Daily Business Report-July 26, 2016
Debbie Turner and Conrad Prebys. (Photo credit: Scripps Health)
Conrad Prebys: San Diego Philanthropist’s
Deep Generosity Enriched the Community
Times of San Diego
Conrad Prebys, a generous financial backer of San Diego organizations, including the zoo and educational and medical facilities, has died of cancer, Scripps Health reported Monday.
Prebys, 82, died Sunday at Scripps Mercy Hospital with his family by his side, according to a statement released by his family.
“Born with a giving spirit, Conrad’s deep generosity has helped strengthen and enrich the community in many important ways, including health care, medical research, music, theater, youth services and wildlife preservation,” the statement said. “Survivors include life partner Debbie Turner. We ask for privacy during this time of loss.”
Raised in a working-class neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana, Prebys developed a heart condition at the age of 8 that forced him to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle, so he learned to play piano and developed an appreciation of the arts.
He later graduated from Indiana University and made a fortune in real estate and construction in Texas and California.
His philanthropy has made the Prebys name nearly ubiquitous in San Diego, from a major cardiovascular care center in La Jolla to a student union at San Diego State University and a major exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. His name also adorns the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla.
“The entire Scripps Health family is deeply saddened by the loss of Conrad Prebys,” a statement from the health care provider said. “It’s impossible to overstate the important role that he played in supporting our organization and the entire San Diego region.
“Conrad had a deep desire to help people during their darkest hours of illness by providing comfort and hope. ‘To shorten a man’s suffering, to extend their happy life, what more can you do in the world? This is the legacy I would like to leave.’ Those were Conrad’s words. And, without a doubt, he fulfilled that legacy through years of philanthropy that will benefit patients and others in our community for generations to come.
“Conrad Prebys was more than a generous Scripps supporter — he was our patient and our friend. We were all touched by his kindness, his enthusiasm for life and his deep humanity. Our warmest thoughts and prayers go out to Debbie Turner, his partner in life and in his mission to give back to the community he loved.”
For a list of major gifts by Conrad Prebys, click here
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Carlsbad-Based ViaSat
Lands Federal Contract
By City News Service
Carlsbad-based ViaSat was awarded a $33 million federal contract on Monday to provide in-flight broadband Internet and communications services for Air Force One and other aircraft used by senior U.S. officials.
ViaSat, which provides in-flight Internet for several airlines, was given the contract by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency.
According to the company, ViaSat will provide government leaders with streaming high-definition video, two-way communications through video conferencing or voice phone calls, and real-time intelligence and other data for critical decision-making.
“ViaSat’s high-capacity global in-flight Internet service ensures executive and government leaders and their teams can stay connected, informed and productive, maximizing the effectiveness of time in-flight with ‘Situation Room and Command Center’ connectivity in the sky,” said Ken Peterman, senior vice president and general manager of the firm’s Government Systems Division.
Peterman said the company is “proud to be delivering remarkably fast data speeds and an abundance of capacity to support the in-flight communications needs of our government’s senior leadership on Air Force One and other special air mission aircraft.”
The value of the contract, which runs through next May and is followed by two six-month options, could increase to $73.2 million, ViaSat said.
Michelle Muñiz Receives
Woodruff Memorial Scholarship
University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate has named Michelle Muñiz as the 2016 winner of the Daniel B. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship.
The award named after the late Daniel B. Woodruff, is given each semester to the man or woman pursuing a career in real estate and who best epitomizes “Woodruff’s positive qualities of academic excellence, warmth, determination, intellectual curiosity and unabashed love for humankind.”
Muñiz, began her career pursuit in real estate in 2004 while her husband was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She began taking real estate classes while her son was in school and in 2006, upon her husband’s return from deployment, Muñiz sat for the real estate exam.
“I realized that real estate had the power to connect people and communities,” says Muñiz. “I knew immediately that real estate was the perfect career because it allowed me to make a difference.”
As a real estate agent, Muñiz enjoyed assisting first-time home buyers. Simultaneously, she invested in a number of properties and established a property management firm. In 2012, Muñiz and her family relocated to Yokosuka, Japan for a three-year tour. She continued to operate her business remotely and during that time reached out to the MSRE recruitment team at the School of Business at USD to learn more about the graduate real estate program. Three years later, Muñiz applied and was accepted into the MSRE program. As part of the 2015-2016 MSRE cohort, she participated in a trip to France as part of the USD MIPIM team, serving as an official blogger. Muñiz also held two graduate assistantships and interned for nine months with the San Diego Housing Commission. Muñiz graduated in May with a 3.88 GPA.
