Kern Halls of Ingenious Culinary Concepts Named 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year
Florida SBDC at UCF Announces 2024 Small Business Excellence Award Winner
January 23, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu
Orlando, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) announced its 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year on January 17th in the culmination of the third annual FSBDC at UCF Small Business Excellence Awards program celebrating the success, growth, business acumen, and community involvement of FSBDC at UCF’s clients from across its 8-county region.
Named as the 2024 FSBDC at UCF Entrepreneur of the Year is:
Kern Halls Ingenious Culinary Concepts Ocoee, Orange County
The FSBDC at UCF Small Business Excellence Award program recognizes local small business owners for their innovation, determination, and resilience as demonstrated by the growth of their business and through their contributions to their communities. Nominations from across Central Florida were made by FSBDC at UCF consultants to acknowledge their clients’ significant growth; their resourcefulness in overcoming the challenges presented by small business ownership; and their involvement in their communities.
In total, there were 13 distinguished and remarkable Small Business Excellence Awards Entrepreneur of the Year nominees. The 12 other nominees included:
Amanda Gaskin
Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, LLC Leesburg, Lake County
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Carlie Paluzzi, Jason Paluzzi, Kyle Kroeplin
BWH Plant Co Apopka, Orange County |
Chad Drummond
Drummond Carpenter Maitland, Orange County |
Eric and Bianca Rey
Urban Perch – A Boutique Home Builder, LLC Winter Park, Orange County
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Fred Price and Amy Becker
Becker’s Best Shoes Mt. Dora, Lake County |
Janine Klein
Emotional Intelligence Institute Orlando, Orange County
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Mark Fugett
Managed Services Group Maitland, Orange County
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Michael Heyman and Brett Meyers
The Reimagined Classroom Orlando, Orange County |
Michael Workman
M5K Enterprises, Inc. dba “CorTru” Titusville, Brevard County
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Paulo Francisco de Vilhena Toledo
BRISA America Corp. Celebration, Osceola County |
R. Sans Lassiter, PE
LTG, Inc Ormond Beach, Volusia County
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Stacey Cook
S Cook Productions, LLC Orlando, Orange County
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Small businesses are the engine that drives the Florida economy. According to the SBA, there are roughly 3.1 million small businesses in Florida. They make up 99.8% of all businesses in the state and employ 3.5 million workers, about 39.7% of the state’s private-sector workforce.
As the list illustrates, the nominees for the FSBDC at UCF Small Business Excellence Awards represent a broad cross section of Central Florida small businesses operating in multiple industries. Nearly 70% of the nominees are women- and/or minority-owned businesses, and/or veteran-owned firms. All are valued clients of the FSBDC at UCF who have benefited in some way from its no-cost, expert consulting; business training; and/or market research resources.
The award winner was selected by the FSBDC at UCF’s Executive Board comprised of local small business leaders and stakeholders committed to supporting the FSBDC’s mission to help small businesses launch, grow, and thrive through expertise, resources, and advocacy. The announcement of the award winner was made at an Awards Luncheon held the Citrus Club in Orlando, Florida and was made possible through the generous support of its sponsors: Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Orange County Government, and SouthState Bank.
In addition to the Entrepreneur of the Year award, the FSBDC also recognized six (6) Start Up Companies to Watch, a new element of the SBEA program which celebrates early-stage companies with significant promise for the future. The Start Up Companies to Watch nominations were based on a company’s business planning effectiveness, coaching receptivity, and potential.
“We are excited to recognize Kern Halls of Ingenious Culinary Concepts as our 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year and all of the Small Business Excellence Award honorees for their accomplishments and success,” shared Eunice Choi, FSBDC at UCF Regional Director. “Small businesses like these are the engines of our local economy, creating opportunity, prosperity, and generating jobs in our communities. It is an honor to be able to celebrate them.”
2024 FSBDC at UCF Small Business Excellence Awards Entrepreneur of the Year
Kern Halls with Ingenious Culinary Concepts: This firm transforms cafeterias – from menu to the ambience itself – into hot spots that increase participation in K-12 dining programs and access to nutritious meals. The company has received numerous accolades for innovative contributions to school food services.
2024 FSBDC at UCF Small Business Excellence Entrepreneur of the Year Nominees
- Fred Price and Amy Becker with Becker’s Best Shoes: This family-owned and operated footwear company based in Mt. Dora boasts a vast collection of top-quality footwear from over 45 leading brands.
- Paulo Toledo with BRISA America Corp: The firm is dedicated to supporting companies and governments through information technology and telecommunications, including building high-quality, flexible, and reliable software.
- Carlie and Jason Paluzzi and Kyle Kroeplin with BWH Plant Co: BWH Plant Co brings nature to your doorstep in the form of high-quality, rare indoor plants that are affordable and easily accessible through a direct-to-consumer model.
- Chad Drummond with Drummond Carpenter: The firm specializes in environmental and water resources engineering and applied research. Its services even include nuclear disposal and storage.
- Janine Klein with Emotional Intelligence Institute: EII bridges the gap left by AI with live, human-led interactions through advanced avatar technology to provide nuance, empathy, adaptability to create authentic experiences.
- Sans Lassiter with LTG Inc: The firm provides traffic engineering and transportation planning solutions to both public and private sector entities through use of innovative engineering and progressive planning solutions.
- Mark Fugett with Managed Services Group: This firm offers computer system design and full IT support services including affordable Remote Monitoring, Remediation, and Preventive Maintenance and a help desk technical center.
- Michael Workman with CorTru: CorTru is a specialized general contractor with expertise in metal fabrication, SSPC-QP1 certified corrosion control, and painting.
- Stacey Cook with S Cook Productions: S Cook Productions offers a one-stop video development and production shop for all their clients’ needs, including crew and most equipment needs. Services range from Still Photography, to Directing/Producing, Production Management, to full broadcast.
- Michael Heyman and Brett Meyers with the Reimagined Classroom: The Reimagined Classroom develops educational content for PreK–12 and Higher Ed in all subject areas. They are reimagining the way to engage students and empower teachers!
- Amanda Gaskin with Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, LLC: This practice offers a personalized approach to medical care management and an affordable, patient-center model. Their focus is to provide every patient with individualized attention to meet his or her specific health care needs.
- Eric and Bianca Rey with Urban Perch – A Boutique Home Builder, LLC: Urban Perch is an experienced general contractor creating elegant, efficient homes that inspire holistic living and healthier spaces. They strive to exceed client expectations whether you are building, buying, or selling your home.
2024 FSBDC at UCF Start Up Companies to Watch
- Javier Garcia and Angelica Moncada of Candelaria Eatery & Café – Oxford, Sumter County
- Greg Chatelain of Chatelain Engineering – Winter Park, Orange County
- Rodrigo Costa of DeTask Corp. – Orlando, Orange County
- Janselis Maldonado of Fun for Tots – Clermont, Lake County
- Grace Acevedo Dobbins of In America with Grace – Sanford, Seminole County
- Amanda and Gina Manzano of Terra Craft Sandwiches – Melbourne, Brevard County
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 2023, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,100 jobs created, retained or saved; $743.5 million in sales growth; $59.2 million in capital formation; $122.5 million in government contract awards; and 164 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.
About the Florida SBDC Network
For more than 45 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 2023, the Florida SBDC Network delivered 111,720 hours of consulting to 14,808 small business clients – resulting in business owners securing $346 million in capital, $576 million in government contracting, impacting 19,263 jobs, increasing sales by over $3.9 billion, and creating 1,058 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