Florida SBDC at USF Consultant Wins Network State Star Award

TAMPA, FL (July 5, 2022) – Karen Krymski, MPH, CVE, received the Florida SBDC Network’s State Star Award at the Network’s Small Business Success Summit, held in Tampa on June 28. The award recognizes Krymski for her accomplishments during 2021. Only one State Star is awarded by the Network each year.

Krymski has been a member of the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida team since 2015. She is a procurement specialist for the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at USF. She joined the team with extensive entrepreneurial, marketing, and government contracting experience. She excels at determining client needs and gauging how they should begin their government contracting journey. Krymski performs a thorough analysis of her clients’ capabilities, their competitors, and market opportunities to provide data-driven, actionable recommendations.

The economic impact generated by her clients in 2021 is a true testament to her effectiveness as a specialist. She provided consulting to 311 entrepreneurs in 2021 and was able to capture 1,173 instances of government contracts valued at $79 million, plus an additional $1.25 million in commercial/private contracts, totaling more than $80 million in contract opportunities for businesses in the Florida SBDC at USF region.

Krymski also consistently partners with her Florida SBDC at USF colleagues who specialize in access to capital, to provide her clients with additional support. By joining forces with these consultants, she was able to help secure an additional $5.8 million in capital for her clients.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Karen’s accomplishments,” Florida SBDC at USF Regional Director, Carl Hadden, said. “Karen’s passion to help her clients reach their full potential is infectious. Her clients consistently share their gratitude for her guidance, professionalism and expertise.”

Krymski was also recognized at the Network conference with a Laura Subal Lifetime Achievement Award for helping Florida’s small businesses obtain more than $100 million in contracts to date. Yolanda Cowart, procurement specialist at the Florida PTAC at Pinellas County Economic Development office, received a Laura Subal Lifetime Achievement Award for securing more than $50 million in contracts for Florida small businesses to date.

Additional regional award winners for the Florida SBDC at USF, include:
Regional Performance Excellence Award – Karen Krymski, MPH, CVE
Regional Resource Partner Award – Spectrum Reach (Lizzy Olmstead/Montess Burt)
Regional Undergraduate Student Project Award – 3 Keys Brewery and Pub, LLC (University of South Florida)
Regional Graduate Student Project Award – Modular Molding International Inc. (University of Tampa)

Krymski is now in the running for the America’s SBDC Network national State Star award, to be announced in September at its annual conference in San Diego, Calif.

The Florida SBDC at USF assists existing and emerging businesses in the 10-county Tampa Bay region, through no-cost confidential business consulting, information, and low-cost training. Learn more about the available services for businesses at SBDCTampaBay.com.