Neighboring Arizona counties: Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Mohave and Yavapai;
Neighboring Colorado county: Montezuma;
Neighboring New Mexico counties: Catron, Cibola, McKinley and San Juan;
Neighboring Utah counties: Kane and San Juan.
Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, & Dewey/Humboldt
Though the rural setting of the South Rim of Grand Canyon Village can pose a few minor setbacks for running a media consulting business, the good far outweighs the bad for Elise Burnette.
“High-speed internet is the only thing I miss,” said Burnette. “Sometimes I have to head to Flagstaff in the middle of a project to upload the client’s project there in order to meet deadlines. But I knew that moving here and it’s just part of the struggles of operating your business.”
Citing that smaller cities fit her lifestyle, Burnette specializes in graphic design, multi-media and marketing and simply refers to herself as a media consultant. “I’m a full-service provider for everything my clients might need for marketing,” she said. “I create logos, photos, packages, brochures and website design, both back- and front-end management.”
As if that’s not enough, Burnette also specializes in print advertisements, graphic design, audio editing, video editing, photography and demographic/target marketing.
Burnette’s clients include distilleries, equipment manufacturers and a rock band and are based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and even one in India.
Steven Cage, owner of Cage and Sons Distilling Systems in Alberta, Canada, said, “I trust Elise with all of my media and marketing. She does great work and has increased our business over the years threefold.”
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Burnette attended Northern Arizona University (NAU), where she met her husband, Chris. “We always wanted to return to this area,” she said. When Chris was offered a position at Grand Canyon National Park, he accepted and their dream was fulfilled.
While at NAU, Burnette studied electronic media, along with career and technical education. She worked for KNAZ and UTV NAU’s university television station, as technical director, director and chief video editor. “NAU was the only school my mother would allow me to attend,” she said. “She was a graduate of their art department in 1974 and was dead set on me attending there, also.”
In the last 10 years, Burnette and her family have lived in seven different states. “During this time, I went back to school and received a graduate degree in communications.”
An interesting fact about Burnette is that she, along with her husband, owned and operated Shawnee Bend Farms and Coulter & Payne Farm Distillery in Union, Missouri.
“We produced high-quality moonshine, vodka and bourbon in small batches using traditional Appalachian methods and grains that we grew on our own farm,” she said.
That undertaking led the Burnettes to publish a book, “Coulter & Payne Farm Distillery’s 101 Uses For Moonshine,” addressing everything from the history of moonshining to social skills to practical housekeeping hints, medicinal uses, recipes and more.
“Our book features my photography, illustration and design,” said Burnette. “It was really fun to write and incorporate my art and design skills.”
Burnette generally works evenings after her two children go to bed. Her late afternoons are spent hiking along the rim or riding her electric bike with her family.
“Most of my tedious and creative work is done after 8 p.m.. I typically get to bed at 1 a.m.”
The Burnettes’ book can be found at schifferbooks.com and Amazon. QCBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN
Tony Carcoba feared the pandemic would crush his electric bike rental business. Opened on July 4, 2019, Prescott Ebike was slowly gaining awareness and popularity when COVID-19 rolled in.
With the uncertainty of the new virus, Carcoba closed the business through much of spring. He opened again June 1, confident that he could offer a safe, fun experience. “It’s the perfect COVID business. We wear masks while we’re at the trailhead loading and unloading bikes,” he said. “Riders can keep a safe distance from each other and enjoy the fresh air and being outdoors in the amazing scenery.”
Carcoba expected recreationists would be ready to be out of their homes, but he had no idea just how busy he was about to become. “People really wanted to get outside after sheltering in place for months,” he said. “We were crazy busy all summer.”
Prescott Ebike is a mobile business that books by appointment only. Customers will find the website informative and easy to navigate. After booking, they quickly receive correspondence with a map directing them to the trailhead where they will meet, like the trailhead for the Prescott Peavine Trail and Iron King Trail.
