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ACCOUNTING
• BKD CPAs & Advisors, based in Denver, has promoted Jennifer Hallam to a regional marketing role and hired Cecily Waters to fill Hallam’s previous position in the Colorado/Salt Lake practice unit. Based in Denver, Hallam is now regional marketing director for BKD’s North Region, which comprises 14 markets in eight states, including Utah. In this role, she provides coaching and guidance to office marketing teams across the region. Hallam has been with BKD since 2010, first as senior operations manager and later as marketing manager for the Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City offices, leading marketing, branding and advertising efforts across the three markets. She also has played a role in community engagement via the BKD Foundation. Waters succeeds Hallam as marketing manager for the Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City offices. Prior to joining BKD, Waters planned and executed integrated marketing communications plans for clients in the hospitality, IT, software and hardware, and healthcare industries.
ASSOCIATIONS
• The St. George Area Chamber of Commerce has hired Brad Buhanan as chief operating officer. Buhanan most recently work in business development and management at America First Credit Union. He recently completed his term as chairman of the chamber’s board. He also has served as vice chair and past chair of the board.
COMMUNICATIONS
• WeLink, a Lehi-based fixed wireless broadband provider, has hired Mark Trout as president and Brendan Smith as chief operating officer. Trout will lead the company’s technology, network planning, deployment, engineering and G&A functions, and coordinate product offerings internationally. He also will oversee network expansion and network operations. Before joining WeLink, Trout spent most of his career working for high-tech software and hardware companies, executing process optimization and systems strategies. He was responsible for the growth, business operations and P&L for Accenture’s Electronics and High Tech Group. His career also includes serving as chief transformation officer for the eBay Enterprise Group, and serving as CTO/CIO at Vivint Solar/Sunrun. Smith will be responsible for sales and general business operations, including customer experience and field teams across all markets. He brings more than 18 years of experience leading large organizations, including serving as senior vice president at Sunrun.
CORPORATE
• The board of directors of Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc., Lehi, has authorized the repurchase of up to $30 million of the company’s common shares. The repurchases are in addition to the $15 million repurchase program that was announced in March 2021, which will be completed in the coming weeks. Repurchases may be made from time to time as market conditions warrant and are subject to regulatory considerations, the company said. Nature’s Sunshine Products markets and distributes nutritional and personal care products in more than 40 countries. Nature’s Sunshine manufactures most of its products.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 2 on a list of best cities to launch a startup, compiled by realestatewitch.com. The criteria included business applications per 100,000 people in the past five years, employment growth in the past 12 months, average annual income, LLC filing fees, corporate tax rate, chief executives per 1,000 people, Google Trends data, and patents filed per 1,000 people in the past five years. The study showed that Salt Lake City has 4.1 CEOs per 1,000 residents, nearly three times the national average of 1.42. In the past five years, Salt Lake City residents have filed 8,198 business applications per 100,000 residents, fourth-most on the list. The top-ranked overall city is Las Vegas. The bottom-ranked city is Hartford, Connecticut. Details are at https://www.realestatewitch.com/best-startup-cities-2022.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 99 on a list of “2022’s Best Cities for Outdoor Weddings,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the number of outdoor wedding venues; the average size of yards; and access to various wedding services like caterers, bridal and tuxedo shops, cake bakers and others. The top-ranked city is Garden Grove, California. The No. 191 city is Memphis, Tennessee. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-outdoor-weddings/.
• Garfield County residents have the lowest overall tax burden in Utah, according to a new study by SmartAsset. It analyzed the income, sales, property and fuel taxes in each county. It was followed, in order, by Wayne, Piute, Millard, Emery, Beaver, Uintah, Carbon, Rich and Daggett counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/taxes/utah-tax-calculator#utah.
• The average Utah driving commuter is willing to pay $7,316 for the perfect parking spot, according to a survey by Gunther Mazda, based in Florida. It found that drivers commuting to downtown Portland, Oregon, would pay $24,122 for that perfect parking spot. Details are at https://www.gunthermazda.com/prime-parking-spots/.
• Utahns have a “fitness debt” of 10.2 hours per year, according to a study by BarBend.com. It measured the amount of exercise undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic versus CDC recommended guidelines of 130 hours per year. The national average is 14.9 hours per year of fitness debt. The Dakotas are the only states with a fitness credit. The highest deficit was in Wyoming, at 35.6 hours per year.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Ameritech College of Healthcare, a Salt Lake City-based nursing institution, has received accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. It followed a multi-year review process that included several site visits and an analysis of the Ameritech faculty, curriculum, facility and programs. The commission is a private nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation to accredit postsecondary institutions.
