Eagle 6’s John Burns Named Veteran-Owned Small Business Person of the Year
Orlando, Fla. (September 18, 2020) – John Burns, one of the national leaders in government and commercial healthcare cybersecurity, has been named the Veteran-owned Small Business Person of the Year for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s North Florida District.
Annually, the SBA honors an individual who owns and operates a for-profit small business and who has been discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions. Nominees must serve as a majority owner and operates or bears principal responsibility for operating a small business with a minimum three-year track record.
“There are so many deserving veterans running great businesses in this area that it is quite humbling to be honored in this manner,” Burns, president and CEO of Eagle 6 Technical Services, says. “I know it is quite a competitive space and is truly a great recognition for what we have accomplished as a team.”
Burns is a combat-wounded veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and a retired Army colonel helicopter pilot.
Eagle 6 is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business providing unique and dedicated technology services focused on information security, logistics and government command and control systems engineering. The company started in 2012 and currently has 20 full and part-time employees and consultants.
The nominees were judged on five criteria:
- Staying power — a substantiated history as an established business; including but not limited to expansion, exporting, addition of territories, or growth in square footage occupied
- Growth in number of employees — Increases over the three years must be in excess of growth in Gross Domestic Product
- Increase in sales, net profit, and net worth for the three prior calendar years
- Response to adversity — examples of problems faced in the nominee’s business and the methods used to solve them
- Contributions to community-oriented projects — evidence of the use of his/her personal time and resources
“This year has been challenging for most small businesses, and our winners are no exception. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners,” says Laketa Henderson, acting director, of the North Florida District Director. “We are proud of the contribution you have made in your respective communities. The SBA and our resource partners are here to continue to help all our small businesses in the area start, grow, and recover.”
The 2020 Small Business Week Award Winners will be recognized at a virtual Small Business Week Celebration on October 9, 2020. The Florida Small Business Development Centers at UNF, UCF, FAMU, and UWF will jointly host this first of a kind Small Business Week celebration. The 2019 North Florida District Office Top Lenders will also be recognized at the virtual event.
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For more information media should contact –
John Burns, Eagle 6 Technical Services, 407-730-0331,johnburns@eagle6usa.com
Michael Weiss, UCF Business Incubation Program, 321-281-8384, Michael.Weiss@UCF.edu
Alan Byrd, Alan Byrd & Associates, 407-415-8470, Alan@ByrdConnections.com
About Eagle 6 Technical Services: Eagle 6 is a Technology Services Provider specializing in efficient and cost-effective technology solutions and services for our government and commercial customer’s most challenging data analytics problems in the digital transformation. Eagle 6 is an agile and innovative problem-solver providing tailorable cyber security, professional engineering and enterprise logistics and supply chain services. Their unwavering commitments to quality on-time results are unique characteristics that distinguishes them from other small businesses. Eagle 6 values and invests in their employees allowing them to attract and retain highly talented, specialized, and experienced workforce with a hiring focus on veterans and Wounded Warriors. For more information, visit Eagle6USA.com.
About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For the 2017/2018 fiscal years, the activities of these participating firms have helped to sustain more than 6,725 local jobs and have had a cumulative impact of over $725 million on regional GDP and over $1.3 billion on regional sales. During the same period, the program has returned more than $12.00 in state and local taxes for every $1.00 invested in the program. In addition, for every $1.00 of public investment the firms also produced $118 of additional regional GDP and $226 of regional sales. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
