The State College of Florida's 26 West Center is set to launch a new initiative aimed at helping military veterans. The program, which focuses on entrepreneurship, combines practical workshops with a business pitch competition reminiscent of reality TV shows. It marks a significant step toward supporting our local veterans as they navigate the often-challenging path of entrepreneurship and reintegration into civilian life. However, officials emphasize that they need more veterans from across our community to take advantage of this invaluable opportunity and apply to join the program. "The dedication of the staff here, it warms your heart. They're clear on their mission," Robert Burke, the business services manager for Manatee County, said. The mission at State College of Florida's 26 West Center, in partnership with Veterans Florida, is clear: empowering former military members to launch or grow their own businesses. Burke, a retired U.S. Army personnel himself, aspires to facilitate some of the courses in the program in the near future and bring in his personal experience starting a software development business after leaving military service. "Whether it's my generation in the Army or some young gentleman or some young woman who's coming out of their last tour of duty in Afghanistan, which is public decades after me, they still encounter the same issues that I encountered 20 years ago when they step out of the civilian world and they need to understand who to trust to go to," he explained. Burke spent eight years of service, including deployments in Europe and the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War, and described the complexities that veterans often face trying to adjust to civilian life. "The problem always is, how do you get from point A to point B? There are so many things to do in between. Everything from incorporating your business to understanding marketing to finding a concise way to explain your value proposition to, 'How do I understand the operation of a business, and how do I go about hiring people?' All those things are clearly laid out in this program," he said. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/manateecounty/veterans-entrepreneurship-program-state-college-florida/67-3a1bd04c-d29d-46fd-925b-8c459c389d20