About

Our Mission

The goals and purposes of the Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Educational Foundation (MCCEF) are to develop and implement educational programs for the students of the Lucerne Valley Unified School District that enhance the educational experience that would otherwise be unavailable to them, with an emphasis on the natural and applied sciences that foster ethical, social, and intellectual development, that nurture student’s capacities to think skillfully and critically, and that promote commitments to life-long education, creativity, personal responsibility and respect for others.

About Bud Biggs

H.O. “Bud” Biggs worked in the cement industry for 54 years, spending much of that time at the Mitsubishi Cement Corporation (MCC) plant in Lucerne Valley.

Born June 6, 1940, Biggs passed away on November 18, 2017, just 10 months after he retired as MCC’s Vice President of Operations.

Biggs’ career began in 1962 at Kaiser Cement Corporation in Cupertino, California. He went from an hourly employee to a junior process engineer, and then became a chief chemist, working in quality control and concrete research labs.

He was later transferred to the San Antonio, Texas plant as production superintendent. In 1980, while still working for Kaiser, he graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry.

In 1986, Mike Jasberg, who was Kaiser’s Cushenbury Plant Manager at that time, asked Biggs to come work with him in Lucerne Valley. Biggs joined the Cushenbury plant as Production Manager and in 1989, after Mitsubishi purchased the plant, he was promoted to Plant Manager.

In 2005, he and Jasberg created the Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Educational Foundation, which has funneled thousands of dollars annually to scholarships and opportunities for local

students. Biggs served as the president of the MCCEF board from its inception until his passing.

He also served as chairman of the board for the Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley for two decades and was a member of the National Committee of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. and its West Coast subcommittee. Additionally, he was on the board of directors for the High Desert Community Foundation and the Happy Trails Children’s Foundation in Apple Valley.

Biggs is remembered in the hearts of so many, including everyone who had the pleasure of working with him in the 30 years he dedicated to the Cusenbury plant and the High Desert community.