Five Bulldog 100 companies have ties to College

The latest list of Bulldog 100 honorees includes five alumni from the University of Georgia College of Education.

This year's winners with College of Education ties include BOS Staffing, Breda Pest Management, Hairbow Supplies Etc., Social Empowerment Center and Southern Tradition Tailgating. This is the second year in a row that Lawrenceville-based Social Empowerment Center and Breda Pest Management, plus Starkville, Mississippi-based Southern Tradition Tailgating, have made the list. Last year, Social Empowerment Center was No. 1.

The annual list recognizes the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Nearly 400 businesses were nominated for this year's awards.

BOS Staffing

Athens, Georgia

Nathan Carmack, Sr. (AB '67, MEd '72) and Nat Carmack (BBA '93)

Founded in Athens 1979, BOS Staffing now has offices in both Athens and Gainesville, Georgia, and serves clients in five states. The company provides a range of recruiting and staffing services for clients such as call centers, Web developers and healthcare companies. And for the past four years, BOS Staffing has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing, privately held companies.

Breda Pest Management

Loganville, Georgia

Roger Breda (BBA '73), Matt Breda (BBA '02, MEd '05) and Mitchell Breda (BBA '10)

This family-owned company started 40 years ago out of Roger Breda's garage with just one customer. Today, the company has more than 60 employees and a fleet of more than 50 vehicles serving customers across metro Atlanta. This is the fifth year the company has been named to the Bulldog 100 list; other accolades have come from the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, Angie's List, Home Reports and Dave Baker of WSB's "Home Fix It Show."

Hairbow Supplies Etc.

Buford, Georgia

Gwen Wichman (AB '01) and Josh Wichman ('01)

Gwen and Josh Wickham started Hairbow Supplies Etc. five years ago when their daughter was born. Today, the online company based in Buford sells wholesale ribbon, elastic, embellishments and hardware to make children's hair bows. The company is also a resource for DIY-bows, with a wealth of video tutorials and blog explaining how to use their products.

Social Empowerment Center

Lawrenceville, Georgia

Rachelle D. Hutchinson (MSW '00) and Edward Hutchinson (MEd '09)

As founders of the Social Empowerment Center, Rachelle Hutchinson and her husband, Edward, a College of Education graduate, provide counseling services to individuals and families while also collaborating with social service providers and clients.

Southern Tradition Tailgating

Starkville, Mississippi

Brad Vickers (EdD '07)

After receiving his doctorate in sports studies, swimming coach and researcher Brad Vickers moved to Starkville, Mississippi, to work in research at Mississippi State University. During that time, tailgating became part of his life, but he realized few people wanted to go through the effort of setting up the televisions, tables and other extras. With the help of two friends from college, the idea for Southern Tradition Tailgating was born. Today, the company serves seven campuses, plus Falcons tailgating in Atlanta and NASCAR events.