ENVIRONMENT
• USANA, a Salt Lake City-based company offering supplements and skincare and nutrition products, has released its first sustainability report for 2021 to establish a company baseline and guide upcoming goals and future projects. Over the last three decades, USANA has invested in its people, products and the planet, and 2021 marked a year of steps to accomplish small and large-scale projects aimed at corporate accountability and sustainability. The company had a goal of having employees give 1,000 hours of service. They volunteered 1,687 hours. It also kicked off its first-ever Diversity & Inclusion Volunteer Week in November, encouraging employees to give back to their community and those from marginalized backgrounds. During seven days in June, employees and associates worked side-by-side to dedicate time, effort and resources to make a sustainable impact for those who need it most. In 2021, USANA planted over 10,000 “garden towers” that use less land and 30 percent less water than traditional gardening methods. Thriving towers are now found in various communities in Kenya, Mexico and Utah provide life skills and food security while keeping the environmental impact close to neutral. USANA also joined Utah’s Sustainable Business Coalition, pledging to reduce plastic waste for a better, cleaner environment. The company’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guide was a major paper-saving effort, using a digital, interactive version to replace printing of 28 market-specific gift guides, saving an estimated 400,000-plus pages of paper. It also eliminated the shipping carbon footprint of boxes of catalogs being sent to 14 countries.
GOVERNMENT
• Katy Fleury has been named communications director for Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and will be the primary media contact for inquiries related to general Salt Lake County matters. Fleury most recently served the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a strategy and resource center for state legislators, for five years, the last three as the national communications director. Prior to that, she served as deputy communications director for the Colorado House Democrats and worked on the policy and communications team of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
HEALTHCARE
• Axcend, a Provo-based company focused on a capillary-based liquid chromatrography system, has hired Joseph Flinders, Maria Sanchez and Julie Blake and promoted Maria Sanchez. Flinders, senior account manager, previously worked for Dow as a technical sales representative. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University. Sanchez, senior account manager, previously was the manager of inside sales for Agilent Technologies’ chromatography products division. Blake, chief marketing officer, has experience in marketing innovation, serving in marketing leadership roles at 3Com Corp. and most recently as chief student affairs officer at Davis Technical College.
• Canyon Labs has opened a 17,000-square-foot laboratory at 16217 S. Bringhurst Blvd., Suite 600, Bluffdale. Established in 2021, Canyon Labs plans to partner with health science organizations throughout the country to perform testing, consulting and Institutional Review Board services for dietary supplements, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, personal care, and food and beverage.
INSURANCE
• PCF Insurance Services, a Lehi-based national insurance brokerage, has appointed Jenni Lee Crocker to senior vice president of operations. She is responsible for enabling agency partnership potential, maximizing organic growth, enterprise carrier relationships, internal partner communications and executing agency strategic partner initiatives. Crocker has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2021 and has more than 23 years of experience in sales and growth, management, risk advisory and business transformation experience. Most recently, she spent nine years at Marsh, serving as managing director and corporate leader for Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia since 2018 and head of the Virginia office since 2013. Prior to Marsh, she served as a director at EY from 2000-13.
INVESTMENTS
• CoFi, a Salt Lake City-based company that empowers contractors to get project funding backed by on-demand payments, has announced raising $7 million in seed funding. The funding was led by Blackhorn Ventures, MetaProp and Tenacity. CoFi said the funding will help process billions of dollars in active loan requests nationwide. CoFi was founded in 2018.
• Dónde, a Salt Lake City-based platform for better time off, has raised a $3.3 million seed round. It was led by Kickstart Fund and joined by Next Frontier Capital, Jeremy Andrus, Aaron Skonnard and others. Since launching its product in March 2021, Dónde has brought on 31 customers, who use its platform to fund travel savings accounts and grant access to a travel marketplace for employees to book vacations. The seed funding will enable Dónde to introduce its platform to the wider market.
• Red Door Capital Partners LLC, a Salt Lake City-based independent private equity firm, has announced that with support from their network of high net worth individuals and family offices, an investment in Adapt Ideations, a technology company in the logistic and supply chain management industry. The amount was not disclosed. Founded in 2017, Adapt operates in Singapore, Australia and the U.S.