“This is our most popular ride. Watson Lake and the Granite Dells are beautiful. And, within a few minutes, you can really feel like you are in the wilderness, immersed in nature.
For most riders during the two-hour self-tour, they can cover about 17 miles, take some water breaks and capture some pictures. The wide pathway on the Peavine follows an old railbed and offers breathtaking views of the lake and stunning rock formations.
Carcoba says riders also enjoy a two-hour spin around downtown Prescott as well as half or full day rentals. He has partnered with local hotels such as Springhill Suites by Marriott and the Residence Inn by Marriott Prescott to offer ebike rentals to guests. “They can make a reservation and we will meet them at the hotel or we can pick them up and take them to the trail.”
He is working with Point of Rocks RV park and also the Prescott Pines Christian Camp of Yavapai County to offer the service to members. He is interested in expanding this service to other businesses, such as Airbnbs, as well.
For those who have never experienced an ebike, he explains that it is like riding a regular bike, except you get a push going up hills. Riders can adjust the level of torque, which will power the bikes to 13 miles an hour. The Class 2 ebikes are designed go 23 miles an hour, but Carcoba has limited their speed for safety.
A machinist since he was a teen, Carcoba owns and operates Toro Manufacturing in Chino Valley, which creates aerospace components such as spindles, gears, shafts and valves for airplanes and the dollies that move them. The business also makes parts for telescopes, jet skis and motorcycles. The name Toro came from the first two letters of Tony’s name and the first two letters of his wife’s name, Robbie. The couple has two sons.
In addition, Carcoba teaches CNC machining in community education night classes at Yavapai College.
Carcoba was first introduced to electric bikes on a family vacation in Santa Monica, California, a few years ago. He purchased one for his wife, Robbie, and then found his regular bike couldn’t keep up with her. “Now I can go all day on the electric bike and feel like I’m in my 20s again,” he said. “It’s really fun!”
He thought there might be others who would feel the same way. He researched business trends and market growth and predicted ebikes would find their niche.
“I believe the success of the business is because of the demographics we reach,” said Carcoba. “Mostly, our customers are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Some of them haven’t ridden a bike for 15 years.”
Tripadvisor gives Prescott Ebike five stars. “Our family took the Peavine Trail with the Ebikes and it really is a must-do activity. The sights are amazing. We were able to stop and take some really great pictures. The bikes are super easy to use and make for a really fun ride,” wrote a customer who rented in January.
Another customer rated Prescott Ebike five stars plus in February. “Could not have asked for a better experience on a great spring Saturday morning. Took the 11 a.m. self-guided two-hour ebike rental for the Iron King and Peavine trails (total cost was $50 per ebike). Tony, the owner, goes out of his way to make sure you have all you need and are prepared. He will train you on the bike and answer all your questions. The two hours flew by! Highly recommend.”
Carcoba plans to offer his ebike rentals all year. His vision is to expand the business to other Northern Arizona communities.
For more information, call 928-83E-BIKE. To book online, visit prescottebike.com. QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
The teddy bear cholla sure sounds cuddly, but don’t let it fool you. The spines on these prolific desert plants are often barbed, like a little fishhook. The cactus itself grows in a collection of smaller pieces. The pieces easily disconnect from the main stem and their needles are designed to catch and hold onto anything that comes near them, like you. It’s not unusual to find them hitching a ride on your shoe, ankle, backpack or bike tire. Once they grab on, you really don’t want to use your fingers to remove them, no matter how steady and careful you think you are. You can trust me on this because, as I type this column, there is a barb buried in my thumb and my forefinger on my left hand. You can picture how they got there.
If you’ve ever had a barb break off and get lodged under the skin in your finger or elsewhere, the irritant will be with you for a while, not unlike grudges, hurts, guilt, resentment, anger and jealousy.
You can think of these negative emotions as pesky and painful little thorns that can fester and needle you until they work their way out of your system. Therapists say these prickly irritants can impede our ability to freely move forward in certain areas of our life, or in my case when typing the letter G. Ugh. Ow.
