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ASSOCIATIONS
• Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bank, was elected chairman-elect of the American Bankers Association during its annual convention Oct. 20. He will serve a one-year term among the ABA’s officers and is expected to be elected chairman of the ABA in 2021. The industry organization represents thousands of banks of all sizes across the U.S. that employ more than 2 million people. He is a past member of the association’s Communication Committee and its Government Relations Committee, as well as a member of the Senior Advisors Group to the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion in Washington, D.C. Anderson has 46 years of financial services industry experience and served as chairman of the Utah Bankers Association from 2002-03.
• Ryan Napierski, president of Nu Skin, Provo, has been appointed chairman of the Advocacy Committee for the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. He will lead the organization’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the direct selling industry to key external stakeholders. Napierski will chair the committee for three years. He also is currently in his second year as chair of the U.S. Direct Selling Association and is a member of the WFDSA CEO Council. Ritch Wood, CEO, also currently sits on the CEO Council and Vicky Leevutinun, president of Nu Skin Southeast Asia, is on the WFDSA Asia Pacific Association Advisory Council.
COMMUNICATIONS
• Four Utah Native American tribes have been granted licenses from the Federal Communications Commission that will help them provide communications connectivity to their rural communities: the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The FCC, through its first-of-its-kind Rural Tribal Priority Window, granted licenses to 154 tribal applicants for mid-band spectrum in order to close the “digital divide” and enable advanced wireless communications, including 5G, to rural tribal communities. The licenses provide for exclusive use of up to 117.5 megahertz of 2.5 GHz band spectrum.
CORPORATE
• Clarus Corp., a Salt Lake City-based developer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the climb, ski, mountain and sport markets, has begun a public offering of $85 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2026. In connection with the offering, the company expects to grant to the underwriters an option, which is exercisable within 30 days, to purchase up to an additional $12.75 million aggregate principal amount of the notes, solely to cover over-allotments. The company said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for the repayment of amounts due under the revolving portion of its credit agreement and for general corporate purposes. Jefferies and Stifel are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per common share, payable Nov. 19 to shareholders of record on Nov. 12. The board also declared regular quarterly cash dividends on the company’s various perpetual preferred shares. The cash dividend on the series A, G, H and I shares are payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record on Dec. 1, while the cash dividend on the Series J shares is payable March 15 to shareholders of record on March 1.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 37 among states for having the most small business employees out of total employees, according to rankings compiled by UpCounsel, using 2020 state data from the U.S Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy and Kauffman’s “2019 Indicators of Entrepreneurship.” Utah statistics from the study include small-business employment of 590,417, or 46 percent of all employees; small businesses in the state, 301,265, or 99.3 percent of all businesses; new employer businesses per 100 people, 0.17 (35,531 net new jobs); average startup early job creation, 5.90, eighth-highest among states; self-employed minorities, 21,497 (No. 33 among states); startup one-year survival rate, 77.9 percent; rate of new employer business actualization, 10.7 percent; and rate of new entrepreneurs. 0.3 percent. Details are at https://www.upcounsel.com/small-business-statistics-for-every-state.
• Park City is at the top of rankings of the best cities to retire in in Utah, compiled by financial technology company SmartAsset. It analyzed tax-friendlin ess, availability of medical care and social opportunities for seniors. Park City was followed by (in order) Price, Nephi, Salt Lake City, Providence, Bountiful, Hurricane, Ivins, Brigham City and Roosevelt. Details are at https://smartasset.com/retirement/retirement-calculator#Utah.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Salt Lake Community College has welcomed Silvia Castro and Emily Hernandez Alzamora as members of the SLCC Board of Trustees. Castro will serve as a representative of the college’s Alumni Council and Hernandez Alzamora joins as president of SLCC’s Student Association. Castro is the executive director of the Suazo Business Center and has more than 20 years of experience working with a variety of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, the state of Utah, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, and nonprofits such as the Utah Microenterprise Loan Fund and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She has also served as the assistant director for the Women’s Business Center of Utah and as co-chair of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s Economic Development Transition Committee. Castro currently serves on the executive committee of Envision Utah, the Wasatch Front Regional Council’s Economic Development District and the Utah Governor’s COVID-19 Economic Taskforce. Hernandez Alzamora is SLCC’s Student Association president. She is a first-generation student studying business with plans to continue her education in business and law. A former SLCC Student Ambassador, she has worked with high school students to help them understand the transition to college and learn about scholarships, engagement and leadership opportunities.
