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ASSOCIATIONS
- The Utah Aerospace & Defense Association and Deseret Unmanned Aerial Systems have consolidated efforts to better collaborate and advocate on behalf of Utah’s aerospace and defense industry. UADA will lead the organizations’ respective efforts going forward, with Deseret UAS being restructured as UADA’s newly created Advanced Aviation and Technology Committee. Shawn Milne, Deseret UAS board chair, will chair the AATC under the leadership of UADA President and CEO Aaron Starks. The UADA was established to solve the challenges associated with innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and supply chains for companies in the intelligence, space exploration, aerospace and defense sectors of Utah’s economy. Deseret UAS has been dedicated to advanced air mobility since its founding in 2018.
- NACM Business Credit Services, Salt Lake City, an affiliate of The National Association of Credit Management, has named Erik Wright of Spectrum Engineers as the chairperson of its board of directors. Other new board officers are Shane Inglesby, Geneva Rock Products, vice chairperson, and April Tanner, Kimball Equipment, as treasurer. Also, D’Ann Johnson of A-Cor Concrete Cutting was elected to the board for a three-year term. NACM Business Credit Services is an advocate for business credit and financial management professionals.
CONSTRUCTION
- Ground has been broken for an expansion project adjacent to the Washington County Children’s Justice Center, 463 E. 500 S., St. George. The project will strengthen access to trauma-informed services for children who have been victims of abuse and other crimes. The new building will house the Children’s Justice Center’s growing medical and mental health programs and will also provide training space for the center’s multidisciplinary team that investigates and prosecutes child abuse cases in Washington County. The current Children’s Justice Center building will continue to house forensic interviewing and victim advocacy services. The new building will be a public/private partnership. Intermountain Health has provided a land lease on the 1.22-acre parcel of land where the expansion will be constructed. Washington County has pledged $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act construction funding. The final $500,000 needed to complete the construction project is currently being raised in the community through a combination of grants and donations.
DEFENSE
- Ivy Estabrooke, a senior innovation policy strategist at RTI International, has been appointed to the Department of the Air Force Science and Technology Roundtable, recently established by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Members will meet quarterly to consider challenges and opportunities associated with DAF’s science and technology mission requirements and the research priorities of the Air Force Research Lab. Estabrooke has more than 15 years of experience accelerating the development and adoption of emerging technologies. Prior to joining RTI, Estabrooke held leadership roles in the public and private sector, including serving as a corporate board director at Energy Fuels Inc., founder of Odin Consulting LLC, and holding executive positions at IDbyDNA, PolarityTE and the Office of Naval Research. Estabrooke also was executive director of the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR).
DIRECT SALES
- Young Living Essential Oils, based in Lehi, has appointed Steve Carlile as chief marketing and digital officer. He will be responsible for the global marketing of the company. Carlile has more than 20 years of experience, most recently serving as chief marketing and digital officer at Younique.
DIVIDENDS
- The board of directors of Medallion Bank, based in Salt Lake City, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share on the bank’s Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series F. The dividend is payable July 3 to holders of record June 15. Medallion is an industrial bank that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Medallion Financial Corp. It provides consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats and home improvements, along with loan origination services to fintech strategic partners.
- The board of directors of Clarus Corp., based in Salt Lake City, has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 2.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid May 19 to stockholders of record May 8. Clarus designs, develops, manufactures and distributes outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the outdoor and consumer enthusiast markets. Its brands include Black Diamond, Rhino-Rack, MAXTRAX, Sierra and Barnes.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 99 and West Valley City is No. 191 on a list of “Best Cities to Eat Local Food,” compiled by LawnStarter. It looked for cities with great access to community-supported agriculture, you-pick farms, local dairy farms and on-farm markets. It also considered the number of local food movement groups, among 17 metrics. The top-ranked city is Portland, Oregon. The No. 200 city is Anchorage, Alaska. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-for-locavores/.
- Utah is ranked No. 5 on a list of “Best States to be a Teacher,” compiled by Scholaroo. Utah is ranked No. 5 for student performance, No. 6 for work benefits, No. 10 for work environment, and No. 13 for both career accessibility and salary and compensation. The study showed the average teacher salary in Utah is $58,619 and the average teacher pension is $17,894. The top-ranked state overall is Washington. The bottom-ranked state is Florida. Details are at https://scholaroo.com/blog/best-states-for-teachers-2023/.
