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AGRICULTURE
• The Downtown Winter Market has opened at the Rio Grande Depot, 300 S. Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City. It features more than 70 local vendors and takes place Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., through April 20. The market is in its sixth season. Details are at slcfarmersmarket.org.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its November meeting, approved a Motion Picture Incentive Program tax credit of up to $550,000 for 1483 Inc. for its production of “Inheritance,” a feature thriller. The production is expected to spend $2.75 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Nov. 26-Dec. 21. The production will have 23 cast members, 84 crew members and 250 extras. Shooting is expected to take place in and around Salt Lake County. The film will tell the story of Lauren Monroe, the daughter in an elite family. “When her father dies unexpectedly, she is thrust in the middle of her father’s secrets and forced to face truths about her family,” GOED documents say about the plot. The film will star Kate Mara and Simon Pegg. The director is Vaughn Stein. Producers are Richard Lewis and David Wulf.
ASSOCIATIONS
• The Women’s Business Center of Utah (WBCUtah) has named Debbie Drake as its new southern office program director. Drake will plan and launch services for female business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Utah’s southern cities. This new position was created with the expansion of WBCUtah to be statewide. Drake most recent was the director of the instructional systems department at Southwest Technical College. She has spent the last 10 years in higher education as an administrator, department coordinator and instructor. Prior to Southwest Technical College, Drake’s varied business experience includes 25 years as co-owner, manager and lead designer for D&S Construction of Southern Utah. She owned a retail store, a fitness center, and a land development and property management company. She has also specialized in leadership training and online course development. She has a M.Ed. in instructional design from Western Governor’s University and a B.A. in art composite from Southern Utah University.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has announced a pair of executive changes. Roger G. Shumway, executive vice president and chief credit officer, will change some of his responsibilities and will oversee wealth management, collections and special projects. He also will be transitioning his credit risk management responsibilities over the next year. Shumway has been with Bank of Utah for 22 years and worked in banking for more than 40 years, holding positions at Wells Fargo, First Security Bank and Zions Bank. Shumway graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in business-finance. Cari Fullerton, commercial lending team leader for Bank of Utah, has been named senior credit administrator and will become part of the bank’s senior management team. She will oversee loan operations and loan servicing and will be assuming credit risk management responsibilities. Fullerton has been with Bank of Utah since 1997.
DIRECT SALES
• Young Living Essential Oils, Lehi, has announced that the Gihndagun Farm in Tatham, Australia, will become the company’s newest partner farm. Gihndagun will provide Young Living with melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) essential oil, which can be used for everything from home cleaning solutions to skin care. The 100-acre Gihndagun Farm is Young Living’s third partner farm in Australia. Young Living also recently announced its official expansion of making its products available in China. The China headquarters will be based in Guangzhou in southeast China.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Provo, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 36.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Dec. 12 to stockholders of record Nov. 30.
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Jan. 7 to shareholders of record Dec. 31.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• West Valley City is the best Utah for buying a home as an investment, according to rankings by HomeArea.com. Its list of “Cities in Utah that are Better than Buy Than Rent” is based on the latest Census Bureau data for cities with a population of 60,000 or more, with the rankings determined by calculating the price-to-rent ratio (the median home value divided by the median annual rent). West Valley City was followed by, in order, West Jordan, Ogden, Layton, Orem, South Jordan, Sandy, St. George, Provo and Salt Lake City.
• Long-term care costs in Utah were mixed from 2017 to 2018, according to the 15th annual Genworth Cost of Care Survey. In Utah, the costs of assisted living facilities and nursing homes increased, while home care services and adult day care services decreased. Meanwhile, the blended annual median cost of long-term care support services increased across the country an average of 3 percent from 2017 to 2018, with some care categories exceeding two to three times the 2.1 percent U.S. inflation rate. In Utah, the median annual cost for homemaker services is $50,336, down 2.2 percent; for home health aide is $50,336, down 2.2 percent; for adult day care is $12,090, down 24.3 percent; for assisted living facilities is $40,200, up 6.3 percent; for nursing home semi-private room is $73,000, up 8.1 percent; and for nursing home private room is $91,250, up 9.1 percent.
EXPANSIONS
• Lucidchart, a South Jordan-based visual productivity platform company, has opened its EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam. In the next two years, the company plans to hire for approximately 40 new positions in Amsterdam across sales, marketing and customer success teams. The office marks Lucidchart’s first international expansion. It generates 25 percent of its total revenue from Europe and over 33 percent from international users.
