The Florida Small Business Development Center (FSBDC) at FIU Business honored entrepreneurs, students and community partners whose innovation and leadership are helping drive economic growth across Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys during its annual Business At Its Best Awards.
They recognized a range of achievements, including a Miami-Dade manufacturer that demonstrated excellence in production, innovation and economic impact; an entrepreneur whose leadership and business growth stood out; and a small business that achieved significant progress through its work with the FSBDC.
“This event shines the spotlight on FIU entrepreneurs, key community partners and Florida SBDC at FIU clients that have reached big milestones,” said Brian Van Hook, Regional Director of the FSBDC at FIU Business.
The event, held May 7th at the FIU Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center as part of National Small Business Week, celebrated small business leaders for their resilience and contributions to South Florida’s economy while highlighting the partnerships that support their success. Sponsors of the 2026 program included Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (Manufacturer of the Year Award), U.S. Century Bank (Entrepreneur of the Year Award), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Verizon and the Better Business Bureau.
Robert Simmons, founder of international freight forwarder and customs broker A1 Worldwide Logistics, was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Since launching in 2014, the company has grown to nearly $18 million in revenue, offering customs clearance, freight forwarding, trucking and warehousing services.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the FSBDC marketing plan, business plan and vetting process of different companies,” Simmons said. “It has been an incredible journey to start by myself with the FSBDC at FIU and getting to $18 million. I’m excited to see where we go next with the center by my side.”
The awards and honorees:
- State of Florida Small Business Advocate of the Year (U.S. Small Business Administration) – Gordon Eric Knowles, Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce
- South Florida District Small Business Person of the Year (U.S. Small Business Administration) – Maria Soledad Bermudez, EFCO USA
- Community Partner of the Year (Miami-Dade County) – Miami DDA
- Small Business Journalist of the Year – Nancy Dahlberg
- Community Partner of the Year (Monroe County) – First Horizon Bank
- Restaurant of the Year (Monroe County) – Denis Lebedev, La Grignote Key West
- Keys Client of the Year – Raymond Vazquez, Florida Keys Electric Inc.
- FIU Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year – Richard Jones, 305 Aero Supplies
- FSBDC at FIU Graduate Student Project of the Year – Ultra1Plus/Carmine Colarusso, Master of Science in Information Systems (AI) Team 4 – Benjamin Bearman, Daniel Rawana, Oscar Estrada, Ryan Goodrich, Mukhtar Safarov, Sam Meller
- 305 Client of the Year – Maria Martinez, AEROSENS
- Manufacturer of the Year – Carmine Colarusso, Ultra1Plus
- Entrepreneur of the Year – Robert Simmons, A1 Worldwide Logistics
FSBDC at FIU Business consultant Kiomara Hidalgo presented the FIU Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Richard Jones, founder of 305 Aero Supplies, which provides procurement services to the U.S. Department of Defense and operates e-commerce, wholesale, packaging and fulfillment businesses. The award recognizes an FIU alumnus who has achieved significant business success after working with their consultants.
“The program is invaluable because you get thousands of hours of support for free,” said Jones. “I didn’t think we would scale and get this kind of transaction. This motivates me to go even further this year.”
Jackie Sousa, founding director of the FSBDC, presented the inaugural Small Business Journalist of the Year award – recognizing their work in highlighting and championing small business successes in South Florida – to Nancy Dahlberg.
“This small business life can be lonely but there are some local journalists who have been big advocates for celebrating the small business community,” said Sousa, noting Dahlberg’s award-winning tenure as a business writer, editor and blogger with a passion for entrepreneurs, tech and startups.
As part of the capstone course in the AI cohort of FIU Business’s Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) program, five student teams spent eight weeks working with small businesses to develop AI-driven solutions to real-world business challenges. Coordinated by the FSBDC at FIU Business in collaboration with FIU Business faculty, the intensive consulting project paired students with five SBDC clients to address issues ranging from pricing and inventory forecasting to identifying government contracting opportunities.
The Graduate Student Project of the Year Award was presented to MSIS AI Team 4 for its work with Ultra1Plus. Led by CEO Carmine Colarusso – who received the Manufacturer of the Year award – the company manufactures and distributes premium oils and petroleum-based products for a range of industries through e-commerce channels and major retailers.
This capstone project developed an AI-powered financial intelligence platform for Ultra1Plus to improve reporting, forecasting and strategic decision making. Over the course of the semester, the student team built a secure system integrating over 111,000 financial transactions across financial statements and sales data.
“Having a dashboard pulling numbers straight from the accounting system is a big help,” Colarusso said about the students’ creation. “You can adjust your strategy and make decisions on what you need to achieve faster.”
The event also highlighted several FSBDC at FIU Business clients in the Florida Keys who have reached big milestones. Florida Keys Electric, which provides industrial, commercial and residential electrical services from Key West to Key Largo, was named Keys Client of the Year. The company began working with the FSBDC at FIU Business in 2024 to seek opportunities with Federal contracting.
Last year, the FSBDC at FIU Business assisted approximately 1,400 small businesses in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties with business planning, growth strategy, marketing and communications, access to capital and government contracting.
Since its launch in 2014, FSBDC at FIU Business has worked with over 9,100 small businesses, launched 625 new businesses and helped secure $562.6 million in capital for its clients. The organization’s community sponsors include Verizon, Truist, Wells Fargo and TD Bank.
