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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Salt Lake City Arts Council has opened the 34th annual Holiday Craft Market at the Finch Lane Gallery, 54 Finch Lane. The market features work by a variety of Utah artists and includes jewelry, ceramics, textiles, artwork, prints and letterpress items, art glass, holiday decorations, items for the home, and artisan foods. More than 90 artists are participating. It will be open daily through Dec. 20.
ASSOCIATIONS
• BOMA International has elected Scott Bennion as vice chair of its Nominating Committee. Bennion, of Riverpark Development, is president of BOMA Utah. The Nominating Committee is responsible with identifying, encouraging and selecting candidates for the Officer and Executive Committee of the Board of Governors positions, for recommendation to the Board of Governors. Bennion has served on the BOMA International Nominating Committee for two years and represents the Pacific Northwest region. The region consists of BOMA locals from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has appointed David White and Allen Morris as mortgage lenders and Arthur Newell and Julia Bibby as commercial loan officers, all at the bank’s Orem branch. White previously was the branch manager for Bendigo Bank in Australia. Morris, also to serve as a mortgage lender for the Orem branch, worked as a retention point advisor at Autopoint, a software company in Utah. Newell has worked in the banking industry for more than 20 years and has experience as a regional manager, senior vice president and banking manager at various banks in Utah. Bibby has experience as a credit analyst and client service manager at banks on the east and west coasts.
HOSPITALITY/FOOD SERVICE
• The St. Regis Deer Valley has appointed Grant Dipman as general manager. Dipman has more than 26 years of luxury hospitality experience as a longtime leader of Ritz-Carlton hotels throughout the United States. He most recently served as general manager of the Ritz-Carlton in Denver. Prior to that, he was general manager at Ritz-Carltons in Phoenix and Georgetown. He began his career in 1991 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, and also served in leadership positions at Ritz-Carlton properties in five other cities.
INVESTMENT
• Simplus, a Salt Lake City-based quote-to-cash implementation company, has closed on a $9.3 million Series B funding round led by repeat investor EPIC Ventures and included existing investor Salesforce Ventures, new investor Cross Creek Advisors and others. Simplus, raised an additional $8.5 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank for a total of $17.8 million. A portion of the $9.3 million was used to acquire consulting firm CRM Manager. CRM has offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City.
• Empiric Health, a Salt Lake City-based company launched this year by Intermountain Healthcare and Oxeon Partners, has closed a $3 million “super seed” financing from Intermountain Healthcare. Empiric will use the financing to commercialize and expand its service offering and workflow optimization tools, which will help health systems uncover and address variations in procedures and improve outcomes.
• NewBridge Global Ventures Inc., an Orem-based consulting company focused on the cannabis industry, has entered into a purchase agreement with Kodiak Capital Group LLC, a Newport Beach, California, private equity fund. The agreement calls for NewBridge to file for the sale of common shares that may be issued to Kodiak under the terms of the equity purchase agreement. After the SEC has declared the registration statement effective, NewBridge has the right over three years to sell up to $2 million of Kodiak common stock. Proceeds from the investment will be used for growth capital and to fund NewBridge’s roll-up strategy to acquire cannabis companies in the ancillary production and distribution verticals that may be using blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
• Bridge Investment Group LLC, Salt Lake City, has appointed Edward F. Pierzak as managing director of investment strategy. He will be responsible for contributing to the strategic focus of five major verticals —multifamily, seniors housing, commercial office, affordable housing and real estate-backed fixed-income investment portfolios — with an emphasis on forward views of underlying economic, property sector and market trends. Pierzak has two decades of institutional real estate investment management expertise across portfolio management, investment strategy and research. Prior to joining Bridge, he was a managing director at TIAA, where he directed strategy and research efforts for the firm’s Global Real Estate investment management team. He also served as a portfolio manager for Henderson Global Investors, in charge of the Henderson North American Property Fund.
NONPROFITS
• Odyssey House, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization that provides substance abuse treatment programs for teens, adults, mothers with children, and fathers with children, has named Randall Carlisle as media and community affairs specialist. Carlisle is a longtime broadcast journalist and news anchor. Most recently, he was reporter/weekend news anchor with KTVX, the ABC network affiliate in Utah. He has held this position since 2014. From 1991-2008, Carlisle was KTVX’s main news anchor. He also has worked in broadcasting and news in Ohio, Detroit, Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas, as well as at KUTV in Salt Lake City.
PHILANTHROPY
• Richard and Jane Spillman have contributed $5 million to Intermountain Foundation at Logan Regional Hospital to enhance the programmatic efforts at the Gossner Cancer Center. The gift from the couple, from Hyrum, is an endowment that will fund oncology clinical support services in perpetuity, including several caregiver positions such as nurse navigators, a financial navigator, a dietitian and a social worker. The Spillmans’ gift follows a $2 million contribution made in March by Gossner Foods Inc. Together, the gifts will help fund the upcoming 9,000-square-foot expansion of the Gossner Cancer Center, and support the skilled group of medical oncologists and other caregivers who care for patients. Construction is planned for 2018. The family’s company, Spillman Technologies, was founded in Logan in 1982 as Spillman Data Systems. Founder Richard Spillman created a software package that public safety agencies could use to track 9-1-1 calls, map emergency situations, and trace dispatched units in real time. The company grew from three employees to 300, and moved to Salt Lake City. In 2016 the family sold the business to Motorola Solutions.
