The Triumph Gulf Coast Board met in Panama City this week to approve two grant award agreements and advance five projects to term sheet negotiations, moving forward $61 million in funding to support the creation of 150 new high-wage jobs and 10,656 industry certifications across Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf and Wakulla Counties.
Triumph has awarded 82 grants totaling over $754 million since 2018 across the eight Triumph eligible counties.
Bay County
The Triumph Board voted to approve a grant award agreement with the Bay County Board of County Commissioners’ for up to $3,750,000 to support the recruitment of Project Clear. The grant funds will be used by Bay County to renovate the former Bay County incinerator building and property to house Project Clear, a commercial and residential glass and glazing manufacturer. The company plans to expand manufacturing operations to Bay County, leveraging the Port of Panama City for raw material imports and Bay County’s southeast US location to capitalize on operational and logistical efficiencies. The company will create at least 150 new jobs paying an average of 115% or more of Bay County’s average wage.
Escambia County
The Triumph Board voted to advance to term sheet negotiations on University of West Florida’s grant request for up to $32,151,120 to expand and enhance UWF’s Institute for Analytics and Industry Advancement ((IA)²), the Center for Cybersecurity (CfC), and establish the new Center for Computational Intelligence (CCI). Triumph funds will primarily be allocated toward capital improvements to UWF’s research infrastructure – specifically, $21 million to expand the new sciences and engineering building, providing additional space for the CfC and CCI, and renovating the Sciences Annex (building 58C)
to house advanced computational research laboratories. In addition to critical facility expansion, Triumph resources will support the hiring of research personnel over the first several years. Grant funds will also be used for specialized computational biology, cybersecurity, and AI research equipment. UWF’s plans for the project to become self-sustaining by the end of the 10-year grant period.
The Triumph Board voted to advance to term sheet negotiations on Pensacola State College’s grant request for up to $3,250,000 to establish a Workforce Development Training Center. This proposal aims to comprehensively expand PSC short-term, industry-responsive training capacity and provide residents of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with expedited pathways to high-skill, high-wage industry-recognized credentials in critical occupations. Triumph Gulf Coast funding will be invested primarily in the renovation of Building 21, a 22,686-square-foot facility formerly housing the Academic Computer Center, to create new classrooms, shop areas, training labs, and support facilities for industry certification workforce programs. The expedited non-credit industry certification training opportunities are expected to play a crucial role in addressing skill gaps, improving workforce readiness, and promoting economic growth in the local region. The project will result in at least 970 industry recognized certifications.
Franklin County
The Triumph Board voted to advance to term sheet negotiations on Franklin Board of County Commissioners’ grant request for up to $250,000 to establish an aviation maintenance and powerplant (A&P) training program at the Apalachicola Regional Airport in partnership with Haney Technical College. The funds will be allocated to essential facility improvements to ensure the site is suitable for high-quality technical education. These investments will convert an existing hangar into a purpose-built training environment, supporting both classroom and hands-on instruction for aspiring aviation mechanics. Establishing an aviation maintenance training center provides direct pathways to FAA authorized Airframe, Powerplant, and Avionics certifications—careers with starting salaries well above the county average and strong mid-career earning potential ($50,000–$60,000 entry, $80,000–$100,000 mid-career). The training program will create new opportunities for students from Franklin and neighboring, underserved areas, leveraging the successful Haney model, which currently operates at capacity. Additionally, the partnership with Franklin School District’s Tango Flight program, where high school students build an aircraft for credit, will help foster an early pipeline of talent into the new program. The grant will result in 25 FAA certifications over five years.
Gulf County
The Triumph Board voted to advance to term sheet negotiations on the Gulf County School District’s grant request for up to $6,886,150 to support a comprehensive digital tools and technology training initiative from 2026 to 2034. The project will provide all Gulf elementary through secondary students with the necessary digital skills to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world. 1,400 students annually through 2034, will earn 1-5 technology certifications, resulting in at least 6,000 industry
certifications over the nine-year grant period. The Triumph funds will be used for personnel, equipment, cert fees, materials and supplies, professional development. This initiative is expected to substantially enhance academic and workforce readiness in a rural, disproportionately affected county. GDS emphasizes that embedding technology competencies into K–12 instruction will modernize classrooms, prepare students for additional industry certifications, and open new pathways to postsecondary education and careers. By providing robust technology education, students will gain the digital skills necessary for high wage positions in fields such as data science, cybersecurity, software
engineering, and more.
Wakulla County
The Triumph Board voted to advance to term sheet negotiations on Tallahassee State College’s grant request for up to $10,007,946 for healthcare and teacher workforce training programs at the Wakulla Environmental Institute (WEI) campus. This investment will expand healthcare and teacher preparation training, support acquisition of cutting-edge simulation technologies, and address critical skill gaps in rural Northwest Florida. Triumph’s investment will be utilized for personnel costs, procurement of simulation equipment and classroom furnishings, educational materials and certification fees for students, and advanced instructional software. The project is projected by TSC to award 3,695 industry recognized certifications during the grant term. The teacher training program will use augmented and virtual reality technology to simulate classroom experiences and will embed digital tools certifications in the curriculum to prepare new teachers to seamlessly integrate with Wakulla and Franklin School’s K-12 digital tools and technology programs.
All Triumph Counties
The Triumph Board voted to approve the grant award agreement with Florida’s Great Northwest for up to $4,777,000 to strategically market the Triumph region to target industry high-wage job creators. The funds will be used to update the existing Northwest Florida FORWARD economic development strategy, develop a marketing plan from the strategy, and increase targeted business development marketing efforts for the eight-county region.
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and presiding officers of the Legislature. The appointees to the Triumph Board are Jay Trumbull, Sr. (Chair), David Humphreys (Vice-Chair), Leslie Weiss (Treasurer), Bryan Corr, Sr. (Asst. Treasurer) and Charles Rigdon. All meetings of the Board are public.