- Utah is ranked No. 1 on the XPASS National 2023 Exercise Index, a study of the market demand for gyms and fitness classes and Google search volume for beginner exercises, how to exercise and getting fit. The bottom-ranked state is Wyoming.
EDUCATION
- Utah Valley University and Mountainland Technical College have announced an agreement in which licensed practical nurse graduates from MTECH can easily transfer their credits into the nursing program at UVU. Any MTECH nursing graduate in the LPN program in good academic standing can transfer into one of 24 newly added seats in UVU’s Associate of Science Nursing program, where the incoming graduates will receive 22 UVU credits for their work at MTECH. The transfer students must pass the NCLEX-PN exam by the end of their first semester at UVU.
- The University of Utah’s video games program recently had the “EAE Launch” event in-person after three years of being online-only. During the event, students from the UofU’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering video game program showcased the video game creations they have worked on during the past year. The event happens every fall and spring.
EXPANSIONS
- Truvy, a Draper-based company offering health-focused products, has expanded into South Korea. It now is in 14 countries. The company said the launch in Korea opens the door to possible expansion in other Asian markets in the future.
GOVERNMENT
- Small businesses in Utah have above-average potential to benefit from up to $400 billion in refundable tax credits through the Employee Retention Credit program, with the average refund being $74,000 for qualified businesses, according to an analysis by Lendio. Its review of internal and SBA data indicates businesses in Utah are most likely to qualify for the Employee Retention Credit based on being above average in areas such as average number of qualifying quarters, percent of the qualifying quarters revenue was impacted, percent of the qualifying quarters a government order impacted that industry, percent of the time there was no government order and average last date of government order. The ERC was signed into law as part of the CARES Act to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows qualifying small businesses who retained W-2 employees throughout 2020-2021, to claim up to $26,000 per W-2 employee.
- Salt Lake County has announced $1.1 million in turf conversion grants for seven cities in the Salt Lake Valley: Bluffdale, Riverton, Sandy, South Jordan, Taylorsville, West Jordan and West Valley City. Using funds from the American Rescue Plan, post-performance grants will be distributed to 21 approved projects across seven cities to support conversion of turf on municipal property to water efficient landscaping. In all, the projects of the participating cities will remove 412,000 square feet of non-functional turf, saving 9 million gallons of water annually. The effort is part of a collaboration with Salt Lake County, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District and the Utah League of Cities and Towns to supply resources to support water conservation.
INSURANCE
- Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah has appointed Dr. Anthony Dowidowicz as executive medical director. He will lead the implementation of clinical strategies and drive performance, cost-effectiveness and quality across Utah’s health plan. He will also collaborate with employers offering Regence insurance to develop competitive benefit strategies and enhance plan management in support of their business objectives. Dowidowicz most recently served as strategic medical director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. He previously served in various leadership roles, including chief medical officer for Adirondack Health and executive medical director at St. Joseph’s Treatment and Recovery Centers, both in New York. He also has been involved in treating substance use disorder since the opiate epidemic emerged.
INVESTMENTS
- Giddy, a Draper-based smart wallet company, has raised $6.9 million in a new round of funding. Among the round participants were Fortnite co-creator Geremy Mustard, Pelion Venture Partners, Peak Capital Partners, Clarke Capital and other partners focused on building Web3. The company said the new capital raised will be used to further its mission of bringing easy crypto DeFi adoption to the masses through its recoverable self-custody smart wallet technology. The investment brings Giddy’s total amount raised to more than $15 million, following an $8 million-plus funding round led by Pelion in 2022.
- Elan Growth Partners LLC, based in Park City, has appointed Zach Oseranas principal. Oseran will initially be based in Northern California, a new geographic region for Elan, and his primary responsibilities will be identifying, analyzing and executing investment opportunities and supporting portfolio company investments. Oseran’s experience includes being an investor with NextWorld Evergreen and with Helen of Troy in roles spanning corporate development, M&A and finance.
- RevRoad, a Provo-based venture services firm, has announced an expansion to Florida, where Tony Allen will serve as president. It is the company’s first activity outside of Utah.
