Florida Small Business Demonstrates Support of Service-Disabled Veteran through Partnership
Five Points Technology Group goes beyond government mandates to stimulate service-disabled veteran and Pittsburgh native Milo Speranzo’s civilian career success via small-business ownership.
Bradenton, FL (PRWEB) December 16, 2009
Five Points Technology Group (http://www. fiveptg. com) sponsors a service-disabled veteran’s transition from the military to civilian sector – a complex challenge for many veterans – by partnering with him in the conception, financing and development of his own small business, Speranzo & Reed, LLC. Why? Because Five Points believes it’s important for U. S. businesses to tap into the vast resources, skill set and work ethic veterans bring to the table, providing a win-win situation for investor, employer and veteran. More important, Five Points’ majority shareholders Anne Folsom, Elizabeth VanAcker and Rob Reed wanted to help a friend – one returning to civilian life after 13 years in the military and five tours of duty in the Middle East.
“It’s a good thing when anyone in the U. S. can help a returning veteran re-entering civilian life,” says VanAcker, CEO of Five Points Technology Group. “It’s a way to thank them and show we care. In Milo’s case, we knew, hands down, he would be an asset to our company, and being a close childhood friend of Robert Reed made our decision to partner with Milo that much easier.”
Five Points is a small business that is doing what many large businesses won’t undertake -- sponsoring a service-disabled veteran. This is a rarity. The veteran community needs help reassimilating to the civilian world, and many large companies are only doing what’s mandated by the government; this is a disheartening fact for veterans.
“Five Points has gone above and beyond the call of duty by taking a chance on me, molding me and investing in me,” explains Speranzo, managing partner of Speranzo & Reed. “It is small businesses like Five Points that are driving veteran reassimilation. More companies need to understand they can greatly benefit from training veterans for their teams, for these men and women have seen and managed the most serious of situations and can handle any challenge.”
The growing success of Speranzo & Reed (http://www. speranzoandreed. com) is proof that although the education, training and skills acquired in the military may not appear to translate to civilian jobs, they certainly do -- with the payoff being a turnkey, regimented and loyal partner or employee who contributes to the company’s achievements and bottom line.
“Sponsoring Milo after retiring from the military prevented him from having to settle for an entry-level job or return to school – an unfeasible reality many veterans face,” says Folsom, a Five Points shareholder. “I was extremely pleased to take part in helping Milo transition from military to civilian life by sponsoring his small business. Our investment in Milo has already shown a return since the company formation early this year.”
Milo’s extensive experience in emergency management is a complement to Five Points’ expertise in design, development and implementation of software for the health and human services sector. Confident that emergency management needed to be the wheelhouse of Speranzo & Reed, Five Points began looking for emergency management technology already on the market. An advocate of teaming partnerships, Five Points proceeded to connect Speranzo with TEAM Simulations, LLC (http://www. teamsimulations. com) -- a Florida-based company specializing in simulation software and associated technical support. As its new partner, Speranzo & Reed became the exclusive distributor of two turnkey, emergency response software programs: TEST (Tabletop Exercise System Technology), a computer based tabletop exercise system, and SPIN (Special Population Information Registry), a nationwide initiative that provides a Web-based application for managing special-needs populations.
“When Milo got together with TEAM Simulations, they expanded their sales outlook,” says Reed, a Five Points shareholder and director of information technology. “Over time, TEST and SPIN represented not only a private solution, but now a federal solution.”
Utilizing Speranzo's emergency-management training and his understanding of the inner workings of government contracting proved to be a winning combination. Within six months of inception, Speranzo & Reed had secured contracts with multiple federal agencies.
“We knew Milo could strengthen Five Points’ presence on the federal level,” adds VanAcker. “He has taken our products to the federal government, opening the door to a larger customer base for us.”
Launched in 2003, Five Points has grown to 30 full-time employees. Partnering with Speranzo to form Speranzo & Reed has not only afforded a service-disabled veteran an exciting opportunity in the civilian workplace, but it has also enabled Five Points to significantly expand its core business.
“It’s challenging, no matter who you are, to start a new business,” says VanAcker. “We had the experience to assist Milo in navigating this new territory while accomplishing our new business goals. As well, it’s been an enjoyable and rewarding process!”
“I control the overall business philosophy, plan and direction for Speranzo & Reed,” adds Speranzo. “I tell Five Points where we need to go, and they tell me how we’re going to get there. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership that I am very grateful for. Five Points had faith in me, and I encourage companies of all sizes to invest in veterans by providing them with real civilian career opportunities, for they will gain a dedicated partner or employee that will contribute to their success for years to come.”
For questions regarding Speranzo & Reed, please contact Milo Speranzo at or 941.751.0707.
For media inquiries, please contact Dawn Terrick at DKT Communications at or 305.342.2658.
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