Meet the 2022 Orlando Inno Fire Award Blazers, the top innovators in each category (Photos)

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Food, drinks and conversation flowed high above downtown Orlando on April 28 during the 2022 Orlando Inno Fire Awards event at the Citrus Club.

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Executives, entrepreneurs, investors, community leaders and more were in attendance for the inaugural Orlando Inno Fire Awards.

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Scenes from Orlando Inno’s 2022 Fire Awards

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Guests enjoyed networking at the start of Orlando Inno’s 2022 Fire Awards event.

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Members of the Beep Inc. team at the 2022 Orlando Inno Fire Awards

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Everest Ice & Water Systems team members at the 2022 Orlando Inno Fire Awards

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During the awards ceremony, the five Blazer winners were revealed.

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The Blazer for companies less than 5 years old was last-mile delivery software firm OneRail, led by CEO Bill Catania. OneRail representatives could not make the event.

OneRail

Cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker was the Blazer winner among companies that are 5-6 years old.

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In the 7-year-old company category, the Blazer was ice vending manufacturer Everest Ice & Water Systems.

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Nonprofit prosthetic limb maker Limbitless Solutions was named the Blazer for the 8-10 year-old company category.

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Finally, clinical research site network Accel Research Sites was named the Blazer in the category of companies that are 11-plus years old.

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The red blazers were bestowed on the winners by Orlando Inno Founding Partner representatives (from left to right) Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business Dean Deborah Crown, Orlando Economic Partnership Executive Director of Innovation & Technology David Adelson and Florida High Tech Corridor CEO Paul Sohl.

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During that same evening, the Fire Awards were handed out to representatives of the 25 honorees. Click through to see the honorees in attendance accept their awards.

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Windermere-based Aqfer Inc. ("Fresh faces" category, companies less than 5 years old)

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Orlando-based Beep Inc. ("Fresh faces" category, companies less than 5 years old)

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Orlando-based Virtual Dining Concepts LLC ("Fresh faces" category, companies less than 5 years old)

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Orlando-based BrandXR Inc. (“On the come-up” category, companies 5-6 years old)

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Altamonte Springs-based EcoSPEARS (“On the come-up” category, companies 5-6 years old)

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Orlando-based HypGames Inc. (“On the come-up” category, companies 5-6 years old)

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Maitland-based ThreatLocker Inc. (“On the come-up” category, companies 5-6 years old)

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Apopka-based Everest Ice & Water Systems (“Not just lucky” category, companies that are 7 years old)

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Orlando-based Fortress Information Security LLC (“Not just lucky” category, companies that are 7 years old)

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Edgewater-based Yaupon Brothers American Tea (“Not just lucky” category, companies that are 7 years old)

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Orlando-based Limbitless Solutions Inc. (“Established players” category, companies that are 8-10 years old)

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Winter Park-based Sonobi Inc. (“Established players” category, companies that are 8-10 years old)

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Orlando-based Violet Defense LLC (“Established players” category, companies that are 8-10 years old)

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Lake Mary-based Accel Research Sites (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Winter Garden-based Anuvia Plant Nutrients Corp. (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Orlando-based AVT Simulation (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Orlando-based Digitec Interactive (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Orlando-based Echo Interaction Group Inc. (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Orlando-based Engineering & Computer Simulations Inc. (“Industry veterans” category, companies that are 11-plus years old)

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Alex Soderstrom,

Anjali Fluker

May 02, 2022, 01:53pm EDT

Fire-red jackets were awarded on April 28 to the top innovators recognized by the Orlando Inno Fire Awards.

These five firms, dubbed "Blazers," were the top-scored honorees in the five categories that made up the 2022 Fire Awards, the inaugural awards event recognizing organizations that set the Central Florida innovation ecosystem ablaze in 2021.

Of course, that's not all that took place at the event, hosted by the Citrus Club in downtown Orlando. Entrepreneurs, CEO's, techies, investors and others packed the Orlando social club for food, drinks and conversation.

To learn about the five Blazer winners, and see scenes from the Orlando Inno Fire Awards event, check out the gallery above.

Meanwhile, 25 startups based in Central Florida were recognized as 2022 Fire Award honorees. The honorees were selected from nominations and Orlando Inno's editorial team based on major milestones like overall growth, innovative ways of doing things, funding rounds, product launches and social impact.

The 2022 honorees, listed in alphabetical order, are:

Accel Research Sites
Anuvia Plant Nutrients Corp.
Applied Visual Technology Inc.
Aqfer Inc.
Beep Inc.
BrandXR Inc.
Digitec Inc.
Echo Interaction Group Inc.
ecoSPEARS Inc.
Engineering & Computer Simulations Inc.
Everest Ice and Water Systems
Fortress Information Security LLC
Fountainhead Commercial Capital LLC
HypGames Inc.
Kore.ai Inc.
Limbitless Solutions Inc.
Obvio Health USA, Inc.
On Demand Technologies Inc. (dba OneRail)
Sonobi Inc.
Space Perspective Inc.
ThreatLocker Inc.
Violet Defense LLC
Virtual Dining Concepts LLC
Yac Inc.
Yaupon Brothers LLC

The honorees are having a sizable impact on the region's economy. These 25 firms combined employ more than 890 people in Central Florida, with expectations of hiring more than 1,000 people in the next year.

Learn more about the winners of The Fire Awards, including which categories they landed in, in Orlando Business Journal's April 29-May 5, 2022, weekly edition. Profiles for each honoree are also available to read on Orlando Inno's website.

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