20 under 40: MIKE DANIEL

Favorite quote or saying, why?

“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.” – George Carlin

Community or professional highlights:

Director of Marketing at PMZ Real Estate; Digital Marketing & Creative Director at In-Shape Health Clubs; Director of Marketing at Dataprise, one of the nation’s largest IT consulting firms.

South Modesto Partnership Board Member; Cambridge Academies; Leadership Committee, Modesto’s Breakfast Club; Medical Ambassadors International. Mike/I is/am serve(s) a number of charitable & philanthropic NPOs with his personal time and professional talents.

Your life changed when:

I made the decision to relocate back to my home in Modesto in late 2015 so that I could chase my dream of running my own marketing agency. I lived in a number of major U.S. cities in my twenties and early thirties and those places left their respective marks on me and my sensibilities. Because of that, I’ve been able to see this community through new eyes and with a new appreciation for how singularly well-positioned Modesto is to emerge as one of the premier communities in the region in the coming years. This community gave so much to me when I was growing up and I can think of no greater privilege than being allowed to be a part of the brain trust responsible for shaping what the future of Modesto will look like and then helping to guide it into the future.

What do you want people to know most about you?

I take a tremendous amount of pride in being a small business owner. I’m passionate about building awareness in my community around digital marketing and how it can help Central Valley businesses thrive in a changing business landscape. But above all, I take pride in being a dad to my amazing little guy, Matthew. He has radically altered who I am as a person and the way I interact with and experience the world.

What do you like most about living here?

Modesto has an unofficial motto, “A City of Great Neighbors,” and that couldn’t be more true for me or more emblematic of my experience here. As someone who has had the chance to live all over this great country, I’ve found that the work-life balance available here - in concert with its central location within the state - offers an experience and a quality-of-life that is wholly unique to us and unavailable anywhere else, at any price point. There is a group of young people here in their twenties and thirties who are growing into themselves and assuming the leadership roles being handed down by the generations of Modestans before us – as well as the roles being created in this digital age as leaders, creators and advocates.

Why is community involvement important?

I believe that engagement, emotional investment and personal ownership are the lifeblood of any vibrant, thriving community. When people care about the place they live and the other people who live there, they stop being merely occupants of the same patch of dirt and they become neighbors. And when neighbors come together, united by a common goal, anything is possible. I grew up in South Modesto and I am especially interested in this community of strong, proud, hard-working people. I feel it’s a community whose contributions to the larger community are often overlooked and I feel it’s a segment of our population with a great deal to contribute. I’d love to get more attention drawn to the good that’s happening on the other side of 7th Street.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 10:36 AM with the headline "20 under 40: MIKE DANIEL."