If you can remember voting for — or against — Bill Clinton, this column isn't for you.
That's because we're on the lookout for talented young people, specifically people age 35 and under who are on the path to becoming plastics industry leaders.
That's right, it's time again for our annual Plastics News Rising Stars.
Those who we select will be profiled in our Aug. 1 print edition of Plastics News.
This is the third year for the project, and we've been very impressed with the Gen X and millennial industry professionals who we featured in 2014 and 2015. Now we're looking for the class of 2016 — candidates who were born in 1981 or later.
We want to profile talented young people. So if you're working on solving the plastics industry's problems, managing teams, participating in community and industry activities or doing amazing work, why not share your interesting story with our readers?
It's also a great chance to talk about the mentors who are helping to encourage your efforts and give you good career advice.
If you're a candidate, or know one, applying is easy: Go to www.plasticsnews.com/risingstars and fill out the single-page survey. The deadline for nominations is July 18.
I look forward to reading the nominations, and sharing the best ones with our readers.
Highlighting women who ‘break the mold'
Plastics News also is repeating another feature that was overwhelmingly popular with readers last year. It's our special report on women in the plastics industry.
Last year we called this special report Women in Plastics, but this year we're giving the project a new name: Women who Break the Mold.
We're starting with a special report in our July 20 print edition, and we're planning more for this year's — and last year's — honorees.
There's no age requirement for this report. We're looking for women of all ages who have interesting stories to share. The plastics industry has long had the reputation as an old boy's club. But there are many women leading plastics companies, working in executive and managerial roles. We want to highlight them, and their stories.
The deadline for this report is urgent, and based on the strong positive reaction to last year's report, I want to make sure everyone has a chance to participate. So please go to www.plasticsnews.com/wip to fill out our survey. The deadline is July 1.
Loepp is editor of Plastics News and author of “The Plastics Blog.” Follow him on Twitter @donloepp.