Communication International’s Stork named Entrepreneur of the Year

The annual Entrepreneur of the Year gala dinner is held at IRSC's Richardson Center in Vero Beach.

FORT PIERCE — Robert “Bob” Stork, founder and CEO of Communications International (Ci), has been named Entrepreneur of the Year for 2020 by the Indian River State College Foundation. Stork will be honored on Wednesday, Feb.26, at a gala dinner at the Richardson Center, located at IRSC Mueller Campus in Vero Beach.

Robert ‘Bob’ Stork, founder and CEO of Communications International, headquartered in Vero Beach, is this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year recipient.

An industry veteran with a degree in electrical sciences, Stork has spent his career creating designs and delivering essential emergency services for federal, state and local governmental agencies throughout the United States and across the globe. With his late partner Howard Culver, Stork founded Communications of Vero Beach in 1975 and grew it into a leading wireless systems integrator specializing in the design and implementation of mission critical communications systems for the federal, state and local public safety, utility and transit industries. In 1979, the company incorporated as Communications International Inc., also known as Ci. Culver retired in 1982, and Stork, age 32, acquired the business. Headquartered in Vero Beach, Ci currently has nine locations throughout the southeast. It is the largest distributor of Harris public safety radio equipment for the southeastern United States.

In 2010, Stork transitioned out of the role of company owner, passing the business on to the people who cared about it most—its employees. Today, Ci is a 100 percent employee-owned company and its employee owners share in the success of the business and have the ability to influence its performance through their individual contributions.

Stork is active in numerous community, church, and charitable organizations, and served on the executive board of Florida TaxWatch, a private, non-profit, non-partisan research institute that promotes the productivity and accountability of Florida government. He also serves as trustee of Florida Polytechnic University. During his career, Stork has served in many key advisory and leadership positions including appointment to the State Governmental Efficiency Task Force by the Senate president, and to the Florida Task Force Initiative on Gang Reduction by the attorney general. In 2010, he was distinguished as Citizen of the Year by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in recognition of his caring and compassionate actions for Brevard County’s children by supporting many Sheriff’s Office initiatives to protect them. He also earned the honor of special deputy by the sheriff of Broward County.

Stork lives in Vero Beach with his wife Carmen. They have two children, Robyn and Ryan, and eight grandchildren.

The Entrepreneur of the Year Award program recognizes the entrepreneurial spirit, business excellence, and community involvement—central elements of the Dan K. Richardson Entrepreneurship Program established by the IRSC Foundation and 13 other founding members to promote awareness and appreciation of the free enterprise system. Nominations for the Entrepreneur of the Year can be made at www.irscfoundation.org.

Event sponsorships are available for this year’s gala. For more information, contact the Indian River State College Foundation at 772-462-4786.

Treasure Coast Business is a news service and magazine published in print, via e-newsletter and online at tcbusiness.com by Indian River Magazine Inc. For more information or to report news email staff@tcbusiness.com