• Ion Solar LLC, a Provo-based provider of rooftop solar sales and installations, has secured an investment led by the investment team at Greenbelt Capital Partners. Investors in the transaction included Trilantic Energy Partners II North America, Blackstone Credit and Energy Impact Partners. The amount was not disclosed. Matthew Rasmussen, David Rasmussen and Jeremy Call, the founders of Ion, will continue to own a majority equity stake in the business and will lead the company through its next phase of growth. Since its founding in 2013, Ion has installed over 200 megawatts across more than 30,000 households.
• MRP.io, a Park City-based medical equipment supplier, has landed an investment from Decathlon Capital Partners, which has offices in Palo Alto, California, and Park City. The amount was not disclosed. MRP.io said the capital will fund its expansion into new market segments and support the company’s growth while increasing inventory availability and expanding customer service capacity. MRP.io will repay the investment through its future revenues. No equity or ownership was exchanged for growth capital, and MRP.io was not required to give up any control of the company.
NONPROFITS
• The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation’s Healthy Communities Initiative has received $10,000 Live Like Sam Foundation grant. The Park City-based nonprofit honors the life and legacy of Sam Jackenthal, a former Park City Ski and Snowboard and Flying Ace All-Stars professional jumping team athlete. The donation will support the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation’s Healthy Communities Initiative and Scholarship Fund which introduces low-to-moderate income youth to new sporting opportunities. The nonprofit Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation works with local schools, physical education classes and at-risk programs to provide transportation, equipment, field time and instruction for youth in Utah communities.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Known Medicine, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on discovering new cancer drugs, has announced a partnership with Duke University to predict drug efficacy for lung cancer patients. The collaboration will enable Known Medicine to optimize and validate its novel ODIN platform. Together, Known Medicine and Duke University aim to determine if Known Medicine’s platform can be used to predict actual clinical outcomes in 75 patients.
• The Hemp Blockchain Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company building cloud-based solutions to accelerate the growth of the industrial hemp industry and revolutionize the quality of carbon credits available to companies seeking to balance their CO2 emissions, has announced a partnership with FFES Environmental. FFES will support the Hemp Blockchain in its XPRIZE Carbon Removal submission as partner in the Environmental Justice portion of the $100 million dollar competition. FFES will provide resources and lands for creation of sustainable eco-friendly communities centered on the production and processing of hemp. The Hemp Blockchain also announced a $10 million seed round, with preparations for Series A in the works for the 2022 third quarter.
• The Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum in downtown Salt Lake City has announced a partnership with Macey’s that includes an to its popular grocery store exhibit. The Macey’s Grocery Store at the museum will be renovated with updated branding, groceries and interactive activities.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Utah Jazz Foundation has announced a contribution to nonprofit Airbnb.org in support of its ongoing effort to provide housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine. The donation is expected to fund more than 32,200 nights of temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees. The commitment will support Airbnb.org’s initiative to offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine into Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and other surrounding countries.
• Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., a Provo-based beauty and wellness products company, has donated nearly $100,000 from the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation to MCE Social Capital in conjunction with International Women’s Day. MCE is a nonprofit impact investing firm that generates economic opportunities throughout the developing world, with a focus on investing in women and environment and climate action. Since its inception in 2006, MCE has invested in more than 140 enterprises to benefit more than 9 million people, 73 percent of which are women.
• KeyBank has several steps to support humanitarian efforts currently underway for the people of Ukraine. KeyBank Foundation will give a $100,000 grant to the American Red Cross to support its efforts to provide food, water and other essential items and services to the people of Ukraine and will make a $50,000 grant to UNICEF for its work supporting children and families impacted by the war in Ukraine. KeyBank also is launching a special one-to-one employee matching gift program through KeyBank Foundation that will prove a dollar-for-dollar match for all employees up to $5,000, for several organizations supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, including Americares, CARE, Project Hope, Save the Children and World Central Kitchen.
REAL ESTATE
• Xenter Inc., a privately held startup device-data-drug healthcare technologies company, has leased 30,000 square feet in the new Irvine Office Park at the Point of the Mountain in Draper. The lease announcement was made by Colliers.
