Tallahassee, Fla. – The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a program that helps men and women returning from military service learn the ins and outs of starting a business, has been recognized by the Army Community Covenant (ACC) program of the Department of the Army as a "National Best Practice."

The EBV is an educational initiative positioned to offer training in the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business ownership to U.S. military members disabled as a result of their military service in post-9/11 conflicts. Entrepreneurship and small business ownership represents a means for veterans with service-connected disabilities to overcome barriers to traditional employment and realize an honorable and meaningful future for themselves and their families.

"As a nation we are great at transitioning civilians to military life, yet we are not so great at re-integrating them back to civilian life. This program focuses on that re-integration by fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship." says Randy Blass, the FSU EBV Program Director. "This program goes well beyond the symbolic magnetic yellow ribbon and actually strives to make a difference."

The EBV program focuses on practical training in the tools of new venture creation and growth, reflecting issues unique to disability and public benefits programs. Through experiential workshops and lessons from world-class entrepreneurship faculty, EBV participants learn how to write business plans, raise capital, and attract customers. The program is offered without any cost to eligible and accepted veterans and is funded through the private gifts of alumni, entrepreneurs, corporations, and business leaders from across the United States.

"The EBV provided me with firsthand insight into the world of entrepreneurship from those who know it best," says Drew Wyatt, an EBV graduate. "It gave me the structure I needed to begin putting together a business plan that has become the backbone of my project."

First introduced in 2007 by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, the EBV expanded nationally into the EBV Consortium Schools in 2008. The EBV Consortium of Schools represents one of the first significant partnerships since WWII among some of the U.S.'s most prestigious business schools that are specifically focused on opening the doors of America's colleges and universities to veterans motivated by business ownership.

"Universities have the capacity to changes lives, and we are leveraging that capacity with the EBV," says Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of the College of Business at FSU. "In our time of need, service men and women answered the call. Now as they need us; they are having a tough time getting anyone to listen. This program is answering their call."

For more information about FSU's EBV Program, please contact Randy Blass at (850) 644-7859 or rblass@cob.fsu.edu or visit our Web site at www.cob.fsu.edu/ebv.

For more information about the College of Business, please go to www.cob.fsu.edu.