FSBDC at UCF Celebrates 2025 National Small Business Week
FSBDC at UCF to Honor Clients as U.S. Small Business Administration Award Winners and Local Advisor as Regional Volunteer of the Year
May 15, 2025
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 contributions to a healthy economy made by the entrepreneurs and small business owners of Central Florida and the nation, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is celebrating the US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) National Small Business Week with a luncheon and awards ceremony recognizing local SBA award winners.
The FSBDC at UCF’s National Small Business Week celebration will occur on Wednesday, May 21st at the 2025 Small Business Awards Luncheon, an invitation-only event being held at the Citrus Club in downtown Orlando. Sponsored by Chase Bank, Florida Business Development Corporation and SouthState Bank, the luncheon will feature remarks by representatives from the Florida SBDC and the U.S. Small Business Administration who will present the following awards to the local FSBDC at UCF and state and district SBA awards recipients in attendance:
Veteran-Owned Small Businessperson of the Year
2025 State of Florida & SBA North Florida District Winner
Chad Drummond, President and Chairman of the Board
Drummond Carpenter, PLLC – Maitland
Woman-Owned Small Businessperson of the Year
2025 State of Florida & SBA North Florida District Winner
Amanda Gaskins, MSN, APRN, Founder and Owner
Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care – Leesburg
Small Business Community Partner of the Year
2025 SBA North District Winner
Leslie Giscombe, Founder/CEO
African American Entrepreneurs Association – Daytona Beach
Regional Volunteer of the Year
2025 Central Florida / Florida SBDC at UCF Winner
David Rosenfeld, CFO Consultant/Business Advisor
“It gives the FSBDC at UCF great pleasure to honor our valued clients Amanda Gaskins of Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care and Chad Drummond of Drummond Carpenter 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. “We are also indeed pleased to congratulate and applaud David Rosenfeld as the Central Florida / FSBDC at UCF Regional Volunteer of the Year for his longstanding support and dedicated volunteer work supporting the FSBDC at UCFs clients in our Advisory Board Council program.
“Drummond Carpenter and Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care are outstanding examples of small business success stories, each one built upon the vision, energy and determination of their entrepreneurial founders,” shared Choi. “The FSBDC at UCF works to provide no-cost 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 continued.
Drummond Carpenter is a full-service civil and environmental engineering consulting firm certified as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) and headquartered in Orange County. Its primary services include green infrastructure and sustainability, civil and water resources engineering, environmental modeling, nuclear waste disposal and safe storage, and environmental assessment and remediation. The firm serves clients across the nation including NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as various municipalities across the Midwest and in Central Florida, including the City of Orlando and Orange County.
Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care is a Direct Primary Care (DPC) practice – a new and innovative personalized approach to medical care management. This affordable, patient-centric model gives members access to unlimited primary care. The focus is to provide every patient with individualized attention to meet his or her specific healthcare needs; 24/7; days, nights, weekends; and in whatever manner they choose: phone, telehealth, email, in office, all covered by a single, monthly fee. The monthly direct pay, flat fee is likely to cover 80-90% of the issues for which patients need to seek medical care, including: routine and preventative care; sick visits, weight loss management, and chronic disease management.
“Both Ultimate Health DPC and Drummond Carpenter 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,” said Choi.
“Florida’s 3.3 million small business owners work tirelessly everyday to launch and grow their businesses, and the Florida SBDC Network is proud to stand alongside them to help make their dreams a reality,” said Greg Britton, state director of the Florida SBDC Network. “We are proud to be able to celebrate the success of some of our highest achievers, and acknowledge all our small businesses do to help make Florida the best state in the nation to work, live, and play.”
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’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness. This year’s week-long celebration ran May 4 – 10 with events being held in multiple cities from coast-to-coast throughout the month of May that are designed to help small businesses 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 part of UCF’s Office of the President 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 2024, the FSBDC at UCF served 2,277 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 2,855 jobs impacted; $564.3 million in sales growth; $57.2 million in capital formation; $161.1 million in government contract awards; and 142 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.
About the Florida SBDC Network
For nearly 50 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 2024, the Florida SBDC Network delivered 107,812 hours of consulting to 15,474 small business clients – resulting in business owners securing $304 million in capital, $732 million in government contracting, impacting 19,800 jobs, increasing sales by over $3.8 billion, and creating 1,019 businesses.
With over 40 offices statewide, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, 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 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