For cactus pricks, you may want to soak in warm water with some Epsom salts. For needling emotions, you might consider writing a letter, says Roy DuPrez.
DuPrez is the founder and owner of Back2Basics, a Northern Arizona outdoor adventure recovery program designed to help young men conquer addictions. “You don’t want to be constantly hating on somebody or yourself,” he says. “I’ve seen people get sick as a result of staying in these emotions.”
Part of the Back2Basics recovery process is taking a personal inventory, for example, understanding how you’ve harmed someone, or how you’ve felt harmed and what part you’ve played in that offense. “Maybe someone is feeling resentment for an institution that fired him, or a school that suspended him or a brother that hit him with a baseball bat. It’s important for the individual to come clean and reveal to himself where he was at fault.”
Moving forward may require a letter that will never be sent. “You may have been the tornado in someone else’s life and now you’re feeling great about yourself,” says DuPrez. “But you don’t need to disrupt someone else’s life to make you feel better.”
And that’s when a good heartfelt unstamped letter may be just the tweezers you need to pluck that unresolved hurt right out of your body.
There are many instances in our professional and personal lives when unfinished business – insults flung in the office, actions by associates that seem unfair, forgotten dates by our partners – get into our heads and keep us in pain. We feel bruised, but as big people, we know we’ll get over it. Or not. Therapists understand the damage we do to our outlook, our ability to focus or sleep, and our health when we swallow offenses or prickly emotions.
By the way, cholla and some of their cactus friends have hair-like spines called glochids. If one should get into your mouth or throat, chew and swallow bread. Unfortunately, bread doesn’t always help with emotional barbs, at least not for long, not even warm baked sourdough dripping with butter.
As a young reporter, I remember an afternoon of much fuming in the general manager’s office of the television station where I worked. I had felt manipulated, tricked and used by what I mistakenly thought was an authentic news source. My brain was spinning with just exactly what I wanted to say to this person. My boss was amused, but also recognized a teaching moment when he saw one. He suggested I write a letter.
Perfect! I jumped to my feet, loaded with dark energy and focused on this seething letter I was already writing in my head. However, in his calm, gentle manner, he slowed me down and told me that I would not be sending this letter. I would be tearing it up.
WHAT?! I screamed inside my heart, the way we’re instructed to do on roller coasters during the pandemic.
He just smiled, although I’m pretty sure I did not. I marched my way back to the newsroom and proceeded to write a brilliant and dramatic unmailable letter.
Later that afternoon, he strolled through the newsroom as he often did and smiled as we dashed about to meet our deadlines. I had my head down at my computer, working away on my story, although I could feel his eyes on me. I glanced up and he was smiling. “How is everything?” he asked in his no-hurry Southern gentlemanly way.
As I took a quick inventory of how everything was, I had to admit I was feeling pretty good. The letter was ripped up and in the recycle bin and I had moved on to something else. My mind and body were satisfied that the matter had been dealt with and the anger and tension were gone.
“Carrying unspoken words is like carrying rocks in a pack. They have energy and weight,” says Don Berlyn, a hypnotherapist who has been using the letter-writing technique in his practice for years. “Your subconscious doesn’t know time or place,” he says. “When we replay those negative hurts, it’s as if we are being hurt all over again. When you go into the past, all the senses will react as if it’s happening right now. Writing a letter to get those words out allows you to let go of that weight and be free of the unspoken past.”
But, Berlyn is very clear. These are letters you don’t send. He shares a story from a hypnotherapy course he took in Santa Fe, New Mexico, years ago. By the way, there is plenty of cactus there, too, and ways to cause yourself pain. Here’s one:
As Berlyn recalls, the instructor asked the class to participate in the letter-writing exercise. One class member wrote to his dad, angry at him for treating him like a child and blaming him for his inability to launch into the adult world.
