Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice@slenterprise.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.
Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice@slenterprise.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.
ASSOCIATIONS
• Jami Marsh has been elected president of the Utah chapter of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Network. Marsh is vice president at JLL. She and other members of the 2016 CREW board will serve one-year terms. She has more than 15 years of commercial real estate experience. At JLL, Marsh focuses on tenant representation and agency leasing.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Two Weber State University professors have been selected to lead key academic initiatives as associate provosts. Psychology professor Eric Amsel will serve as associate provost for academic programs and assessment. Sociology professor Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski will assume the position of associate provost for high-impact programs and faculty development. Beginning in April, Amsel will assume primary responsibility for leadership of regional accreditation, program review, assessment of learning outcomes and administrative oversight of general education. Kowalewski will assume her position immediately and will provide oversight for interdisciplinary undergraduate programs, including WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), Honors, Bachelor of Integrated Studies and Office of Undergraduate Research. She will help guide the Teaching and Leaning Forum, a mentoring program for new faculty, and will lead policy revisions to encourage more interdisciplinary and high-impact work across campus.
GOVERNMENT
• Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has announced several appointments, including Mike Reberg to lead the city’s Department of Public Utilities and Nate Salazar as a community liaison for the mayor’s office, and the reappointments of city attorney Margaret Plane, justice director Curtis Preece and finance director Gina Chamness. Reberg begins Feb. 1 and succeeds Jeff Niermeyer. His experience includes serving eight years as the assistant director of public works for Salt Lake County, working several years in private practice, serving as district director for U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, and working as division director for Salt Lake County Animal Services. Currently serving on the board of directors of Save Our Canyons, Reberg attended Utah State University. Salazar has served as chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Hispanic Caucus since 2013, serves as vice chairman of the East Central Community Council, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Utah AIDS Foundation, is the president and co-founder of the Frank Cordova Foundation, and is vice chairman of the Salt Lake City Public Library Board of Directors. Plane has worked in the city attorney’s office since 2007 and was appointed city attorney in 2013. Preece was appointed Justice Court director in 2011. Chamness has served Salt Lake City in various roles since 2006 and was appointed finance director in 2014.
HOSPITALITY/FOOD SERVICE
• Cuisine Unlimited Cat-ering & Special Events has been selected to provide exclusive food and beverage services for the new George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City, which is scheduled for a September grand opening. Operations will include innovative theater concessions; catering for all events, group meetings and social celebrations in multiple venue sites within the theater; and management of a restaurant, named Encore Bistro at Eccles Theater. Encore will be open for Breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner on performance nights. The executive director of the Cuisine Unlimited operation at Eccles Theater will be Vicki Dunnington. Her experience includes owning her own catering company in Massachusetts for 10 years. Stacey Rosati has been named the executive chef, overseeing all food services taking place at the Eccles Theater. Her experience includes owning a cafe in Driggs, Idaho.
INVESTMENT
• Mercato Partners, Salt Lake City, has promoted Alison Wistner to managing director. She has been with Mercato Partners since 2010, mostly recently as a director and investment committee member. Prior to Mercato Partners, Wistner was a principal at Prospector Equity Capital.
LAW
• TraskBritt has announced that Gregory C. Baker is an officer and director of the firm; the election of H. Dickson Burton as managing shareholder; and Jesse M. Flores, Stephen E. Pulley and Andrew A. Hufford as shareholders. Baker’s practice emphasizes counseling and strategic planning; U.S. and international patent, design, trademark and copyright matters; and related opinions, transactions and licensing. He holds a master’s and bachelor of science in mechanical engineering as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of Utah. Burton is a long-time shareholder and director of the firm who previously served on the firm’s Management Committee. He is a trial lawyer whose practice focuses on helping clients resolve patent, trademark, trade secret and other complex commercial disputes. Flores’ practice emphasizes U.S. and international patent, trademark and copyright matters, as well as related administrative proceedings and opinions. He has a bachelor of science in chemical engineering and a J.D. from the University of Utah. Pulley’s practice emphasizes intellectual property and other complex litigation; U.S. and international patent, trademark and copyright matters; and related transactions and licensing. He has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark Law School. Hufford’s practice emphasizes intellectual property and other complex litigation, dispute resolution, trade secrets, and U.S. and international patent matters.
• Parsons Behle & Latimer has announced that Jeffrey C. Corey, Nicholas D. Greenwood, Zack L. Winzeler and Michael W. Young have been named shareholders in the firm’s Salt Lake City office. Corey, a member of the firm’s litigation and environmental departments, concentrates his practice on white-collar criminal defense, environmental litigation and securities matters. Greenwood is a member of the firm’s corporate transactions and securities department and focuses his practice on corporate transactions and other business matters, including mergers and acquisitions, financings, securities matters, and other business contracts. Winzeler is a member of the firm’s litigation department. He concentrates his practice on commercial, real estate and employment litigation. He graduated with a J.D. degree from the University of Utah in 2008 and a B.A. degree from Weber State University in 2004. Young, a member of the litigation department, concentrates on complex commercial litigation matters, including product liability, intellectual property, construction, personal injury and environmental law. His education includes two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Utah.
