The Tampa Bay Business Journal's Heroes at Work Awards seek to recognize Tampa Bay veterans who, through their professional and personal efforts, are making a positive impact throughout the community.

Click through the photo gallery to read about each honoree.

Daniel A. Alvarez Sr.
Attorney, owner
The Alvarez Legal Group PL and Accounting Resource Management Services LLC
Military service: U.S. Army
During his tenure as a second-generation Florida Gator, Danny Alvarez served in the Florida National Guard with the 124th Infantry Regiment, before becoming a commissioned infantry officer deployed to South Korea. A diverse legal career has followed and in 2011, he founded the Alvarez Legal Group to help people whose voices are often drowned out in the legal system.

James Asbury
Logistics account executive
Total Quality Logistics
Military service: U.S. Army
James Asbury began his military career in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and was honorably discharged in 2007 as a Sergeant E-5. Since, he has had successful experiences for companies in manufacturing, education and logistics, the field in which he currently works. Hand-selected to start a new satellite office in Tampa last year for TQL, the office has grown from eight to 50 employees, and the company cited his military experience as a key element of success.

Larry Braue
Director, Office of Veterans Services
University of South Florida
Military service: U.S. Army
Before graduating high school, Larry Braue followed his dad’s advice and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve. He became a commissioned Infantry Officer in 1983 before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2008. Despite many roles in a 27-year military career, most meaningful was the training and development of young Army leaders. Now his department at USF serves more than 2,100 veterans, active and reserve service members, making USF one of the most veteran-friendly universities in the nation.

Jeremy Brown
Owner and CEO
BLU Moon Transportation Inc.
Military service: U.S. Army
Jeremy Brown’s 20-year military career included service as a ranger and in Special Forces. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other non-declared combat zones such as Colombia, Cuba, Egypt and other countries. He received his Florida real estate license in 2011, but it was in 2012 when he worked as a chauffeur during the Republican National Convention that he was led to his current industry. He launched BLU Moon Transportation on Sept. 11, 2013 and focuses solely on that business now.

Romulo “Romy” Camargo
Chief warrant officer 3
Stay in Step, Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center
Military service: U.S. Army
Romy Camargo has been a member of the U.S. Army for 19 years and continues his service today. He lives in Tampa and is assigned to the SOCOM Care Coalition, where he pursues rehabilitation and recovery after sustaining a gunshot in 2008 and becoming paralyzed from the neck down. Stay in Step is a nonprofit that aims to help patients take steps toward total recovery through cutting edge technology. The Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center will be designed to provide services to patients in the Tampa Bay area.

Jeffrey M. Cathey
Senior military affairs executive
Bank of America
Military service: U.S. Navy; served 29 years in the Navy through 2008
Jeffrey M. Cathey flew attack and fighter aircraft during a Navy career that included 10 worldwide deployments and 100 combat missions. In his current role, he helps provide banking services and products for active duty service members stationed overseas.

Rob Colbeck
Chief technology officer Mortgage Contracting Services
Military service: U.S. Navy
Rob Colbeck joined the U.S. Navy in 1989 and in boot camp in Orlando, passed his physical fitness test on the first day. His Naval experience included a tour in Japan as part of the Naval Security Group and in Oahu, Hawaii, as a member of NavCamEastPac. His military experience has affirmed the belief that there is always a solution to a problem or situation.

Gerald F. Custin
Director of business, manufacturing and education
Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce
Military service: U.S. Air Force
Gerald Custin’s military career spanned more than 30 years of active duty. Among his many accomplishments, he flew covert intelligence collection missions during the Cold War in Europe and the Middle East, and he was later assigned to the National Security Agency. He’s stayed in the nonprofit sector following his military career, focusing on trying to help people and businesses achieve their goals. After being named president of the chamber, he started the Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Association.

Paul Danielson
Chief of the division of pediatric surgery
All Children’s Hospital
Military service: U.S. Army Reserve
Dr. Paul Danielson has served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a trauma surgeon since 1992 and was mobilized on multiple occasions during the course of the war on terror. He’s treated patients at U.S. military hospitals in the states and in deployment zones. He joined All Children’s Hospital in 2008 and was charged with building an academic pediatric surgical program, specifically to expand and develop the surgical treatment of newborns, childhood cancer patients and pediatric trauma patients.

Matthew Harper
Owner
The Urban Farming Co./Harper & Holiday LLC
Military service: U.S. Marine Corps
Matthew Harper served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2007 to 2011 on active duty as a marine infantryman and scout sniper. He now serves in the U.S. Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserves. A previous Winn-Dixie employee, Harper founded Tampa Urban Farming in summer 2013 and expanded in 2014 to serve the entire Tampa Bay area. What began as a small organic gardening company installing residential vegetable gardens is now a creator of productive landscapes and sustainable solutions.

