Helping America’s servicemen and servicewomen make the move from military service to business ownership is an important mission of the America’s SBDC network, and we are proud that one of our own has been named a “Boots to Business Instructor of the Year.” That honor goes to Robin Stephenson, Business Advisor at the Watertown, New York SBDC.
Robin has been working to help our men and women in uniform transition to civilian life as business owners since before the creation of the Boots to Business program, and when Boots to Business came into being, Robin quickly got the program up and running for the Watertown SBDC at Fort Drum.
In its announcement of this year’s “Boots to Business Instructor of the Year” award winners, the SBA said in part:
“Our military veterans have made priceless contributions to the peace and security of our nation. Each year, thousands of veterans transition to civilian life. Many of them decide to use the discipline, skills and leadership abilities they cultivated while in the military to build a small business. Entrepreneurship is how many veterans take advantage of the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of the U.S. economy….
“Boots to Business gives military service members and their spouses the opportunity to explore business ownership, helps them evaluate the feasibility of their business concepts and connects the aspiring business owners to SBA’s network of resource partners….
“This year the Boots to Business program reached a milestone, having trained more than 30,000 transitioning service members and their spouses since the program began in 2013.”
To learn more about Boots to Business, click here. For the full SBA announcement, click here.