GrowFL Clients Recognized As 2012 Innovators In Business By Governor Rick Scott

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Winners of the 2012 Governor's Innovators in Business awards were announced this week. These awards recognize outstanding contributions toward improving Florida's economy and community investment.  Award recipients are primarily judged on their economic development impact and high wage job growth.

GrowFL, the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida, are pleased to congratulate their clients and those who are recent Florida Companies to Watch winners.

Flagship Solutions Group in Palm Beach County (CEO Mark A. Wyllie) received the Governor's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Award, in the Mega Market category, for Florida start-up companies that have set a standard for entrepreneurship and creativity.

The Governor's Innovators Under 40 Award was presented to several GrowFL clients and Florida Companies to Watch winners. New in 2012, this award recognizes Florida residents under 40 who own or lead a Florida company with annual revenue of $1 million or more and who have created at least 10 jobs since January 2011:

Datum Corporation, Sarasota County, CEO Tom Frost (current GrowFL client)
Voalté, Sarasota County, Chief Innovation Officer Trey Lauderdale (current GrowFL client)
Cybis Communications, Orange County, CEO Jeff Douglass (previous GrowFL client and 2012 Florida Companies to Watch winner)
Modernizing Medicine, Palm Beach County, CEO Daniel Cane (2012 Florida Companies to Watch winner)

Dale Coxwell, CEO of Coastal Steel in Brevard County is a current GrowFL client and 2012 Florida Companies to Watch winner. Mr. Coxwell participated as a judge in the awards program.

"Congratulations to these deserving companies and CEOs who are contributing to the economic ecosystem in Florida. They epitomize what is important to GrowFL – job growth and revenue growth. In addition to these critical measurements, these companies work closely with their communities and are impactful in ways that are more difficult to measure. We salute them and thank them for their contributions," said Tom O'Neal, Executive Director of GrowFL and Associate Vice President at UCF.

GrowFL
Economic gardening is a philosophy that embraces strategies to grow existing businesses in a community, region or state and is the basis for the entrepreneurship programs at the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL). Initially created in 2009 as a pilot program, GrowFL, at the University of Central Florida, is now a critical component to Florida's entrepreneurial ecosystem and the state's overall economic development strategy. GrowFL focuses its efforts on initiatives that strengthen the service offerings of entrepreneurial support organizations throughout Florida and by delivering critical research and strategy support to help second-stage growth entrepreneurs prosper. GrowFL has helped more than 400 companies create more than 1,400 new jobs statewide since 2009. Website: growfl.com.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity combines the state's economic, workforce and community development efforts. This new approach helps expedite economic development projects to fuel job creation in competitive communities. For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit floridajobs.org.

Contact: Cindy Barson
(407)823-3642
[email protected]

SOURCE GrowFL