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AUTOMOTIVE
• Ken Garff Automotive Group, Salt Lake City, has launched a diversity, inclusion and belonging program centered on three imperatives, with a goal to employ 30 percent of its workforce as female leaders in a male-dominated industry. Designing and leading the DIB program are Ninye Rencher, vice president of diversity, inclusion and belonging, and Dana Geddes, senior director of DIB. Garff Enterprises, the parent company of Ken Garff Automotive Group, employs over 5,000 people across all its 65 dealerships in eight states.
CONSTRUCTION
• Rand, a Virginia-based construction company, has opened an office in Salt Lake City, its sixth. The office is in the Sugar House neighborhood and is already underway on its first sizable project in the city for a nonprofit healthcare company. Correy Selden has joined the company as a director and will be responsible for managing day-to-day operations at the office. Selden has 16 years of experience in estimating, budgeting, scheduling, project procurement, value engineering, bidding, and contract negotiation in the sector of tenant improvements. Other recruits include Ben Weaver as a project manager and Gordon Dutson as a superintendent.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Salt Lake City is No. 1 on a list of markets where the housing market is markets likely to see the biggest gains in the number of homes for sale in 2023, compiled by fintech company Knock. Its Buyer-Seller Market Index, which ranks the markets with the largest expected inventory gains in 2023, shows that despite a slight increase in home prices (0.7 percent) from December 2021, homes nationwide sold at a lower price than the asking price in all but six of the 100 largest markets. Median days on the market increased to 29, a full two weeks longer than a year earlier. The report indicated that inventory declined by 20.3 percent in Salt Lake City between December 2019 and December 2022. Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and New Orleans are the only markets forecast to see price declines over the next 12 months.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 15 on a list of “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker” in 2023, compiled by MovieMaker. It compiles its annual list based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research and personal visits (whenever possible). During the past year, 15 films and five television series with a combined production budget of $124 million filmed in Utah.
• Utah is No. 26 on a list of where non-mortgage debt was highest entering 2023, compiled by LendingTree. Utahns had an average of $39,121 in debit from auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans and other debt excluding mortgages. The study found that between December 2021 and December 2022, the average non-mortgage debt in Utah jumped by $5,796, the third-highest across the U.S. The highest overall average was in Georgia, was at $45,778. The lowest was in Minnesota, at $35,201. The report is available at https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/state-debt-study/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 55 and West Valley City is No. 195 on a list of “Best Cities for Kid-Friendly Vacations,” compiled by Lawn Love. It ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on family-friendly accommodations, attractions and restaurants, transportation options, affordability and safety among 23 total metrics. The top-ranked city is New York City. The No. 200 city is Clarksville, Tennessee. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-kid-friendly-vacations/.
• Utah is ranked No. 7 on a list of “most romantic states in the U.S.,” compiled by Wisevoter. It considered indicators of love and romance, such as marriage rate, romantic communication, spending on Valentine’s Day gifts, overall happiness and openness to love. The most romantic state is Nevada. The least-romantic state is Kentucky. Details are at https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/most-romantic-states-of-the-us/.
• Young people in Utah expect to earn no more than $53,972 per year during their careers, according to a study by online course platform Teachable. That puts Utah at No. 39 among states. The national average is $65,205. The highest figure is in Massachusetts, at $97,000. The lowest is in Oklahoma, at $45,486. Details are at https://teachable.com/blog/income-expectations.
• Moab is ranked No. 5 on a list of best “staycation” destinations in the U.S., compiled by Travel Lens. It considered locations that have the most restaurants and attractions per 10,000 people, as well as those that are the safest, most affordable, and have the highest average temperature. Among Moab’s 2021 stats are an average cost of accommodation of $116 per night (weekend), about 115 restaurants per 10,000 people, about 479 attractions per 10,000 people, an average temperature here is 56.1 degrees, and 1,144 crimes in Utah per 10,000 people. The top-ranked destination is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Details are at https://www.travellens.co/us-staycation-index/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Western Governors University, a Salt Lake City-based online, nonprofit, has announced a change for 14-to-18-year-old students for academic programs in WGU’s School of Education, Leavitt School of Health, College of Business and College of Information Technology. Students those ages may apply for and enroll in select WGU bachelor’s degree programs. Accepted teenage students at WGU will begin classes on March 1, with a capacity for 500 students in the first cohort.
• Salt Lake Community College has named Sidni Shorter as its first Minority Business Center director. Shorter served as CEO of the Utah Black Chamber since the spring of 2022 and has experience as a small-business owner, partner relations and community development expert, and working with nonprofits and federal grant initiatives. Before moving to Utah, Shorter acquired and ran the finance and accounting firm Execute Now in Louisiana. She also held executive director and director roles at Louisiana Heath and Rehabilitation Center and at Louisiana Housing Alliance. At Nerjyzed Entertainment, she helped establish the first and only woman-led African American-owned video game studio producing Xbox 360 content. Shorter also developed entrepreneurship courses for Baton Rouge Community College as well as Social Impact Investment curriculum for a national client. She spent three years managing the largest Red Cross operation in the world and returned to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina to lead the workforce development On-The-Job program for the city of Baton Rouge through the National Emergency Federal Grant. The Minority Business Center is the result of a Minority Business Development Agency grant awarded to SLCC last fall by the U.S. Department of Commerce to assist minority-owned businesses. The center will be located at SLCC’s Miller Campus as a division of The Mill Entrepreneurship Center.