MANUFACTURING
• Dynatronics Corp., Cottonwood Heights, has hired Tyler Oglesby as director of post-acute care sales, leading the company’s expansion into the post-acute care market.
OUTDOOR PRODUCTS/RECREATION/SPORTS
• Snowboard Ski and Summer Resort is asking the Utah County Board of Adjustment to approve plans to build two new ski lifts and a zip line on privately owned land in Mary Ellen Gulch, in upper American Fork Canyon. The gulch has been part of Snowbird’s expansion plan for well over a decade. While the base of Snowbird lies in Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake County, its existing ski terrain in Mineral Basin and its undeveloped terrain in Mary Ellen Gulch, the next drainage to the south of Mineral Basin, lie in American Fork Canyon in Utah County. The county border follows the Little Cottonwood Canyon ridgeline from American Fork Twin Peaks, through Snowbird’s ski terrain across Hidden Peak to Mount Baldy. In November, Snowbird hoped to allay the concerns of Utah County residents and those devoted to protecting American Fork Canyon by announcing that it was abandoning any idea of expanding into the lower canyon to provide a second access point to the resort through Utah County at Tibble Fork Reservoir. Officials say it is likely that Snowbird would also extend its existing Mineral Basin Express chairlift further down the hill to connect with skiers returning from Mary Ellen Gulch via the proposed lift ascending Miller Hill, which separates Mary Ellen Gulch from Mineral Basin.
PHILANTHROPY
• Rocky Mountain Power has announced that $481,714 will be provided to seven new Blue Sky funding award recipients for solar projects during 2016. They are Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Centerville; Magna Water and Sewer District; Moab City Hall; Park City Museum; Ronald McDonald House, Salt Lake City; St. Marguerite Catholic Parish, Tooele; and Synderville Basin Recreation Fieldhouse, Park City. The company said that more than 100 community-based renewable energy projects in Utah have been made possible by support from Blue Sky customers over the years. Blue Sky provides a way for customers to support newly developed renewable energy generation and development in the western United States, including projects in Utah.
• DoTerra International, Pleasant Grove, has provided donations to help with the development of a campus autism facility at Utah Valley University; made donations as part of an ongoing relationship with the nonprofit organization Days for Girls; donated products used as prizes for teenage girls who attended a Ivy Girl Academy workshop in Pleasant Grove; donated to a mother’s retreat hosted by the nonprofit organization Hayden’s Heart Inc.; and donated a family physician kit used in a silent auction to support the Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers of Leesburg, Virginia. The donation to Days for Girls was in the form of monetary assistance and feminine hygiene kits that will be used to help women and girls around the world. The company also made a donation to assist the organization’s Utah chapter. The donations for UVU will be used for playground areas and sensory landscaping for the autism center. Aside from the initial donation, the company has committed additional funds to help the facility through 2017. The mother’s retreat, called “Healing of the Heart: A Retreat for Mamas of Angels,” was held in White Haven, Pennsylvania, for mothers who have lost a child due to heart diseases and defects. The company donated products included in gift baskets given to each mother at the retreat. The Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers organization consists of over 220 volunteers in Loudoun County who give of their time to help elderly, ill or disabled community members.
• SunPower by Legend Solar is offering free assistance to help customers cash in on solar power in 2016. Residential and commercial customers of Rocky Mountain Power may now apply for the 2016 Incentive Program until Jan. 28. Program participants will be selected through a lottery and will receive between 65 cents and $1.10 per watt of installed photovoltaic systems, which can add up to thousands of dollars in savings for the average homeowner. Details are available by calling 1 (877) 413-6412 or visiting utahsolarlottery.com.
• America First Credit Union’s Operation Services Division in late December donated coloring books and crayons/colored pencils to children at Primary Children’s Hospital. Each book included employees’ words of encouragement, along with drawings. Along with the coloring books, America First employees purchased items included on the Primary Children’s Hospital wish list, filling two large boxes with toys, card games and other items requested by the hospital.
REAL ESTATE
• Guild Mortgage Co. has opened a branch at 1224 S. River Road, Suite A102, St. George. It is the company’s fourth location in Utah. Steven Stout will lead the team of 11 as branch manager. He has more than 23 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Prior to joining Guild, he owned and operated SGI Mortgage.