GOVERNMENT
• Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is ranked No. 5 in a list of governors based on policy performance and result, as well as executive leadership before and after the start of the COVID-19 health crisis. The American Legislative Exchange Council released the ranking, called the 2020 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom, after considering 20 variables. The top-ranked governor is Greg Abbot of Texas. The bottom-ranked governor is Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.
HEALTHCARE
• SR Health by Solutionreach, a Lehi-based patient engagement solutions company, has hired Matt Dinger as vice president of professional services. Dinger will lead the strategic and tactical direction of SR Health implementation services to ensure that organizations maximize their SR Health partnership. Dinger has experience in professional and customer services, mostly recently as senior vice president of delivery and professional services at Central Logic. Prior to that, he served in leadership roles with Epic, including a vice president-level position where he oversaw tools, process and methodology for all global implementations in eight offices across 12 countries.
INSURANCE
• Central Insurance Cos. is opening a service office in Salt Lake City, according to the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), the Salt Lake City Dept of Economic Development and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). The customer services office manager is Christine Aszmann, who will be joined by five customer service agents. The Ohio-based property and casualty group provides insurance for more than 350,000 automobiles, homes and businesses in 24 states. The Central group of companies has combined assets of over $1.7 billion.
LAND USE
• The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has seeking volunteers for its UrbanPlan program, a curriculum in which students, public officials and community members learn about the fundamental forces that affect development. Its mission is “to cultivate a sophisticated level of discourse among local stakeholders involved in land use decisions through the education of tomorrow’s voters and leaders as a way to create better communities.” Participants must be land use professionals with several years of experience in the field who can attend the training sessions and who have the scheduling flexibility to commit to volunteer twice per year. Volunteers serve either as a facilitator, who challenges participants to improve their proposals, or a city council member, who selects a recipient for the request for proposals. Volunteer applications are due Nov. 11. To be considered for training, applicants must complete the UrbanPlan volunteer application form along with an RSVP to rachel.mcillece@uli.org. Virtual training sessions take place Nov. 7-18, 8:30 a.m.-noon.
OUTDOOR RECREATION
• U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt has designated two new national recreation trails in the Moab area. The Grandstaff Canyon Trail follows a stream for two miles and ends at Morning Glory Natural Bridge. The canyon empties into the Colorado River and is directly across from Arches National Park. Moab Brands (Bar M) is a system of 18 multiple interconnecting mountain bike trails, totaling over 31 miles, for riders of all abilities. The designations are part of a broader national announcement that establishes 30 new national recreation trails in 25 states, adding more than 1,275 miles to the National Trails System. The National Recreation Trails Program is jointly administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with a number of federal and nonprofit partners.
PHILANTHROPY
• Aspen Laser Systems, a Lindon-based medical laser company, has announced a long-term commitment to support the needs and services for Indigenous Health and Wellness Connections (IHAWC), a new nonprofit organization,. IHAWC was formed to address the unmet and growing needs of many Native Americans, including access to medical products and services. Aspen Laser has made an initial medical equipment donation of its advanced laser therapy system. This first system was delivered and installed at a medical clinic at the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada.
