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Alumni Make It Their Business to Help
鈥 USF RESPONDS: COVID-19 鈥
By Joey Johnston 鈥81
COVID-19 HAS CHANGED nearly every aspect of American life, especially the progress of small business. But USF alumni have stepped up in their communities, making it their business to help.
鈥淵ou hear over and over how small business is the backbone of our economy,鈥欌 says Eileen Rodriguez, regional director of the USF Small Business Development Center. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so true. It really hurts to see how many of them have been severely affected by the COVID event.
鈥淏ut what we鈥檙e seeing is how innovative these small businesses really are. They can really turn on a dime, just pivot and completely change the products and services they鈥檙e selling in order to be more relevant to the needs of right now."
Rodriguez, MS 鈥87 and MBA 鈥02, Life Member, leads an agency serving a 10-county chunk of 91社区. It offers assistance to existing and prospective small businesses, continuing to grow a 40-year-old network.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Rodriguez has been heartened by the can-do attitude of Bull-owned and -led businesses.
鈥淪mall business owners are unique people,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淭hey have a passion for what they do. They do everything in their power to help their businesses continue to work.
鈥淣ow we have come to a time when almost everyone needs alternate solutions. It鈥檚 inspiring to see businesses helping people with that same level of passion."
Here are just a few examples of business leaders who鈥檝e found creative ways to lead with their hearts.
On borrowed time
Nick Vojnovic, MBA 鈥12, owner of the 43-restaurant Little Greek Fresh Grill chain, says he鈥檒l forever be indebted to the USF community for its support during his time of need. In 2019, Vojnovic contracted myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer that required a stem-cell transplant.
鈥淪o many people have helped me. I鈥檓 very eager to help in any way I can, Vojnovic says. 鈥淭hings are tough all around with the COVID, no doubt, but I feel like I鈥檓 on borrowed time.鈥
So when Vojnovic learned of shortages in the Feed-A-Bull food pantry for financially struggling students on USF鈥檚 Tampa campus, he swung into action.
Little Greek has donated about 100 hot meals per week 鈥 two for every student who uses the food pantry 鈥 and he鈥檚 on the 100-meal donation rotation for Hillsborough Hope, a non-profit agency that aids the homeless.
Additionally, Little Greek鈥檚 Fowler Avenue location offered buy-one, get-one-free deals for anyone affiliated with USF.
Fast-food businesses relying on takeout and drive-through customers dropped about 20 percent of their business during spring COVID restrictions. Fast casual restaurants (like Little Greek) declined about 40 percent, Vojnovic says.
But Little Greek鈥檚 Fowler Avenue location, adjacent to USF鈥檚 campus, has skewed those economic stats. Its business declined by 80 percent, understandable considering the ghost-town USF鈥檚 once-bustling campus suddenly became.
鈥淵ou have ups and downs in life and no doubt, this has been very difficult,鈥 Vojnovic says. 鈥淏ut even in tough times, you know other people have it worse. We want to give back.鈥
Energizing small businesses
Former USF basketball player Anddrikk Frazier, 鈥01, Life Member, is managing partner of Integral Energy, which provides natural-gas services and alternative fuels to public, private and governmental entities. Many of the clients are restaurants, hotels and fitness facilities 鈥 so 60 percent of his company鈥檚 customer base closed in the spring with another 15 percent on reduced service.
In January, Frazier had heard from a fellow Bull, an infectious diseases physician, about a 鈥渘asty鈥 virus that had just showed up in the Seattle area. Frazier鈥檚 friend warned him repeatedly that it could spread like wildfire, so Frazier began modifying his business in late February.
鈥淥ur company is still being hurt, but without the precautions, it could have been catastrophic,鈥 he says.
鈥淭his is a different crisis than the (financial) crisis we experienced in 2008 and 2009. This is a bottom-up situation, a completely different kind of paralysis. People are already struggling and now they鈥檙e not working. However we can, we want to help with solutions.鈥
Integral Energy has partnered with an electric-cart company to facilitate delivery transportation for his small-restaurant clients. The restaurants can manage their deliveries without incurring delivery service fees.
His company is also connecting small businesses to communications networks, such as the Tampa Chamber of Commerce. And it gathered attorneys and accountants for a small-business seminar.
鈥淲hen small businesses fail, it鈥檚 bad for all of us,鈥欌 he says. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e focusing on doing all we can to help these businesses stay open. You want the high tides to raise all boats. If the most disadvantaged person on my team can鈥檛 contribute, then it鈥檚 not good for my team. That鈥檚 the way I view business.鈥
The gift certificate challenge
Jay Nault, 鈥83 and MBA 鈥84, Life Member, president/CEO of Storage Zone Self Storage and Business Centers, has 35 locations in 91社区, Georgia and South Carolina. While constantly traveling from his home base of Jacksonville to other market areas, he developed an affection for the local mom-and-pop restaurants.
