Daily Business Report — Aug. 12, 2010

Nonprofits Go Creative

Open a retail shop. Sell ad space on your delivery vans. Send donors on exotic trips. Share offices. Get a dog to Tweet about you. These and other creative tactics have been the ticket for local nonprofits to survive during rickety economic times in which community needs are up while funding is down. Read more about their endeavors in the August issue of  San Diego Metropolitan Magazine.

Cubic Gets Army Order for Combat Training System

Cubic Defense Applications has been awarded an Army contract to provide a laser-based combat training system for Army tactical vehicles. The contract has four option years and has a potential value of more than $100 million. Deliveries of the system will begin in July 2011. Called the Tactical Vehicle System, the system includes an intuitive Cubic-developed application to greatly simplify installation and operation by using advanced wireless devices instead of traditional cables with embedded laser detectors. “We designed this system to address both Army and soldier preferences by including intuitive consumer features like touch screens, graphics and Wi-Fi communications,” said Michael Martin, Cubic project engineer. Cubic Defense Applications is a unit of San Diego-based Cubic Corp.

SAIC Awarded Navy Contract With $49 Million Potential Value

Science Applications International Corp. has been awarded a contract by the Navy to provide data center, information technology and disaster recovery site support for the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The contract has a total value of more than $49 million if all options are exercised. The work will be performed in San Diego, Norfolk, Va., and at Military Sealift Command headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard. The MSC works with the maritime industry and U.S. federal agencies to find maritime solutions to ocean transportation challenges. It operates approximately 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically position cargo at sea, and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners. Under the contract, SAIC will help enable ashore and afloat communications, including IT services, for MSC ships as they deliver supplies and conduct specialized missions throughout the world.

Viejas Casino Appoints 3 Top Executives

Viejas Casino in Alpine has named an 18-year veteran of the gaming industry as its new general manager and added a new vice president of marketing and a vice president of human relations. David Williams becomes general manager after most recently being vice president of operations for Harrah’s Entertainment. His experience includes management work at U.S. and international resorts, riverboat and Native American gaming operations.

He recently coauthored the Prentice Hall textbook “Casino Gaming Methods: Games, Probabilities and Controls,” and has authored a number of textbook chapters, peer-reviewed journals and articles for industry journals.

Holly O’Brien was named vice president of marketing. She was a marketing executive at Harrah’s St. Louis, where she launched two new food outlets, a nightclub and a hotel expansion, and Harrah’s Ak-Chin in Phoenix. She had been director of marketing at Joe Boxer, where she rolled out concept shops nationwide, and has also worked at Kraft Foods in consumer promotions. Laura Brown serves as vice president of human resources. She more than 17 years of human resources experience in the high-tech and financial services industries. Her career has included responsibility for up to 3,000 employees across North and South America.

Regional Apprentice School Opens at NAS North Island

The Southwest Regional Apprentice School was opened Wednesday at Naval Air Station North Island and will officially begin classes on Aug. 16 with an inaugural class of 24 apprentices. The school is a partnership between Naval Sea Systems Command’s Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility and the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, plus the Naval Air Systems Command’s Fleet Readiness Center Southwest and Southwestern College. Located on the second floor of Building 73 at the Depot Maintenance Facility on North Island, the new apprentice school will have both academic and shop training areas. There are four classrooms, a Computer Automated Design, or CAD, lab, and a 24-workstation computer lab with state-of-the-art computers and design software. A conference room containing video conferencing capabilities has also been added, benefiting the school and the entire detachment for conferencing and training purposes. The apprenticeship is a four-year cooperative education program. Upon completion of the program, graduates will receive a certificate of proficiency in leadership and supervision from Southwestern College and journey worker certificates from the Department of Navy and the Department of Labor in machinery, pipefitting, shipfitting or lifting and handling. The apprentice program pays the educational fees and students receive compensation for their time in class and during on-the-job training.

Grossmont College Names V.P. of Academic Affairs

Barbara Blanchard, a veteran community college administrator, has been named vice president of academic affairs at Grossmont College. Blanchard most recently worked for 13 years as the dean of computer science and information technology at American River College, one of four colleges in the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento. She has worked at three community colleges in the state. Her career has included teaching, accreditation, educational technology, business/industry partnerships and workforce preparedness. Blanchard received her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, Davis. She holds a master’s degree in management information systems from the University of Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in human resources and family development from the University of Illinois.

Waste Management Exec Elected to San Diego EDC

Jason Rose, area vice president and general manager of Waste Management of San Diego and Orange County, has been elected to the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. board of directors. Rose has worked for Waste Management for more than 17 years. During his tenure, the company has been awarded numerous eco and safety awards including Cal/OSHA’s VPP Star status for top safety programs and standards in Carlsbad and Irvine; the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s WRAP award for recycling diversion results and Clean Air Champion award for efforts to reduce air pollution and global warming from the Air Pollution Control District of San Diego.

Small Business Workshops

Upcoming SCORE San Diego Workshops:

• Aug. 13 – Legal Issues for Small Businesses: Organizational Structure – 9 a.m. to noon at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Aug. 14 – QuickBooks Basic – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Aug. 16 – Customer Service: The Key to Business Success – 9 a.m. to noon at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).

• Aug. 17 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).

• Aug. 18 – Internet Marketing 302: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Aug. 20 – Financing Your Business – Carlsbad – 9:30 a.m. to noon at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Aug. 21 – Costing, Pricing, Break-Even Analysis – 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Aug. 23 – Financial Statements – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).

• Aug. 24 – Internet Marketing 303: Social Media – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Aug. 25 –Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).

• Aug. 26 – Effective Marketing – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Aug. 27 – Internet Marketing 304: LinkedIn – 9 a.m. to noon at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Aug. 28 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Aug. 31 – Import/Export – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

For more information, call (619) 557-7272 or visit score-sandiego.org.

The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. (619) 906-4104.