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AGRICULTURE
• The Utah Farm Bureau, the largest general farm and ranch organization in Utah, has named Troy Henrie of Panguitch as southern regional manager. Henrie has been serving on the Garfield County Farm Bureau board of directors while working as a loan officer for USDA’s Farm Service Agency and working on the Henrie family cattle ranch in Garfield County with his father and brothers. He has more than 20 years of professional experience. Henrie studied agriculture at Southern Utah University.
ASSOCIATIONS
• The Society of Professional Journalists membership has elected its 2022-23 board of directors and regional coordinators, with McKenzie Romero being selected as regional coordinator for Region 9. Romero is the deputy news director at Deseret News. She is a board member of the Utah Headliners Pro Chapter. Romero graduated from Southern Utah University. SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens, works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists, and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
BANKING
• Altabank, a division of Glacier Bank, has named Rebecca Chavez-Houck to its board of directors. Chavez-Houck is a managing member of Aspira Public Affairs, an organization providing community outreach planning, media relations, constituent services development, and women’s leadership training with a particular focus on underrepresented groups. She has over 20 years of experience in public affairs for a variety of Utah nonprofits. From 2008-18, Chavez-Houck served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives, serving as minority whip and assistant minority whip during her time in office. Chavez-Houck is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA in journalism and a Masters of Public Administration. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the UofU’s Program of Public Affairs.
CONTESTS
• BambooHR, a Lindon-based human resources software provider, is launching the HR Experience Maker Awards to recognize HR professionals who stand out in their efforts to build, grow, support and lead their organizations into the future. Nominations for the six award categories are open until Dec. 2. Winners will receive a HR Experience Maker virtual badge to display as proof of their achievement, plus a $2,000 vacation voucher mirroring the company’s annual paid vacation stipend for employees. Details are at https://www.bamboohr.com/about-bamboohr/hr-experience-maker-awards.
CORPORATE
• Powered by MRP, a Park City-based aesthetics device company, has expanded its headquarters to support growing demand and overall operations. The new facility at 2700 Rasmussen Road will add 17,000 square feet, which the company said will allow it to further grow the its employee headcount and increase capacity. The space previously was used by Park City-based brands Armada Skis and Jaybird.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Medallion Bank has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share on the bank’s fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series F. The dividend is payable Jan. 3 to stockholders of record Dec. 15. Medallion Bank provides consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats and home improvements, along with loan origination services to fintech strategic partners.
• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Provo, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 38.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Dec. 7 to shareholders of record Nov. 25. Nu Skin develops personal care, nutrition and the anti-aging products.
• The board of directors of LifeVantage Corp., a Lehi-based company focused on nutrigenomics and offering dietary supplement, has announced the declaration of a cash dividend of 3 cents per common share. The dividend will be paid Dec. 15 to stockholders of record Dec. 1.
• The board of directors of Clarus Corp., Salt Lake City, has confirmed a regular cash dividend of 2.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Nov. 25 to stockholders of record Nov. 14. Clarus designs, develops, manufactures and distributes outdoor equipment and lifestyle products.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Ogden is the top-ranked metro area for the lowest amount of maxed-out credit cards, according to a report from Lending Tree. The study showed that 16.5 percent of Ogden cardholders have one maxed-out credit card and only 3.2 percent have multiple maxed-out cards. Provo is No. 5, at 17.2 percent with one maxed-out card and tied for No. 4 for multiple cards, at 4 percent. Across the 100 largest U.S. metros, 22.7 percent of credit cardholders have at least one maxed-out card and 6.2 percent have multiple maxed-out cards. The highest figure is in New Orleans, with 35.9 percent with one maxed-out card. The highest figure for multiple cards is Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with 13.6 percent. Details are at https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/maxed-out-credit-card-balances/.
• Utah is ranked No. 24 on a list of “Best States to Live Off the Grid,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared states based on 23 factors, such as the cost of farmland, legality of self-generated utilities, and availability of renewable energy. It also considered indicators like climate, phone connectivity, and access to rural hospitals. The-top ranked state is Iowa. The bottom-ranked state is New Jersey. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-and-worst-states-for-living-off-the-grid/.
• Utah is ranked No. 14 among states where millennials’ mental health has worsened when compared to pre-pandemic numbers, according to a study by education research firm and scholarship website engine Scholaroo. Millennials in Utah have increased their mental distress rate by 59 percent this year compared to 2018 numbers, it said, with Utah’s rate now standing at 18.8 percent. The highest level is 23.6 percent in Arkansas. The overall worst state for millennials is Minnesota, with Utah at No. 2. Louisiana is No. 50. Details are at https://scholaroo.com/best-states-for-millennials/.
