Daily Business Report — Dec. 2, 2010

Mailed Ballots Topped Voter Turnout at the Polls

More than half of the votes cast in the Nov. 2 general election in San Diego County were cast by mail  ballots, exceeding the voter turnout at the polls, according to Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler. Of the 926,000 votes cast in the election, 55 percent were in the form of mailed ballots.  “Mail ballots  were a very big part of this election,” said Seiler. “We are pleased that people are taking advantage of  the vote by mail process.”

While certifying the election results on Wednesday, Seiler said that 64 percent of the registered  voters in San Diego cast ballots, the highest turnout in 28 years in a gubernatorial election. San Diego’s voter turnout rate was the highest in Southern California. Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties had voter turnout rates between 53 percent and 62 percent. The voter turnout rate in California was approximately 59.5 percent.

A few local races were decided by a narrow margin. Second and third place finishers for the city of Coronado council seat were decided by 15 votes, the third and fourth place finishers for the Alpine School District seat were decided by 11 votes, and the third and fourth place finishers for the Canebrake County Water District seat were decided by 2 votes.

S.D. Convention Center Corp. Executive Honored

Jeff Pinkley, senior event manager at the San Diego Convention Center Corp., has been named 2010 Distinguished Convention Services Manager of the Year by the Professional Convention Management Association. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of convention services. Pinkley was acknowledged for his professionalism, his dedication to his clients and the students he mentors from San Diego State University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Program. Pinkley and other Achievement Award winners will be honored at PCMA’s annual meeting on Jan. 10 in Las Vegas. Pinkley joined the corporation in 1997 as an event coordinator. He has been involved in the hospitality industry for almost 20 years. The 2012 PCMA annual meeting will be held at the San Diego Convention Center.

Fine Art Society Has New Home

San Diego Fine Art Society has a new home — the NTC Promenade at 2825 Dewey Road in Point Loma. The offices are located between the San Diego Watercolor Society and the Visions Art Museum. The new 1,100-square-foot space is to accommodate the nonprofit organization’s growth. “As we’re growing, it will be good for us to have a space to showcase our artists’ work and to showcase visiting artists’ work,” said April Game, founding executive director of San Diego Fine Art Society. “We feel the need to start shaking it up in the contemporary art world and bring in some first class shows.” The official grand opening will take place on Dec. 9 in the form of a third birthday soirée for SDFAS called Persistent Illusion. It will include paintings and sculpture by artists who have passed through the Society’s Artist Mentor Program. The event is sponsored by San Diego Magazine. The first official exhibition will open in January, and it will showcase the sculpture of Chinese artist Xiaoye Sun. The exhibition will be curated by local art dealer and gallery owner, Alexander Salazar, the U.S. representative of Sun’s work.

Awarepoint Names President and CEO

San Diego-based Awarepoint has named Jay Deady as the firm’s new president and CEO. Deady’s career has been in health care information technology for 21 years, including experience as a public corporate officer. He was most recently the executive vice president of client solutions for Eclipsys. He left in November after positioning the company for merger with Allscripts. Prior to Eclipsys, Deady was senior vice president and general manager of revenue cycle at McKesson Provider Technologies. He also held general manager and vice president positions with Cerner Corporation and ADAC Healthcare earlier in his career.

Pacific Trust Bank to Name V.P. and Chief Lending Officer

Chang Liu, a veteran of more than 20 years in the commercial banking industry, will be appointed executive vice president and chief lending officer of Pacific Trust Bank, effective on Jan. 3. Liu previously was senior vice president at U.S. Bank, where he managed the Los Angeles, Newport Beach and San Diego offices. Before that he was a senior vice president, senior loan officer and manager of California National Bank’s Los Angeles commercial real estate lending activity. Liu held commercial real estate commercial lending and corporate finance positions at The Fuji Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Bank of California. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA.

Jeffrey Davidow to Retire from Institute of the Americas

Jeffrey Davidow will retire from his position as president of the Institute of the Americas at the end of his second four-year term in May 2011. The announcement was made by David Weaver, chairman of the board of directors. Thousands of professionals in Latin America, the United States and Canada have attended programs organized by Davidow and his staff to promote rational and fair government policies in the region. Weaver noted that Davidow, Vice President S. Lynne Walker and representatives of the institute’s board of directors had just returned from China, where they met with officials to establish programs on China-Latin America relations. Prior to assuming the institute’s presidency in 2003, Davidow served in the United States Foreign Service for 33 years and held presidential appointments under four U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Davidow served, among other posts, as U.S. ambassador to Zambia, Venezuela and Mexico as well as Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere. In early 2008, Davidow was asked by President Obama to serve as his special adviser for the Summit of the Americas, the first occasion that the new U.S. president met with his hemispheric counterparts. The application process for Davidow’s successor will begin in the coming weeks, according to Weaver.

Vibra Bank Hires CFO and SBA Manager

Chula Vista-based Vibra Bank has hired Ricardo Huerta as chief financial officer and Joseph Kennedy as SBA manager. Huerta has been serving San Diego County bank customers for more than a decade. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Neighborhood National Bank and vice president and controller at Borrego Springs Bank. Huerta earned his bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado in Boulder, Colo. Kennedy has more than 20 years of commercial, small business and real estate lending experience. Most recently, he served as vice president and SBA program manager for Pacific Capital Bank. Prior to that, Kennedy was vice president and credit underwriting manager at Sunrise Bank of San Diego. He is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

SDSU Students Rank High in Studying Abroad

San Diego State University students travel to all corners of the earth and their globetrotting adventures have landed the university with a national ranking for students studying abroad. The Institute for International Education “Open Doors Report” ranks SDSU No. 1 in California for number of students studying abroad among universities in the Carnegie category of Research University, High Activity. SDSU also ranks No. 3 in California for all universities, the highest of all universities in the California State University system. Nationally, SDSU ranks No. 22 among all universities for the number of study abroad students—up from No. 30 last year. In 2008-09, the school year upon which the ranking was based, 1,674 SDSU students studied in a different country. In 2009-10, that number increased to 1,835, though enrollment at the university decreased by some 10 percent.

SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops

SCORE San Diego continues its series of low-cost workshops in December.

Workshop fees range from $29 to $109, depending on the program. To register, visit score-sandiego.org.

• Dec. 3 – Managing Grants & Contracts for Non-Profits – 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the San Diego Foundation – Liberty Station (2508 Historic Decatur Rd #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).

• Dec. 4 – 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).

• Dec. 6 – Tax Considerations for Small Business – 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).

• Dec. 6 – Business Plan 101: How to Develop Your Best Competitive Advantage – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $79, $89 at the door).

• Dec. 7 – 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).

• Dec. 8 – Internet Marketing 301: Pay-Per-Click – 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).

• Dec. 9 – Hiring and Managing Employees – 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).

• Dec. 10 – Internet Marketing 202: E-mail Strategy – 9 a.m. to noon Point Loma Nazarene University in Mission Valley (4007 Camino del Rio South, San Diego 92108; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).

• Dec. 11 – 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).

• Dec. 13 – Buying and Selling a Business – 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 $69, $79 at the door).

• Dec. 14 – How to Start and Manage Your Own Business – Carlsbad – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92011; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).

• Dec. 14 – Business Basics 101 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; FREE! Please pre-register).

• Dec. 15 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a 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).

• Dec. 16 – 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).

• Dec. 17 – 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).

• Dec. 18 – 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).

• Dec. 20 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a 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).

For more information regarding SCORE San Diego’s workshop series and locations, call (619) 557-7272.

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.