FOODS
• Smithfield Foods Inc., based in Virginia, has announced, through the nationwide expansion of Smithfield Renewables, projects designed to help meet its goal to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2025. As part of the expansion of Smithfield Renewables, Smithfield is setting a goal to implement “manure-to-energy” projects across 90 percent of Smithfield’s hog finishing spaces in North Carolina and Utah, and nearly all Smithfield’s hog finishing spaces in Missouri over the next 10 years. In Utah, Smithfield is investing in renewable natural gas (RNG) production by building 26 hog farms equipped with covered lagoons specifically designed for anaerobic digestion.This project marks the first time that Smithfield is building U.S. hog farms equipped with renewable energy technology. The engineering includes in-ground digesters to collect biogas that will be refined and pumped into the natural gas pipeline. Once complete, the project will create enough RNG to power 4,000 homes each year.Smithfield is constructing the farms, which will ultimately be owned and operated by contract growers. In 10 years, more than 90 percent of Smithfield’s hog finishing spaces in Utah will have the capabilities to produce renewable energy, Smithfield said.
GOVERNMENT
• Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Dec. 21 by Salt Lake County for 2019-2020 Community and Support Services (SSBG, ESG and CDBG public services) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Hard Cost programs. A federal grant application handbook is available at www.slco.org/hcd to assist applicants through the process, as well as the link to ZoomGrants for the applications. The Salt Lake County Division of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has released the request for applications for Community & Support Services and CDBG Hard Cost Programs. The funds include CDBG and ESG funding through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and SSBG funds through the state of Utah.
LAW
• Holland & Hart has hired Emily Tabak, Chris LeCates, Nils Lofgren and Rob Hartshorn to the firm’s Salt Lake City office. Tabak, LeCates and Nils join the firm’s Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources practice. Hartshorn joins the firm’s Real Estate and Construction practice. Tabak advises clients on various environmental compliance, permitting, and litigation matters at state and federal levels. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Tabak was an associate at K&L Gates LLP in New Jersey and she also practiced at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP in New York City. LeCates counsels natural resources clients on complex title and transactional matters. He assists clients with drilling, division order, financing and acquisition title opinions and has experience with title examination of private, federal, state and Indian lands. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, he practiced in North Dakota, focusing on oil and gas litigation, title opinions, foreclosures, commercial law and general commercial litigation. His education includes a B.S. from Utah State University. Lofgren provides counsel to energy and resources clients on title examination, due diligence and real estate matters. He advises oil and gas companies in exploration, development and operation of projects on fee, state, federal and Indian lands. Nils earned his J.D. from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, his Masters of Real Estate Development from the UofU’s David Eccles School of Business and his B.A. from the UofU. Hartshorn represents institutional, commercial, and developer clients in real estate acquisitions and dispositions as well as leasing and development for various property types throughout the United States. He also assists large commercial and retail landlords and tenants in lease preparation and lease negotiations.
MILESTONES
• Vivint Solar Inc., a Lehi-based residential solar provider, has installed 1 gigawatt of solar energy systems since its launch seven years ago. Founded in 2011, Vivint Solar has more than 146,000 customers in 22 states.
NONPROFITS
• National Ability Center, a Park City-based provider of adaptive recreation and Splore outdoor adventures, has broken ground for its Equestrian Center expansion and new Recreation Center. It is the largest project for the organization since building the lodge in 2002, which houses families, Paralympic athletes, program participants and more throughout the year. The National Ability Center has partnered with Big-D Construction to manage and facilitate the construction. The Equestrian Center expansion will add an additional 11,715 square feet to the current space, while the Recreation Center will provide 8,355 square feet for offices, indoor activity rooms and more. Both undertakings are scheduled to be completed by mid-summer 2019.
REAL ESTATE
• Burbidge Investment Group Inc., in partnership with Sundance Bay Capital, has acquired 66 acres land across Utah Highway 40 from the Deer Valley Resort. Landscope, an affiliate of Burbidge, is the developer of the Shores at Stillwater and Village at The Shores, two developments in the Mayflower area of the Jordanelle. The new acquisition in the immediate Mayflower area follows the announcement last year by Extell Development Co. of its acquisition of land neighboring the Deer Valley Resort. In total, that acquisition is in excess of 2,300 acres. Landscope’s property will feature 180 condominiums and 200 attached townhomes. The first component will consist of 24 condominiums and 34 townhomes.
