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ACCOUNTING

• Tanner LLC, a Salt Lake City-based public accounting firm, has promoted Grady Johnson to partner in its Audit and Assurance Services practice. Grady joined Tanner in 2015 and has been in public accounting for over 14 years. Prior to joining Tanner, Grady spent 10 years with a Big 4 accounting firm in Salt Lake City. He provides auditing, financial reporting and consulting services to a variety of clients in the SaaS, technology, manufacturing, distribution and consumer products sectors, as well as companies that have initiated debt and equity transactions and initial public offerings (IPOs). He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Utah.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its February meeting, approved a motion picture tax credit of up to $60,000 for Local Studio LLC for its documentary production “Zion Forever.” Showcasing Zion National Park, the film will be shot in Washington, Iron and Kane counties. Principal photography will take place through June 28. The production is expected to spend at least $300,000 in Utah, GOED documents indicate. The directors are Sean Slobodan and Travis Pitcher. The producers are Shandi Kano and Pitcher.

• Global Management Amusement Professionals has announced that it is the new operator of Seven Peaks Waterpark in Provo. Global Management Amusement Professionals’ management team has partnered with dozens of water parks and entertainment venues across the United States. Seven Peaks Waterpark is scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend.

DIVIDENDS

• The board of directors of Extra Space Storage Inc., Salt Lake City, has declared a quarterly dividend of 86 cents per share on the common stock of the company for the 2019 first quarter. The dividend is payable March 29 to stockholders of record March 15. Extra Space Storage is a real estate investment trust that owns and/or operates 1,647 self-storage properties.

• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Provo, has increased the quarterly cash dividend to 37 cents per share, up from the previous 36.5 cents. The dividend will be paid March 13 to shareholders of record Feb. 25. The company develops and distributes beauty and wellness products.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Utah is ranked third on a list of “Best States for Jobs for People with Disabilities,” a list in The Disability Statistics Compendium, released by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire and using Census Bureau data. Utah’s disability employment rate is 49.5 percent, bested only by top-ranked North Dakota (56.3 percent) and South Dakota (51.3 percent). Of the 50 states, 29 saw job gain for people with disabilities, although nationally they saw a slowdown in job gains compared to those of the previous year. The employment rate nationally for people with disabilities is 37 percent. Of the more than 20 million working-age people with disabilities, 7.5 million have jobs. Details about disability employment are at www.respectability.org/statistics.

• Utah is ranked fifth in a new study rating “the safest states for seniors,” compiled by TheSeniorList.com and using Census Bureau data. Among states, Utah was seventh-ranked for fraud, at 413 per 100,000 people (a lower number correlating to lower risk); 30th for monthly housing cost, $948; second for percentage living in poverty, 6.4 percent; 38th for violent injury death rate, 21.1 per 100,000 people; and first for living alone, 2.15 percent.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

• Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, has appointed Van Ton-Quinlivan to its Board of Trustees. Ton-Quinlivan is a thought leader in workforce development with experience driving large scale-system change. Ton-Quinlivan spent nearly eight years serving in leadership roles with the California Community Colleges, most recently as the executive vice chancellor of workforce and digital futures for the 115-institution system. Her career spans the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Prior to the California Community Colleges, she held leadership roles with Pacific Gas and Electric, including serving as director of workforce development. She is now executive-in-residence at the Institute for the Future (IFTF), where she examines the ways technology impacts learners, institutions and employment.

• Registrations are being accepted for the Spring 2019 Executive Certificate of Global Business Management Course at the Salt Lake Community College’s Miller Business Resource Center. The registration deadline is March 22. The course begins March 27 and runs Wednesdays, 6-9 p.m., for 10 weeks. The location is SLCC’s Miller Campus, 9690 S. 300 W., Sandy. The cost is $995. The course topics include export readiness, international trade strategies, business in diverse cultural markets, international marketing, finding quality overseas distributors/partners, international cash management and getting paid, trade finance, international trade logistics including documents and shipping, international legal and tax considerations, export regulations and managing a global business. Details are available by contacting Deb Bilbao at (801) 957-5336.

EXPANSIONS

• Sportsman’s Warehouse, a Midvale-based sporting goods retailer, will open a new store in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this summer. The 30,000-square-foot store will offer hunting, shooting sports, fishing, camping, apparel and footwear merchandise. It will be the company’s 93rd store in 23 states.

• Cleanspark Inc., a Salt Lake City-based microgrid company, has announced its first contract executed outside the U.S. It has been awarded a contract to serve as the technical consultant for a large industrial park in Costa Rica. Services will include financial feasibility study, conceptual engineering, procurement and construction support, programming, testing, and commissioning of the system in partnership with a local EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) firm. The customer owns and operates several other industrial properties throughout the country. Financial terms were not disclosed.

GOVERNMENT

• Scott Pulsipher, president of Western Governor’s University, Salt Lake City, has been appointed to serve on the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. The board, co-chaired by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Ivanka Trump, advisor to President Trump, will collaborate with the newly formed National Council for the American Worker to develop strategies that will better align education with 21st century workforce needs. Board terms will last through 2021. Pulsipher was nominated for the board by both Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert and former U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch.

HEALTHCARE

• Frelii Inc., a Lehi-based medical technology company that uses gene sequencing and artificial intelligence to determine risk and lifestyle modifications, has appointed Dr. Anthony R. Torres and Dr. Susan H. Morelli to its Scientific Advisory Board. Torres has been published in dozens of peer-reviewed journals for his work in protein chemistry, molecular biology, the genetics of autism and more. Torres’ experience includes not only university research but also in the biotechnology field. He also obtained seven patents for novel inventions in numerous areas. Torres received his M.D. degree at the University of Utah. Morelli is a neonatologist at Utah Valley Hospital and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area. She has been published in several journal articles and has been in practice for nearly 25 years. She has held the position of instructor at the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, at the University of Utah.

