SpeedPro Chicago Loop is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned business, accredited by the National Veterans Business Development Council (NVBDC) in May 2021. The rigorous certification is equivalent of the Small Business Administration/Veterans Administration standards, although designed for the purpose of vetting companies for the private-sector versus government entities.
Countless bluechip companies across all industry disciplines accept NVBDC certification for the purposes of meeting vendor diversity objectives, to include, but not limited to Abbott, Accenture, Adobe, Altria, Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, BMW, CBRE, CVS, Dell, Delta, Disney, DOW, Facebook, Ford, General Mills, Google, GSK, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Mark, MetLife, Microsoft, MetLife, Nike, P&G, Pfizer, Salesforce, T-Mobile, Toyota, Unites, UPS and USAA.
Our President, Eric Lazar, entered the United States Marine Corps for active-duty upon graduating high-school 1986, receiving honorable discharge at the rank of Sergeant in 1994. He hails from Port Jefferson, New York, the son of a Jr. HS principal and HS teacher, who, in general, had opposed his entry into military service at the time.
Upon completion of recruit training at Parris Island, S.C., where a typical 11-week program was extended to 7-months, as he caught chickenpox and suffered broken legs in the course of his training regimen, Eric was sent to the Arabic language course at the prestigious Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterrey, CA. While attending school, Eric was selected for the security detail to protect Pope John Paul II on his 1987 visit to the area.
After leaving DLI, Eric was ordered to the Navy-Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center (NMITC) at Dam Neck, Virginia for further training as an Intelligence Analyst, where upon graduating, he received orders to join the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion on Okinawa, Japan. Eric served as the unit’s interim Intelligence Chief, and volunteered to work undercover in a joint-service operation to root out fellow military members engaged in illegal operations. After his identity was compromised, he was placed in hiding for protection, Eric then returned to the U.S. after judicial proceedings concluded, receiving orders to join VMAQ-2 at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C.; an electronic warfare squadron. (book forthcoming, perhaps?)
Eric was a primary liaison for the air crew, conducting pre and post mission briefings, providing expertise on locations and counter-measures against hostile foreign forces in their efforts to identify placement of radar and missile systems for strategic U.S. military contingency plans. While with VMAQ-2, Eric was deployed for 6-months to Iwakuni, Japan, with a focus on monitoring adversarial activity the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, South China Sea and Philippine Sea.
After the completion of 5-years active duty in 1991, Eric enrolled at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he obtained his B.A. in Political Science, graduating in three years. Eric returned to the Marine Corps for active duty in the summer of ’94 in a temporary recruiter assistance capacity, until leaving service in November 1994.
While in the Marine Corps, Eric enjoyed two tours of Japan, as well as many foreign nations and territories, including U.K., Australia, Azores, Philippines, S. Korea and the Korean DMZ.
Eric is intimately involved in the veteran community, volunteering time as well as donating product and services to veteran focused organizations. Eric is a currently the Communications Officer for Project Relo, a board member of Chicago Marines Foundation, former board member of Volunteers of America-IL, member of Chicago Police Marines, graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, former scholar of Bunker Labs CEO incubator, past corporate sponsor and mentor at Marine for Life, past volunteer for Travis Manion Foundation Chicago gala, in addition to several other initiatives. He is often asked to be a speaker on leadership and a guest on podcasts.