EVENTS
• Fortune, in partnership with Threshold Ventures, will have the inaugural gathering of the Fortune Founders Forum on July 9-10, immediately preceding the 22nd annual Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City. The tech conference will be at the Montage Deer Valley from July 10-12. This year’s theme, “Reset and Reinvent,” reflects the extreme highs and lows of the last few years. The forum and Brainstorm Tech membership are by invitation only.
GOVERNMENT
• The Utah Division of State Parks has selected Laurie Backus as deputy director of operations. Laurie succeeds Dave Harris, who recently retired after over 30 years of service. Backus has 23 years of experience, including a short stint working with the U.S. Forest Service, serving as a law enforcement park ranger at Wasatch Mountain State Park, and serving as assistant region manager, Jordanelle State Park manager, and most recently the north region manager. Backus graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in parks, recreation, and tourism.
HEALTHCARE
• Zion Healing Inc., a St. George-based only behavioral health and substance abuse treatment franchisor, has appointed James Amos to its board of directors. Amos is the former CEO of Mailboxes Etc. (now The UPS Store) and a 2012 inductee into the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame. He is a former Marine Corps captain and veteran of split combat tours in Vietnam, and an author of several books.
INSURANCE
• Alliant Insurance Services has hired Alex Gloeckner as senior vice president within its Employee Benefits Group. Based in Salt Lake City, Gloeckner will design, implement and manage employee benefits solutions for a diverse and growing client base. Gloeckner has more than 20 years of benefits experience. Prior to joining Alliant, he was vice president at a Utah-based insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting firm. He studied at the University of Utah.
• Bamboo Insurance, a Midvale-based insurance organization, has launched its homeowners coverage in Arizona. Since 2018, Bamboo has established a niche for providing homeowners coverage in disrupted markets.
INVESTMENT
• Wasatch Global Investors, a Salt Lake City-based investment manager, has promoted Natalie Pesqué to portfolio manager on the Wasatch Micro Cap Fund. She previously was an associate portfolio manager. Pesqué joined Wasatch Global Investors as an analyst in 2015. Prior to joining Wasatch, she was an entrepreneur and teaching assistant for Business Law at the University of Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the UofU. Wasatch Global Investors also announced the addition of 17 new employee shareholders, bringing the total to 49. This equity distribution represents employees from across the firm, including investment research, operations, compliance, marketing and sales. More than half of all employees at Wasatch are now owners of the firm.
LAW
• Clyde Snow & Sessions has hired Michael Affleck and elected Jake Taylor as shareholder. Affleck’s practice focuses on criminal defense and civil litigation. Prior to joining Clyde Snow, he worked as a prosecutor with the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s Office. Affleck graduated from the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2021. Taylor started working with Clyde Snow & Sessions us in January 2020. His practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, securities enforcement, regulatory defense, and government and independent investigations. Prior to joining Clyde Snow, Taylor served as a deputy district attorney at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office. He also previously served as an assistant attorney general at the Utah Office of the Attorney General. At both agencies, he prosecuted numerous white-collar cases in Utah state courts.
NONPROFITS
• Sutherland Institute, a Salt Lake City-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan policy and educational think tank, has added Jean B. Bingham to its board of directors. From 2017-22, Bingham served as the general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Prior to that service, she earned a master’s degree in teaching and taught English as a second language to immigrants and refugees. Bingham serves on the SHOW UP for Foster Care Community Committee, an initiative of Utah First Lady Abby Cox.
• The Center for Economic Opportunity and Belonging, a nonprofit organization housed under the EDCUtah Foundation, has appointed Robert Roake as director of operations. Roake has a broad range of experience in nonprofit management, community partnership building, and fundraising, most recently serving as chief operations officer at NeighborWorks Salt Lake. He previously worked for U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson. The center was launched in 2021 as the private sector’s commitment to the Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
OUTDOOR PRODUCTS
• Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment, apparel and footwear and a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based Clarus Corp., has appointed Neil Fiske as brand president. Fiske joins Black Diamond from Marquee Brands, a brand accelerator with a portfolio of 13 brands. Fiske served as a CEO for almost 20 years, including at L Brands’ Bath and Body Works division; Eddie Bauer; Billabong International; and Marquee brands, which owns Dakine and Body Glove.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Utah Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Utah has received a $5 million gift from longtime benefactors the Price family, establishing an endowment to support the UMFA executive director position. The Marcia and John Price Executive Director Endowment for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts will provide funding in perpetuity to support the salary, benefits, professional development, travel and other needs of the museum’s executive director. The Prices have been major supporters of the UMFA for many decades.