• The Perry Group, Salt Lake City, has joined The Real Brokerage Inc., a Toronto-based real estate brokerage. The Perry Group has a team of more than 85 agents and was co-founded by Jack Perry and his son, Michael Perry. Jack Perry is a 13-year veteran of the industry, spending six years at Coldwell Banker, six years at Keller Williams, and one at eXp Realty. Michael Perry entered the real estate industry five years ago. The father-and-son team first worked as solo agents buying Zillow leads and established a team of agents four years ago in the Salt Lake City area.
RECOGNITIONS
• The top 20 teams have been announced in the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a business-idea contest for Utah high school students ages 14-18. Teams are competing for $30,000 in cash and scholarships. More than 90 applications were submitted. The competition is managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, and sponsored by Zions Bank. The next step is public online voting for the best idea, taking place through March 25 at https://lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec/vote2022/. A public showcase and awards ceremony is set for March 26, 2-4 p.m. at Lassonde Studios. The top 20 teams are (in alphabetical order) Cent, American Fork High School; Creative Book Folding, Bear River High School; Eco-Elevated, Mountain Ridge High School; Flora, West High School; Lazorback, Westlake High School; Lock2Drive, Orem High School; Moodz Clothing, Farmington High School; Morris Workstations, Park City High School; Noisy NICU Cap, American Heritage School; Opala, Park City High School; Pure Solutions, Skyline High School; Secured, Farmington High School; The Meliorist, American Fork High School; Therma Band, Skyridge High School; Travelminder, Park City High School; UPLIFT Gum, Mountain Ridge High School; Valor, Mountain Ridge High School; Viridis, Park City High School; Vita Dolce, Academy for Math Engineering & Science; and Western Lands Preservation, Waterford School.
• Neumont College of Computer Science, Salt Lake City, has been named the nation’s best return on investment for low-income students, based on a study published by Georgetown University. Neumont offers six bachelor’s degrees, all focused on computer science and information technology, and has been operating in Utah for nearly two decades.
RESTAURANTS
• The Capital Grille, a fine dining restaurant, will open March 25 at 40 E. 100 S., Suite 1000, Salt Lake City. Its opening will create 90 new jobs. The new restaurant occupies over 12,000 square feet, including a lounge and patio, as well a separate floor for private and semi-private space for events. The restaurant is led by managing partner William Bowler. Previously the managing partner at The Capital Grille in Palm Beach Gardens, Bowler started his career as a server and will celebrate 15 years with The Capital Grille in April.
• Graze Craze, a new concept in charcuterie, has opened in Sandy and Pleasant Grove. The concept specializes in hand-crafted platters that feature customizable food displays that are perfect for grazing, including fruits, vegetables, cheese, gourmet sweets and more. The Sandy location is at 80 E. 1600 S., in the South Pointe shopping center. It is owned and operated by Matt and Amy Alter. The Pleasant Grove location is at 1926 W. Pleasant Grove Blvd., Suite B, in the Valley Grove shopping center. It was opened by former NFL athlete and current Brigham Young University football coach Preston Hadley, alongside his cousin and business partner Benton Perry. Perry and Hadley plan to open 11 more Graze Craze locations throughout Utah.
RETAIL
• Mercedes-Benz Van Center – Warner has formed as a new Mercedes-Benz Van Center concept in the Mountain West region at 5396 W/ 2400 S., West Valley City. Its inventory will feature Sprinter and Metris model lineups for new, certified and non-certified pre-owned sales. The Van Center concept is based around a one-stop shopping experience, with Acorn Vans Mercedes-Benz Expert Upfitter, VanBuilders upfit and accessories, and Warner Van Rental facilities on the same block. The new -W dealership is on a nine-acre campus.
TECHNOLOGY
• Lendio, a Lehi-based small-business financial solutions marketplace, has added Trisha Price to its board of directors. Price is chief product officer at Pendo and also was chief product officer at nCino. She has nearly 25 years of experience in financial services and technology, including holding numerous senior leadership positions at Primatic Financial and large enterprises, including Fannie Mae and John Hancock.
• Squeeze, a Salt Lake City-based sales experience provider, has appointed Dorian Ducker as director of business development operations. Ducker has over a decade of experience in business development, managing and directing operations for companies in the technology and digital marketing space. He spent five years at Adobe, during which, among other tasks, he managed the onboarding process for the entire WWFO (worldwide field operations) organization and communicated with VP-level leadership to prioritize training and sales process changes for WWFO. He most recently held the position of senior customer success manager at Domo. Prior to Domo, Ducker worked as senior director of operations at Finch.