Florida SBDC at UCF

FSBDC at UCF Celebrates 2020 National Small Business Week

FSBDC at UCF to Honor Clients as U.S. SBA Award Winners

October 8, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – In recognition of the significant contribution made by the entrepreneurs and small business owners of Central Florida and the nation, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is celebrating the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) National Small Business Week with a virtual awards ceremony honoring local SBA award winners.

The Florida SBDC at UCF, in conjunction with the SBA’s North Florida District Office, will recognize national, regional, state and district 2020 Small Business Week award winners at a Small Business Week Virtual Celebration on October 9 hosted jointly by the Florida Small Business Development Centers at UCF, UNF, FAMU and UWF, a first-of-its-kind Small Business Week Event.

The Small Business Week Virtual Celebration webcast will feature a keynote speech by Jim Harris, one of America’s foremost thought leaders, management consultants and authors on disruptive innovation, entitled How Technology is Transforming Small & Medium Sized Businesses. In addition, there will be remarks by award winners, representatives from the Florida SBDC’s, their host institutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Local award winners, which include the National Small Business Exporter of the Year, nominated by the Florida SBDC at UCF and the FSBDC at UCF’s volunteer of the year to be recognized are:

Small Business Exporter of the Year
2020 National, Region IV, State of Florida, and North Florida District Winner
Nick Nicholas, Owner/Technical Director
Genesis Water Technologies, Inc. – Maitland
www.genesiswatertech.com  

Small Business Person of the Year
2020 North Florida District Winner
Sarah Blake, President
Elipsis Engineering & Consulting, LLC – Winter Garden
www.elipsisec.com

Veteran-Owned Small Business Person of the Year
2020 North Florida District Winner
John Burns, President and CEO
Eagle 6 Technology Services – Orlando
www.eagle6usa.com

 “It gives the FSBDC at UCF great pleasure to honor our valued clients Nick Nicholas of Genesis Water Technologies, Sarah Blake of Elipsis Engineering and Consulting, John Burns of Eagle 6 Technology Services as U.S. Small Business Administration Award winners as part of its Small Business Week,” remarked Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the Florida SBDC at UCF.”

“Each of these businesses and their leaders are outstanding examples of small business success stories, each one built upon the vision, energy and determination of their entrepreneurial founders,” continued Choi. “The FSBDC at UCF works to provide consulting, business training and access to market research that allows companies like these to excel. We are gratified to have assisted them in their achievement in some small way,” Choi went on.

Genesis Water Technologies, Inc is a leading water & wastewater treatment solutions company. It was started almost 15 years ago to tackle the issues of water scarcity and inadequate water treatment with innovative and sustainable water & wastewater treatment solutions and services tailored to serving communities and industrial clients.

Elipsis Engineering & Consulting, LLC is an established engineering and consulting firm celebrating eleven years in business, that serves Central Florida and surrounding areas. The company provides engineering services in the fields of Construction Materials Testing including laboratory testing services, Threshold Inspection, Structural Steel inspections and Drilled Shaft Inspections, as well as Project, Contract Management services and Construction Engineering Inspection (CEI) services.

Eagle 6 Technical Services, LLC is a multi-million-dollar Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) specializing in cybersecurity, command & control and logistics & maintenance systems. It is recently expanded into managed security services for the commercial health care sector as well as for government clients and has broadened itself into being a full-fledged security integrator, providing physical security, information security and personal security solutions.

“Each of these companies have built themselves from start-ups into impressive businesses by meeting the needs of their customers, employing our neighbors and serving our community, thereby contributing materially to our local economy and the wellbeing of Central Florida,” says Choi.

National Small Business Week is proclaimed by the President of the United States to recognize the critical contributions made by America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs to our economy. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they are working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness. This year’s event was virtual from September 22 -24 with other events being held from coast-to-coast thereafter designed to spotlight small businesses and their efforts to start, grow and succeed.

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

Hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), and with its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation and the Florida SBDC Network.

The Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 9 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2019, the FSBDC at UCF served almost 2,500 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $62.3 million in capital formation; $213.2 million in government contract awards; and 125 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

In 2019, Florida SBDCs provided 114,064 of professional business consulting to over 12,500 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $496.5 million in government contracts acquired; and $255.3 million in capital accessed.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com