BOV Member and ODU Alumnus Kenneth Ampy Honored as Entrepreneur of the Year

Kenneth E. Ampy '90 and his former Old Dominion University roommate, Samuel S. Young Jr., were named 2010 Entrepreneurs of the Year on Feb. 20 by the Metropolitan Business League (MBL) in Richmond, Va. This is the second consecutive year they have received the award.

Ampy is the chief executive officer, and Young, the president, of Astyra Corp., which they founded in 1997. Headquartered in Richmond, Astyra is a national provider of information technology staffing and consulting services. The company is also a multiple recipient of the Lasting Impressions Award, which is given by the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council.

Quoted in a Feb. 21 Richmond Times-Dispatch story, MBL president and chief executive Oliver R. Singleton said of the Astyra executives: "They had their best year ever last year. Last October, when the government was rapidly trying to close out the cash-for-clunkers program, they got a call on Thursday and by Monday morning they had hired 200 people to process paperwork for the government."

Ampy is a member of the ODU Board of Visitors and serves as chair of the Bylaws Review Committee and vice chair of the Academic and Research Advancement Committee. He was appointed to the board in 2005.