INTERNATIONAL

• Michael Buch, chief science officer at Young Living Essential Oils, Lehi, has been elected to the board of the Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP). The institute has pioneered the development of a new type of international forum based on a series of invitation-only conferences to encourage rational thinking about science and technology policy. Buch has nearly three decades of experience in the healthcare industry.

LAW

• Parr Brown Gee & Loveless, Salt Lake City, has hired David P. Mooers-Putzer as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Section. His education includes his J.D. from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law.

MILESTONES

• Autoliv Inc., an automotive safety systems company, recently produced its 1 billionth airbag inflator at its Brigham City facility. That plant is the largest inflator plant in the world. Production at the plant began in 1989 and today it builds an average of 1.3 million inflators per week. It has 1,200 employees. Inflators are pyrotechnic devices that rapidly inflate airbags when a crash is detected. The Brigham City plant produces inflators for all seating positions in a vehicle. Autoliv has about 3,600 employees in Brigham City (airbag inflators), Ogden (airbags, a service parts organization, injection molding, logistics warehouse and a technology center), Promontory (pyrotechnic materials) and Tremonton (airbag initiators and micro gas generators).

NONPROFITS

• The Sand County Foundation, a Wisconsin-based national nonprofit conservation group, has hired David Bailey of Liberty, Utah, as director of its Leopold Conservation Award program in western states. The foundation works with farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners to improve soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat. The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes farmers, ranchers and foresters for their outstanding conservation achievements on working land. The program currently is offered in 14 states. Bailey will manage the award program in Utah, California, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota. Bailey’s most recent work experience was as a relationship manager of commercial and agribusiness accounts for Zions Bank. Prior to that, he served as the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s vice president of organization, where he managed its Young Farmer and Rancher program. Bailey, who has worked as a farm manager, professional hunting guide and owned a woodworking business, earned a degree in agriculture systems technology from Utah State University in 2002. He owns the farm he grew up on near Liberty.

OUTDOOR PRODUCTS/RECREATION/SPORTS

• Snowbasin and Sun Valley have joined Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass program in a multiyear alliance beginning with the 2019-20 winter season. Snowbasin season passes go on sale in early March. Epic Pass holders will have direct-to-lift access to Snowbasin and Sun Valley. The Epic Pass program has several offerings, including premier season pass holders, a local pass, and passes good for four and seven days.

PHILANTHROPY

• C.R. England Inc. and wholly owned subsidiary England Logistics, Salt Lake City, have set a goal to provide funding for 1 million meals for children in 2019 through partnerships with 21 food banks in the United States and Mexico. This marks the second consecutive year the two companies have set a goal to provide funding for children’s meals programs as part of the One Initiative, a campaign that invites company employees, customers, carriers, freight agents and the general public to join the fight against childhood hunger. The companies set a combined goal in 2018 of 1 million donated meals and far exceeded that milestone, funding more than 1.6 million meals by year-end. Among the participating food banks is Utah Food Bank.

REAL ESTATE

• KeyBank Real Estate Capital, the commercial real estate business unit of KeyCorp, has appointed Nikolaus Muelleck as a senior banker in its Income Property Group (IPG). He will be based in Salt Lake City and will be responsible for providing financial direction and advice to existing clients and developing new business relationships in the area. Muelleck has more than 10 years of commercial real estate lending experience. Prior to joining Key, he served as a relationship manager and financial analyst for Wells Fargo’s commercial real estate lending group. Muelleck began his career in real estate finance as an external senior auditor at Deloitte & Touche. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Masters of Accountancy from Brigham Young University.

• Richmond American Homes of Utah Inc., a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings Inc., has announced the grand opening of Simpson Springs at 1323 S. Homestead Lane, Syracuse. The community features ranch-style layouts with three- or four-car garages and two to six bedrooms.

RECOGNITIONS

• The Utah Section PGA, focused on the game and business of golf in Utah, recently announced its annual awards. Ryan Kartchner, Promontory’s director of golf, won the Professional of the Year category. Winners of the annual awards are nominated by Utah Section PGA professionals. Award winners are dedicated to their profession by working to improve the quality of golf in Utah, including growing and teaching the game. Kartchner has been with Promontory since 2017 where he has overseen the luxury vacation home community’s two signature golf courses: the Jack Nicklaus Painted Valley Golf Course and the Pete Dye Canyon Course. He also has served on several boards and committees related to the sport.

• Five companies in Utah have been named in Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. They are No. 4 Workday, Salt Lake City; No. 13 American Express, Salt Lake City; No. 22 Adobe, Lehi; No. 62 The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Salt Lake City; and No. 67 CHG Healthcare, Salt Lake City. Each year, Fortune and research partner Great Place to Work compile comprehensive feedback to establish its list. Employees are surveyed on elements of compensation, diversity, paid time off and other perks.

RURAL UTAH

• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its February meeting, endorsed a pair of Rural Fast Track capital investment grants. Mountain West Pre-Cast, of Brigham City, Box Elder County, was approved for a grant of $50,000 to help it upgrade its wastewater processing equipment. The $109,000 project is expected to result in two new full-time positions. If the company retains the jobs for 12 consecutive months, it qualifies for a grant fund reimbursement of up to $3,000. Ensign Staffing, of Richfield, Sevier County, was approved for a $50,000 grant to help it purchase and renovate a vacant building to become office space for the company’s expanding rural staffing service, a $140,000 project. If the company retains the job for 12 consecutive months, it qualifies for a grant fund reimbursement of up to $1,500. The grants had previously been approved by the Governor’s Rural Partnership Board.