{"id":413,"date":"2014-03-11T20:19:01","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T20:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localhost:10018\/?p=413"},"modified":"2024-08-22T14:37:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T19:37:13","slug":"neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt didn\u2019t hit me until they started talking about the process, about the committee they put together to review 275 applications,\u201d said Sellers, a firm Vice President who manages Neel-Schaffer\u2019s operations in Alabama and South Carolina. \u201cBut to know I was one (of 40) selected out of 275, that was very humbling. \u2026 I can\u2019t say enough about how much this means.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chris Sellers didn\u2019t quite understand the magnitude of the honor he received last month from the Birmingham Business Journal until the day of the awards luncheon.<\/p>\n

Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham. About 300 people attended the luncheon. NeelSchaffer\u2019s table included Chris and his wife Jennifer Sellers, Chris\u2019s parents, Ricky and Marsha Sellers, Neel-Schaffer Chief Operations Officer Joey Hudnall, Neel-Schaffer Vice President Dick Burleson (Hoover, Ala.), and two top Neel-Schaffer clients from Hoover, the city\u2019s executive director, Alan Pate, and Pate\u2019s assistant, Tim Westhoven.<\/p>\n

This is the 30th year the Birmingham Business Journal has selected its Top 40 under 40. As the Journal wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one marks a big milestone for what has become the most coveted award for Birmingham young professionals. \u2026 When perusing through the past lists, it was very interesting to see which former honorees stood out in the crowded list of nearly 1,200 previous winners. Frankly, there have been quite a few who have not only fulfilled the potential that led to their selection as a Top 40 \u2013 but went far above and beyond over the past three decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a testimony to what Chris has done in his career,\u201d said Hudnall. \u201cChris has made a difference in his profession in what he does, day-in and day-out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sellers joined Neel-Schaffer in 1999, soon after graduating from Auburn University with a degree in civil engineering. He worked for eight years in Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Birmingham office, designing sanitary sewer lines and pump stations. In 2007, he was promoted to Engineer Manager. In 2012, Sellers was made a Vice President and is now responsible for the management, operations and marketing of three Neel-Schaffer offices in Alabama and one in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Since diamonds are the recommended gift for 30th anniversaries, the Business Journal held a photo shoot with the 40 honorees at the new Regions Field baseball park in downtown Birmingham. Sellers is pictured on the cover of the issue, wearing a suit and a big smile while wielding a baseball bat.<\/p>\n

Carrying the sports theme into the interviews, each of the 40 was asked to name their top sports hero.<\/p>\n

Sellers chose Tony Dungy, who was the first black football coach to win a Super Bowl, in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Dungy has always handled himself with class,\u201d Sellers says in the magazine. \u201cHe won the right way, through hard work and perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sellers said the honor has already paid off in several networking opportunities, which is what his boss likes to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in an elite group,\u201d said Hudnall. \u201cThis gets his name and our company\u2019s name out there that much more, and that\u2019s a positive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt didn\u2019t hit me until they started talking about the process, about the committee they put together to review 275 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accolades","category-people"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNeel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Neel-Schaffer Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NeelSchaffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mad Genius\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mad Genius\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mad Genius\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2\"},\"headline\":\"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\"},\"wordCount\":534,\"articleSection\":[\"Accolades\",\"People\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\",\"name\":\"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2\"},\"description\":\"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/\",\"name\":\"Neel-Schaffer Engineering\",\"description\":\"Solutions you can build upon\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2\",\"name\":\"Mad Genius\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4989d1333869be2aeaa4bfd03d68892bbbde689a5f09b99983dc7618487ee485?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4989d1333869be2aeaa4bfd03d68892bbbde689a5f09b99983dc7618487ee485?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mad Genius\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/author\/madgweb\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40","description":"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40","og_description":"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham","og_url":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/","og_site_name":"Neel-Schaffer Engineering","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NeelSchaffer\/","article_published_time":"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00","author":"Mad Genius","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mad Genius","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/"},"author":{"name":"Mad Genius","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2"},"headline":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40","datePublished":"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/"},"wordCount":534,"articleSection":["Accolades","People"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/","url":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/","name":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 under 40","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-03-11T20:19:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-22T19:37:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2"},"description":"Chris Sellers was named to the Business Journal\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40 list for 2014. He and the other 39 were honored during a luncheon held Feb. 27 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/2014\/03\/11\/neel-schaffers-sellers-named-to-birminghams-prestigious-top-40-under-40\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Neel-Schaffer\u2019s Sellers named to Birmingham\u2019s prestigious Top 40 under 40"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/","name":"Neel-Schaffer Engineering","description":"Solutions you can build upon","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b05d8cc15a85b7cbadf2dcda726dec2","name":"Mad Genius","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4989d1333869be2aeaa4bfd03d68892bbbde689a5f09b99983dc7618487ee485?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4989d1333869be2aeaa4bfd03d68892bbbde689a5f09b99983dc7618487ee485?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mad Genius"},"url":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/author\/madgweb\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neel-schaffer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}