• Buckanan Street Partners, a California-based real estate investment management firm, has completed construction on Incline at Anthem, a luxury, active adult apartment community at 11901 Freedom Park Drive, Herriman. Units are available for lease at the 298-unit project for adults over age 55. Buchanan Street Partners purchased the partially completed Incline project in 2017.
RECOGNITIONS
• Two individuals and one company were honored at the Utah Global Forum for their outstanding contribution to advancing international trade and commerce. Lifetime Products was recognized as Company of the Year. Established in 1986, Lifetime Products is a privately held company in Clearfield that employs 3,000 workers globally and manufactures polyethylene folding tables, chairs and residential basketball hoops. With other offerings from outdoor sheds and composters to playsets and kayaks, Lifetime has products sold in more than 110 countries around the world. David Utrilla, founder and CEO of U.S. Translation Co., was honored as Person of the Year. While still in college, Utrilla founded company in 1995 to provide translation and interpretation services. Today, the company has more than 4,000 linguists worldwide. Utrilla also serves as the honorary consul of Peru and incoming president of the Utah Consular Corps. Stan Rees, founder of Salt Lake Community College’s Global Business Center, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Rees has promoted international business for more than three decades, providing assistance and counseling to companies as director at the U.S. Department of Export Assistance Center, and later as the founder of Salt Lake Community College’s Global Business Center. In 2006, he developed the Executive Certificate of Global Business Management course offering international business training through workshops, seminars and business briefings. Each year, the World Trade Association of Utah partners with Key Bank to honor international business leaders at the Utah Global Forum, organized by World Trade Center Utah, the Salt Lake Chamber and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
• BioUtah honored several individuals at the 2018 Utah Life Sciences Summit for significant contributions to Utah’s life sciences industry. Awards were presented to Kelly Slone McAleer, former president and CEO of BioUtah, and Melanie Bowen, state director at the office of U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch. Awards also were presented to Scott England, Merit Medical; Kerri Harris, BD; and Jake Willis, Nelson Labs, who are industry leaders of the Medical Innovations Pathways program. BioUtah also honored Richard Ji, its outgoing chairman, for his service.
• Utah’s my529 educational savings plan has received Morningstar Research Services’ top accolade, the Morningstar Inc. Analyst Rating of Gold, for the eighth consecutive year. Morningstar evaluated 62 plans nationwide in the annual report, with my529 being one of four to earn the Gold rating. Morningstar’s Manager Research Group assesses 529 plans based on oversight, underlying investment quality, the asset-allocation approach used by the age-based portfolios, fees and performance. In 2018, my529 changed its name from the Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP).
• Brigham Young University and the University of Utah are among the top undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship schools in ranking released by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. Among undergraduate programs, BYU was ranked No. 4 and the UofU was No. 9. The University of Michigan was top-ranked. Among graduate programs, BYU was No. 10 and the UofU was No. 19. Babson College was top-ranked. The lists are based on surveys it conducted from July through August of administrators at more than 300 schools offering entrepreneurship studies. The 60-question survey covered the schools’ commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom.
• Brigham Young University recently earned a PRISM award for payroll best practices in the area of management by the American Payroll Association. The honor was in recognition of its managerial efforts to increase the payroll customer service experience for employees of the university. The university’s payroll department’s customer service is annually evaluated by groups that interact with payroll. Over the past year, the seven-person payroll team at BYU spent several months undergoing training on emotional intelligence and how it can be applied to employee interactions with the payroll department. After undergoing the training, the annual customer service score received by the university’s payroll team was 9.1 out of 10, the department’s highest rating in 10 years.
• Lauren Walker, chief supply chain officer at Young Living Essential Oils, Lehi, was named Guest of Honor at Impact Magazine’s Women of Impact Honorary Black Tie Affair in Washington, D.C. The ceremony honored exceptional female business leaders who make a significant impact in their industries and local communities. Walker has three decades of experience with high-profile international companies. She worked at Xerox as an engineer, followed by 10 years with Procter & Gamble in supply chain, manufacturing/technical operations, and quality. She also worked for seven years with Johnson & Johnson as a plant manager and as program manager of its oral care franchise. Prior to joining Young Living in 2016, she was vice president of manufacturing at Amway.