• Wadsworth Development Group, Draper, has hired Brad Watson as a project manager. He previously worked with ESI Construction in Boise. The company also announced it has added another multi-tenant retail building to the Riverwalk at Bingham Junction Retail Center. Jersey Mikes will be joined by AT&T Mobile and a Zagg Store in the 5,600-square-foot building at the intersection of 7200 South and Bingham Junction Boulevard in Midvale. The adjacent property will open this spring with a Costa Vida drive-through and a Mo Bettahs Hawaiian Style.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Davis Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee has announced that Becky Anderson is the recipient of its 2016 Athena Award. The honor is presented annually to a person who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession; provides valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community; and actively assists women in realizing their full leadership potential. After facing a personal tragedy, Anderson is serving as the executive director of a nonprofit organization called “Anything for a Friend,” which has been instrumental in bringing financial and emotional help to families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The award will be presented at a luncheon Feb. 18 at the Davis Conference Center in Layton.
• University of Utah chemist Peter J. Stang was among seven foreign scientists recently honored with China’s 2015 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. He shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinpin during a Jan. 8 award ceremony in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Stang is an organic chemist who joined the UofU in 1969, served as its dean of science during 1997-2007 and as Department of Chemistry chair during 1989-1995. He has collaborated in research with Chinese scientists, worked closely with them as editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society and served as a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• Executives at Supplemental Health Care, Park City, and its subsidiary Clinical Magnet have been named 2015 HRO Today Magazine “superstars” for demonstrating forward thinking and transformative actions in the field of human resources. Janet Elkin, president and CEO of Supplemental Health Care, was recognized for spearheading her company’s growth by introducing new workforce and staffing solutions for the healthcare industry. Travis Furlow, president of Clinical Magnet, was recognized for his 20 years of experience in the RPO sector and his vision for solving healthcare staffing issues.
• Canvas, a learning management system for K-12 and higher education from Instructure, Salt Lake City, has been name to University Business magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Top Products” list for 2015. The winners were compiled from hundreds of nominations from the magazine’s readers over the past year, and the award recognizes Canvas for making a positive difference on college campuses by higher education leaders. The list recognizes products that higher education professionals across the country are using to help their campuses excel in a variety of areas, such as technology, sustainability and academic instruction.
• Business Solutions magazine readers have voted StorageCraft Technology Corp., Draper, as Best Channel Vendor in the Business Continuity and Back and Disaster Recovery Category. It is the second consecutive year for the company to be selected. It received its highest marks from the magazine’s IT value added reseller (VAR) and managed service provider (MSP) audience in the areas of product reliability and features, customer support and channel friendliness. The magazine’s annual online survey honors the top 5 percent of vote recipients in their respective category.
• Browz, Salt Lake City, is among the “50 Most Valuable Tech Companies — 2015” list produced by Insights Success. Among Browz’ activities last year were the release of Browz for Clients and Browz for Suppliers apps.
RETAIL
• Les Olson Co., Salt Lake City, has announced that Lisa Thaller has been elected chairman of the company’s board of directors. Thaller is chief financial officer at the company. She has been with Les Olson Co. for nearly 34 years, starting as a file clerk. She has been a member of the board of directors since 2004, serving as secretary/treasurer since 2011. In addition to her responsibilities as a CFO, Thaller is also a company shareholder and serves as member of the company’s Profit Sharing Plan Investment Committee and Executive Committee. During her career, Thaller has had the opportunity to work with Les Olson Co. founders Les and Reva Olson, her grandparents, and her own father, Ray Olson, who served as president, CEO and board chairman during his time with the company. The company also announced that Debbie Olson, a second-generation owner, shareholder and board member, has been named secretary/treasurer. She has worked at the company full time since 1972. Her current role is managing Revco Leasing, Les Olson Co.’s in-house leading partner named after her mother, Reva Olson.
• Fastsigns of Murray has new owners. David and Kritine Peabody recently acquired the center at 6570 S. State St., Murray. It is their second Fastsigns location, having owned and operated a store in Albuquerque since 2005. The Murray location has been operating for 25 years. The Fastsigns center at 675 E. 2100 S., Salt Lake City, has closed.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Tempus Global Data, Ogden, has hired Aaron DeRose as executive vice president of corporate development. He is responsible for planning and executing the capital structure vision for Tempus, which includes all aspects of fundraising, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development. He oversees all key relationships with placement agents, investment banks, banking partners, and investment analysts within the industry. DeRose recently was part of Marcato Partners, where he served on the firm’s Investment Committee and served as a director. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Utah.
• EFileCabinet Inc., Lehi, has hired Alan Taylor as chief financial officer and Greg Staley as vice president of enterprise sales and business development. Taylor succeeds Jeff Coulter, who will serve as chief operations office. Taylor has more than 20 years of management and operating experience, most recently with Adaptive Computing Enterprises and has experience at Helius, Novell, Honeywell, Ford Motor Co. and Boeing. Staley’s career has focused on the enterprise and SaaS software industries. He served as the director of sales for Workfront and has experience at Oracle Corp., Infor Global Solutions and Symantec Corp.
• Impartner, South Jordan, has appointed Brad Pace as vice president of customer success. He is responsible for ensuring that customers benefit from the company’s partner relationship management solutions. Pace previously held executive sales operations, customer service and analytics roles at EMC.