The student mailed the letter. His father read the letter. The student was promptly cut off from the family fortune. Ugh. Ow.
Here’s the take-away. “Burning that letter turns those words and hurts into smoke and ash,” says Berlyn.
Ah yes! This is a TWO-step process. Don’t forget the burning part. QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens
Bonnie Stevens is a public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com.
If Fred Stuvek, Jr., were your job coach, you would no doubt show up early, stand up straight, shoulders back and answer confidently and loudly “yes, sir” to whatever advice he is offering.
Stuvek is a take-no-prisoners, accept-no-excuses kind of guy who plays tough and aims to win. He has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for achievements in football, basketball, baseball and track, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy after lettering three years as quarterback for the Midshipmen. This former Naval officer transitioned into the business world, where he held commanding positions around the world. He also created and sold an international medical imaging start-up and earned an MBA in his spare time.
So, do you want to complain about how difficult the job market is during a global pandemic, battered economy and record unemployment? I didn’t think so.
Just as Tom Hanks told us “There’s no crying in baseball,” you might expect Fred Stuvek to say, “There’s no whimpering in an economic crisis.”
Instead, he wants you, along with recent graduates or anyone making a fresh start, to get your head right to get what you want in life. Whether he’s speaking to you from the war room, the boardroom or the locker room, Stuvek delivers straight talk for tough times and a strategic road map for you to succeed. Is that clear?!
All right, then. The margin of error in the battle for jobs is narrower than ever, he says, so “Don’t F*** This Up!” That is the name of his new book.
“I’ve been fortunate to have had a range of experience – athletic, military and business – and the one thing I’ve found is that success is not one-dimensional. It entails a number of components that have to be there,” he says. “These same principles can be applied anywhere for anything.”
Believing in Yourself
Stuvek’s book begins with finding something you believe in and getting good at it. But, first and foremost, he wants you to believe in yourself.
“The single most important quality for achieving any degree of success and happiness is belief,” he writes. “This simple word is one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. It is the central force behind success, and it is the key trait found in every accomplished person. If you do not believe in yourself, how do you expect someone else to believe in you? Without belief, you will never realize your full potential.”
Believing in yourself and building the self-confidence to do so, he says, is about developing a positive mindset, practicing good habits and making good decisions. “A person who believes in himself or herself cannot be defeated. They have a warrior mindset.”
Physical fitness, he contends, plays into the development of self-confidence, as it creates more energy, concentration, creativity and a sharper memory.
He also promotes balance.
“At the Naval Academy, part of selection and training involves what is called the ‘whole-person concept,’ with emphasis on the importance of being well-rounded and well-trained mentally, physically and spiritually. An individual who keeps all three of these areas in balance is more productive, more efficient and a better teammate.”
Getting in Fighting Condition
Stuvek wants his readers to be at their best. That, he says, requires an honest assessment – knowing what motivates you, along with your strengths and weaknesses. “You have to be realistic about your skills and willing to fill in the gaps. When you are applying for a job, you’re not going to have all the boxes checked. You may need to improve or develop your skill set.”
He shares a personal story about motivation and action when he decided to earn his MBA. “I was sitting in a meeting in a corporate office when the company leaders were talking about positions and what candidates needed to be successful. One said, ‘Fred, you’ve got your MBA, right?’ My answer was, ‘Not yet, but it will be finished in two years.’”
When he left the office, he drove immediately to a university. Before he was even accepted into the Master of Business Administration program, he was sitting in on classes. “If you believe you have a shortfall in some areas and you have control over that, take the initiative and do it.”
For those who say they don’t have enough time to improve themselves, he has this to say: “That is often code for ‘I am not organized, and I don’t know how to plan.’”
The book covers the importance of getting a resume in order and incorporating your network, including family members, instructors and former employers, to open the door to an interview and potential employer, rather than sending out hundreds of applications on the internet.
Finally, Stuvek wants you to understand that today’s job market requires a thick skin. He wants you to get tough and adopt a never-ever-give-up mentality.
