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ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Salt Lake City Arts Council has opened Finch Lane Gallery, 54 Finch Lane, Salt Lake City, for the 35th annual Holiday Craft Market. 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. It will be open daily through Dec. 19.
ASSOCIATIONS
• The Utah Technology Council has moved its headquarters to 13693 S. 200 W., Suite 120, Draper. It previously had been at 2755 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 500, Salt Lake City.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah has hired Dirk Samson as a personal trust officer in Ogden and Salt Lake City. Samson has 20 years of experience in trust services, most recently serving the past year as the trust relationship officer at Greenleaf Trust. He previously was the vice president and senior fiduciary officer at Zions Bank for seven years, vice president and senior trust officer for PNC, trust officer and investment manager at Chemical Bank, and trust and institutional sales officer at Fifth Third Bank.
• Mountain America Credit Union, Sandy, has announced it will have a new branch at 495 N. Station Parkway, Farmington. A ribbon-cutting took place Nov. 30 and a grand opening celebration is expected to take place in the spring. Lindsay Hymas will be the Farmington branch manager. Hymas has worked in the financial services industry for 15 years. Mountain America has more than 90 branches in five states and more than 50,000 ATMs.
CONTESTS
• Silicon Slopes has announced a $250,000 Startup Competition. The application deadline is Dec. 21 at 11:59 p.m. The winner will receive a $250,000 investment from Peak Ventures. Applicants must have raised less than $1 million in venture funding. Local investors will screen each applicant and determine whether they qualify and if they should advance to the preliminary rounds, which take place in January as stand-alone events at Silicon Slopes headquarters. Preliminary-round judges are members of the Peak Ventures team and CEOs selected by the firm. Each of the four preliminary-round events will feature eight startups selected during the screening process. The competition finale takes place Jan. 31 at Silicon Slopes Tech Summit 2019. Details are at https://www.siliconslopessummit.com/competition.
CORPORATE
• Vista Outdoor Inc., which has operations in Utah, has completed the refinancing of its existing senior secured credit facilities by replacing those facilities with a new asset-based revolving credit agreement and term loan credit agreements. The new credit agreements provide for a $450 million revolving credit facility, a $109.3 million term loan, and a $40 million junior term loan. Vista Outdoor used the proceeds from initial drawings on the revolver and term loan to pay off existing term loans and revolving credit facility borrowings. Future borrowings under the amended revolving credit facility will be used for general corporate purposes. Vista Outdoor designs, manufactures and markets consumer products in the outdoor sports and recreation markets.
GOVERNMENT
• The City Library has hired Quinn Smith for its newly created role of assistant director of marketing and communications. The City Library consists of a main library and seven branch libraries with a staff of over 300. Smith will lead all marketing, communications and external relations for the City Library and will provide leadership helping to advance the library’s mission. Smith most recently was a marketing manager at Salt Lake Community College, where she was responsible for marketing all institutional events, the School of Arts, Communication and Media, and the Grand Theatre.
PHILANTHROPY
• Boeing is granting the Utah STEM Foundation $75,000 to support the Utah STEM Action Center in launching the “Utah STEM Collective Impact” study. The study will focus on the impact of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education efforts to prepare Utah students for entry into STEM careers while also gauging their bearing on the state’s long-term economic growth. Boeing’s contribution will allow the Action Center to expand its collaborative work with existing partners, including Davis School District and the Utah Education Policy Center, to measure impacts of STEM education efforts.
• Silicon Slopes has announced a new campaign, Silicon Slopes Serves, that will become the home for all of Silicon Slopes’ giving-back activities. Its first initiative is partnering with Feeding Children Everywhere to provide 1,000,000 meals to hungry kids in need. Each dollar donated will provide eight healthy meals for families in need and will be matched by Latter-day Saint Charities up to $50,000. A service event at the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) will focus on meal packaging and preparing them for delivery.
• Mountain America Credit Union and the Utah Jazz have announced that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah is this season’s first recipient of “Pass It Along,” a program featuring fan-nominated opportunities that reward five local charitable organizations with $5,000 each. The “Pass It Along” program has donated $130,000 to local charitable organizations since its inception in 2013. Fans are encouraged to nominate local charitable groups that they feel go above and beyond in giving back to the community via www.utahjazz.com/passitalong. One winner will be announced each month through March. Also, Mountain America has partnered with BYU Athletics to help fund humanitarian services and program. The credit union committed to donate $500 for each field goal made by BYU football and $50 for every three-point basket made by BYU men’s basketball during the 2018-2019 season. The credit union recently presented $6,000 to the American Red Cross as part of the football commitment. Mountain America also teamed up with the Humane Society of Utah to save 140 homeless pets over Thanksgiving weekend. As part of the “Fall in Love Adoption Special,” the credit union paid pet adoption fees at the Humane Society of Utah on Nov. 23-24. During the two-day event, nearly all animals at the Humane Society of Utah were adopted.
REAL ESTATE
• Monaco Apartments, a 247-unit multifamily complex in Millcreek, has been sold by Gelt Inc. to Bridge Investment Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale was announced by Marcus & Millichap. Shin and Brock Zylstra, vice president of investments, represented Gelt, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and asset management firm, and procured Bridge Investment Group.
• Security National Financial Corp., Salt Lake City, has announced two new leases of about 43,000 square feet for its Center 53 development in Murray. The entire sixth floor has been leased by an unnamed publicly traded national credit tenant. A portion of the first floor has been leased by Zwick Construction Co., which has built construction projects in 11 states and two foreign countries.
SERVICES
• Key Investment Services LLC (KIS) has named Mark Williamson as senior vice president and sales manager for its Colorado and Utah markets. He will be responsible for overseeing a regional team of financial advisors to help clients meet their investment goals. Williamson’s financial services career spans more than 18 years in the securities industry. He joined KIS as a financial advisor in 2006 and eventually served as a vice president in KeyBank’s Portland, Maine, region.
VENTURE CAPITAL
• Signal Peak Ventures, a Salt Lake City-based venture capital firm, has hired Ben Dahl as a managing director. Dahl has experience as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and attorney, most recently serving as a partner at Pelion Venture Partners.