Find a Pro WNY 30 Under 30 · Class of 2027: Official Rules

The Find a Pro WNY 30 Under 30 · Class of 2027 is an editorial, community-recognition program run by Find a Pro WNY. It is not a contest, sweepstakes, lottery, public vote or paid award. No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to nominate, be nominated or be selected, and a purchase will not improve anyone’s chances. Whether a person or business is, has been or becomes a Find a Pro WNY customer, advertiser, sponsor or partner has no bearing on eligibility or selection.

1. Eligibility

A nominee must, on the dates indicated:

• be at least 18 and no older than 29 on January 15, 2027 — that is, born between January 16, 1997 and January 15, 2009, inclusive;
• be an owner or co-owner of the nominated business;
• own a business that is active and legally operating;
• own a business headquartered in, or primarily serving, one or more of these New York counties: Erie or Niagara;
• own a business that provides a skilled trade, contracting, construction, property or home-related service.

Chamber of commerce membership, an existing Find a Pro WNY listing and a paid Find a Pro WNY membership are not required.

2. How to nominate

Nominations are submitted through the form at findaprowny.com/30-under-30/nominate between October 15, 2026, 12:00 AM ET and November 30, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. Self-nominations and nominations by others are both accepted. A person may be nominated more than once; related nominations are reviewed together, and the number of nominations received is not a selection criterion. Late, incomplete or automated submissions may be disregarded.

By submitting a nomination, the person submitting it confirms that the information is accurate to the best of their knowledge and that they have the right to share anything they submit. A self-nominee also confirms that they meet the age requirement and own or co-own the business, and authorizes Find a Pro WNY to verify the information provided. False or misleading information is grounds for disqualification, or for withdrawal of recognition under section 9.

3. How recipients are selected

Find a Pro WNY reviews eligibility (December 1 – 7, 2026), then evaluates eligible nominations (December 8 – 15, 2026). Each eligible nomination is normally scored independently by at least two reviewers, on a 0–5 scale for each of these criteria, weighted as shown:

• Quality of work and reputation — 25%
• Business achievement and momentum — 25%
• Entrepreneurship and personal story — 20%
• Community impact — 15%
• Leadership and future potential — 15%

A nominee’s score, out of 100, is the average of the scorecards submitted. Reviewers declare conflicts of interest before scoring and do not score a nominee they are related to, work with, do business with or otherwise cannot judge impartially; because the score is an average, a recusal neither helps nor harms the nominee. Scores, comments and deliberations are confidential.

When the class is finalized, trade, geographic and community representation may be considered, but only in choosing between nominees whose scores are within 5 points of each other. Selection is at Find a Pro WNY’s sole discretion and is not based on popularity, social-media engagement or the number of nominations. Up to 30 recipients may be selected; not every eligible nominee will be.

4. Verification

Before selection, Find a Pro WNY may privately verify a nominee’s age, ownership, business status and service area, and may request additional information. Proof of age is requested only from nominees who advance and is never published. A nominee who does not respond or cannot be verified may be disqualified. This verification confirms eligibility only. Find a Pro WNY does not inspect work, check licensing or insurance, or conduct background checks as part of this program.

5. Notification and announcement

Selected recipients are expected to be notified privately between December 16 – 18, 2026. The class is scheduled to be announced publicly on January 15, 2027. Dates may change.

6. Recognition

Each recipient is expected to receive:

• Recognition as a member of the Class of 2027, the program’s inaugural class
• One complimentary year of a Premium Find a Pro WNY listing (approximate retail value $228: $19 a month for 12 months) — your logo, a photo gallery, a website link, your full service list, additional service categories and an enhanced quote form, with quote requests emailed to you. Premium does not change where a listing ranks in search results. It ends after 12 months with no automatic renewal and no payment card required
• A “30 Under 30 Honoree” mark on your Find a Pro WNY listing, linked to your spotlight
• An individual editorial spotlight
• An official 2027 30 Under 30 digital badge
• Social-media recognition
• Inclusion in the complete class announcement
• Potential inclusion in local-media and partner coverage
• A potential professional headshot or business portrait, subject to scheduling and final program planning

Recognition is awarded to the individual owner; the complimentary Premium year applies to the recipient’s business listing and begins when it is activated. Recognition has no cash value and cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged. Items described as “potential” depend on scheduling and are not guaranteed.

7. What recognition means

Recognition reflects Find a Pro WNY’s editorial judgment of the information available to it when the class was selected. It is not an endorsement, certification, guarantee or warranty of any recipient’s services, workmanship, pricing, licensing, insurance, conduct or performance, and a recipient is not an agent or employee of Find a Pro WNY. Homeowners should make their own checks before hiring any contractor, including of any license or insurance the job requires. Recipients are described as “30 Under 30 Honorees” and not as vetted, verified, licensed, insured or “best”.

8. Sponsors, partners and applicant offers

Sponsorship has no influence on nominee selection. Sponsors, community partners, chambers of commerce, schools and media help spread the word about the program; they do not nominate on the program’s behalf, review or score nominations, select recipients, or endorse any recipient, and taking part does not mean they endorse Find a Pro WNY.

After the class is announced, Find a Pro WNY may offer eligible nominees who were not selected a discounted first year of Premium ($99 for the first year, regularly $228). If it does, the offer is made only after selection is final, on the same terms to every such nominee, and only to nominees who submitted their own nomination and agreed to be contacted. Where someone else made the nomination, Find a Pro WNY may instead tell the person who made it about the offer, so they can pass it on if they choose; it does not contact that nominee with the offer directly. Accepting or declining it has no effect on selection in this or any future year.

9. Withdrawal of recognition

Find a Pro WNY may withdraw recognition, before or after the announcement, if:

• the recipient did not meet the eligibility requirements in section 1;
• material information in the nomination or provided during verification was false or misleading;
• the recipient or their business is convicted of a crime, or found by a court, government agency or licensing authority to have committed fraud, a consumer-protection violation or unlicensed work, in connection with the business;
• the recipient does not complete verification or accept the recognition terms by the dates given; or
• the recipient asks for it to be withdrawn.

Except where the recipient has asked, Find a Pro WNY will first tell the recipient why and give them 10 days to respond. If recognition is withdrawn, the recipient’s spotlight, class-page entry and honoree mark are removed, the remaining complimentary Premium term ends, and the place may be offered to another nominee. Material already printed or published by others cannot be recalled.

10. Publicity and privacy

Nominations are private. Find a Pro WNY will not publish a nominee’s name, story, photographs or business details unless that nominee has been selected and has personally reviewed and signed the publicity release. A nomination made by someone else is never treated as permission to publish. Personal information is handled under our privacy policy.

We keep nomination records for the 2027 class until January 15, 2028. After that, records for nominees who were not selected are permanently deleted. Records for recipients are kept for as long as we publish the Class of 2027. A nominee or nominator may ask us to withdraw a nomination or delete a nomination record at any time by writing to carl@findaprowny.com. What we collect, who can see it and how long we keep it is set out in full in the nomination privacy notice.

11. General

Find a Pro WNY may amend these rules, extend or shorten any date, or cancel the program, and may disqualify any nomination that is inaccurate or submitted in bad faith. A change will not alter the published criteria or weights for nominations already submitted. Questions: carl@findaprowny.com.