First Response Disaster Team Selected by UCF Business Incubator as 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – First Response Disaster Team, a client of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program at Daytona Beach International Airport, has been named the Incubator’s 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year. Incubator Site Manager Connie Bernal recognized First Response Disaster Team founders Anne-Marie and Ken Poulin at a formal presentation recently by presenting them with a commemorative plaque after going over some of their accomplishments, specifically their significant growth. Since joining the UCF Business Incubation program last year with just two people, the company employs nine today and plans to continue the growth, creating jobs in Volusia County. “The Poulins are visionaries determined to succeed. They have all the potential for creating and maintaining a successful high-growth company,” Bernal said. In the past year, Ken Poulin received certification as a Master Restorer with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration Certification; his wife, Anne-Marie Poulin became a Florida-licensed mold remediator; and the business expanded into an 8,000-square-foot building in Edgewater. Additionally, the First Response Team went through a rigorous process before being approved as a partner/contractor with First Choice Repair, a third-party administrator that refers insurance carriers to approved restoration and emergency mitigation contractors. First Response is a full-service restoration service team that handles water extraction, water damage restoration, mold removal, and fire and smoke damage restoration. The company focuses on developing trusted relationships with business partners, including plumbing contractors, property managers, real estate and insurance agents and others.

EPIC Engineering & Consulting Group Relocating Corporate Headquarters to Winter Springs, bringing 20 employees

ORLANDO, Fla. -- EPIC Engineering & Consulting Group, a client of the UCF Business Incubation Program in the Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County, is poised to graduate from the program and relocate their corporate headquarters to the Vistawilla Office Center in Winter Springs. “The City of Winter Springs offers a highly appealing location for the company and our 18 employees. It’s ideally located for easy access to UCF as well as locations where our employees live,” said Prasad Chittaluru, chief executive officer of EPIC and resident of Seminole County. In addition, EPIC’s strategic partner Genensys LLC will also relocate, adding two additional employees to the Winter Springs location. David McLeod, managing partner of the Vistawilla Office Center said he supports the UCF Business Incubation Program and is pleased to welcome EPIC Engineering & Consulting. McLeod added that he works with emerging companies by offering favorable leasing rates in an effort to help them get their new businesses off the ground. “We are glad to have EPIC Engineering & Consulting and their strategic partner Genensys become part of the Winter Springs business community as new tenants in our building,” McLeod said. EPIC provides technology strategies, business process optimization services, web, mobile and GIS software products and integrated information management solutions to customers in the government, commercial and nonprofit sectors. EPIC delivers practical, scalable and sustainable solutions to address business situations requiring simplified information management and delivery, workflow efficiency and organizational transparency. Visit www.epicgroupllc.com. Genensys LLC delivers SimplifiedEMR and other fully customizable products to simplify and automate a medical practice enabling health care providers to deliver more personalized care. For more information visit, www.genensys.com.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Named To The ZweigWhite List of 100 “Hot Firms” for 2014

ORLANDO, Fla. – Baldwin Park-based Cuhaci & Peterson Architects Engineers Planners, one of the nation’s leading designers of retail space, was recently named to the ZweigWhite Hot 100 Firms List for 2014. Cuhaci & Peterson President Jed Downs said ZweigWhite consulting firm based in Fayetteville, Ark., surveys architectural, engineering and environmental firms throughout the U.S. and Canada to select the 100 fastest growing companies based on revenue growth. This year’s 100 firms posted the highest percentage of revenue growth and dollar revenue growth over a three-year period compared to the other entrants. Downs said Cuhaci & Peterson’s revenues topped $15 Million in 2013. The firm employs a total staff of over 180 in Orlando and the Philadelphia area. The ZweigWhite Hot Firm List recognizes the firms that have outperformed the economy and competitors to become leaders in their chosen fields.

LENNAR TO UNVEIL NEW LUXURY HOME DESIGNS AT WATERLEAF

TAMPA, Fla. --- Lennar will introduce a new line of luxury home designs next month at Waterleaf located off Big Bend Road and Balm Riverview Road. Mark Metheny, president of the Central Florida division, said Lennar’s upcoming LH Collection series will offer luxury features and architectural elements normally found in homes that cost more than twice Lennar’s mid-$200s starting prices at Waterleaf. Lennar’s new LH Collection series of homes will range in size from 1,700 square feet of living space to 2,600 square feet. Standard features in Lennar’s LH Collection include eye-popping architecture and granite exteriors with Mediterranean barrel tile roofs and dramatic entryways. Indoors, Metheny said Lennar has advanced its open plan design concept to a new level with sweeping interiors, cathedral, vaulted and trey ceilings, crown molding and covered lanais that create dramatic outdoor living areas. All Lennar’s LH Collection series of homes at Waterleaf come with the homebuilder’s “Everything’s Included” pledge: a wide range of GE energy smart appliances, special features and upgrades at the one Lennar price. The first new LH Collection home at Waterleaf will open by Nov. 1, Metheny added.

Passport School to launch new school year with 21st Century Learning Tools for Every Student

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Orlando-based Quatro Solutions is teaming up with Passport School on Curry Ford Rd. in southeast Orlando to launch the region’s first 21st Century Learning Experience for students starting on Friday, Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. Jose Espejo, chief executive officer of Quatro Solutions Consulting Group LLC, said his firm will provide every student with the eBOLT Technology Program, including a powerful Android tablet with a full complement of interactive educational aps and media to link students and teachers to sophisticated learning resources. “The Quatro Solutions eBOLT Technology Program is the most advanced educational technology program on the market today,” Espejo said. “We have designed an innovative professional development program with training for teachers as well as students and a full range of powerful online resources to enhance the teachers-student experience throughout the school year,” Espejo explained. Espejo said community leaders and news media have been invited to visit Passport School on opening day to see the technology firsthand. Passport School will serve 179 students in grades K-8 this year, Espejo said. The student body is approximately 70 percent Hispanic, 19 percent White, and 8 percent Black, he added. The Title I school serves a predominately Hispanic area with a high proportion of low-income families---approximately 84 percent of Passport’s student body qualifies for free or reduced-price school lunches, Espejo said. “Quatro Solutions is partnering with Passport School faculty and students to pioneer the most advanced, most innovative educational system available today,” Espejo said. Quatro Solutions Consulting Group is located at the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program site at Central Florida Research Park in East Orange County.