Florida Polytechnic Foundation in Lakeland adds pair to Board of Directors

Johnnie Curls Jr. and Alen Tomczak have been appointed to the Florida Polytechnic University Foundation Board of Directors.

Curls is owner and CEO of Barney’s Pumps in Lakeland. Established in 1950, the company provides pump solutions and technical services for the water, wastewater, industrial, municipal and food industries, Florida Poly said in a news release. The business, which has locations in Jacksonville and Coral Springs, has hired three University alumni as engineers, the release said.

“I think Florida Poly is great and can do so much for the city of Lakeland, and I’ll do anything I can to support that,” Curls said. “I love growing young people, and so I support anything that’s geared toward that.”

Tomczak is director for the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community for Cellebrite, a leader in digital intelligence and investigative analytics for public and private organizations, the release said.

“I’m very excited to be part of the board,” Tomczak said in the release. “It’s very exciting to see what the University is doing, and I want to be part of showing that Florida Poly is and will be the leading school for graduate and undergraduate STEM education.”

The Foundation’s mission is to “partner with Florida Poly to engage the community, inspire investment, and steward resources to build a world-class university.”

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida Poly Foundation in Lakeland names two to Board of Directors