Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarLouise Gaddy, left, Rosie Radcliff, Judy Radcliff and Annie Pearl Carter enjoy visiting with each other at a reception at the Venue for The Meridian Star and 393 Magazine's Top twenty under 40 honorees.

Twenty of Meridian’s movers and shakers were recognized by The Meridian Star at a reception at the Venue Thursday evening. The group, “Top Twentyunder 40” are featured in the latest issue of 393 Magazine.

The event was designed to celebrate the positive contributions those individuals make to the community, said Alexander Gould, publisher of The Star.

“When we came up with this idea a few months ago, one of the things I heard was a lot of negatives about Meridian,” Gould said. “But I quickly found that there’s a lot of positives. So we wanted to put this together to celebrate some of those positives, and most importantly, those individuals who make those positives possible.”

Those recognized were An Howard Hill, Cole Cardwell, Daniel Wile, David Hall, Derron Radcliff, Dustin Hill, Josh Thompson, James Carter, Adrian Cross, Krilecia Gianakos, A’akeela Hudnall, Shavonda Truman, Josh Waters, Dusty Culpepper, Melissa Love, John David Ainsworth, Matthew Betts, Casey Hendricks, Heather Woodall and Anna Stephenson.