• Italian is the most popular cuisine in Utah, according to a study by bipartisan educational platform Wisevoter. It was followed, in order, by Chinese, Mexican, Thai and Korean. Chinese was the most popular in 37 states. Details are at https://wisevoter.com/report/most-popular-cuisines-by-state.
EXPANSIONS
• Biostarks, a South Jordan-based preventative health and wellness company that offers at-home blood test kits, has created Biostarks Labs Singapore. It is the third branch of the Biostarks Group, as the company launched Biostarks Europe in Switzerland, and Biostarks Labs US Inc. It is a 100 percent subsidiary of Biostarks Labs US Inc. Biostarks Singapore is negotiating for the creation of a laboratory to cover the Asian Pacific region, with plans to deliver its first kits during the second quarter of 2023.
FINANCE
• Avtech Capital LLC, Salt Lake City, has completed a $75 million revolving credit facility with Capital One NA. Avtech said the facility will provide additional liquidity to support its growth and further its efforts to better serve customers. Avtech is a privately held equipment finance and leasing company that provides equipment financing solutions to small, medium and large companies throughout the United States.
HEALTHCARE
• Lipocine Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biopharmaceutical company, has hired Dr. George Nomikos as chief medical officer and appointed Dr. Spyros Papapetropoulos as lead director and chairman of its board. Nomikos is a biopharmaceutical research and development scientist and psychiatry-trained clinician with extensive academic and industry experience in neuropsychiatric, neurometabolic, neurohormonal, neuromuscular and chronic pain therapeutics. Until recently he served as senior vice president of medical and clinical sciences at Scholar Rock. He previously held senior positions at Biogen, Sage, Takeda, Astellas, Amgen and Eli Lilly. Papapetropoulos has been a member of Lipocine’s board since April. He is a biopharmaceutical executive, neuroscientist and neurodegenerative disease clinician. He currently is chief medical officer at Vigil Neuro. He previously served as chief development officer and senior vice president and head of development at Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc., CEO at SwanBio Therapeutics, and head of research and development and chief medical officer at Cavion. Before Cavion, he held senior/executive positions at Biogen Inc., Allergan plc, Pfizer Inc., and Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• BlueWind Medical Ltd., a medical device company foxed on neuromodulation therapy for overactive bladder, has hired Seamus O’Connor as vice president of quality, Paul Maguire as vice president of operations, and Asher Kuper as vice president of research and development. The company’s main offices are in Park City and Israel. O’Connor has 23 years of experience in the medical device industry across quality assurance and regulatory affairs, working with various medical device technologies. Prior to BlueWind Medical, he held positions at Mednova, TE Connectivity, Boston Scientific and Natus Medical. Maguire has more than 25 years of operations experience in medical devices at Stryker, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Allergan and most recently AbbVie. Kuper has held various roles within startups and global companies across the medtech industry for the past 18 years. He recently served as vice president of product for Zebra Medical Vision (acquired by Nanox Vision), and as CEO of SpirCare.
• Co-Diagnostics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based molecular diagnostics company offering a platform for the development of molecular diagnostic tests, has hired Mark Poritz as chief scientific officer. Poritz is a molecular biologist with more than 30 years of experience in the application of PCR and related methods to gene cloning, drug discovery, infectious disease diagnostics and aptamer selection. Poritz played a key role in the growth of BioFire Diagnostics from 2002-18 and most recently served as CSO of Idaho Molecular, the subsidiary acquired by Co-Dianostics at the end of 2021.
• Clene Inc. and wholly owned subsidiary Clene Nanomedicine Inc. has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain existing stockholders for the purchase and sale of 10.7 million shares of the company’s common stock for $1.01 per share in a registered direct offering. Clene is a Salt Lake City-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The gross proceeds were expected to be approximately $10.8 million. Clene said it intends to use the proceeds along with its existing cash for expenses primarily related to general corporate purposes, including to fund the clinical development of its lead drug candidate, CNM-Au8.
• Xwell Inc. has opened Treat at Concourse B at Salt Lake City International Airport. The upscale health and wellness center is designed for people “on the go.” It is the third brick-and-mortar location of Treat, which provides medical services, testing and a holistic approach to physical and mental well-being.