Todd C. Hogan
Owner
Cornerstone Educators Insurance Inc.
Military service: U.S. Air Force
Todd Hogan’s U.S. Air Force career spanned 20 years, including eight duty assignments with four combat tours. His final assignment was duty at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base during critical years of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired in December 2013 and opened Cornerstone in March 2014 after completing required insurance certification and corporate training.

Travis Horn
Chief marketing officer
S3Media Inc.
Military service: U.S. Army, airborne infantry
Travis Horn’s military career spanned four years and began in the Tampa Bay area when he joined the Army at the military entry point station in St. Petersburg. With S3Media, Horn has assisted in creating and implementing internal systems aimed at serving clients quickly and efficiently, including establishing a system for on-boarding new clients. He’s a member of the American Advertising Federation, the Course of Action Foundation, Ybor City Chamber and the Ybor City Development Corp.

Lonnie Ledford
Project manager and social media administrator
Avatel Technologies
Military service: U.S. Army
Lonnie Ledford served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 2000; he enlisted at the age of 17 while a junior in high school. He trained as a combat medic and also served as a Desert Storm Historian for the Illinois Army National Guard, among other duties served. He’s worked for Avatel for the past four years as project manager and social media administrator. He’s also an avid blogger and volunteers with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Anne Madden
Community engagement coordinator
Good Samaritan Mission
Military service: U.S. Army
Anne Madden spent nine years in the U.S. Army, where she trained as a truck driver and then as a counterintelligence agent. Madden served overseas for three years as an agent conducting counter terrorism and counter intelligence investigations. Though previously owner of a framing business, Madden’s focus is now on the Good Samaritan Mission, a nonprofit whose vision is to inspire the community to find physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

Timothy Martin
Sales and service analyst
Esurance
Military service: U.S. Navy
Timothy Martin enlisted in the Navy two weeks after the attacks on 9/11. His decorated career lead to training at Fort Bragg on Special Operations Combat Medical skills before becoming an elite member of SEAL Team Ten in Virginia Beach. In business, his military experience is manifest in developing new leaders, working with integrity and volunteering for challenging work assignments.

William Melendez
Evening and weekend campus manager
Hillsborough Community College
Military service: U.S. Army
William Melendez served in the U.S. Army for four years as an automated logistics specialist in the early 1990s. Since 2003, he’s held a variety of positions as an educator and educational administrator. He joined Hillsborough Community College in 2009 as an evening coordinator for continuing education and as evening/weekend campus manager at the Dale Mabry campus. He’s also managed the growth of online programs to increase revenue by three times the previous year.

Karen Mertes
Founder and president
Fulfill Your Destiny Inc.
Military service: U.S. Air Force
Karen Mertes served for more than 20 years and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force in many stateside and overseas assignments. She developed expertise in military intelligence as a human resources intelligence collector, and comptroller as a financial squadron commander. In 2010, she founded Fulfill Your Destiny Inc., a nonprofit corporation with the goal of financially assisting people whose careers have been changed by injury or other unforeseen circumstances.

Glen Joseph Miles Jr.
Field appraisal manager
Esurance
Military service: Air Force
Joe Miles enlisted in the Air Force in 1973 where he trained and specialized in the maintenance of fire trucks, eventually serving at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. His military experience influences him often, especially when it comes to a strong work ethic, respect for authority and leadership.

William Paul Moline
Vice president
Moline Services Inc.
Military service: U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army
After entering the Army in 1966, Bill Moline went straight to Vietnam to fly Huey helicopters and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism, the Purple Heart and Air Medal. He switched services and flew fighter jets for 20 years, accumulating 4,300 flying hours, 1,200 of them in combat. In Tampa Bay, he has been active in a wide range of economic development organizations.

Scott Neil
Director of strategic development, CEO
Green Beret Foundation — Operator LLC
Military service: U.S. Army
Scott Neil is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army with more than 20 years in the Army Special Forces known as the Green Berets. In 2006 he was named one of seven America’s Army Real Heroes for his combat actions and was the 2010 Greater Tampa Bay Military Member of the Year. Neil’s worked for the Green Beret Foundation since August 2013, where he works with the Special Forces Command and the board of directors to establish a long-term outlook for the foundation and the Special Forces community.

Christopher Paradies
Attorney, President
Paradies Law PA
Military service: U.S. Army
Christopher Paradies graduated from West Point in 1982 and his first deployment was in Bamberg, Germany. After an honorable discharge from active duty in 1987, he returned to service in the New York Army National Guard in 1988. He later separated from service after entering individual ready reserve and moving to Norway. While in the National Guard, Paradies earned a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He spent many years abroad as a research scientist. After beating cancer, he attended law school and eventually joined Kenyon & Kenyon, before starting his own firm, which specializes in intellectual property law.

