With almost 300 people in attendance, the 2nd annual Golden Palm Gala & Awards 2024 honored individuals and organizations making an impact within South Florida’s tech community and beyond.
We surpassed last year’s event in both nominations submitted and overall attendees. Tech Hub is honored to say that we are also the first-ever organization to hold an event of this kind with full after party, dance floor and bar right on the Dreyfoos Hall theatre stage. We are thankful for the Kravis Center for Performing Arts and their entire staff for helping us pull off an impressive ceremony and celebration.
Our Awards Emcee, the amazing Alex Price, kept the energy level up all night as he announced our guest speakers, sponsors, special musical guests and kept the night moving. Alex is a staple in this community supporting entrepreneurship support organizations such as Research Park at Florida Atlantic University where he serves as a commissioner. He also serves on the board of the YMCA of South Palm Beach County and supports multiple philanthropic organizations across South Florida who are gving back today and building a better South Florida for tomorrow.
Tech Hub BoardMembers, Kelly Boyle, Tammy Kennedy, and Cathy Miron
We’d like to thank all of our sponsors this year because this event wouldn’t happen without your support. A special shout goes to ViB (Presenting Sponsor), 35 Mules (Stage Sponsor), Intellias (VIP Lounge Sponsor), Agile InfoWays (Photo Booth Sponsor) and Entreprenista and Dexian ( Swag Bag Sponsors) for their contributions this year. Website, event program and photo album links are avaiable at the end of this article.
This year’s Honorees are:
- Venture Miami | Changemaker Award: Honors a state or local public sector agency or municipality in the South Florida region who has leveraged technology to effect positive change for its citizens within the last 12 – 18 months. This organization leverages technology to effect positive change for its citizens and the greater community. This City of Miami’s commitment to social responsibility has resulted in positive business practices and community impact. They are committed to reducing environmental impacts, investing in their community, creating policies and initiatives that foster collaboration, creativity, and sustainability. Venture Miami has demonstrated exceptional creative thinking and innovation by leveraging technology to transform Miami into a thriving hub for tech and entrepreneurship. Their strategic approach focuses on building a robust ecosystem that supports startups, attracts investment, and creates job opportunities for local residents.
- Glen Benjamin | Community Impact Award: Honors a distinguished volunteer that has demonstrated unwavering selflessness and outstanding contributions to the South Florida tech ecosystem through their dedication and commitment of time, talent, and skills to address critical needs in the community within the last 12 – 18 months. Glen is a force to be reckoned with throughout the South Florida community. Whether it is serving on panels, coordinating events, mentoring and educating, speaking at local Public Schools or helping make connections in the community, he is always on the go. This distinguished volunteer that has demonstrated unwavering selflessness and outstanding contributions to the South Florida Tech ecosystem through their dedication and commitment.
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Digital Vibez, DJ and robot dancers
4Geeks Academy | Education Champion Award: Celebrates an organization based in South Florida that has made significant contributions to tech education, skill development, and access to education in South Florida, fostering the next generation of tech talent within the last 12 – 18 months. They are on a mission is to reduce the unemployment and underemployment rates by helping people launch successful tech careers. Through multiple partnerships such as Miami Dade College, United Way Miami, Miami Tech Works, and more they were able to trains hundred os students and place 86% of them in better paying jobs within 6 months of graduation.
- WAG | Inclusion Champion Award: Recognizes an organization based in South Florida that has actively promoted and contributed to diversity, equity, accessibility, and overall inclusion within the South Florida tech community through initiatives and programs, advocacy and leadership, and/or collaboration with external organizations within the last 12 – 18 months. Through their dedicated work, this organization strives to make a lasting impact in the South Florida tech and business community, helping to remove barriers and promote accessibility and equality for everyone. CEO, Beth Wagmeister, is a champion for people with disabilities, a feisty activist, an entrepreneur who is bridging the gap between those with and without accessibility challenges to ensure that all people can participate and benefit from the events and opportunities in South Florida and around the world!
- Social Mobile | Innovation of the Year Award (Large Business): Recognizes a South Florida based organization that has created a unique technology product or service which has addressed a key industry challenge, had a disruptive impact, improved lives, and/or created economic value within the last 12 – 18 months. Social Mobile was the first licensed ELDA (Enterprise Devices Licensing Agreement) holder awarded by Google, and today it is one of 10 validated Android Enterprise Gold partners in the USA. This year, Social Mobile has been at the forefront of transformative innovation with their cutting-edge Rhino Mobility Platforms. These platforms empower clients to rapidly design, engineer, and manufacture a customized device in a variety of form factors, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, and IoT devices, while ensuring enterprise-grade quality and full certification for global markets.This enables companies to easily scale, deploy, and manage thousands of devices that are purpose-built for any use case or application, from healthcare to transportation and more.
