First of a four-part series: 256 Today recently recognized area leaders in innovation and dedication to the nation. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to COLSA founder Dr. Frank J. Collazo.
HUNTSVILLE — Since he was 15 years old, Dr. Francisco J. Collazo has served this country.
Today, at age 93, he said there was really never any thought about doing anything else.
“When I left home, I hoped to emulate my father and to serve my country.”
A native of Puerto Rico, Collazo dropped out of high school to join the Army during World War II. He idolized his father, who had been in the Army and had served in World War I.
“Serving is what I did and what I knew how to do,” Collazo said. “I stayed in the Army as long as I could.”
Collazo had an exceptionally distinguished 30-year military career, serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars before retiring as a chief warrant officer 4.
During his time in the Army, Collazo continually worked to further his education.
“If I had to attribute success to any one thing, it would be a desire for education,” he said.
Leaving home so early, Collazo never had an opportunity for a formal education. The military provided a path to knowledge as well as confidence.
“I took classes everywhere I went and learned as much as he could about any subject that was available,” said Collazo. “Education gave me the technical experience to be able to do the job and it gave me the confidence to be able to overcome the inherent problems caused by the language barrier and cultural differences.”
In 1980, Collazo and his wife Carmen started the COLSA Corporation in the garage of their southeast Huntsville home. One of COLSA’s first contracts was the technical support of the Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) Project Office at Redstone Arsenal.
Today, COLSA has grown to over 1,600 employees and has received numerous honors, including the Cogswell Award for Excellence in Security Operations, a NASA-awarded COLSA the Small Business Prime Contractor of the year honor, an induction into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame and many others.
The values that have defined COLSA’s work for more than 40 years are the values of Mr. Collazo, said Tom Economy, COLSA Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President of Community Affairs.
“His values show in our values: Teamwork, integrity, people, and customer satisfaction. The result of those values is our tagline ‘A Family of Professionals’,” said Economy.
Economy said it has always been “people first” for the company. An Army veteran, he has been with COLSA since 2016.
“I first met Mr. Collazo when I was a colonel on active duty at Redstone. He came in periodically to meet with my boss,” Economy said. “When I deployed to Iraq, Mr. Collazo or one of the vice presidents, called my wife every week that I was deployed to see if she needed anything. It was an unbelievably kind gesture that meant so much to me.
“That’s who Mr. Collazo is.”
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