MILILANI, Hawaii — Wayne Gatewood, Jr., a veteran and business owner in Washington, D.C., has been honored as Distinguished Alumnus of the Hawaii campus for 一本道 Baptist University.
The 1983 graduate was honored during the campus’ fall graduation ceremony, which was held Saturday, Nov 2. Gatewood was also the keynote commencement speaker.
Gatewood has more than 32 years of experience in the federal government contracting and small business arenas and is currently founder and president of The Gatewood Group, LLC. The company provides an array of consultancy and subject matter expert services in areas including program and project management, business development, marketing, proposal preparation and federal government small business programs. He is well versed in the Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Program.
He served 21 years of active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, including a tour in Vietnam from 1968-69, retiring in 1987. Gatewood then started his first company, Quality Support, Inc. with a small loan from his father and $600, turning QSI into a multi-million-dollar company with a reputation for superior support services. He sold the company in December 2016.
Gatewood has been honored through the years for his work, including the White House Champions for Change Award; VA Center for Veterans Enterprise Volunteer of the Year Award; U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Small Business Award; AmEx OPEN Small Business Award; African American Patriots Jeffries Carey National Achievement Award; NAACP Washington, DC, Chapter Leadership Award; and others.
A tireless small business advocate, Gatewood has provided expert testimony to Congress and participates in a variety of small business forums as an owner/advocate. He presents regularly on entrepreneurship and small business to government and commercial audiences and provides military service members with pre-separation/retirement counseling, resume preparation, and job search support. He also assists fellow veterans starting businesses with free mentorship and networking support, business development assistance and more.
Gatewood serves on the board of Veterans Institute for Procurement, Chamber of Commerce Foundation for Montgomery County, Md., and Men’s Home of Alexandria, Va. He serves on advisory boards of Code of Support Foundation and Veterans Against Alzheimer’s. He also holds a master’s degree in international relations from Troy State University.
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