“Accept the fact that this is going to be a lengthy process with disappointments. You’re going to have to face rejection and you can’t take it personally.”
He reminds us that everyone is dealing with the same challenging economy, “but many do not have the focus, self-discipline and determination to follow through and do what is necessary to lift themselves above the fray.”
To make you combat-ready, Stuvek is on standby, prepared to initiate basic training. “Don’t F*** This Up! How to Get What You Want in Life” is available on Amazon. QCBN
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
The Landings of Prescott Valley offers comfort, luxury and safety for seniors. With 106 total units of secured and assisted living opportunities, life at The Landings of Prescott Valley provides seniors with the comfortable luxury they deserve.
Our new, under-construction community aims to provide a new, balanced option for senior living in the area. During the past year, our building has gone up quickly, and we now are seeing it all come together with the last remaining embellishing touches. Our beautiful community mimics the blues and soft grays of the Prescott sky with copious natural lighting and vaulted ceilings. The unique layout is flat on one floor, so all residents get to experience the gorgeous mountain views that surround their new home. With personalized care tailored to each individual, life enrichment programming, and all-inclusive pricing, our team is here to keep your loved ones safe.
Safety has been a hot topic for 2020, and we want you to know that it remains a priority for us, too. Throughout the construction process of our new assisted living community, and as we continue to finish up construction, hire staff, welcome residents and open our community, additional safety measures and infection-control protocols have been in place at The Landings of Prescott Valley.
Our community will not only boast incredible amenities, but will also employ a team of senior living experts and compassionate, attentive caregivers. I personally have two amazing children – one is an assistant principal in Durham, North Carolina, and the other is a commercial airline pilot based in Phoenix. They will both tell you that nothing is more important to me than family. The love of my life is my nine-year-old grandson. My favorite thing about working in senior living, an industry I’ve served in for more than 10 years, is the sense of family that develops within a community. I’m very excited to be a part of the vision to bring Southern hospitality and gracious senior living to my future community family in Prescott Valley. My team and I look forward to welcoming you to The Landings of Prescott Valley in person, soon! QCBN
By Gail Hitt
Gail Hitt is the executive director of The Landings of Prescott Valley.
The recently-announced affiliation of Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC) with Dignity Health Arizona Division (DHAD) is yet another example of the ever-continuing renovation and expansion of the region’s largest medical facility.
Eighteen projects are underway across the YRMC system, including the construction of a 100,000-square-foot health and wellness center. “When finished in late 2021, the new center will be home to ambulatory medical practices and other essential outpatient services,” said YRMC President and CEO John Amos. “That multi-million-dollar construction project is immediately adjacent to the new multi-level parking structure on the YRMC West campus.”
When new facilities are complete, the estimated worth is about $71 million.
Part of the improvements include a new state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory that features vein mapping technology at the James Family Heart Center. “We made this investment to give our patients the finest care here at home,” Amos said.
Also opened in the James Family Heart Center is a new cardiovascular intensive care unit.
Affiliation with DHAD will bring together two leading health care systems committed to providing accessible, affordable and innovative health services to the broader community.
Currently, Dignity Health operates six acute-care hospitals in the Phoenix area. Among them are St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. DHAD offers Level 1 trauma services, lung transplants and robotic surgery and has several clinics, specialty hospitals, urgent cares, insurance providers and other clinical and community partnerships.
Earlier, Amos said of the affiliation that much of the conversation was oriented to expanding the network by building additional specialty clinics in the Quad Cities so that patients did not have to travel out of town for such care.
“Dignity Health’s relationship with Creighton University’s School of Medicine in Phoenix is very attractive,” said Amos. “We believe that young doctors prefer to stay close to the communities where they complete their medical training, and we at YRMC feel we have a lot to offer here in the Quad Cities.”
