Bob Evans Farms Announces Grant Winners in Fifth Annual Heroes to CEOs Contest, Providing $140,000 of Funding to Entrepreneurial Veterans

For the First Time Ever, Bob Evans Farms Awards Two Grand Prize Winner $50,000 Each; Four Runners-up Receive $10,000 Each 

EW ALBANY, Ohio, Sept. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bob Evans Farms (BEF) has announced Lukas Simianer, Founder of Clusiv and Ryan Onda, Founder of Semper-Fi Service Dogs, as the two grand prize winners of BEF's fifth annual Our Farm Salutes (OFS) grant-giving contest, Heroes to CEOs (H2C). H2C is an annual contest promoted through Bob Evans Farms' Our Farm Salutes initiative, a national philanthropic effort, dedicated to supporting military reservists, Veterans, and their families through awareness, donations, strategic partnerships, grant opportunities and volunteerism. For 2021, Bob Evans Farms doubled the number of Heroes to CEOs finalists from three to six, and the total amount of grant monies from $50,000 to $140,000.

In addition to the grand prizes, Bob Evans Farms awarded four runners-up $10,000 each to support their ongoing entrepreneurial endeavors. The runners-up include Antone Aku of Voyager Cold Brew Coffee, Brendan Aronson of Paintru, Wayne Swanson of HV-Flex, and Mike Smith of Custom Donations.

This year, in partnership with Bunker Labs, Bob Evans Farms invited military Veteran entrepreneurs to submit their business proposals for a chance to win one of the six grants. Each eligible entry was scored on the following criteria: 1) reason/need for the venture, 2) presentation, 3) feasibility, 4) opportunity and 5) anticipated future success of the business plan submitted.

"Heroes to CEOs provides more than just a grant to servicemen and women; it gives veterans the opportunity to have access to counsel and mentorship from some of the top C-suite level executives in the United States and past winners of Heroes to CEOs," said Mark Delahanty, President and CEO of Bob Evans Farms. "We are inspired by the brave men and women who serve our country and are proud to offer them the opportunity to support them in their entrepreneurial endeavors. We look forward to helping this year's winners along their exciting journey."

Bob Evans Farms has funded a total of $370,000 to Veteran-owned businesses and organizations since the Heroes to CEOs program started in 2017.

For more information on the Heroes to CEOs program visit https://www.bobevansgrocery.com/our-story/our-farm-salutes/ and for more information about Bob Evans Farms visit www.bobevansgrocery.com. For a complete list of finalists, visit (link TBD)