company updates from 8-koi :: summer 2022
We’re well into the Year of the Tiger, the Chinese zodiac symbolizing strength, power and prosperity. Reminding us that our strength is in our commitment to our core values - passion, excellence, dependability and thoughtfulness - and that our power resides in our ability to help others reach their goals. Prosperity arrives when we focus on our strengths, skills and capabilities and invest in the power of connection. Together we’ll prosper in businesses, in our communities and in our personal lives when we’re true to our values and build connection.

8-koi continues to be a dedicated supporter of Women in Defense Space Coast Chapter and focuses on giving women in STEM a hand up through scholarships. We believe in a more diverse and stable workforce and advancing STEM education and recognizing the important work of women in the national defense and security careers. Through the efforts and generosity of many, WIDSC is able to award deserving women scholarships to help them achieve their STEM education goals. Recently I had the privilege of meeting and awarding those scholarships to the awardees.

In the process, I found this quote to ring true: "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." - Booker T. Washington, American educator, author, orator, and presidential adviser

Our team continues to demonstrate their commitment to our core values and use our power to influence positive change and gains in our community, as you’ll read here in this summer issue of kurrents.

Sincere thanks for your support as we continue to use our strengths and power to do good, be well and actualize prosperity along the way, 
Inga I. Young
Founder and President
NASA Lunabotics Competition Arena Ribbon Cutting at Kennedy Space Center
After a two-year delay, the competition arena designed and constructed by 8-koi made it's official debut at a ribbon cutting celebration on May 23, 2022. The year long competition that begins in September is designed to promote and engage students in the STEM disciplines critical to NASA's missions. The on-site mining event was held on May 22 - 27, 2022, at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation in the Center for Space Education at KSC. Get the full story and see the video and pictures of the NASA STEM Lunabotics Artemis Arena opening, here. 
MAKING GREAT PROGRESS WITH OUR 4 Ps:

People, Programs, Process and Pipeline

The 2ND quarter was another outstanding showing by our People. We continue to gain traction by executing excellent “Human Touch” operations. 

Here are some of the highlights of the second quarter of 2022:

People – We welcomed new team members including: interns, a graphic artist, a contract specialist and project coordinator. Also, we are proud of the team members who've joined us through the DoD Skillsbridge Program, which allow employees to work with us while still on active duty.

Programs
Construction
8-koi’s construction department was recently awarded the Demolish Pole and Electrical Equipment at Whispering Hills School in Titusville, FL.

Design Engineering
Cape Design Engineering successfully captured contracts supporting multiple federal, state and county agencies. Some projects include:
  • Spin Test Facility Design - Phase 1 NGC - Bldg. 67109
  • Technical Support Facility Soffit Design at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL

Healthcare
8-koi provided medical supplies for a group of Urgent Care offices out of Brooklyn, NY.

Technical Administration
8-koi added 46 full-time employees in support of an El Paso, Texas, program.

Pipeline – We continue to leverage our 8(a) eligibility – now valid until April 2023. Recently 8-koi was represented at TSIS2022 in Orlando and NSA's Business in a Minute event in MD-DC. We’ve identified 37 new business development opportunities that we are evaluating for pursuit.

Process – We gained further traction by focusing on continuous improvement, our “Big Rocks,” including completing the annual security review with the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency with superior and commendable ratings; 

As a team we continue to build our strengths and provide the tools needed to gain the skills it takes to win and keep our customers satisfied.

8-koi team members and current customers make our success possible. We appreciate each of you and the trust you place in us.

Onward,
Dean
Dean Rosenquist
Chief Operating Officer
Together we get it done and are committed to getting it right. 
When a challenge arises, like removing a pole that's auger cast into coquina subgrade more than 10 feet down, it’s a team effort. Our 8-koi Construction team, led by Otto Herrera, demonstrated just that for the Air Force Space Command's 45th Contracting Squadron in a recent contract to Demolish Pole and Electrical Equipment on leased property at the Whispering Hills School in Titusville. Putting into practice our shared values: Passion, Excellence, Dependability and Thoughtfulness, our Jacksonville crew – with our engineering team in Merritt Island having their backs and offering support beyond the expected - got that pole down!
8-koi is Gator100 Approved as One of the World's Fastest-Growing Gator Businesses 

UF graduate and 8-koi President, Inga Young, was recognized at the University of Florida's 2022 Gator100 ceremony on April 22, 2022, in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on UF's campus. 8-koi ranked 78 on the list of companies celebrated.
 