YRMC is evaluating technology as well as physical structures and care models, said Amos. “Through a collaboration with Dignity Health, we will have access to talent and resources to support our strategies for service growth and development.”
Praising YRMC for its actions in meeting challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amos said, “I’m proud of the way our medical staff, employees and volunteers met and continue to meet the daily demands presented by the pandemic. We all understand our role in the community. It hasn’t been easy, but our community can be proud to have a healthcare team here in the Quad Cities that is as good – or better – than any team in the country.”
YRMC has resumed elective surgeries that were put on hold during the early months of the pandemic.
Originally incorporated 78 years ago, YRMC is one of the largest employers in the Quad Cities area. Approximately 400 credentialed physicians work the medical center. An additional 2,000 employees fill roles in the various YRMC facilities. It has 25 primary and specialty clinics. With campuses in Prescott and Prescott Valley, it also has a 174-acre property – yet to be developed – north of the Prescott Regional Airport.
Looking ahead, Amos said YRMC priorities will include the continued development of the breast-care program, oncology services, orthopedics and neurosciences. QCBN
By Ray Newton, QCBN
SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES), a developer of proprietary technologies for managing animal pest populations through fertility control, is scheduled to participate in a virtual presentation and fireside chat at the October 2020 Lytham Partners Virtual Investor Growth Conference on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 12:00pm ET (9:00am PT).
A webcast of the presentation will be posted under the investor relations section of SenesTech’s website at senestech.investorroom.com, can be accessed at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1621/37784 or www.lythampartners.com/virtual. A replay of the presentation will be available following the event.
Management will also be participating in virtual one-on-one meetings. To arrange a meeting, please contact Lytham Partners at 1×1@lythampartners.com or visit www.lythampartners.com/virtual.
About SenesTech
SenesTech is changing the model for pest management by targeting one of the root causes of the problem: reproduction.
ContraPest® is an innovative technology with an approach that targets the reproductive capabilities of both sexes in rat populations, inducing egg loss in female rats and impairing sperm development in males. Using a proprietary bait delivery method, ContraPest® is dispensed in a highly palatable liquid formulation that promotes sustained consumption by rat communities. ContraPest® is designed, formulated and dispensed to be low hazard for handlers and non-target species such as wildlife, livestock and pets, where the active ingredients break down rapidly.
We believe ContraPest® will establish a new paradigm in rodent control, resulting in a decreased reliance on lethal options. For more information visit the SenesTech website at www.senestech.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may,” “future,” “plan” or “planned,” “will” or “should,” “expected,” “anticipates,” “draft,” “eventually” or “projected.” You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, our expectation regarding sales commitments, our expectation regarding the conversion of sales commitments and programs to revenue, our belief that our product is more humane, less harmful to the environment and more effective than traditional methods, and our belief that ContraPest will establish a new paradigm in rodent control without environmental effects of rodenticides. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.
The recently completed 21,982 SF Children’s Health Center will enable Northern Arizona Healthcare to better serve children from across our region.
Opening October 5th, 2020, this innovative design, completed in partnership with Corgan, transformed an existing Flagstaff, AZ commercial space into a state-of-the-art pediatric healthcare facility that includes general care exam rooms, behavioral health observation suite, audiology suite, physical therapy gyms, X-ray and radiology rooms, orthopedic cast room, nurses station, a teaching kitchen, a playground area and ADA upgrades to site access points. Learn more about this exciting new addition to the region’s healthcare community here.
From complex tenant improvements in active and occupied healthcare environments to fast track new construction of state-of-the-art medical facilities – we are known for our service, expertise, and safety standards, as well as for our delivery of superior projects that meet our client’s schedule, budget, and durability expectations.
Prescott’s technology sector revved up in May with two 2018 aerospace graduates from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) returning as entrepreneurial professionals to jumpstart their new business venture, Katalyst Space Technologies, LLC.
“While many of my students over the years wanted to stay and start their careers in Prescott, Ghonhee Lee is the first one to actually do it,” said Rick Gibson, an associate professor in ERAU’s School of Business and a mentor to Lee. “I think Katalyst Space Technologies will be very successful.”
