POCATELLO — There’s an old saying about a flashlight shining brighter with a fresh set of batteries and the 21 recipients of the Southeast Idaho Business Journal’s Twenty Under 40 Awards for 2016 proved the point.

All 44 nominees demonstrate a dedication to hard work and giving back to their communities and it is their energy that helps power the future direction of this area, according to Idaho State Journal Publisher Andy Pennington.

“These young people are exceptional in their homes, businesses and communities,” Pennington said Tuesday, adding it was difficult to narrow the nominees down to 21 winners.

Each of the winners received an award in an event sponsored by the Journal, Idaho Power Co., Citizens Community Bank, Molinelli’s Jewelers and Portneuf Medical Center with food and refreshment for the evening provided by J & Company.

The winners were: Ari Price, Brekka Hartman, Daniel Hummel, Dave Spillett, Grant Harville, Jason Meador, JD Osborn, Jenifer Reader, Jeremy Hess, Kash Morrison, Katie Grant, Kelly Ricken, Kyra Stull, Melissa Caudle, Mindy Benedetti, Mindy Hong,

Neil Tocher, Nick Muckerman, Randy’L Teton, Sarah O’Banion and Stuart Summers.

Price, 26, co-owns Gold’s Gym and Sunsations on Flandro Drive in Pocatello.

An outstanding athlete at Highland High School, where she lettered four years in soccer and two years on the track team. Price said she initially wanted to follow in her mother Robbie Garrett’s shoes and become a nurse. Her father, a retired detective for the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, had also dedicated his life to public service.

Price’s nursing plans took a detour when she took a part-time job at Gold’s Gym while in high school. At 17 she was promoted to a supervisory position, and by the time she was 19, Price was managing two departments and supervising 15 employees.

“I was an athlete and I thought it would be great to work in a gym,” Price said about her decision to seek work at Gold’s.

It was a good fit, and soon Price said she was looking at ways to use the fitness center to help people.

“Some people come in to change their bodies for the better,” Price said. “A love to see those changes for the better.”

Price took her desire to help others a step further when she created a program for young people who wanted to enlist in the armed services, but found it difficult or impossible to pass the physical requirements. With her help, many have been able to pursue their goal of military service.

Now, Ari and her husband, Kory Price, own Gold’s Gym in Pocatello and have purchased a Gold’s Gym in Twin Falls. She is also a board member for the Gate City Rotary Club, is the director of New Generations for Youth Exchange, helps with counseling services at Highland High and is a Little League Soccer coach.

As far as the nursing career, Price said she feels happy with her new path.

“I always wanted to help make people’s lives better,” she said. “I found a way to do that without being in a hospital.”

Before the evening’s awards were presented by emcee and communications director for Portneuf Medical Center, Todd Blackinton, the crowd heard an inspirational presentation by Farmers Insurance agent Jedidiah Snelson of Meridian.

Snelson rolled his wheelchair onto center state at the Stephens Performing Arts Center on the Idaho State University campus and shared his story of overcoming obstacles. Snelson was an ambitious up-and-coming under 40 achiever in the insurance business and an avid motocross racer when tragedy struck on Jan. 24, 2014.

While riding in a winter race in Boise, Snelson went off the track and ended up going over a steep drop before landing face first on the frozen ground at 35 miles per hour. The impact broke bones, punctured his lung and shattered a vertebrae that has left him paralyzed from the waist down.

His experiences as a professional racer and physical trainer, as well as a successful businessman, never left him. And he said his faith in God pushed him to never give up.

“It was a whole new learning experience for me,” Snelson confessed to the audience.

With determination and spiritual strength, Snelson healed from most of his injuries and learned to make the most of his paralysis. Recently he finished fourth place in the world in the WheelWOD Crossfit championship competition.

And this past year his insurance agency was ranked in the top 10 percent for Farmers Insurance in the nation.

Snelson said it’s his belief that God doesn’t put more challenges in front of a person than they can handle.

“God must think I’m a badass,” Snelson said to a round of applause.