LAW
- Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that Jeffrey “Jeff” Bowman has joined its Salt Lake City office as partner in the Transactions Practice Group and Innovative Technology Sector. He joins from VLP Law Group. Bowman has experience representing emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs and investors, primarily in the areas of corporate, securities and M&A. His representation of companies spans the entire corporate life cycle, from formation to exit.
PARTNERSHIPS
- Goosehead Insurance Inc., a Texas-based personal lines insurance agency, and Vivint Smart Home, a Provo-based smart home company, have announced a partnership to innovate and enhance home insurance solutions. The collaboration is designed to simplify the process of protecting and securing homes for consumers and help them to reduce claims and losses. The companies will collaborate to develop innovative services and offerings that leverage the latest advancements in smart home technology and insurance services, allowing for more personalized options for clients to save on home insurance. As part of the partnership, Goosehead entered into a letter of intent to acquire Vivint Insurance Agency’s current book of business and provide service and support for Vivint’s insurance clients as Vivint shifts its insurance strategy to a partnership model.
PHILANTHROPY
- Altabank, based in American Fork, recently committed to financially back Great Salt Lake conservation efforts with the company and Real Salt Lake teaming up for “Saves for the Great Salt Lake,” to bring awareness and support to the community initiative. “Saves for the Great Salt Lake” promises to donate $100 to Great Salt Lake conservation efforts for every save made by a Real Salt Lake goalkeeper during the 2023 MLS season. Altabank also recently announced a $50,000 commitment, directing $25,000 to facilitate water transactions and projects to improve lake water levels, through the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, co-managed by The Nature Conservancy and National Audubon Society, and $25,000 to Great Salt Lake protection projects led by TNC.
- Tranont, a Lehi-based company focused on health products, recently hosted a community project in partnership with the nonprofit organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace and JobNimbus to build 40 bunk beds for Utah kids. The donated beds will go to local children currently sleeping on the floor or couches.
REAL ESTATE
- Ready Set Sell My Home has entered the Utah real estate market. The company makes cash offers to homeowners who want to sell a house, land, townhome, condo or apartment that they no longer want.
RECOGNITIONS
- Eight Utah minority business leaders recently were honored for creativity and innovation by the Hardware Creative Collective, a community of creatives. The collective hosts an annual private gathering to honor creatives leading across Utah’s business community and recognize the creative talents of community leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners representing a diversity of backgrounds, cultures and industries. Honorees are Stacy Bernalof See Stacy Speak LLC, a Comcast Business customer; Mario Castilloof Ironwood Mill; Brandy Farmer of Centro Civico Mexicano; Fisi Moleni of Foundations LLC; Hoan Nguyen of Dragonfly Wellness and Sapa Investment Group; Katlyn Addison of Ballet West; Khosrow B. Semnani of S.K. Hart Management; and Ashley Bell of Redemption Holding Co., a group of investors behind establishing a black-owned bank headquartered in Salt Lake City.
SERVICES
- Aptive Environmental, a Provo-based pest control company, has hired Mark Lawrence as chief financial officer. Lawrence recently served as CFO at Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. Prior to Nu Skin, he served as the head of finance for Amazon’s Lab126. Lawrence also held senior leadership roles covering finance and operations at 3Com, Brocade, Polycom and Vivint Smart Home.
TECHNOLOGY
- Weave, a Lehi-based company offering a customer communication and engagement platform for small and medium-sized businesses, has hired Marcus Bertilson as its first-ever chief strategy and services officer. Bertilson will be responsible for overseeing strategy, customer onboarding, customer support and customer success teams. Bertilson has nearly two decades of revenue growth and strategy experience, most recently serving as senior vice president of revenue and strategy at Thumbtack. Prior to that, Bertilson was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Co.
TRANSPORTATION
- Megabus, a New Jersey-based bus company, has announced a partnership with Salt Lake Express, a shuttle service along the northern I-15 corridor. The partnership will allow for expanded service options for 75 cities in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, including daily trips between Salt Lake City and Tooele, Park City, Orem, Ogden, Draper and Brigham City. The additions bring the Megabus network total to more than 500 cities in North America.