Matt Pierson
Producer/consultant
The Willis Group
Military service: U.S. Marine Corps.
Matt Pierson spent six years as an Infantry and Force Reconnaissance Officer in the Marine Corps where he served in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, eventually being promoted to Captain. He has an MBA from the University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business Administration. Now as a business leader, his goal is to motivate his team to timely deliver the best possible product, be forward thinking and communicate effectively.

Darryl “DJ” Reyes
President and CEO
Cuspis Vir Consulting LLC
Military service: U.S. Army
DJ Reyes served 30 years active duty and three years on reserve status in the U.S. Army. Throughout his military career he’s provided intelligence to support senior U.S. and multinational civilian and military leadership in multiple combat tours and overseas operations. The mission of Cuspis Vir Consulting LLC is to educate, inform and connect civilian medical services companies with military families of special needs children.

Alicia Rossiter
Liaison and director of the Veteran to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, USF College of Nursing
Military service: U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force
Alicia Rossiter served in active duty for the U.S. Army for four years and joined the U.S. Air Force in 1995, which she still currently actively serves in the reserves. Her military career spans 23 years. Her civilian work includes 16 years with the Hillsborough County School District Health Services. With USF College of Nursing, she advocates for educating military and civilian professionals how to care for the veteran population. The American Academy of Colleges of Nursing has recognized Rossiter as a veterans’ health curriculum expert.

Michael Roth
Senior vice president of corporate banking, West Florida
BankUnited
Military service: U.S. Army/U.S. National Guard (active as Major, J35 Operations Officer for Special Operations Command Central)
Michael Roth began his career in 1989 in the U.S. Army serving as an airborne infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division and 1/10th Task Force. A series of promotions lead him serve as a Special Forces team leader deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq for multiple tours of duty. He began his banking career during Army cutbacks in 1996, completing a management and credit training course at SunTrust Bank. He has provided more than $70 million in commercial loans to West Florida businesses since BankUnited hired him in 2013.

Blayne Smith
Executive director
Team Red, White, and Blue
Military service: U.S. Army
Blayne Smith graduated from West Point in June 2001 and was commissioned as an Armor officer. The events of 9/11 changed the trajectory of his life as he was deployed to Baghdad and led a reconnaissance unit on more than 200 combat operations. After leaving the Army, Smith worked in sales and marketing for Quest Diagnostics, and in 2012 became the executive director of Team Red, White and Blue, a nonprofit that supports veterans and their families. One of the goals is for veterans to have instant family no matter what city they’re in.

Jared E. Smith
Board certified specialist, construction law
Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell PA
Military service: U.S. Air Force
Jared Smith served as chief of legal assistance, chief of claims and chief of adverse actions at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. There he helped thousands of military retirees and service members with legal documents. He was legal counsel to the chief of operations for the base’s first AirFest after 9/11, for which he earned the Air Force Achievement Medal. He joined Rumberger Kirck & Caldwell in 2006 as an associate after leaving active duty. He practices in the areas of construction, banking and financial services, retail and hospitality, automotive negligence and product liability.

Edward D. Spenceley
Senior vice president
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Military service: U.S. Army
Edward D. Spenceley joined the Army in 1986 and went on to have a diverse military career as a security and intelligence specialist that included the study of Russian and German at the Defense Language School, and a series of roles as a Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge, including the personal security detail for the commander of CENTCOM. Now, at BofA, he is a specialist in government contracts and works on veterans advocacy in many forms as founder of the Military Support and Assistance Group and co-chair for veterans employment at the Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Greg Steube
State Representative
Florida House of Representatives
Military service: U.S. Army
State Representative Greg Steube served for four years in the U.S. Army, where during Operation Iraqi Freedom he served as a captain in the JAG Corps. Armed with a law degree, he joined Becker & Poliakoff PA in 2011 and has been able to practice and serve the House of Representatives concurrently. He was elected to the House in 2010 and he was re-elected to serve Manatee and Sarasota counties in 2012 and in 2014.

Mark Swanson
Vice president, strategy and innovation
Bright House Networks
Military service: U.S. Army
Mark Swanson served in the U.S. Army for 10 years, after graduating from the United States Military Academy with a degree in computer engineering. He served in many capacities, including as an Air Calvary officer, and was chosen for command in the first activating unit of Apache helicopters in Texas. He’s started a variety of companies, including Telovations, which was sold to Bright House in 2012. He’s leading the initiative for Bright House to introduce telehealth and telemedicine businesses to the area.

Scott Walden
Director of operations
VetCor LLC
Military service: U.S. Army Scott Walden served in the U.S Army for 23 years, during which time he served as a paratrooper for 17 years and also served overseas. When he retired from the military, he became director of training and customer support for M.I.C. Industries Inc., a defense-related company in Virginia. In January 2014, he was offered the chance to help start up VetCor LLC, a company that hires and retrains veterans to conduct water mitigation. He’s helped develop the corporate culture, values and policies that formed the foundation of the business, among many other responsibilities.