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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• Ballet West has announced that Michael Scolamiero has been selected as its new executive director. Scolamiero previously was executive director of Miami City Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet.
ASSOCIATIONS
• The International Economic Development Council Board has appointed Lara Fritts to serve on the board. Fritts is director of the Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development. She will serve a two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Fritts will represent Salt Lake City alongside 55 voting members from public and nonprofit economic development organizations across the country. Fritts has more than 20 years of experience in economic development.
• Teresa Rivera has been elected to serve as vice chair of the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC), a national trade association representing health information exchanges (HIEs). Rivera is president of the Utah Health Information Network. Board members were selected from the member base, with each of the 55 HIE members having a vote.
COMMUNICATIONS
• MobChord Inc., a Sandy-based producer of telecom management software and related services, has hired Ed Reilly as its first-ever chief revenue officer. Reilly experience includes leading sales, operations and building teams worldwide at companies such as BMC Software, Symantec, Oracle and Cap Gemini. He previously was executive vice president of sales for MatrixCX.
DIRECT SALES
• DoTerra, Pleasant Grove, has announced it set a record for the largest single-company convention in Utah, with more than 30,500 attendees from 68 nations in attendance in Salt Lake City and 10,000 more attending via livestreaming. The global convention is an annual gathering of doTerra’s Wellness Advocates and wholesale customers at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The company said it also became a Guiness World Records holder for the most personal hygiene kits assembled in one hour, assembling 5,110 kits in 36 minutes to top the old record of 1,002 kits in one hour.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), Utah Broadband Outreach Center and Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) have partnered to add real estate data to Utah’s economic development map. Previously, EDCUtah’s UtahSureSites.com targeted real estate professionals with an inventory of commercial real estate. The two sites have now merged under the redesigned Locate.Utah.gov. The website’s data updates daily. The website redesign increases data accessibility and provides a more all-encompassing resource for businesses. It was launched in 2015 as a tool geared toward business leaders, developers, site consultants and real estate professionals. The website provides information on Utah’s broadband availability, utilities, transportation infrastructure, workforce, education, state-sponsored business resources and recreation. Visitors can generate customized reports with detailed summaries on specific locations across the state.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Raytheon Co. have announced the opening of four new STEM Centers of Innovation, including the Hill Air Force Base Youth Program. The centers will expand STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning for military youth located on or near bases. In all, there are 14 such centers. The STEM Centers of Innovation are funded through Raytheon’s $5 million, multi-year commitment to BGCA, part of the company's $10 million pledge to support military families and veterans.
ENVIRONMENT
• Five Salt Lake entities applied for and concurrently received “green” international sustainability certification from the Events Industry Council. The effort to attain APEX/ASTM Level 1 certification was led by SMG, the management company of the Salt Palace Convention Center and South Towne Exposition Center. Additional partners were Visit Salt Lake, Utah Food Services and PSAV (an in-house audio/visual company). The council consists of 33 member organizations representing more than 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties involved in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry.
EXPANSIONS
• Hess Corporate Travel, Bountiful, has expanded its global travel management initiatives. Company leaders recently met with leadership of partner travel management companies in the United Kingdom in Hess Travel system offices in London. Hess has managed travel for clients from Ireland to South Africa for many years, but the newest expansion enhances services in 70 countries and builds upon data connectivity and regional-only air fare contracts.
MANUFACTURING
• BlenderBottle Co., Lehi, has opened an expansion of its global headquarters, a new building totaling nearly 110,000 square feet. The company produces branded shaker cups. The new building increases the company’s warehouse and workspace to approximately 210,000 square feet, allowing for the employee count to more than double in size. Launched in 2000, the privately held company has distribution in more than 60,000 retail locations in more than 90 countries.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Utah Media Group (UMG), West Valley City, has hired Brooke Parks as vice president of events. Parks has worked in the events industry since 1999, including working as a regional vice president for Marketplace Events.
NONPROFITS
• Scott Sprenger has been named to serve on the board of directors of Utah Humanities. Sprenger is dean of the Weber State University Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities. He was appointed dean in 2016. He previously was provost at the American University of Paris (AUP) and a professor of French literature and associate dean in the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University.
PHILANTHROPY
• Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI), Salt Lake City, has formed the PRMI Giving Network, an initiative designed to “help transform communities across the globe and to inspire and create real change through nutrition, service and education.” Through the initiative, PRMI recently partnered with the Kids In Need Foundation to raise $150,000 to provide school supplies to students in need across the U.S. PRMI also kicked off the KINF Backpack Challenge at its eighthannual national conference in Las Vegas. At the end of the eight-week campaign, each branch office will get the opportunity to participate in the “PRMI Week of Giving,” which will donate thousands of backpacks filled with supplies to local low-income school districts across the country.
• Big O Tires dealers in Utah recently donated $20,000 to Shriners Hospitals for Children as part of the “Walk & Roll for Love.” Owners and managers of tire stores from Logan to Richfield supported the fundraiser. It is the second year for Big O Tires to support Shriners Hospitals, bringing the total donation to $40,000.