INSURANCE
• Regence BlueCross Blueshield of Utah, based in Salt Lake City, has promoted Jennifer Olsen to director of account management. Olsen will expand her leadership role while providing strategic direction to the company’s account executive team. She will continue to lead client retention and account management initiatives. Olsen has broad experience and expertise in health insurance, client retention, employee benefits development and sales. She joined Regence nearly 16 years ago and most recently served as the renewal manager for all commercial lines of business. She previously held the position of sales manager for the company’s mid-size line of business for two years and was senior account executive for eight years. Throughout her tenure at Regence, Olsen has sold and serviced both large and small employer group accounts. She began her career in insurance in 1991, serving in various positions while working for agencies and carriers. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Phoenix.
LAW
• Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar has elected Timothy O. Hemming as shareholder. Based in the firm’s St. George office, Hemming is a commercial litigator practicing in the fields of insurance, employment and real estate. Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar is a member of Dentons, which has 20,000 professionals, including 12,000 lawyers, in more than 200 locations in more than 80 countries.
MANUFACTURING
• Merit Medical Systems Inc., a South Jordan-based manufacturer and marketer of healthcare technology, has appointed Joe Wright as chief commercial officer. Wright began his career at Merit over 17 years ago. He recently was the president of international, leading business units across APAC and the Americas. For the past year, he also had commercial responsibility for EMEA. His previous positions include serving as president of Merit technology and as vice president of global marketing.
PARTNERSHIPS
• American Battery Factory Inc., American Fork, has entered into an alliance with Anovion LLC to procure synthetic graphite anode materials for ABF’s lithium-ion batteries. Synthetic graphite anode material is critical for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, critical defense applications and stationary storage for electric grids.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Kahlert Foundation has donated $15 million to the University of Utah’s School of Computing to focus on the future of computing. The donation will establish an endowment to provide the School of Computing with flexible, long-term funding that will expand student support, bring in top faculty and accelerate industry collaborations. In recognition of the gift, the university will rename the school in collaboration with the foundation. Established in 1991 by Bill Kahlert, a philanthropist and co-founder of Evapco Inc., the foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of healthcare, education, youth programs, veteran organizations and human services. It is named after his granddaughter.
• IFA Country Stores has begun its third annual Feeding Furriends Animal Food Drive. IFA is again teaming up with Purina, Hill’s Science Diet and Victor to donate livestock feed and pet food to local animal shelters, rescues and sanctuaries. Last year, IFA donated more than 78,000 pounds of food to local animal shelters. The drive will run through Nov. 19 at all 23 IFA Country Stores locations, with livestock feed and/or pet food later being donated to 22 nonprofit partners. For every 10 bags of livestock feed or pet food sold, IFA will donate one bag to a local shelter/rescue partner, up to one month supply per partner. Customers also can ask cashiers for monetary donations.
• Staff from Western Governors University, a Salt Lake City-based online nonprofit university, delivered care packages to 3,160 healthcare workers in five states to recognize them for their extra work on the night shift during the end of daylight saving time. The packages included sleeping masks, pens, lip balm, cocoa, coffee and other treats. Packages were delivered in Utah to George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Steward Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, KPC Promise Hospital in Murray, and Steward Mountain Medical Center in Lehi.
• Supplemental Health Care, Salt Lake City, recently collaborated with nonprofit Love for Literacy to promote Family Literacy Day and donated hundreds of books and provided family literacy resources to its school district partners across the country. Multicultural books recommended by Love for Literacy’s founder, Dr. Kelly Byrd, as well as her children’s book, Like Sunshine on an Otherwise Miserable Day, were donated to the schools to help promote more literary diversity and representation in libraries and classrooms. Byrd also provided family literacy activities and online resource recommendations for students, parents and caregivers, and school professionals.
• The Security Service Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of Security Service Federal Credit Union, has donated $10,000 to Homeless Veterans Fellowship in Ogden. This donation will help purchase beds and bedding essentials for veterans moving into their own apartments. When veterans complete the transitional housing program and move into permanent housing, they take their beds with them. The Security Service donation will help provide box springs, mattresses, bed frames, sheets, comforters and pillows.
REAL ESTATE
• Susie Martindale, principal broker and owner, has announced that her company has begun operating as Masters Utah Real Estate. The brokerage, formerly Remax Masters, will offer end-to-end services for residential and commercial clients.
RECOGNITIONS
• The TCN Operator platform offered by TCN Inc., St. George, has been selected as a winner of the 2022 Contact Center Technology Award by Customer Magazine, a publication of TMC. It is the second year in which TCN Operator has been named a winner in this program. The award honors vendors and technologies that have embraced technology as a critical tool for customer service excellence.
