By Sam Elliott
Zionsville’s Nathan Frampton, the president of Fanimation, was one of 10 winners of this year’s Indy’s Best and Brightest awards presented by Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.
Frampton was selected from a pool of 10 finalists in the Manufacturing, Retail and Services division when the awards were presented Oct. 15 at the Ivy Tech Corporate College and Culinary Center in Indianapolis. It was the 12th year for the event.
The Indy’s Best and Brightest awards honor area professionals with meaningful accomplishments who are actively involved in the community and who demonstrate leadership qualities in the workplace and community, among other selection criteria.
“We take nominations from the public or coworkers or colleagues for people that have made really strong strides in their professional career for individuals under the age of 40,” Jillian Keller, special events manager for Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, said. “We have a whole nomination process where we collect nominations from all over Indianapolis, and from there it’s a committee-based decision that includes professionals or experts from those certain categories.”
Fanimation, originally founded in Pasadena, Calif., moved its corporate headquarters to Zionsville in 2003. Frampton, a graduate of IUPUI’s Kelley School of Business, began working for Fanimation in 2001 and has been president of the fan company his father, Tom, founded in 1984 since 2007.
Receiving the Indy’s Best and Brightest came as a surprise.
“There were 10 great people in the category, so I didn’t expect to win it,” Frampton said. “I think it says more about just the people I’ve got around me in different areas of my life, whether it be Fanimation or the trade associations I’m a part of. I’m lucky and fortunate to work with a bunch of great people and have a great and supportive family. You don’t get an award like that unless you’ve got a lot of good people round you.”
Frampton was nominated for the award by one of those people, Fanimation’s business development manager, Teal Cracraft.
“His whole nomination process was really impressive,” Keller said. “The committee was really impressed with the work he’s done with Fanimation and the community.”
