From bakers to accountants to karate masters to speech pathologists, the 2024 class of Comcast RISE recipients in Greater Jacksonville comes from all walks of life. While their life experiences may be different, they all share an entrepreneurial spirit. They’re business people, community advocates, doers, dreamers and job creators.
At WJCT Studios, nearly 100 small business owners recently toasted to a future of growth and success. These special members of the community gathered to celebrate themselves and each other at Comcast RISE Day, which commemorated them all as winners of the Comcast RISE grant in Florida’s First Coast.
Derrick Nevado is the owner of Nevado Karate Arts. He has trained for over 30 years and teaches children and adults the martial art of Tang Soo Do at his facility in the River City. He is a proud Comcast RISE recipient.
“I think every little bit of the Comcast RISE grant will be helpful in growing my business, especially the advertising. It’s something I haven’t tried and I can’t wait to see if it brings in new customers,” Nevado said. “I am looking forward to growing and rising with Comcast RISE!”
During Comcast RISE Day, recipients enjoyed an afternoon of celebration, learning opportunities and networking. The event was hosted by Jacksonville’s own Dex and Barbie T of 95.1 WAPE. The pair brought the energy to the stage as they welcomed city leaders and speakers from Comcast and the business world.
Regional Senior Vice President of Comcast Florida Jeff Buzzelli, Vice President of Government Affairs at Comcast Florida Michelle Oyola McGovern, Central Divison Senior Vice President of Comcast Business Tracy Pitcher, Vice President of Business Services at Comcast Florida Rich Rollins, and Executive Director of Program Management for Comcast RISE Regan Yeldell congratulated the new recipients. During his remarks, Buzzelli noted an inspiring fact about the 2024 Comcast RISE class, 77 out of the 100 are women-owned small businesses.
One of those women is Calonda Henry, CEO and founder of Broad Horizons Speech Therapy. As a speech language pathologist, Henry said she’s thrilled to have her business and career recognized by Comcast.
“In my field, I am actually part of the 3% of speech language pathologists that identify as African-American. A huge part of what I do is bringing awareness and diversity to my field,” Henry said. “Thank you so much to Comcast for this incredible opportunity. As a small business owner, a woman and minority business owner, this is huge.”
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan joined the fun and spoke to the business owners, highlighting their perseverance that got them to where they are today. Deegan said small businesses will always been a top priority of her administration.
“Each of your business started as an idea, or maybe even just a dream, which you worked hard to make a reality. Now, thanks to Comcast RISE, you have the opportunity to help it grow in ways you may never have thought were possible before this grant,” said Mayor Deegan. “We are so grateful that a technology leader like Comcast recognized our growing small business community and brought this program to our area.”
To help businesses level up their services using technology, Comcast welcomed Dr. Carlton Robinson, chief innovation officer at the Jax Chamber. Dr. Robinson gave Comcast RISE recipients an introduction to artificial intelligence and AI-powered services that can help their businesses save time and money.
The crowd also heard social media strategies from Jacksonville-based experts including John Bachman and Matt Galnor of Bachman Galnor Communications, Debbie Magyar of the Florida Small Business Development Center, Bryana Dunn of @travelwelldunn and Jacob Miller of @904coffee. The group shared tips, tricks and real-life scenarios to help businesses grow their audiences on social media.
At the end of the evening, entrepreneurs turned friends clinked glasses with their neighbors and toasted to a bright future, one where they all have a boost from Comcast to keep their businesses thriving.
Back in April, Comcast announced that it would be giving Greater Jacksonville-based small businesses the chance to be one of 100 recipients of business support grants. The recipients were informed in August. The grant packages include:
- COACHING SESSIONS – Business assessment and coaching that provide business owners with recommendations on how to help grow their businesses.
- EDUCATION RESOURCES – 12-month access to online entrepreneurship courses, learning modules and resources for small business owners.
- MONETARY GRANT – $5,000 monetary grant.
- CREATIVE PRODUCTION & MEDIA – Professionally produced 30-second TV commercial, plus a media strategy consultation and a 180-day linear media schedule. (Taxes and other fees may apply for production and media services.)
- COMCAST BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MAKEOVER – Computer equipment and Internet, Voice and Cybersecurity services for 12 months. (Taxes and other fees may apply for tech makeover services.)
Comcast RISE is part of Project UP, the company’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity through programs and community partnerships that connect people to the Internet, advance economic mobility and open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers and creators.
Now in its fourth year, Comcast RISE has nationally awarded 14,000 small businesses more than $140 million in monetary, marketing, and technology grants. More information is available at www.ComcastRISE.com