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Blue Frontier team enjoying the Intellias VIP Lounge.
Blue Frontier | Innovation of the Year Award (Small Business): Recognizes a South Florida based organization that has created a unique technology product or service which has addressed a key industry challenge, had a disruptive impact, improved lives, and/or created economic value within the last 12 – 18 months. This organization leads their industry with cutting edge technology, disrupting the sector for the first time in almost a century. Their innovation reduces electrical bills from 50% to 90%. Changing not only the mechanical trades and equipment, but energy consumption is their main mission.
- David Hartmann | Leadership Excellence Award: Honors an exemplary leader who has demonstrated vision, guidance, thought leadership, influence, and impact on the growth and development of others in the South Florida tech community throughout their career. There is no requirement for this nominee to be in a C-suite role. As a leader, this honoree demonstrates vision and passion to make emerging technologies accessible within his community and the determination and expertise to design and develop solutions that drive change. His most influential characteristic as a leader, his belief in people. He has created a culture where he truly encourages and empowers his entire organization to think creatively, share innovative ideas, and be part of the solution. He motivates to learn from one another, teach one another, support one another, and grow together. Visionary, inclusive, inspiring, and collaborative, he is an influencer far beyond his time.
- Lil Roberts | Outstanding LeadHER Award: Celebrates an outstanding female who has demonstrated exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact by inspiring others and serving as a role model in the South Florida women in tech community within the last 12 – 18 months. A visionary leader, her ability to secure venture backing reflects not only her business acumen but also the confidence investors have in her innovative approach. She leads the charge in fintech. These achievements include a commitment to disrupting traditional financial enterprises, empowering businesses, and driving economic development through an innovative lens, heart-led approach, and a steadfast passion for people and business.
- Gold Coast Angel Investors, Black Angels Miami, Gaingels, Hispanic Angels of Florida | Partnership of the Year Award: Celebrates a successful collaboration or partnership between two or more organizations based in South Florida that has resulted in notable achievements and advancements in South Florida’s tech industry within the last 12 – 18 months. This collective saw that investment funds for startup founders in the black and brown communities is extremely low. And when you add in the intersectionality of specific groups such as LGBTQ community, female founders, and Black and Hispanic founders, the percentage can be lower than 1 percent investment received. This partnership aims to bring the investment community together to focus on diversifying the founder base and helping increase the number of investments in the Black and Brown and LGBTQ community.
- HandsOn South Florida | Social Responsibility Award: Honors an organization based in South Florida that has demonstrated exceptional commitment to social responsibility through ethics, human rights, animal rights, economic responsibilities, environmental responsibilities, sustainable growth, and/or philanthropic efforts, resulting in positive business practices or impact in the community within the last 12 – 18 months. By leveraging the power of people and socially responsible businesses, they transform local communities through meaningful, hands-on service. HandsOn South Florida volunteers create art in public spaces, build sustainable gardens, support literacy initiatives, renovate community properties and serve to feed the hungry.
- Lighthouse For The Blind of The Palm Beaches | Tech Doing Good – A brand new category and surprise award, this organization truly has harnessed the power of tech to create a positive impact on society providing independeance for the blind and visually impaired. They run various programs and services and two of which are the Assistive Technologies and Vocational Rehabilitation programs. We celebrate their commitment to creating a better world through technological advancement, and we are inspired by their dedication to making a difference.
- CITY Furniture | Ethos – This is a coveted category being that Tech Hub’s very own CEO choose one organization each year who exemplifies our community’s shared values and commitments to excellence and impact, diversity and innovation, inclusion and equity, care and compassion, and integrity and respect. This company embodies in their culture, their work, and in their commitment to the community the principles of strong leadership, dedication, and a willingness to evolve and include the next generation of leaders. This honoree doesn’t just say, but they do, they show, they live their values out each day as they build a better community for South Florida and beyond.
Sean Shea, Founder of ViB
Sean Shea, Presenting Sponsor and Founder of ViB, stated, “Presenting the award we won last year is a special honor and a way for us to give back to the South Florida tech community that has supported us so much. Big congrats again to HandsOn South Florida! Paying it forward is a never-ending mission, and I’m excited to see more and more organizations join us in this collective effort toward social responsibility.”
Thank you to all our sponsors, committee members, board members, volunteers, special musical guests (Nisia Guvenilir, Brothers 5, and Digital Vibez) for bringing the energy, the passion and making this year one for the books. Everyone looked so beautiful and we are happy to have you as an important part of our community. You can view the full event program here.
For event photos, please click here.
Feel free to share on social media and make sure to tag us. See you next year!