Cynthia Spragg started AlphaVets Inc., in 2019, in part to make use of her military and health care experience.

Spragg is the president of the York-based company and possesses 35 years of military experience, mostly in medical roles. Vice President Joan Wunk has more than 20 years of experience managing government contracts, another important aspect of AlphaVets’ business plan, and has also served as acting director on several large multi-million-dollar government projects.

Chief Financial Officer Shawn Lydon has leadership and management experience in a variety of healthcare roles with significant organizational responsibilities.

“AlphaVets really came to fruition when the Covid pandemic hit,” Spragg said. “Our first-ever contract was to provide 2 million face masks for the state of New York.”

Spragg joined the Navy Reserves in 1986 and was part of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Covid-19, serving as a hospital corpsman. 

During this time, she was able to earn an associates and then a bachelor’s degree, becoming a physician’s assistant. She continued her education, attaining a master’s in public health, then a doctorate in health and rehabilitation sciences.

Spragg shifted to the Air National Guard in 2010, joining the 106th Rescue Wing, New York Air National Guard and serving as a public health officer. It was a propitious time to be involved with health care.

“I was working as public health officer when the pandemic hit, and I ended up being active in Covid efforts in New York,” Spragg said, adding she had to help devise policies and procedures for the state as a whole. 

Spragg moved to South Carolina in 2020 to be closer to family, and AlphaVets has continued to grow. Initially, it had trouble getting its foot in the door with large health care companies because the fledgling company was new and couldn’t demonstrate a significant track record. But that didn’t keep the company from landing government contracts.

In 2021, AlphaVets secured a deal to put together national pandemic kits for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, securing a significant footprint in the federal space and earning an exceptional rating for past performance.

Today, one of the company’s key contracts involves providing the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs with customized surgical packs, shipping and packaging, and outpatient pharmacy thermal labels. Other clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, and the state of South Carolina.

At present, AlphaVets works with manufacturers that tailor products such as hygiene kits to company specifications. The seven-employee business wants to purchase land in York County for a 7,500-square-foot structure that would include both office and manufacturing space. Once completed, the company will handle its own assembly of kits and other items and hire locally to include veterans.

AlphaVets also concentrates on supporting state needs. Contracts include providing oxygen tanks and more than 1 million meals-ready-to-eat, better known as MREs, to victims of Hurricane Helene.

Her extensive career in the service provided Spragg with both tangible and intangible skills that are essential to the well-being of businesses of all sizes.

“Hiring the right people and having the right skill set to lead people can be challenging, but the military helped me with that,” she said.