Shaun Thornton of Murphy Business Named FSBDC at UCF Regional Volunteer of the Year
July 6, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu
Orlando, FL – The Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida has named Shaun Thornton, a Broker Associate at Murphy Business & Financial Corp., as its 2016 Regional Volunteer of the Year. Thornton has distinguished himself by his committed service to both the FSBDC’s award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program and to the Small Business Resource Network (SBRN), an FSBDC affiliate.
Longtime Contributor to Advisory Board Council
The Advisory Board Council is a next-level, business support service, assisting established Central Florida busi-nesses by matching them with experienced professionals with a diverse range of skills who work together on a carefully selected, “custom-fit” advisory board. The program provides dynamic talent and expertise specially selected to address the needs of the client company so as to help it solve problems and create opportunities. And the ABC is at no-cost. All of the Advisors are volunteers who are interested in building relationships and improving the economic community in Central Florida. The operation of the program is funded by Orange County and supported by the generosity of our sponsors.
Shaun Thornton became an ABC volunteer in 2009 and has donated over 135 hours of pro-bono consulting services totaling more than $20,000 in reported market value. He has been a key contributor serving on seven Advisory Board Councils for diverse FSBDC clients: a $10 million waste management company; a $3 million civil engineering firm; a $9 million software engineering firm in the modeling and simulation industry; a $6 million security systems distributor and a $10 million construction company.
And Thornton’s contribution to his Boards has been universally praised by the leaders of the client companies. For example ABC client Paul Holmes, President of JK2 Construction and Scenic, declared, “His understanding of businesses in general and willingness to dive into the details of my particular business made him a valuable resource. Without Shaun’s unselfish dedication to helping JK2 Construction & Scenic, I doubt we would have achieved the double digit growth in revenues, profits and jobs created over the last three years.”
Active Member of Small Business Resource Network
In addition to being a valued volunteer in the ABC program, Thornton is an active member of the FSBDC- affiliated Small Business Resource Network. SBRN is a professional membership organization helping connect small businesses with for-fee professional expertise in the areas of accounting, banking and commercial lending, insurance, law and business consulting.
From Day One, Shaun Thornton has been actively engaged with the group sharing his ideas and expertise. Even at the new member orientation he provided several suggestions to improve the layout of the SBRN website and streamline the information with the FSBDC site.
Thornton attends most of the membership meetings and is a proponent of the network, spreading the value to his associates – some of whom are current prospective members. He willingly donates his time where needed and in April served as a panel member for SBRN’s Breakfast with the Experts series. During a workshop entitled, “Planning for the Future of Your Business: Exit Strategies,” he provided insights regarding valuations and negotiations. He is an exemplary member, always willing to help the clients of the FSBDC as well as his peers in the SBRN network.
Brings Extensive Business Experience to His Volunteer Work
By way of background, Shaun Thornton is an accomplished negotiator and an articulate team leader with a proven ability to recruit, train, motivate, and develop successful groups of highly skilled specialists. With decades of leadership experience in the engineering industry, Thornton has served in positions such as Vice President and General Manager of SMS Demag – one of the world’s foremost suppliers of equipment to the metals industry; as Associate Director at Davey International; and as a Sales Manager at Voest Alpine Industries in both Great Britain and the United States. His educational background is in electrical engineering which, when coupled with proven sales and management expertise, has resulted in a successful career in marketing and selling capital equipment in the United States, United Kingdom, and other world markets.
Since January of 2004, Thornton has worked as a Broker Associate at Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, a leading Central Florida business brokerage firm specializing in the buying and selling of businesses and franchises. He is currently a Certified M&A Intermediary, as well as a Certified Business Intermediary by the International Business Brokers Association.
— 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 SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC 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 2014, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 8,200 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 12,387 Central Florida jobs created, retained or saved; $1.70 billion in sales growth; $26.1 million in capital formation; $39.7 million in government contract awards; and 105 new businesses started.
About the FSBDC Network
The FSBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide service network funded in part through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network is hosted by the University of West Florida and is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
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 2014, the Florida SBDCs served almost 30,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 42,644 jobs created, retained or saved; $5.8 billion in sales growth; $142.5 million in capital accessed; $210.2 million in government contract awards; and 486 new businesses started.
FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