• Impartner, a South Jordan-based channel management platform and Partner Relationship Management company, announced the Impartner Catalyst Awards winners at its ImpartnerCON2022 event in Salt Lake City. In the Accelerator Awards category, recipients are Vertiv, Logitech, Zendesk, Sophos and Zebra Technologies. In the Innovator Awards category, recipients are Fortinet, Xerox, T-Mobile, Palo Alto Networks and Nintex. In the PX Factor Awards category, recipients ae Splunk, Poly, Visa, Malwarebytes, Yamaha Unified Communications and AvePoint. Recipients in the Partner of the Year category are JS Group, Spur Reply and The Sherpa Group.
RESTAURANTS
• Green District, a fast-casual salad concept, has opened its first restaurant in the Salt Lake City market at 7141 S. Bingham Junction Blvd., Suite 103, in the RiverWalk mixed-use development in Midvale. The 1,804-square-foot restaurant is the first of four Green District restaurant locations to open in Salt Lake City by mid-2023. On Nov. 3, opening day, the restaurant donated 30 percent of proceeds at the new location to Fit to Recover, a local nonprofit that provides a safe place for people in recovery from substance use disorders to connect through fitness, nutrition, creative arts and community service.
• The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, near Park City, has hired Jason Franey as executive chef. Franey has more than 30 years of restaurant experience and will usher in a new era at the property’s Yuta restaurant. His experience includes serving as executive sous chef at Eleven Madison Park, executive chef at Canlis, leading Restaurant 1833, and most recently as culinary director at Aspen Hospitality Group.
SCIENCE
• Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Geological Survey are partnering to image geology using airborne geophysical technology as part of the USGS Earth Mapping Resource Initiative project. Earth MRI is a cooperative effort between the USGS; the Association of American State Geologists; and other federal, state and private-sector organizations to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework in the United States. The USGS is contracting with Merrick-Surdex Joint Venture, who is subcontracting the work to New-Sense Geophysics Limited, to collect data that will be gathered using both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and fly over or parts of eight counties in western and southwestern Utah. Counties include Beaver, Iron, Juab, Millard, Piute, Sevier, Tooele and Utah counties. Weather permitting, the survey will begin in late October and be completed next summer. The new geophysical survey will allow scientists to develop high-resolution 3D representations of geology to depths several miles below the surface. The 3D models and maps produced from the survey will aid in understanding the distribution of groundwater, mineral and energy resources as well as the potential for natural hazards. The Utah survey will be flown at elevations of about 260 to 1,000 feet. All survey flights will occur during daylight hours.
SPORTS
• The Utah Jazz have appointed Quincy Lewis as director of alumni relations. In the newly created position, Lewis will lead the team’s alumni programming and initiatives across the organization and in the community. Lewis was the team’s 1999 first round draft selection and played for the team for three seasons. He also played one season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and had a six-year stint internationally playing with four organizations. After retiring from professional basketball, Lewis moved into collegiate administration at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, where he held various roles primarily within development and alumni relations. Lewis also spent a decade as a pregame, halftime and post-game analyst for Fox Sports North, providing commentary for Minnesota Timberwolves games.
TECHNOLOGY
• HireVue, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on video interviewing, assessments and text-enabled recruiting tools, has appointed Patrick Morrissey as chief growth officer and Amanda Hahn as chief marketing officer. Morrissey has 25 years of experience in global sales and marketing leadership, most recently as senior vice president and general manager of the enterprise sales and marketing business unit at Upland Software. Other prior leadership roles include CMO at Altify and chief revenue officer at Simpplr, and vice president roles at Business Objects and Salesforce.com. Hahn has been HireVue’s vice president of product marketing for the past nine years.
TRANSPORTATION
• Genesis Electronics Group Inc., Salt Lake City, has added Jack Hedge as a strategic advisor to its board. Hedge is a former president and executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority. He became its president in June after serving as executive director since June 2019. Hedge previously was the director of cargo and industrial real estate for the Port of Los Angeles. Previous roles include real estate and asset management director for the Port of Tacoma, managing director for North American Energy Services Capital, and development manager at Enserch International LTD. Genesis recently announced its acquisition of Glīd LLC, a first-of-its kind road-to-rail autonomous trucking company.
• Alaska Airlines, which offers a pay-by-month flight subscription service, is expanding its popular program to Salt Lake City less than a year after its launch. Flight Pass subscribers will now be able to fly between Salt Lake City and San Francisco or San Diego, in addition to 18 other routes throughout California and select cities in Nevada and Arizona. The service allows guests to book six, 12 or 24 round-trip flights at a fixed monthly rate. Subscribers lock in main cabin deals for a full year and pay taxes and fees when booking flights, which cost as little as $14.61 per flight.