FORT MYERS, Fla. - s4story -- Drake Ready Mix President and Founding Partner Terry Drake, Jr. has been named Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2025 Distinguished Entrepreneur Awards.

Presented by the Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University, the May 15 celebration honored the innovation, leadership and resilience of Southwest Florida's entrepreneurial community. The event featured a cocktail reception, dinner, storytelling and the presentation of numerous awards. Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year is the program's highest recognition, honoring an established business owner who has demonstrated sustained success and a forward-thinking approach in their industry.

"I'm incredibly honored to receive this award – it's a meaningful reflection not only of my journey but also of the hard work, support and dedication of our entire team," said Terry Drake, Jr., president and founding partner of Drake Ready Mix. "Looking back at where we started in 2006 and how far we've come, I couldn't be more proud of our team and everything we've achieved together. I'm excited to see what the future holds."

A family-owned and operated concrete ready mix company founded in 2006 by a father-and-son team, Drake Ready Mix started from humble beginnings with less than 10 employees. Now, the company has grown to over 100 employees, nearly doubling its staff in the past four years alone.

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Drake Ready Mix is an experienced concrete supplier that excels at pouring commercial and residential jobs with quality and efficiency. With a fleet of 100+ owned and operated trucks, the company offers many standard and custom mixes and designs using top-of-the-line DOT-certified materials and 2,500-10,000+ PSI mixes for long-lasting durability. In the last three years, Drake Ready Mix has expanded its operations with a new state-of-the-art production facility in Fort Myers, where it produces over 350,000 cubic yards of concrete annually.

About Drake Ready Mix

Drake Ready Mix is a family-owned and operated concrete ready mix company founded in 2006, known for its reputation for high-quality concrete, superior customer service and value-oriented, reliable results. Based in Fort Myers, Drake Ready Mix operates a 100+ fleet of trucks that serves residential and commercial projects of all sizes for local, state and national contractors, builders and developers who build in Lee, Collier, Hendry and Charlotte counties. For more information, visit DrakeReadyMix.com (https://www.drakereadymix.com/) or call 239-590-9199.