Florida Gulf Coast University Small Business Development Center staff members were recognized

Julio Estremera was named “Florida Star of the Year,” which means his contributions to the SBDC program were exemplary with respect to new program development, innovative special projects, client impact and/or overall Network performance. Additional winners selected from the FGCU SBDC team were Jill Belcher for “Employee of the Year” and SBRN member Jim Jacoby for “Volunteer of the Year.” The FGCU team took first place overall. Individual winners were Peter Keating of Charlotte County SBDC who took second place, and Sean Moore of Glades and Hendry Counties SBDC, who was chosen as overall individual first-place winner.

Julio Estremera, a staff member with FGCU's Small Business Development Center, won the Florida Star of the Year award.

Estremera, provided counseling to 343 clients last year and was spotlighted for efforts including presenting seminars in English and Spanish.

The award is one of the Florida SBDC Network's performance excellence awards. Other winners included Jill Belcher for Employee of the Year, and Small Business Resource Network member Jim Jacoby for Volunteer of the Year.