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ghonhee Lee had kept ties with Prescott while starting his career with a major aerospace industry firm in Tucson after graduation. Chief Technology Officer Nicholas Liapis went on to earn his master’s in aerospace engineering at ERAU-Daytona. Co-founder Kaleb Beebout acquired four patents for inventions in a previous startup.
“We want to challenge ourselves to the limit,” Lee said. “The industry needs innovators to drive acceleration in satellite development. Our technology is absolutely necessary to push the world to adopt more sustainable approaches to satellite operations.”
Katalyst specializes in satellite design and architecture to build satellites from the ground up utilizing systems and components readily updated and replaced at the end of their useful life, Lee explained. The firm offers proprietary Communication Network Design to government, commercial, private and public sector entities such as global satellite telecommunications operators, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
“Our company culture respects people as individuals with a strong emphasis on different needs, bypassing a rigid organizational structure that essentially pays people to sit in chairs for nine hours a day,” Lee said. “This cultural approach, along with our philosophy of work, is just as exciting to me as our technology.”
Lee, Liapis and Beebout “thrive on wearing many hats,” Lee explained. “While my focus is the long-term strategy and vision, Nick dials in the engineering solutions, and Kaleb pushes innovation. Our strength stems from individual immersion deep into these very diverse disciplines and the ability to ‘cross over’ when making mission-critical decisions.”
With a growth trajectory to 27 full-time employees by year-end 2021, Katalyst just wrapped up a five-student summer internship program and currently supports two interns in fall co-ops. The firm was in a unique position over the summer to offer internship opportunities to students as other programs collapsed under the pandemic.
Internships hasten “proper professional guidance of highly motivated student talent, the growth opportunity for participants to expand well beyond the standard curriculum at their schools, and the potential to introduce a ‘rapid-fire accelerated green-field project that comes around once in a career to start from scratch,’” Lee said. “It is amazing what a team can accomplish when you trust and empower them with the final responsibility while providing the support they need to get the job done. Our summer internship has been an excellent example of synergizing with and capitalizing on the untapped resources of the area.”
Prescott’s “natural beauty, strong outdoor recreation, tight community, and very strong backbone of intellectual talent pool” drew Katalyst to the community, Lee shared. “We love all that Prescott has to offer and want to blend that into our vision for the future.”
ERAU Professor of Cyber Intelligence and Security Jon Haass, Ph.D., said that the “timing dovetails with the city’s newly-approved seed investment in the Center for the Future business incubator, for which the Prescott City Council just released $92,500 in preliminary startup funds that will allow outreach and attraction to other companies like Katalyst.”
Meanwhile, Katalyst has received support from the Northern Arizona Technology Alliance (NATA), former ERAU Chancellor Frank Ayers, and Scott Hathcock and David Johns of Flagstaff’s Moonshot at the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET).
“These young people started their company with money they saved,” said Jim Robb, NATA founding member and City of Prescott economic development consultant. “They left jobs at Boeing and Raytheon to incubate in Prescott. They are to be admired for their courage and inspiration to help with Prescott’s future. I enjoy working with them because they are as enthusiastic as they are smart.”
Lee’s motivation for Katalyst arose from disenchantment with what he described as the slow pace of development at traditional aerospace companies, despite industry promises of deep space exploration and colonies on the moon.
“Our ability to build the right team and intellectual capital is critical to our success here in Prescott,” Lee concluded. “Just as our products offer incredible flexibility to our customers, we as a team must remain flexible, adaptable and agile. It’s all about mindset and willpower: the mindset to challenge accepted norms and the willpower to take novel approaches to the wall.
“Prescott has a lot of potential, but as it is, it doesn’t offer everything we need to keep our company here in the long run. We need something like the Center for the Future to make that happen.” QCBN
By Sue Marceau, QCBN