Veteran Business Resource Center honored with Freedom Award for entrepreneurship support

The Veteran Business Resource Center received a Freedom Award at the meeting, where presenters highlighted the center’s national role advising veteran and military‑connected entrepreneurs and connecting them to workforce services and training programs. The recognition included congratulations to Becky and the Veteran Business Resource Center team.

The Veteran Business Resource Center representative said, “What’s unique about us is that we are the only veteran business resource center that exists in the nation,” describing the center’s work providing business advising, courses, classes and workshops aimed at helping veterans and military‑connected entrepreneurs. The representative added the center refers clients to the Department of Workforce Services and focuses on helping people build careers as well as jobs: “we’re trying to not just get them jobs, but get them careers so they can get them and stay in them and enrich their lives.”

Presenters and the representative cited several examples of businesses assisted through the center’s programs. One entrepreneur named Charlotte developed an app designed to teach root words; the representative said Charlotte secured an additional grant to study the app’s usefulness for medical terminology learning. The representative said a project called FromTheFarm (fromthefarm.org) — which allows users to find nearby farmers for direct purchases by entering an address — came through the center’s STRIVE program. The representative also mentioned a local cybersecurity firm that describes its work as cyber resilience and cyber compliance.

Speakers emphasized that the center’s services extend beyond advising on business plans to include workforce connections and, when businesses grow, help with hiring. “If they weren’t doing their businesses, I wouldn’t be here. So thank you to them for doing the businesses and thank you for the award,” the representative said. A meeting presenter closed by congratulating Becky and the Veteran Business Resource Center team for the award.

No formal vote or policy action was recorded; the item was recognition and applause for the center’s work. The meeting record did not specify funding amounts, the award’s issuing organization beyond the name "Freedom Award," or a timeline for any follow‑up actions.