in which our honorees grew up, went to school and eventually made their way in the workforce.

That makes this whole project even more rewarding.

And inspiring. If I ever need a swift kick of motivation, reading these people’s stories certainly provides that to a 30-something like me.

Speaking of inspiring, it was also heartening to see how many people nominated their peers.

Unfortunately, the very nature of this project doesn’t allow us to pick all the nominees, although many are equally impressive in their own right.

But good news: this is just the first edition. This industry is full of people under 40 (and under 30, for that matter) who are making waves, and this project is going to allow us to recognize many different folks year after year. Congratulations to all the honorees, nominees and the great companies you represent. And thank you for making this project rewarding!

And now, without further ado, is the inaugural Remarketing and Used-Car Industry's 40 Under 40:

Sarah Amico, Jack Cooper Holdings Corp.

Chad Bockius, CarStory

William Brigance, City Auto Sales

Chase Channell, Rick Case Kia

Jose Delgado, PAR North America

Steven DeLuca, Auto Auction of New England

Joe Derkos, J.D. Power 

Dan Diedrich, Auction Edge

Kirby Durham, J.D. Byrider 

Jenifer Eggert, Manheim

Josh Elias, Del Mar Recovery Solutions

John Elizaga, Emkay

Summer Ernsberger, ADESA 

Scott Fontaine, Ally 

Adam Galema, NextGear Capital 

Brent Garrett, CarLotz

Alec Gutierrez, Kelley Blue Book

Spencer Henney, Manheim

Jason Herman, U.S. Bank 

Casey Hughes, Toyota Financial Services 

Chris Knaub, Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram 

Joe Mappes, Primeritus Financial Services

John Mathiowetz, Avis Budget Group

Brian McBrearty, ARI

John Messiha, Capital One Auto Finance 

Joe Miller, Auto Auction Services Corp.

Nick Ouritski, Thrift Auto Sales

Jodie Plaunt, Grand Rapids Auto Auction

Todd Rea, Dealers Auto Auction of Chattanooga

Jenn Reid, Equifax 

David Rice, Cox Automotive

Dustin Ruch, MetroGistics

Christina Schrank, National Auto Care

Michael Scott, Consumer Portfolio Services

Brian Skutta, AutoAlert

Revathi Srinivasan, ADESA 

Jessica Stafford, Cox Automotive

Michael Vincent, Newell Auto Group

Jordan Walters, Black Book Auto

Jeremiah Wheeler, Digital Recognition Network

Amal Zahri, DriveTime

These honorees will be recognized during a ceremony at the National Remarketing Conference portion of Used Car Week this fall.

Complete coverage of our 40 Under 40, including special feature stories about these honorees, can be found in the Sept. 1 issue of Auto Remarketing.