So he selected 50 of them, sometimes working through area agencies, and purchased $1,000 worth of gift certificates from each.
鈥淏ut bringing $50,000 to a problem like this is like bringing a squirt gun to a forest fire,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice, but all by itself, it鈥檚 not going to make a huge impact. But what if others were inspired to do something similar?鈥
Nault proposed the Hometown Restaurant Gift Certificate Challenge (). He challenged Storage Zone鈥檚 vendors, suppliers and stakeholders 鈥 along with competitors, neighboring businesses and individuals 鈥 to purchase small-restaurant gift certificates and use them as holiday gifts or employee incentives.
Nault sought to provide operating cash and more customer traffic for the restaurants, which he describes as 鈥渢he heart of every community.鈥
鈥淔or most small independent restaurants, this has become a real disaster,鈥 Nault says. 鈥淭hey were ordered to close and many didn鈥檛 have fully developed delivery or takeout options.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in small business my whole life. So my heart really goes out to small-business owners who, through no fault of their own, have basically been put out of business by this pandemic. The great food, the service and the familiarity of these restaurants are such a part of our lives. We just want to help.鈥
Taking it to the bank 鈥 the food bank
About six years ago, USF Sigma Nu fraternity brothers Chris Scott, 鈥92, Life Member, and Alumni Association board member Bruce Van Fleet, 鈥73, Life Member, purchased a convenience store in Pinellas County鈥檚 Belleair Bluffs community. They transformed it into the Belleair Market, branded it as 鈥淵our Corner Store,鈥欌 and quickly made it a go-to for home-cooked meals, catering, gourmet food, fine wines and cigars.
鈥淲e like to think we鈥檙e unique,鈥 Scott says. 鈥淓arly in the day, we can be more of a grab-and-go kind of place. Later in the day, we might be more of a wine-and-cheese shop.鈥
In late March, the Belleair Market became a lifeline.
When one of its suppliers had a surplus of inventory because of decreased demand from restaurants, the Belleair Market bought pallets of the food, which it donated to the RCS Food Bank.
All told, the partners gave 2,150 pounds of food 鈥 enough to feed 17 families of four for a week.
鈥淭he Sysco truck delivered the food to us, then the RCS truck picked it up,鈥 Scott says. 鈥淎nd that wasn鈥檛 the end of it. That RCS truck driver kept in touch with Sysco and got more food donations. So it was truckload after truckload of food that might have gone to waste and instead was used for a worthy cause.
鈥淎s difficult as this time has been, you see so many good people and good things coming out of it.鈥
Some good has come to Belleair Market as well.
Despite drastic reductions in some areas, such as catering, delivery has picked up and the prepared family style meals are popular with walk-in customers.
鈥淚 think we have been fortunate,鈥欌 Scott says. 鈥淪o far, we鈥檝e been able to keep the business where it needs to be. If we can help the community that has been really good to us, it鈥檚 all the better.鈥
Brewing a solution
On St. Patrick鈥檚 Day, St. Petersburg鈥檚 3 Daughters Brewing shut its tasting room and brewery to the public due to COVID-19. Owner Mike Harting had one question for his director of quality assurance, Desiree Chubb, 鈥19, USF St. Petersburg.
鈥淒o you know how to make hand sanitizer?鈥
Chubb, one of two certified beer chemists in 91社区, said she did.
And away they went.
After a 39-day odyssey, the firm had produced 4,290 gallons of what had become a hard-to-find commodity. They gathered it in whatever containers they could find, from 4-ounce tubes to 5-gallon buckets, and distributed 鈥 free of charge 鈥 to hospitals, first responders, airlines, nursing homes, gas stations, private businesses and individuals.
Every batch was produced in 30-gallon containers, mixed by paddles normally used for concrete, and tested for quality.
鈥淲e are a charitable company and we want to help our community,鈥欌 Chubb says. 鈥淚t kept us busy and really gave us a feeling of satisfaction.鈥
Chubb consulted with the World Health Organization to get the correct mixing ratios. The sanitizer ingredients 鈥 ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, glycerin and distilled water 鈥 were mostly donated by other companies.
On the first distribution day, they offered 450 4-ounce bottles to anyone who stopped by. But the offer drew crowds so 3D Brewing found a safer way to share.
At the same time, it continued brewing its mainstay while also becoming a sudden media darling. The company鈥檚 response to the pandemic was featured in newspapers, television news shows and even the nationally syndicated LIVE with Kelly and Ryan program.
鈥淚 think I will smell hand sanitizer the rest of my life,鈥 Chubb says. 鈥淥ur business is brewing, so there鈥檚 no chance we鈥檙e going in a new direction like Purell.
鈥淗e (Harting) has always done things like this and he wanted to help. Hopefully, we eased some tension. At times like this, we all need more compassion and empathy. I hope we were an example for that.鈥