Volusia County-UCF Business Incubator Associate Director/Site Manager Named “Education Partner of the Year” at annual CareerSource Summit in Orlando
Daytona Beach / Orlando, Fla. – Connie Garzon-Bernal, Associate Director and Site Manager for the Volusia County–UCF Business Incubator, was presented with a statewide award during the Workforce Professional Development Summit 2016, held recently at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Orlando.
Bernal was selected as the “Education Partner of the Year” among a group of nominees by CareerSource boards throughout the state who met at the summit to present and share best practices and services available for economic development and workforce.
Bernal, who has been coaching Volusia County entrepreneurs and innovators; not only at the Volusia County-UCF Business Incubator, but also at the Small Business Development Center in Daytona Beach, said she was surprised and delighted that her eight years of hard work has been so widely recognized.
CareerSource Flagler-Volusia nominated Bernal for the statewide award for programs she’s developed at the Incubator to help grow local talent and jobs in Volusia-Flagler, “and for playing a key role in partnership with the local CareerSource to establish its three-year program, Startup Quest,” said Robin King, president of CareerSource Flagler-Volusia.
As site manager at the Volusia-UCF Business Incubator at the Daytona Beach Airport facility, Bernal provides constructive feedback to start ups which is essential to grow local businesses and jobs.
Photo Caption: Connie Bernal, Associate Director/Site Manager Volusia County–UCF Business Incubation Program (center) at announcement of her winning CareerSource Florida’s statewide award at the Grand Hyatt resort in Orlando, flanked by Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of Department of Economic Opportunity (left) and Chris Hart IV, President and CEO CareerSource Florida, (right).
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For more information about, media contacts –
Connie Bernal, Associate Director/ Site Manager, Volusia County–University of Central Florida Business Incubator Program, 386-872-3101 or connie.bernal@ucf.edu
Robin King, President / CEO CareerSource Flagler Volusia 386-323-7077 robinking@careersourcefv.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or LvershelCo@aol.com
About CareerSource Flagler Volusia
CareerSource Flagler Volusia offers tools to find jobs and advance careers for residents of Flagler and Volusia. On average, the organization provides nearly 3,065 job seekers each month with services such as an online job bank, career counseling, recruitment events, training, financial aid, career assessments and internships. It also assists an average of 233 employers each month with recruitment, retention and training. For more information, visit www.CareerSourceFV.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 helped hundreds of local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
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 Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. Participating companies sustain more than 3,600 local jobs and have had a total impact of $1.51 Billion on regional sales and $2.48 Billion on regional economic output. During the last fiscal year, the program has returned $7.95 for every $1.00 invested in the program.