Muñiz is currently a project management assistant with Affirmed Housing Group Inc., an award-winning affordable housing developer in San Diego. She owns and manages a portfolio of 16 single-family residential units in various states across the United States. “In my new role, I am fulfilling my passion for helping others by assisting in the development of housing for the homeless in San Diego,” says Muñiz. She says that she is also interested in establishing a scholarship for women who are interested in pursuing a career in real estate.
Doug Manchester Donates Historic
Hand Press to San Diego History Center
Developer Doug Manchester has donated a historic Washington Hand Press to the San Diego History Center. The press and typesetting were acquired by James Copley for its historical value and was displayed for decades at the headquarters of the Copley Press in Mission Valley. Manchester is a former publisher of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Samuel Rust-patented Washington Hand Press was introduced in 1829. R. Hoe and Company gained control of his patents in 1835 and continued to manufacturer these presses into the 1900’s. The press, which weighs approximately 2,500 pounds, is identical to the one brought to San Diego in 1851 by John Judson Ames to print the San Diego Herald, San Diego’s first newspaper. It is also identical to the press brought to Old Town San Diego from San Andreas, Calif., in 1868 by William Jeff Gatewood and Ed Bushyhead to publish their newspaper, The San Diego Union.
The press required two men (a printer and an inker) to operate. Two pages were printed at a time and a good team could print about 175 sheets per hour. Pages one and four were generally printed on Mondays and contained no current news. Pages two and three were printed on Wednesdays and contained local and current news.
The Washington Hand Press will become a centerpiece in the launch and expansion of the History Center’s permanent exhibit “San Diego: A Place of Promise” at the San Diego History Center located in Balboa Park.
Brain Corp. Moves to New
Development Lab in San Diego
Brain Corp., a San Diego-based tech company that develops artificial intelligence to automate existing commercial equipment, has moved into a new facility in San Diego’s high-tech corridor of Sorrento Valley.
The company will operate from a 23,000-square-foot research and development site located at 9401 Waples St.
“As a quickly growing company, we needed a larger, more sophisticated space to complete development of our first robotic product, which will be launched later this year,” said Eugene Izhikevich, founder and CEO of Brain Corp. “Our growth has been so exciting and this new research and design facility is critical to support that growth. The new location showcases our passion for technology and our commitment to our employees.”
To celebrate the launch of the new location, Brain Corp. will host an open house for the media this summer, providing a first-hand glimpse of its new product release, EMMA (Enabling Mobile Machine Automation). EMMA is the company’s cutting-edge A.I. technology that converts commercial service machines, such as industrial floor care equipment, into self-driving vehicles capable of navigating complex environments and performing tasks by themselves, without direct human control.
Cubic Global Receives $13.9 Million
To Support Bradley Fighting Vehicle
Cubic Global Defense, a business unit of Cubic Corp., has been awarded a $13.9 million contract by Oasis Advanced Engineering to produce and deliver Crewstation Subsystems in support of the Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle Conduct of Fire Trainer (COFT).
The COFT enables the Bradley Fighting Vehicle to perform critical skills required in combat and designed for gunnery proficiency. OASIS is the prime contractor for this program to support the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
Cubic received a base contract of $4.18 million to produce and deliver nine Mobile and four Institutional Crewstation Subsystems with associated spares. Cubic also received an option award of $9.74 million where Cubic will deliver an additional 21 Mobile and 10 Institutional Crewstation Subsystems with associated spares, for a total of 44 systems at nearly $14 million to be delivered worldwide. Base and option awards provide both Cubic and customer continuous deployment of systems starting from April 2017 to March 2018.
Cubic Global Announces $73 Million
Task Order for Marine Aviation Training
Cubic Global Defense announced the award of a five-year, $73 million task order to support aviation training for the U.S. Marine Corps, under the U.S. Navy’s Fielded Training Systems contract. The follow-on contract is the third consecutive award Cubic has received.
Under the task order, awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division in Orlando, Fla., Cubic will provide operations and maintenance support of military aviation training devices and simulators at various Marine Corps Air Stations, including MCAS Cherry Point, MCAS New River, MCAS Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, MCAS Yuma and Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay.
In addition, Cubic will provide simulator and academic classroom training for Marine Corps pilots and other aircrew. At MCAS Yuma – home of the Marine Air Weapons and Tactics Squadron One and considered to be the Marine Corps Center of Excellence for aviation training – Cubic will provide instructional system design and development support; revision and maintenance of courseware and curriculum; network management and maintenance; and training system management.
