New York State certified 181 service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOBs) last year, a figure contributing to a “national record pace,” according to the 2018 annual report of the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development. 

OGS states that the goal of the SDVOB program is “to encourage and support eligible SDVOBs to play a greater role in the state’s economy by increasing their participation in New York State’s contracting opportunities.” The 2018 annual report indicated that New York has a 6-percent participation goal for SDVOB companies on state contracts, which the agency claimed is the highest such goal in the nation.

From the beginning of the program in May 2014 through the end of 2018, 727 applications for SDVOB status had been received. As of Dec. 31, 2018, New York had approved certifications for 585 businesses, according to the report.

The full report can be accessed online at this link: https://ogs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2019/01/2018dsdvbdannualreport.pdf

The number of certified SDVOBs in New York has since surged to 699 businesses, as of Aug. 28, according to a news release from the OGS. 

For a business to receive certification, one or more service-disabled veterans — with a service-connected disability rating of 10 percent or more from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (or from the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs for National Guard veterans) — must own at least 51 percent of the business. Other criteria include: the business must be independently owned and operated and have a significant business presence in New York, it must have conducted business for at least one year prior to the application date, and it must qualify as a small business under the New York State program. Several more requirements also need to be met. 

CHITTENANGO — A former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell assumed a leadership role at the Chittenango–based nonprofit Clear Path for Veterans this summer.

The organization’s board of directors appointed F. William (Bill) Smullen to its new position of CEO of advancement and strategy. 

The nonprofit developed the position “in response to the rapid growth of the organization and the need for its wrap-around programs and services,” per a July 11 Clear Path news release.

Smullen most recently served as director of national-security studies at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University (SU) for 16 years. He was also Maxwell’s senior fellow in national security and a member of the faculty at SU’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as a professor of public relations.

Over the past three years, Clear Path for Veterans has expanded its presence in the Northeast to include a satellite location in the Southern Tier; a licensee in Devens, Massachusetts; and one in the Hudson Valley region. The Chittenango headquarters staff will train each location on how to provide the programs and services that “mirror its holistic approach to veterans care,” Clear Path said.

Melissa Spicer, Clear Path’s co-founder and executive director, will remain focused on the Chittenango–based facility, while Smullen will be externally focused on development and supporting its programs and services in the expansion communities.

“It is a high honor to be chosen for an association with an incredible organization that is committed to the supportive programs to those who have served this nation,” Smullen said. “My commitment to Clear Path and its cause of improving the physical and emotional well-being of veterans and their families is a privilege for which I am very grateful.”

A retired Army Colonel, Smullen spent 30 years on active duty. Prior to coming to Syracuse, where he has resided for 16 years, he was the chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and of the U.S. Department of State. As Powell’s principal advisor, he was responsible for monitoring and evaluating the formulation and implementation of departmental policies. He was also involved in the planning and development of concept strategy associated with foreign-policy matters.

“Every organization strives to find the right people with the right experience and perspective at the right time,” Chris Flaherty, chair of Clear Path’s board of directors, said in the release. “The board and I consider Bill Smullen to be exactly that for Clear Path. We look forward to collaborating with him, so together we can help our veterans, their families and our communities thrive here in Upstate New York and across the country.”   

SYRACUSE — The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) is an initiative “combining entrepreneurial education with hands-on experience,” the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says. 

Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) operates the EBV program. The SBA on Sept. 16 awarded the university a federal grant of $100,000 to further develop the initiative both locally and at partner institutions. 

Syracuse has hosted the program annually since it founded and launched EBV in 2007. 

The grant award represents one-third of the $300,000 in funding distributed nationally to organizations offering entrepreneurship training to service-disabled vets.

It’s similar to funding that the SBA has awarded Syracuse previously, and this latest award will continue helping the IVMF to develop the EBV. 

That’s according to Misty Stutsman, director of the entrepreneurship and small-business portfolio at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.

“The thing that people don’t realize is that … we host the EBV at Syracuse University but we actually have partnering universities across the nation that are also hosting this program,” says Stutsman. “It allows us to really give those schools the support that they need … as well as the ones that come through the [program at] Syracuse University.” 

She spoke with CNYBJ on Sept. 24. 

The partner institutions include Cornell University, University of Connecticut, St. Joseph’s University, University of Missouri, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and Texas A&M University, per the EBV page on the IVMF website. 

Syracuse likes to host 30 veterans for its annual EBV program, which is free for participating veterans. The university uses the grant funding for food, lodging, and classroom materials for veterans who come in from out of town, says Stutsman.

The program curriculum is designed to take service-disabled veterans through the stages of venture creation, while providing the training, professional networks and support necessary to successfully launch a business. 

The funding — offered through SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development — supports each organization’s programs for service-disabled veterans planning to start a new business or expand and diversify existing small businesses. The SBA chose Syracuse University based on its “demonstrated history of and commitment to providing training programs and resources to service-disabled veterans.” 

“Service-disabled veteran small business owners bring a unique and valued skill set to entrepreneurship,” SBA Acting Administrator Chris Pilkerton said in a statement. “Funding these organizations involved in helping service-disabled veterans establish successful businesses will go a long way toward securing the future for these veterans and their families.”

“Thanks to this new SBA Office of Veteran Business Development grant of $100,000, more service-disabled veterans will be able to access Syracuse University’s IVMF Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities training to help them start and grow their own small businesses,” SBA Syracuse District Director Bernard J. Paprocki contended.         

AUBURN — Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc. announced it has elected a new community leader for the agency’s board of directors. 

David C. Wilder, president of the Illinois–based St. Thérèse of Lisieux Foundation, began his new duties in August. St. Thérèse of Lisieux Foundation is a nonprofit that fosters national programs to create and enhance what Pope John Paul II called a “culture of life” and a “civilization of love,” according to a news release from Unity House.

Wilder is the former managing director of Lumen Institute Inc. in New York City, an international organization providing highly personalized formation in character, faith, and leadership for hundreds of Fortune 500 C-Level business executives and cultural leaders, Unity House said.

Wilder is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship with degrees in political science and business administration. He has also worked in sales and sales management within the transportation industry, and is a “sought-after operations and development consultant for nonprofits,” the release stated. 

Unity House says it is a nonprofit that provides transitional and permanent housing, rehabilitative, respite, and employment services for individuals with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and/or chemical dependencies from which they are recovering.