The Gator100 List is compiled annually to recognize high-performing businesses around the world that are founded and owned by University of Florida Alumni. Read more and see the pictures here.
Photo by Matt Pendleton
Photography for UF Alumni Association
DESIGN - BUILD - STAFF - SUPPLY

Our Leadership Team is ready to learn more about how 8-koi and CDE can help to meet your 8a and Small Business goals for 2022.
Carlos Badillo to Lead 8-koi Veterans Employee Resource Group

In an 8-koi memo from COO Dean Rosenquist dated June 14, Corporate Recruiter Carlos Badillo was formally recognized as the Program Manager for the newly established Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERGe). The memo states that the VERGe initiative helps to "codify a framework attracting, hiring, retaining, nurturing and developing veterans within our organization."

Carlos is a veteran of both the US Navy and US Army and has concentrated his expertise in talent acquisition to help 8-koi strategize an approach to making the company a veteran employer of choice. Under Carlos' direction, 8-koi was able to advance related policy and programming that garnered the HIRE Vets Gold Medallion recognition received in November 2021.

Read more about 8-koi's Veterans Employee Resource Group at 8-koi.com.
Inga Young Presents $15K in STEM Scholarships with Women In Defense

On June 21st, the Women in Defense Space Coast Chapter gave outstanding students $15,000 in cash scholarships to pursue STEM studies (science, technology, engineering and math) and careers in national defense and security. 8-koi President Inga Young presented the awards while serving in her role as Space Coast Chapter President for the organization. 8-koi has supported the local Women In Defense Chapter since 2018. Read more about the scholarships at SCWID.org.
From left to right: Dr. Amicitia Maloon-Gibson, Inga Young, McKenna Caban and her guest.
Engineers Welcome Here!

We are now accepting resumes.


Contact Carlos Badillo for more information.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
8-koi and, its wholly owned subsidiary, Cape Design Engineering (CDE) are Equal Opportunity Employers. 8-koi and CDE do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. Our commitment to equal opportunity employment applies to all persons involved in our operations and prohibits unlawful discrimination by any employee, including supervisors and co-workers.
PASSION | EXCELLENCE | DEPENDABILITY | THOUGHTFULNESS
MEET THE TEAM :: Lance Beck

CAD/BIM Designer Manager
 
Lance Beck started working for Cape Design Engineering (CDE) in 2007, joining the team as an entry level draftsman. Over time and with experience he now serves as the CAD/BIM manager for the design engineering division.

“Working for CDE is about taking on projects with a willingness to learn skills, having enthusiasm for accuracy and the commitment to see projects through to the end,” Lance said.

He recalls his early days supporting the engineering staff for NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The project involved a redesign of the vehicle service platforms for the Constellation Program, an early successor to the space shuttle program. Since then, Lance has worked a variety of projects including: Eastern Florida State College Health Science and Student Union buildings in Melbourne, NASA Space Shuttle Processing Facility (SSPF) Science Annex and the VAB Platform Redesigns for HB-3 and HB-2, a Wind Turbine on Ascension Island, numerous projects with Palm Beach State College and even a luxury resort in Anguilla called “The Reef.”
 
Most recently, Lance attended the opening ceremony for the Lunabotics student competition at the Kennedy Space Center and was proud to be a member of the 8-koi/CDE team that completed the arena for college teams from around the nation to compete. He takes pride in his work and the planning that goes into it. When designing the internal systems of a new building, he thinks of it as bringing life to a structure.
 
“The HVAC being the raspatory system, plumbing as circulation, electrical as the nervous system and the structural as the skeleton that keeps the building standing,” Lance said.
Our second 8-koi Construction trailer is rolling out to jobs all over Florida!
 
See more about our projects and capabilities at 8-koi.com.
HAVE YOU FOUND US ON GOOGLE?
We'd love to have your stars on our Google profile!
Full-spectrum contracting solutions with a human touch
8-koi, Inc. has complied with the passage of an interim rule to bridge the gap toward full transition to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. The Department of Defense is requiring all contractors with the clause at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012 in their contracts to conduct a self-assessment of NIST SP 800-171 standards and enter their results into the Supplier Performance Risk System by November 30, 2020. Contractors who have not entered their results by that deadline will not be eligible for an award on a contract containing DFARS 252.204-7012.
For more information, click here.