• America First Credit Union will give a total of $100,000 to 10 organizations that “work tirelessly to improve the lives of others.” As part of the Community Assistance Program, America First Charitable Foundation (America First’s nonprofit organization) will present $10,000 each to Christmas Box International, The Road Home, SafeNest, The Lantern House Homeless Shelter, YCC of Northern Utah, Cathedral of the Madeline Good Shepherd Program, For the Kids, Three Square, Food & Care Coalition and Catholic Community Services’ Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank.
• The South Jordan Chamber of Commerce and the Jordan Education Foundation are hosting the fourth annual “Christmas for Kids” fundraiser to provide $100 Gordmans shopping trips for deserving children in the Jordan School District. The campaign’s goal is to raise $25,000 for 250 middle school and high school students. Donations are being accepted now at both the chamber and foundation. The foundation provides programs for the 13,000 economically disadvantaged students — about 2,000 of those qualify as being homeless — in the Jordan School District.
• Amazon recently partnered with Volunteers of America Utah’s Youth Resource Center For Homeless & At-Risk Teens in Salt Lake City to donate $15,000 in Amazon “wish list” items to the shelter’s teens and young adults.
REAL ESTATE
• A four-building office portfolio at 3809 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, has been acquired by Castlewood Development Inc. and Staker Investments. Adjacent to the Meadowbrook Trax station, the 5.61-acre site will be redeveloped as a multifamily property. Plans call for 290 units built in two phases. A 5,300-square-foot retail and restaurant component is also planned to be part of the development. The project is set to begin construction in mid-2018, with an anticipated completion date in the fourth quarter of 2019. Eli Mills, Scott Wilmarth and Patrick Bodna of the Salt Lake office of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Patrick Juhlin represented Castlewood.
• Woodside Homes, a Salt Lake City-based residential home builder, has signed an office lease for 37,308 square feet at Six Gateway, which is a Class A office building totaling approximately 104,000 square feet and consisting of four floors. Woodside Homes will be leasing space on the second and third floors, expanding its heaquarters space. After improvements are completed, Woodside Homes plans to take occupancy of one suite in January and two others in April. Peter Black of CBRE represented Woodside Homes in the transaction.
RECOGNITIONS
• Fred Thurston has been named recipient of the 2017 Utah Leopold Conservation Award, presented by Sand County Foundation in partnership with Western AgCredit, Utah Farm Bureau Federation and the Utah Cattlemen’s Association. The award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. Thurston received a crystal award and $10,000 at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s recent annual convention in Layton. Thurston owns a cattle ranch in the Weber River Valley in Morgan County, where his great grandfather settled.
• England Logistics, a Salt Lake City-based freight brokerage firm, has been recognized as a “Training Top 125” recipient for 2018 by Training magazine. This annual award identifies organizations that excel in employee training and development. To determine a portion of the qualifying score, an outside research company evaluates applications based on five categories: training program/scope, tuition reimbursement, training infrastructure and delivery, evaluation/metrics, and human resources. The remaining portion of the score is decided by Training magazine’s judging panel. Award rankings will be announced in February. England Logistics provides a variety of training programs ranging from division-specific coaching to overall professional growth.
• Several Utah companies and individuals earned honors in 14th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Recipients were honored recently in New York City. The 2017 awards program included entries from 25 nations and territories. Winners were selected by more than 170 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process. Utahns earning multiple awards were Melisa T. Quijano, president of Asia Pacific at Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Gold Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Consumer Products, 11 to 2,500 Employees, and Silver Stevie for Female Executive of the Year, Business Products, 11 to 2,500 Employees, All Other Industries; and Vivian Chung, vice president of marketing at ARIIX, Bronze Stevies for Maverick of the Year, All Other Industries and for Woman of the Year, Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations. Earning Silver Stevies were Deanna Latson, chief product officer and founder ARIIX, for Female Executive of the Year, Consumer Products, 11 to 2,500 Employees; Anna Matuszkiewicz, European sales and marketing director at ARIIX, for Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa; Deanna Latson, chief product officer and founder of ARIIX, for Most Innovative Woman of the Year, Manufacturing; and Maki Lerwill, market operations manager for Japan and South Korea at ARIIX, for Employee of the Year, Business, All Other Industries. Earning Bronze Stevies were Ashley Dreier, CIO/CTO at HealthEquity, for Female Executive of the Year, Business Services, 11 to 2,500 Employees, Banking and Financial Services; Kris Rudarmel, president/founder at Anchor Water Damage & Restoration, for Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Consumer Services, 10 or Less Employees; Beth Thornton, executive vice president of sales and business development, and Amy Knapp, vice president of information security and service delivery, both at O.C. Tanner, for Female Executive of the Year, Business Services, 11 to 2,500 Employees, Business Services; Sable Petersen, director of marketing at Lucid Software Inc., for Employee of the Year, Business, Computer Software; and A23 Advisors, for Most Innovative Company of the Year, 10 or Less Employees.
• Brent Brown, president of Brent Brown Toyota in Orem, has been nominated for the 2018 Time Dealer of the Year, awarded by Time in partnership with Ally Financial, for industry accomplishments and community service. He will be among 47 dealer nominees nationwide who will be honored at the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in March. Brown was chosen to represent the New Car Dealers of Utah in the national competition. He was nominated by Craig A. Bickmore, executive director of the New Car Dealers of Utah. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Ally will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Artemis Health, a Salt Lake City-based benefit optimization data platform provider, has hired Alain Roy as vice president of customer success. Roy has 25 years of experience working with employers on data warehousing, reporting and analytics, plan design, vendor selection, financial management and data-driven decision making. Prior to joining Artemis, he was managing director of analytics supporting ACO clients at Evolent Health. Roy also led large consulting initiatives around analytics and data warehousing with both Mercer and Towers Watson. He was the national leader for Towers Watson’s National Data Cooperative (NDC).