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ACCOUNTING
• Tanner LLC, Salt Lake City, has appointed Derek Drysdale as the firm’s international tax director. Drysdale has 12 years of experience assisting large and small companies in international tax and cross-border transactions. He previously was employed with PwC’s international tax group in Atlanta and also served as director of international tax for SanDisk Corp. Drysdale earned his bachelor of science and master’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.
BANKING
• America First Credit Union has moved its Olympus Hills Dan’s branch to the Holladay Fresh Market at 3865 S. 2300 E., Holladay. The credit union has 130 locations.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of People’s Utah Bancorp has declared a quarterly dividend payment of 10 cents per common share. It was payable May 14 to shareholders of record May 7. The American Fork-based company is the holding company for People’s Intermountain Bank, which has 26 locations in three banking divisions, Bank of American Fork, Lewiston State Bank, and People’s Town & Country Bank; a leasing division, GrowthFunding Equipment Finance; and a mortgage division, People’s Intermountain Bank Mortgage.
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share. The dividend will be paid July 5 to shareholders of record June 29.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah tops the rankings of the “Top 10 Most Entrepreneurial States” in a list compiled by Amazon and based on the number of small and medium-sized businesses per capital that use Amazon. The rest of the list includes, in order, California, New York, Colorado, New Jersey, Washington, Florida, Delaware, Massachusetts and Oregon.
• Utah is tied with California in a list of the nation’s top 10 states for small-business lending, based on data from Lendio, a marketplace for small-business loans. The rest of the list includes, in order, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Massachusetts and Illinois. Utah was among the top four states with the biggest increase in demand for loans yeaer-over-year, at 81 percent.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Western Governors University’s College of Business has been awarded accreditation for its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The council accreditation certifies that the teaching and learning processes within the undergraduate and graduate business programs offered through WGU’s College of Business meet the standards established by ACBSP. This program-specific accreditation is in addition to the university's regional accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which was reaffirmed last year.
• The Utah Aerospace Pathways (UAP) program last week had its annual graduation event at the Utah Capitol. More than 50 high school seniors graduated with an aerospace and/or composite manufacturing certificate that qualifies them for an entry-level position at a local aerospace partner program. Aerospace partners include Boeing, Harris, Albany International, Janicki Industries, Orbital ATK and MSC Aerospace. Since 2016, industry partners have hired more than 60 students to full-time positions.
EXPANSIONS
• I9 Sports Corp., a nationwide youth sports league franchise business, has announced a plan to expand into Salt Lake City by adding existing locations in the area. I9 was founded 20 years ago to give sports enthusiasts a chance to organize and run youth leagues in their communities. Each franchise location offers a variety of sports leagues for local athletes ages 3-14 to choose from, including flag football, soccer, basketball, baseball and soccer. I9 has nearly 2 million registrations. Throughout the three remaining quarters of 2018, i9 Sports plans to add 20 new franchisees to the system. It now has 130 franchise locations in 28 states.
GRANTS
• The Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) has announced that 13 companies have been selected in its latest round of Technology Acceleration Program (TAP) grant awards. The companies and their technologies were recommended for funding through the competitive grant process that included panel reviews by industry and technical experts before being approved by USTAR’s Governing Authority. USTAR’s TAP grant complements the organization’s entrepreneur incubation program and provides competitive grants to allow companies to accelerate their technology development. In doing so, the TAP grant prepares companies to compete for private capital, with the ultimate objective of spurring positive economic impact to the state through an increased tax base and creation of high-paying jobs. Companies approved for TAP funding will now go through the contracting phase. The companies are Brilliant Points, Lehi; Cosmas Inc., Springville; Datawave, Saratoga Springs; Dragon Shale, Cedar City; IDbyDNA Inc., Salt Lake City; Kosmo Technologies, South Salt Lake; Knudra Transgenics, Murray; Majelco Medical, Woods Cross; Nanoshell Co., South Salt Lake; Nielson Scientific LLC, Lehi; PEEL Therapeutics Inc., Salt Lake City; Rogue Technologies LLC, Clearfield; and Sustainable Energy Solutions LLC, Orem.
HOSPITALITY/FOOD SERVICE
• JMH Premium, a Salt Lake City-based “flavor solutions” provider, has promoted Nicole DeBloois, Gretchen Hudgins and Laura Guthrie. DeBloois, now director of research and development, has been with the company for more than 11 years in expanding R&D roles. Gretchen Hudgins has been promoted to director of human resources. She joined the company in early 2017. Guthrie is now director of marketing. She joined the company in June 2017.
INTERNATIONAL
• World Trade Center Utah, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is accepting applications until June 13 for companies interested in joining their trade mission to Taiwan and South Korea, set for Sept. 17-21 (not counting travel dates of weekend cultural days before and after the trade mission). The trade mission will give delegates seeking business opportunities in Taiwan and South Korea exclusive access to companies, government agencies and officials in the market. The fee is $800 for each company participant. Additional costs include lodging — participants who choose not to stay at the trade delegation hotel are responsible for booking their own accommodations — and participants are responsible for booking and paying for their own flights. Details are at wtcutah.com.
NONPROFITS
• One Refugee and Upwardly Global (UpGlo) are partnering to equip refugee students with the tools to succeed in the professional job market. One Refugee is a nonprofit that helps Utahns with a refugee background to thrive in the community. UpGlo is a national nonprofit that helps immigrants and refugees find their place in the professional U.S. workforce. Their collaboration will provide students with access to UpGlo’s online curriculum, providing cultural education on navigating a U.S. job search. Upwardly Global will also provide One Refugee staff with training to address the specific challenges refugee job seekers face in acclimating to a U.S. job search.