• The recent Utah Global Forum included the presentation and judging of three finalists from the World Trade Center Utah’s annual Pitch Competition. The competition provided small to medium-sized Utah businesses with an opportunity to compete for grant funds to advance their international business goals. Taking first place and $10,000 was Harvest Lane Honey. Finishing in second place and winning $7,500 was Dark Energy. The third-place winner ($2,500) was Emissions-Based Maintenance (EBM).
RETAIL
• Eyemart Express, based in Texas, has opened a store at 1475 Main St., Logan. The 3,386-square-foot store is the company’s first location in Utah and brings approximately eight new jobs. Eyemart Express offers prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. It has 189 stores in 36 states.
• U-Haul Company of Utah Inc., Salt Lake City, has announced that Towne Storage Urban Edge, 350 W. Aspen Ave., Salt Lake City, has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer. It will offer U-Haul trucks, towing equipment, moving supplies and in-store pick-up for boxes. Towne Storage Urban Edge partners are Victor and Justin Kimball.
RURAL UTAH
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its November meeting, endorsed Rural Fast Track grants for three companies. Liquid Herbals Manufacturing, in Vernal in Uintah County, was endorsed for a $50,000 grant to help; the company purchase an automated bottle filler and capper. The $190,650 project is expected to create six new full-time positions. Iron Worx LLC, of Naples in Uintah County, was endorsed for a $50,000 grant to help the company purchase several pieces of equipment, including welders, a press, a grinder and a CNC plasma table. The $132,000 project is expected to result in three new full-time positions. Kurry Jensen Transport LLC, in Cleveland in Emery County, was endorsed for a $25,000 grant to help the company purchase a new truck/tractor. The $145,000 project is expected to result in two new full-time positions. All three grants had been approved by the Governor’s Rural Partnership Board.
SERVICES
• Cake Hair Salon has moved from its location at 210 E. 500 S., Salt Lake City, where it had been for 11 years, to a new building at 1010 S. State St., Salt Lake City. The new site is an area designated for redevelopment through the Main Street America program, a national nonprofit program with a track record of revitalizing business districts. The new site features 2,500 square feet of space and enough room to expand from six styling stations to 10. The company plans to add approximately 20 jobs over the next eight to 10 years. Salt Lake City is the first city in Utah to receive a Main Street America designation and chose two neighborhoods for the program: the Granary District, near 800 South and 300 West, and State Street between 600 and 1000 South. The Cake Hair Salon is the first business to participate under the State Street designation.
• Spherion Staffing, a Taylorsville-based recruiting, staffing and workforce solutions company, has named Angie Johnson as branch manager for Taylorsville and promoted Vicki Silva to Utah Valley director for the Spherion Utah offices. Johnson has over 10 years of experience in recruiting knowledge and account and client management to Spherion of Utah. After joining the team in 2016, she was quickly promoted to branch manager. Silva began her career with Spherion in the Utah Valley as an on-site manager in 2000.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a Salt Lake City-based biotechnology company, has announced a $1.6 million Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research grant award from the National Institutes of Health via the National Institute on Aging. It follows the completion of milestones set in the Phase 1 grant of $223,000 awarded in 2016. Both grants focus on cellular senescence, whereby individual cells no longer divide or undergo cell death. Research in animal models has demonstrated that a progressive build-up of senescent cells — as happens with age and disease burden — can negatively impact tissue function and foster inflammation.
• TazWorks, a Salt Lake City-based company involved in technology solutions and business strategies for the background screening industry, has hired Maricela Cazares as product manager. Cazares most recently spent 16 years with Imperative Information Group.
• Finicity, based in Murray, has partnered with Experian and FICO to launch UltraFICO, a new credit score that incorporates consumer-permissioned, alternative data into the decisioning mix. The new score, called UltraFICO Score, leverages account aggregation technology and distribution capability from Experian and Finicity to help consumers improve access to credit by tapping into consumer-contributed data, such as checking, savings and money market account data, that reflects responsible financial management activity. With UltraFICO Score, a consumer grants permission to contribute information from banking statements, including the length of time accounts have been open, frequency of activity and evidence of saving, which can be electronically read by Finicity and combined with consumer credit information from Experian to provide an enhanced view of positive financial behavior. The three companies estimate this new score has the potential to improve credit access for the majority of Americans and is particularly relevant for those who fall in the gray area in terms of credit scores (scores in the upper 500s to lower 600s) or fall just below a lender’s score cut-off. The UltraFICO Score will launch as a pilot program in early 2019 and is scheduled to be broadly available to lenders in mid-2019.