• The Boy Scouts of America’s 37th annual “Scouting for Food” has begun and will continue through March 3. Local sponsors are Bank of Utah, Arctic Circle, Boy Scouts of America, Red Hanger Cleaners, Young Automotive, Yesco, Smith’s, Utah National Guard and Souper Bowl of Caring. The campaign seeks donations of nonperishable food items like chili, soups, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, along with boxed meals and peanut butter. Details are at www.utahscouts.org/scoutingforfood.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Crown Council’s Dental Hall of Fame has inducted Dr. Dan Fischer. He is the founder and CEO emeritus of Ultradent Products Inc., a South Jordan-based developer and manufacturer of high-tech dental materials, devices and instruments. The ceremony took place Jan. 28 at the council’s 28th annual meeting. Fischer started Ultradent at his kitchen table 44 years ago. Today, the company operates 16 offices around the world, in addition to its South Jordan headquarters. The company makes over 500 products and sells them in over 130 countries worldwide. His humanitarian work has included Ultradent donating products to dental humanitarian missions around the world and leading efforts to raise funds for the Utah Food Bank for several years, as well as making donations to catastrophic natural disaster relief efforts globally. Fischer founded and works to support and fund Ultradent’s long-standing charity, The Diversity Foundation, which focuses on providing education to and help young people who leave the FLDS community.
• Vivint Smart Home Inc., a Provo-based smart home company, has been selected as “Home Security Company of the Year” in the seventh annual IoT Breakthrough Awards program. IoT Breakthrough is a market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global Internet of Things (IoT) market. This year’s program attracted more than 4,000 nominations from companies all over the world.
• Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Salt Lake City, ranked as one of Utah’s top nursing schools by several organizations. The reports identified colleges and universities based on a number of criteria, including accreditation, tuition and graduation rate. Niche, a platform that connects individuals with their future schools, neighborhoods or employers, ranked Joyce University as a top nursing program in Utah due to its high acceptance rate and flexible programs. Additionally, Niche ranked Joyce as one of the top five safest college campuses in the nation and a top 50 nursing college in America. Nurse.org, dedicated to helping nurses at every stage of their careers, ranked Joyce in the top nursing programs in Utah based on their tuition, NCLEX scores and flexible programs. Incredible Health, focused on helping employers find specialized nurses and nurses find their next permanent role, ranked Joyce among Utah’s top nursing programs due to its accreditation, 94 percent job placement rate and innovative simulation center.
• Twenty finalist teams have been named in the 2023 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide business-model competition. The student startup teams advance to the final round of the competition, open to college students across Utah. Teams are competing for over $60,000 in cash and prizes, including a $30,000 grand prize. The winners will be announced online on Feb. 25, following the final event competition. The competition is managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. The finalists are Beadology, Utah Valley University; Budget Buds, Snow College; Homestead Home, Utah State University; House of Posters, UVU; Hushie, Salt Lake Community College; Inxson, Southern Utah University; Isodox Enigma, UVU; Mentally Real, Weber State University; MindSmith, Brigham Young University; Off the Rack, University of Utah; On-V, UofU; PhotoHive, USU; Pure Solutions, UofU; Qwela, SLCC; Santa Cruz Savory, USU; SelMeat, Snow College; Swish, BYU; The CR3W Museum, SUU; Village Mobile-Based Rehabilitation Program, WSU; and Zaymo, BYU.
• TCN, a St. George-based provider of a comprehensive cloud-based call center platform for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies, has been named a finalist for “Best Use of Telephony/Unified Communications in Cloud Computing” in the 2022-23 Cloud Awards. TCN received the recognition for TCN Operator, a call center platform with a set of easy-to-use, automated agent tools and advanced apps. In its 12th year, the Cloud Awards program celebrates the most innovative products and companies in cloud computing and is open to organizations worldwide.
TECHNOLOGY
• Entrata, a Lehi-based provider of an operating system for the multifamily industry, has hired Mark Coffman as senior vice president of tech enabled services. He will help to guide the operations teams for utility management, invoice processing and Leasing Center. Coffman has over a decade of experience leading some of the largest companies in the multifamily industry, including most recently at RealPage, where he served as senior vice president of utility management. He previously was the COO of AUM. Prior to working in the multifamily industry, he led teams at United Airlines and Comcast as a managing director and regional vice president.
• AMP Smart, a Lehi-based smart home company, and Titanium, a California-based solar installer, have finalized their merger and now offer consumers smart home and solar sales and installation solutions. The transaction was financed by AMP Smart’s existing investors, Seacoast Capital and St. Cloud Capital. Global Power Partners LLC and Stang Capital Advisory LLC acted as financial advisors in the transaction.