Our Mission is to foster a better quality of life for the community that is 40 Below at heart. We bring together young professions and entrepreneurs of Cortland to create a culture of empowerment.

Since the first meeting in the fall of 2006 our current membership has grown to over 100 members strong. With each event, project or meeting, new connections are made, great ideas are exchanged and collaboration toward the next great endeavor begins.

This past winter, 40 Below Cortland elected its first advisory
board. Their names are listed below so that the next time you
see them at the park, out to dinner or at a meeting, you can
ask “how can I be part of 40 Below”?

40 Below Cortland Advisory Board

• Amy Buggs, Cortland Works
• Scott Hopko, Hopko Design
• David Kurtz, Hopko Design
• Lauren Mossotti-Kline, LMK Companies

Sunday, August 30, 2009 @ 1- 5:00pm

Hope Lake Summer Splash!
2nd annual family event hosted by 40 Below Cortland

The first 40 people to RSVP enter the park for FREE!!
Again this year we will have entertainment, games, face painting, dish-to-pass fare and of course - THE BEACH!

NEW THIS YEAR: Special guests from community organizations will also be in attendance for the volunteer fair. Don't miss it,
RSVP TODAY!

In April, 40 Below Cortland will once again host a public presentation of the best business ideas for Cortland and the surrounding area developed by students in Homer High School’s economics class. All will be welcomed to the Beard Building at 9 Main Street in historic downtown Cortland. View the video clip below from last year's event and contact 40BelowCortland@gmail.com to learn more!

Did you Hear the News?

Quick thinking inspires student’s business plan

Joe McIntyre/staff photographer

By HOLDEN B. SLATTERY
Staff Reporter
hslattery@cortlandstandard.net

SYRACUSE — Homer High School senior Caleb Earl was home sick when his teacher called, reminding him of that day’s deadline to submit a mock business plan to a regional competition. Earl had forgotten the assignment, but within an hour, he created a plan and filed it.
Friday, his quickly conceived idea of manufacturing biodegradable fishing lures was announced as the winner of the $5,000 prize in the competition with nearly 100 entrees, many of them college students.
Earl became the first high school student to win the 5K Business Idea Competition, a contest held by the Metropolitan Development Association. This was the third year the competition took place. A panel of judges considered 98 entries from a 12-county region in central and northern New York, said Mitchell Paterson, an employee of the Metropolitan Development Association who managed the competition.
Read the full article at www.cortlandstandard.net