• Dansie Orthodontics recently had an open house in Herriman to screen children in surrounding communities for braces through Smiles Change Lives, a national nonprofit that helps kids get braces who could not otherwise afford them. Established in 1997, Smiles Change Lives has had a presence in the Salt Lake City area for nearly a decade, and orthodontist Dr. Chase Dansie began participating after learning about the program in 2015. Dansie Orthodontics agreed to treat 50 children through the practice over the next year. The open house was held in order to screen children for the program. Dansie has offices in Herriman and Duchesne, serving patients in and around Herriman, Duchesne, South Jordan, Riverton, Bluffdale and West Jordan.
• Pluralsight, Farmington, has created Pluralsight One, the company’s social impact initiative dedicated to closing the technology skills gap. The initiative will support nonprofit organizations and amplify their impact by equipping them and the people they serve with technology skills. As part of the company’s overall social impact efforts, Pluralsight also joined the Pledge 1% integrated philanthropy movement, committing to donate 1 percent of its product, time, profit and equity to uplift communities around the world.
REAL ESTATE
• Newmark Grubb ACRES, Salt Lake City, has hired Ben Richardson, an industrial agent and development specialist who focuses on leasing existing industrial spaces and assisting in the sales of land for future development. Richardson began his career in real estate at Coldwell Banker in 2005, where he specialized in developing residential subdivisions. He transitioned to commercial real estate when he moved to CBC in 2013. His experience includes dozens of deals with WICP, a group that develops, owns and manages over 1.2 million square feet in Florida and Utah. Richardson attended the University of Utah.
• Mountain West Commercial Real Estate, Salt Lake City, has hired Scot Prince, who specializes in land, retail and investment sales. Prince’s career in commercial real estate began in 2013. He has represented one of the largest privately held real estate investment management firms in the U.S., as well as local developers and mom-and-pop land owners.
RECOGNITIONS
• J.D. Power’s “2017 North America Airport Satisfaction Study” ranks Salt Lake City International Airport No. 10 out of 21 airports in the “large” category. This year’s study found that overall passenger satisfaction has reached an all-time high as airports are effectively managing the challenges of ongoing construction and increased capacity through tech investment and creative outreach initiatives. Topping the “mega” airport rankings was Orlando International Airport. The “large” category was led by John Wayne Airport (Orange County, California). Sacramento International Airport led the “medium” airport rankings.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Maytag have selected Lynda Smart Brown to receive the Maytag Dependable Leader Award. Brown is a local volunteer and community partner. The award recognizes Boys & Girls Club staff and volunteers who have demonstrated dependability, reliability, and a commitment to excellence in their local community and with their local Boys & Girls Club. Brown is one of 10 people to receive this year’s distinction. In conjunction with the award, Maytag will donate $20,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake (BGCGSL) to provide scholarships for local youth to attend the club in the name of Lynda Smart Brown in recognition of her service. The local club nominated Brown because of the significant impact and contributions she has made to club through her work with KidsEat, Utah, an organization designed to providing food for Boys & Girls Club youth.
• Salt Lake City has received the Silver Award for Best Public-Private Partnership among cities with 25,000-200,000 population from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater/Regent Street project. The honor was announced and presented at the IEDC Annual Convention in Toronto, Canada.
RETAIL
• Ross Dress for Less has announced it will open a store Oct. 7 in Ogden. The 25,000-square-foot store will be in The Commons at Ogden, at the intersection of 12th Street and Wall Avenue. The store will be the company’s 19th in Utah.
SERVICES
• Smith Johnson Group, a Sandy-based regional IT staffing company, has hired Neal Summers as the director of operations. He will oversee recruiting and client management. Summers has 24 years of staffing experience. He graduated from Utah State University in human resources and has served as state director for Utah SHRM.
TRANSPORTATION
• Skyworks, a Salt Lake City-based company involved in gyronautics, has appointed Marine Corps Lt. Col. (Ret.) Biagio “Ben” Colandreo as chief development officer. He will be responsible for business development, growth strategies and targeted outreach to potential partners, investors and customers. Colandreo is a decorated AH-1W Cobra pilot who, over his 20-year military career, held a series of key roles that ranged from flight safety officer to squadron commander to staff officer for the commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. He is also an experienced business development and operations executive in the private sector, including four years as director of business development for General Dynamics’ IT subsidiary.
TRAVEL & TOURISM
• Lance Syrett has been appointed chairman of the Utah State Board of Tourism Development by Gov. Gary Herbert. He will serve on the board until his term expires in 2019. The Utah Office of Tourism is part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Syrett was appointed to the tourism office’s advisory board in 2011 as a representative of the Utah hotel and lodging industry. Syrett is general manager of Ruby’s Inn, established by his grandfather, Reuben “Ruby” C. Syrett.