BlackBox GPS, a FastTrac TechVenture Grad selected as a finalist for the annual 2008 ITFlorida awards for Small Business of the Year

BlackBox GPS, a recent graduate from CED's FastTracTechVenture program has been selected as a finalist for the annual 2008 ITFlorida awards for Small Business of the Year. This prestigious award is intended to showcase and spotlight industry achievements within the information technology industry of the state of Florida. 

BlackBox GPS delivers versatile Asset Tracking Solutions providing the ability to monitor and locate your vehicles, drivers, and assets.  They empower organizations with information to make intelligent decisions.  BlackBox GPS will reduce fuel costs, decrease labor costs, and improve productivity ensuring an impressive ROI.  We are open to developing strategic partnerships to increase awareness for entrepreneurship and information technology .  BlackBox GPS, Find What Matters Most. 

This is an FTT Florida company. Can we post this on the web? This is a huge deal.

Head of U.S. Small Business Administration To Address ITFlorida Gala on October 6

ITFlorida Also Announces Finalists in the Annual Awards Program for the IT Industry

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, the ITFlorida Board of Directors announced that Sandy Baruah, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will address the attendees of the upcoming ITFlorida Awards Gala and Tech Forum on October 6 at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Administrator Baruah joins a deep lineup of speakers for the annual event, including U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson; Florida Senate President-Designate Jeff Atwater; State CIO David Taylor; Sen. Jeremy Ring; Dr. Dale Brill, director of Gov. Charlie Crist's office of economic development; and Terry Tamminen, former Secretary of the California EPA.

"Sandy Baruah is the touchstone to what has shaped up to be a can't-miss event for Florida's high tech entrepreneurs and small businesses," said Jim Albert, chair of ITFlorida. "It is a fitting time to reemphasize the critical role our small business entrepreneurs play in the economic health of our state, and of our nation."

Administrator Baruah's remarks will touch on competitiveness, innovation, and trends for small, high tech businesses. Attendees will have access to new information about both federal and state programs for starting or growing small businesses, including a presentation regarding Florida's new Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research, which aids entrepreneurs who are creating start-ups in high tech industries.

Details for registering for the event are available at www.itflorida.com/gala.

The announcement comes simultaneously with the much anticipated release of the list of finalists in ITFlorida's Awards Program, casting the spotlight on those who have distinguished themselves and their industry in the best application of information technology throughout Florida. Award winners are to be announced at the Gala dinner the evening of October 6.

Awards finalists, from every corner of the state, represent a wide cross-section of organizations, from large, well-known organizations such as Citrix and Honeywell, to small firms with fewer than 10 employees.

The finalists are as follows, by category:

Excellence in Bridging the Digital Divide

• Angels Helping Hands
• City of Tallahassee/Digital Harmony
• SarasotaCountySchool Board
• The School District of LeeCounty

Excellence in IT Leadership-Northwest

• Allen Byington/Executive Director of BBRHIO
• Asysco
• Avalanche Technology Corporation
• GulfCoastCommunity College - eCampus

Excellence in IT Leadership-Northeast

• Beeline.com, Inc.
• EverBank
• Fidelity National Information Services, Inc
• IxReveal

Excellence in IT Leadership-Central

• Creative Network Innovations
• Engineering and Computer Simulations
• OrlandoRegionalMedicalCenter
• UCF Technology Incubator - Group Table

Excellence in IT Leadership-TampaBay

• Bisk International Inc
• Doctors' Administrative Solutions
• Jabil Circuit
• ProV International Inc

Excellence in IT Leadership-Southwest

• CareerCampaigns LLC
• DunbarHighSchoolAcademy for Technology Excellence
• Integrity Networx
• Neighborhood America

Excellence in IT Leadership-Southeast

• FloridaAtlanticUniversity
• Generation ñ
• New World Symphony
• Telefonica

Excellence in New Business Recruitment

• Enterprise Development Corp. of South Florida
• Ocala EDC
• Osceola Economic Development Council
• TampaBay Partnership

Excellence in Sustainability through Information Technology

• BigFix Power Management - Miami Dade County Schools
• Florida Power & Light Company / Silver Spring Networks
• Florida Solar EnergyCenter
• The Energy Efficient Internet Project

Excellence in Web 2.0

• RefreshMiami.org
• Sayfie Review
• The Krongrad Institute for Minimally Invasive Prostate Surgery
• TradeKing

Government Technology Leadership-Private

• America's Emergency Network
• BearingPoint, Inc.
• Honeywell
• SGIS

Government Technology Leadership-Public

• City of Altamonte Springs
• City of Fort Walton Beach
• City of Winter Park
• Florida Department of Management Services

High Growth Company of the Year

• Advanced MarketPlace
• Broadband National
• Host.net
• Myxer

Small Business of the Year

• Avocare
• Black Box GPS
• iDatix, Corp.
• Virsona Inc.

Innovation and Entrepreneurialism Award

• Agent Shield Inc
• Aleriant
• Citrix
• Scripps Florida

IT Leader of the Year

• Robert M. Dutkowsky - CEO, Tech Data
• Bill Lindner - FSUCareerCenter for Professional Development
• Stephen Nation - Biometric Management Systems
• Jon Yob - Founder and CEO, Creative Recycling Systems, Inc.

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About ITFlorida
ITFlorida is an umbrella, not-for-profit, membership organization that represents Florida's diverse information technology communities on a statewide basis. ITFlorida was formed in October 2001 after the dissolution of the Information Service Development Technology Task Force (IT Task Force), which focused on developing state policies to enable Florida to compete in the information age. ITFlorida built on the momentum of the IT Task Force and fills the need for a single statewide advocacy organization to represent Florida's IT-related technology sectors. It is organized to provide its members with access to lawmakers, businesses, capital, and domestic and international technology leaders. More information is available at www.itflorida.com.