SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the winner of the 2015 Veteran-Owned Business Achievement (VOBA) award.
Chris Dambach, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, owns both Veteran Lawn and Landscape of North Syracuse and the Bacon Bandits food truck, which operates in Syracuse.
The VOBA award recognizes “the entrepreneurial success of a local business owner who has served our country,” the SBA said in a news release.
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Dambach’s business, Veteran Lawn and Landscape, contracts for property-maintenance, waste-management, janitorial, tree-removal and window-washing services across the Northeast, the SBA said.
The SBA describes it as a “million-dollar business” with 15 employees and 17 subcontractors.
Dambach in 2014 launched a second business, Bacon Bandits, to “tap into the Syracuse food-truck scene.”
The VOBA award winner must meet one or more of the following criteria, according to the SBA.
The criteria include demonstrating staying power; growth in employees or sales; current and past financial performance; “innovativeness” of service or product; a response to adversity; and contributions to community-oriented projects.
The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University nominated Dambach, the SBA said. The agency will present the VOBA award at the Operation: Start Up & Grow veterans’ business conference at the SRC Arena on March 19.