PHILANTHROPY
• The National Ability Center, a Park City-based nonprofit organization that provides adaptive recreation and outdoor adventures for individuals and families of differing abilities, has received a $100,000 sponsorship from The Boeing Co. The three-year commitment is part of the company’s pledge to invest in local communities following the enactment of the tax reform legislation. Funds will help support the continuation of programs and services provided by the National Ability Center to 1,500 individuals annually, including transitioning U.S. service members and their families, through healing events and programming such as Summit Challenge, Saluting Our Heroes and Project Recovery and Rehabilitation (R&R), a collaborative two-week program fueled by National Ability Center and University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans Studies (NCVS) in an effort to treat veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.
REAL ESTATE
• Colliers International has hired Rusty Bollow and Andy Wheeler for the firm’s office at 111 Main St., Salt Lake City. They will work in direct partnership as senior vice presidents and will help the company build its industrial services offering in the Utah market. Bollow previously was senior vice president at Newmark Grubb ACRES. He specialized in industrial, land and investment properties. He earned a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree and a graduate certification in urban planning from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. Wheeler was previously vice president at JLL. He specialized in industrial distribution, industrial flex and industrial land. Prior to working at JLL, he worked as a broker for Newmark Grubb ACRES and Pyramid Brokerage Co.
• The Agency, a California-based real estate brokerage and lifestyle company, has expanded into Utah. Park City Realty Group and Glenwild Realty have merged to become The Agency, which will have two locations in Park City. The 255 Main St., Suite E, location will be led by Charlie Taylor and Jake Doilney. The 50 Shadow Ridge Road location will be led by Mike Mazzone. The Park City team has a combined 54 years of experience selling luxury listings and has closed more than $713.44 million in real estate transactions. The Agency’s network includes more than 300 agents throughout the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.
• A five-building, multi-tenant portfolio at 7200 South and 700 West in Midvale has been sold to JMK Limited Partnership for more than $12.4 million. JMK is a real estate brokerage based in Santa Clara, California. The buildings total 27,102 square feet and contain several chain restaurants, with space for continual growth and retail additions. Chad Moore, Scott Brady and Garrett Blomquist of Mountain West Commercial negotiated the sale.
• Security Properties, based in Seattle, has acquired Elk Meadows, a 96-unit multifamily, affordable housing property in Park City. Financial terms were not disclosed. Elk Meadows was developed in 1993 using low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) from the Utah Housing Corp. KeyBank provided a five-year term floating-rate loan on the property. The property will be managed by Security Properties Residential, an affiliate of Security Properties. The acquisition is Security Properties’ first in Utah.
RECOGNITIONS
• Snowbird and Snowbasin have received national honors for the nation’s top marketing campaign, safety program and strategies designed to create lifelong enthusiasts. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced its award winners at its National Convention and Tradeshow. Snowbird earned the Best Overall Marketing Award nationally for ski areas of over 500,000 visits for its “One Star” marketing campaign. NSAA presents the awards to member resorts with successful programs that ultimately help grow the sports of skiing and snowboarding. Snowbasin Resort earned the 2018 NSAA Conversion Cup Challenge, for ski areas under 500,000 visits. Snowbasin won the honor largely based on the success of its “Learn & Earn” Program, which is focused on instilling a sense of inclusivity among newcomers and creating lifelong participants in snowboarding and skiing. Snowbasin also received Best Overall Safety Program, which recognizes exceptional resort initiatives to educate guests and employees about skiing and snowboarding responsibly.
• The Salt Lake Chamber recently presented Business Champion Awards to 79 state legislators and the 2018 Legislator of the Year Award to Sen. Ann Millner. The Business Champion Awards recognize legislators who voted for the interests of Utah businesses 80 percent of the time during the 2018 general legislative session, according to the chamber. The designation is directly tied to a legislator’s voting record on the chamber’s “Priority Votes” — 22 pieces of pro-business legislation this year. The chamber said Millner “has a deep understanding of the important connection between a robust education system, skilled workforce and economic development” and became a champion of many of the business community’s top priorities during the 2018 legislative session by helping address critical workforce needs through innovative partnerships and programs.
RURAL UTAH
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its May meeting, endorsed a pair of Rural Fast Track grants. Ridgeline Dental Lab, of Brigham City in Box Elder County, was endorsed for a $43,000 grant to help the company purchase equipment to expand and make custom dental crowns and bridge work. The $86,000 project is expected to result in one new full-time position. Rhet Marsing Enterprises, doing business as RME, of Price in Carbon County, was endorsed for a grant of $49,463 to help the company purchase fabrication equipment in order to expand the business and add steel fabrication to its product mix. The $98,926 project is expected to result in two new full-time positions. The grants had been approved by the Rural Development Partnership Board.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Domo, an American Fork-based cloud operating system for businesses, has hired Dean Germeyer as chief revenue officer. Germeyer most recently worked at SAP North America, where he led service sales. He was with SAP for more than 10 years. Prior to SAP, he served in several general management, sales and consulting leadership roles within the software industry in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan.
• Overstock.com subsidiary t0.com Inc. (tZERO) has announced that Bruce Fenton will join its board of directors. Fenton is an economic advisor and an active member of the blockchain industry. He is the founder and managing director of Atlantic Financial, the former executive director and a current board member of the Bitcoin Foundation, a co-founder of the Bitcoin Association, and the organizer of the first Dubai Bitcoin Conference. He is also the host and founder of the Satoshi Roundtable retreat, for leaders in the blockchain industry. Prior to Atlantic Financial, Benton was with Morgan Stanley and specialized in emerging technologies and emerging markets. Fenton is a member of the board of directors of Medici Ventures Inc., involved in blockchain technology and the immediate parent company of tZERO.