Hundreds of Pittsburghers gathered Wednesday night at the Ace Hotel Pittsburgh to celebrate The Incline’s 1st birthday and nearly a year of Who’s Next honorees working to make the city better.

Our guests included more than 25 Who’s Next recipients; Sara Innamorato, candidate for state representative; Kit Mueller, director of strategic and community development for Trade Institute of Pittsburgh; Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation officer at UPMC; Bill Urbanic, Pittsburgh budget director; Wendy Urbanic, 311 manager; and Damon Young of VSB fame.

Also in attendance were Pittsburgh City Council members Dan Gilman and Corey O’Connor, who sponsored a proclamation declaring Wednesday “The Incline Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.

“The Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize and commend The Incline for its efforts to make local journalism in Pittsburgh relevant and vibrant and congratulates The Incline on the occasion of its 1st anniversary and for its remarkable vision and success during its inaugural year,” the proclamation reads.

The Incline’s CEO and founder Jim Brady; Vice President of Sales and Events Ryan Croyle; Editor Lexi Belculfine; and event sponsor S&T Bank’s Michael Holsinger thanked the audience for their commitment and readership during a brief presentation also honoring September’s Who’s Next: Health class.

In 10 separate Who’s Next classes, The Incline has identified 167 under-40 dynamos, from attorneys and activists to teachers and doctors, working every day to make the city better. More than 25 Who’s Next recipients also attended the party with family and friends.

Want to get in on the action? Nominations are open until Oct. 13 for our second Who’s Next: Politics class.

The Ace Hotel Pittsburgh’s gym was a perfect backdrop for the networking, corn hole games, Wigle Whiskey tastings, photo-boothing, eating and drinking happening in the space, while DJ JRod and DJ Bamboo spun lively mashups. Attendees also generously donated much-needed food items to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Just check out how cool the photo booth was.

(Yes, that’s us, The Incline staff. You can always reach us at [email protected].)

You don’t have to take our word for it, though. The Incline’s bash was the talk of the town as doors opened at 9 p.m. to Thrival attendees for the afterparty.

Thanks to everyone who came; we hope you had a great night and enjoyed your awesome swag bag. You can also check out more party pictures here.

If you want to continue supporting our local journalism and attending The Incline’s events, sign up for our morning newsletter here.