Hunt Dawkins Named Associate Director For FSBDC at UCF
Seasoned Banker and Team Leader to Serve Central Florida Business Community
November 7, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, SBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@bus.ucf.edu
Orlando, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center at University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) today announced that it has named G. Hunt Dawkins as Associate Director of the FSBDC at UCF. He will be responsible for staff development and management,
directing and overseeing the FSBDC’s entrepreneurial development programs, provide leadership and direction in policy development, and assist in preparing and administering the annual work plan and strategic plan. In addition, he will develop and lead community and stakeholder relations activities to further enhance the visibility and mission of the FSBDC.
“Hunt is an exceptional coach, manager and servant leader who will strengthen our team here at the FSBDC in important ways,” commented Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the FSBDC at UCF. “His many years of banking experience in Central Florida serving businesses big and small, working effectively with clients and colleagues and contributing to the communities in which he works and lives make him an outstanding choice to assist the FSBDC and its clients and team members achieve their goals.”
Dawkins joins the FSBDC at UCF after an impressive career in banking where he gained extensive experience in sales leadership, business lending, training, human resources and operations. He has specialized in retail, commercial and small business development and client relationship management most recently at Hancock Bank as Senior Vice President, Regional Retail Banking Manager. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President, Retail Banking at Colonial Bank where directed regional and retail banking initiatives, including business banking, across 11 counties and 62 branch locations in Central Florida. He also held executive positions at Suntrust Bank and Southtrust Bank. Dawkins earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida and is a alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University.
For more information about the FSBDC at UCF, contact Hal Thayer at hthayer@bus.ucf.edu or call 407.420.4850.
— FSBDC —
About the FSBDC at UCF
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 Research & Commercialization and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDC Network). THE FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.
In 2012, the FSBDC at UCF served almost 6500 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 9,961 Central Florida jobs created, retained or saved; $1.3 billion in sales growth; $50.4 million in capital formation; $104.6 million in government contract awards; and 108 new businesses started.
About the FSBDC Network
For over 35 years, the FSBDC Network has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development organizations, dedicated to providing emerging and established business owners with management and technical assistance, enabling overall growth and increased profitability for the businesses and economic prosperity for the state. The FSBDC Network is a statewide service system of 41 centers with 60 outreach locations, including the FSBDC at UCF.
In 2012, the Florida SBDCs served approximately 38,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 47,845 jobs created, retained and saved; $6.3 billion in sales growth; $235.2 million in capital accessed; $588.4 million in government contract awards; and 744 new businesses started.
In 2012, for every $1 of Florida public and private sector investment in the FSBDC program, $40 was returned to the state in tax revenue.
The FSBDC at UCF and the FSBDC Network are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@bus.ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com