REAL ESTATE
• The Domain Cos., in partnership with Giv Development, has announced that Mya, a project at 447 S. Blair St. in downtown Salt Lake City, will open later this year. Mya is a $36 million mixed-income, mixed-use project featuring 126 one-bedroom apartments, shared workspace and ground-floor retail. The project marks Domain’s debut into the Salt Lake City market and is the first of additional planned development projects. Mya anchors a $125 million transit-oriented development by Domain combining residences, coworking space and retailers. Mya’s residents will have on-site parking; a fitness center; ground-level retail; 31,200 square feet of coworking space at The Shop; and sustainable, energy-efficient design with electric car charging, solar energy and Enterprise Green Communities certification. Goldman Sachs provided $10.5 million in construction financing, financed with tax-exempt bonds issued by the Utah Housing Corp. Goldman also provided $5.9 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. A $10.5 million Freddie Mac Forward Commitment was arranged by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). The project was also funded in part by a $3 million loan from the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City (RDA), a $1 million loan from the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, and a $622,500 loan from Salt Lake City. The architecture firm behind Mya’s design is KTGY Architecture+Planning, with Wadman Corp. serving as the general contractor and Farouki Farouki as interior designer.
• Mountain West Commercial Real Estate (MW) has welcomed Michael Francis, Wes Christensen and Alex Nielsen as its newest hospitality brokerage team joining the Salt Lake City office. The Francis-Christensen Hotel Group is a regionally focused hospitality brokerage team with over 26 years of collective experience. The team has experience acquiring or disposing of limited-service, select-service, full-service and extended-stay assets across several hospitality brands, including Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Choice, Best Western and Wyndham. Francis previously spent 17 years as a first vice president of investments at Marcus & Millichap. Christensen also worked for Marcus & Millichap as a first vice president and was a director within the National Hospitality Group. His education includes a master’s degree in real estate development from the University of Utah and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Brigham Young University. Before joining Mountain West, Nielsen worked with an asset management firm, working on multi-million-dollar portfolios for high net worth individuals and institutions. Nielsen graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.
• Title iO Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of SaaS automation solutions to the escrow and title settlement industry, has named Sheila McGuire as vice president of sales. McGuire has escrow, title and real estate technology experience, including previously holding positions as corporate trainer, technical implementation director, and national sales manager with First American Financial Corp.
RECOGNITIONS
• Kerry Desberg was named a Global CMO of the Year 2020 at the Global CMO Summit and Awards by Enterprise IT World. Desberg is chief marketing officer at Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based channel management platform and partner relationships management provider. Enterprise IT World recognizes the contribution of CMOs and marketing leaders who played a key role in aligning marketing strategies with business goals and contributing to the growth of the organization through sustainable competitive advantage. Five hundred marketing leaders from 25 nations earned the awards this year. The awardees were comprised of CMOs, marketing directors, vice presidents and marketing heads from companies in IT, ITES, telecom, data center, cloud and managed services.
• EKA Solutions Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of cloud-based integrated freight management ecosystems for carriers, brokers and shippers, has been honored as a winner of the FreightTech 100 award, presented by FreightWaves, a provider of trucking news, media and analytics. The awards recognize the most innovative and disruptive companies in the freight industry as voted on by a peer group of CEOs, industry leaders and investors.
• A Park City home has been named Home of the Year award winner by Mountain Living magazine. The design team for the home includes WJR Design, Poss Architecture+Planning, Gallo Builders and Soho Design Studio Landscape Architecture. The home has pavilion-like forms, terraces and 25-yard negative-edge swimming pool stepping down the hill.
• Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based channel management platform and partner relationship management (PRM) provider, has announced six companies as winners of its fifth annual Impartner Catalyst Awards recognizing channel program excellence. The global award winners are Fujitsu for Most Effective Partner Program Reinvention; Honeywell for Consistent Worldwide Partner Experience; Siemens for Partner Communications Revolution; Qualtrics for Partner Ecosystem Growth Explosion; Yamaha for Rapid Digital Transformation; and Zscaler for Lodestar for the Security as a Service Channel.
RETAIL
• Downeast has announced that its newly renovated concept home furnishings and lifestyle store in South Jordan will open Nov. 12. The store is at 11560 District Main Drive, Suite 400, in the District Shopping Center. Downeast has more than 40 retail locations in Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada.