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ASSOCIATIONS
• The South Valley Chamber of Commerce has named Don Willie as chief operating officer and vice president of marketing. He begins his work in the new role on June 6. Willie most recently served as president and CEO of the St George Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition to his chamber experience, he was the founding executive director of Atwood Innovation Plaza at Dixie State University and prior to that worked as the managing director of the World Trade Center of Utah. He also served as the national service program manager and Americorps director from 2013-15 and as the policy analyst for the Office of Governor of Utah from 2011-13. Willie graduated from the University of Utah with a BA and a master’s in public administration. With members across Salt Lake County, the South Valley Chamber of Commerce primarily represents member businesses and organizations in Sandy, Draper, Riverton and South Jordan.
• Tai Christensen, director of government affairs and diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Cedar City-based CBC Mortgage Agency, has been named chair of the American Mortgage Diversity Council, which promotes diversity and inclusion throughout the mortgage industry. Christensen has two decades of real estate finance experience and has been with CBCMA since January 2018. She joined the council’s advisory board in April 2021. She was installed as chair during the Five Star 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium in Washington, D.C.
BANKING
• Asa, a Provo-based company connecting financial institutions with vetted fintechs, has hired Lisa Gold Schier as chief strategy officer. Gold Schier previously worked as an American Bankers Association executive and, before that, served as a vice president and retail market manager at U.S. Bank.
COMMUNICATIONS
• Sorenson, a Salt Lake City-based provider of inclusive communication services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, has announced an expansion of its Spanish language and American Sign Language services. The company plans to hire at least 100 signed and spoken interpreters who will be based in Puerto Rico, working from home or from an interpreting center the company plans to open later this year. Support staff will be added as Sorenson’s presence grows. Sorenson also announced a strategic alliance with Claro Puerto Rico to provide connectivity services to their employees, office and remote work locations. Through its sign language services and Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) for people with hearing loss, Sorenson processes more than 140 million conversations annually in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA, Salt Lake City, has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 38 cents per common share. The dividend is payable May 26 to shareholders of record May 19. The board also declared regular quarterly cash dividends on the company’s various perpetual preferred shares. The dividend for series A, G and I are payable June 15 to shareholders of record June 1. The dividend on Series J shares is payable Sept. 15 to shareholders of record Sept. 1. The board also has authorized a share repurchase for the second quarter of 2022 of up to $50 million.
• The board of directors of Medallion Bank, 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 1 to holders of record June 15. Medallion Bank specializes in providing consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats and home improvements, and offering loan origination services to fintech partners.
• The board of directors of Clarus Corp., Salt Lake City, has confirmed the company’s regular quarterly cash dividend of 2.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid May 20 stockholders of record May 9. Clarus designs, develops, manufactures and distributes outdoor equipment and lifestyle products.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah saw the number of dining-out visits rise 1.74 percent from 2021 to 22, the 40th-lowest figure among states, according to a study to analytics agency TOP Agency. The most-visited casual dining restaurant in the state was Olive Garden, with Utah being the only state where that was the case, followed by Chili’s Grill & Bar, Texas Roadhouse, Denny’s and Applebee’s. TOP Agency analyzed the spending habits of 12 million Americans to see how states bounced back from COVID-related dips in dine-out spending. Nationally, restaurants saw an average 8.4 percent increase in traffic from 2021 to 2022. Maine led, at 34.4 percent, while Alabama was down 1.3 percent. Details are at https://topagency.com/report/best-chain-restaurants/.
• Daggett County leads Utah counties in receiving the largest annual Social Security payments, according to SmartAsset. Daggett County was followed, in order, by Rich, Summit, Morgan, Washington, Emery, Utah, Wasatch, Iron and Davis counties. The SmartAsset study also includes data on cost of living and tax expenses for each county. Details are at https://smartasset.com/retirement/social-security-calculator#Utah/annualSocialSecurity-2.
• Sixty-four percent of Utah landlords want a federal law protecting them from surprise regulations that could cost thousands in maintenance fees, according to a survey by DeckandBalconyInspections.com. Nationally, 78 percent say they could not afford a surprise bill of over $20,000. Nationally, 30 percent of landlords said they’ve personally been hit by substantial surprise costs for a property that they own. Details are at https://deckandbalconyinspections.com/no-home-surprises-act/.
ENERGY
• A power transmission project from central Utah and east-central Nevada is among three projects advanced by the Biden administration to connect more clean energy to the grid. The Cross-Tie 500-kV Transmission Project is a proposed approximately 214-mile, 1,500-megawatt, 500 kV high-voltage alternating current transmission project. It is one of three projects that, if approved, have the potential to unlock 10,000 megawatts of clean, affordable and reliable energy across the West. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is initiating environmental reviews for two of the projects. The Cross-Tie project would be built, to the maximum extent possible, within federally designated utility corridors or parallel to existing transmission facilities. The proposed project would cross BLM, private, state and National Forest System land, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service will be a cooperating agency to concurrently review the potential environmental impacts.
HEALTHCARE
• Jordan Valley Medical Center’s West Valley Campus is now offering medical detoxification services to help people overcome withdrawal symptoms from drug and alcohol addictions through the New Vision withdrawal management service. The service treats adults with a medically supervised hospital stay for inpatient stabilization, which usually lasts three days. New Vision at the campus will provide treatment for substances including opioids (heroin, OxyContin); alcohol; banzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax); methamphetamine; cocaine; and combined substances. Details are at https://www.jordanwestvalley.org/services-directory/substance-use.
• Momentous, a Park City-based supplement and sports nutrition company, has announced a multi-year partner with the “Huberman Lab Podcast” and Andrew Huberman as a member of the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Momentous and Huberman will collaborate to develop products and protocols designed to optimize mental health, physical health and performance in all aspects of life. Huberman’s most recent studies and clinical trials focus on neural regeneration and visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness.
• Nextaff, a staffing franchise company, has opened a healthcare staffing agency location at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 563, Cottonwood Heights. The office is owned by Jim Bohn and will serve Salt Lake City and the surrounding area. The office will focus on caregiver and nurse staffing for long-term care and other healthcare facilities. It is Nextaff’s first location in Utah.
HOSPITALITY
• Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group, a Provo-based hotel management company, has appointed Eric May as vice president of finance. May has 30 years of hospitality experience in operations, finance and accounting. In his most recent role, he directed the transition to a new accounting system for a portfolio of luxury resorts and wineries.
INVESTMENTS
• Strider Technologies Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of strategic intelligence, has closed $45 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from existing investors DataTribe, Koch Disruptive Technologies and One9 Ventures. Strider provides data and software enabling organizations to identify, manage and respond to nation-state-directed activities targeting their personnel, intellectual property and supply chains. Strider said the investment will allow it to enhance existing products, introduce new capabilities, and expand its team and geographic presence to support demand across industry and government markets. Costa Saab, chief technology officer at Valor Equity Partners and former senior executive at the Central Intelligence Agency, will join Strider’s board of directors.
• Xima Software, South Jordan, has received a majority investment from Bow River Capital’s Software Growth Equity (SGE) team to partner for operational and technical expertise on a global scale. The amount was not disclosed. The investment seeks to accelerate the software company’s mission to significantly enhance the agent and customer journey experiences, fuel global growth, and improve operational efficiency across the business. Founded in 2007, Xima offers Chronicall, a contact center software platform. As part of Bow River’s investment, Steven Joanis, a managing director of the SGE team; Colin Haas, senior associate; and John Raeder, a managing director of the SGE team, will join Xima’s board of directors.
• Skill Struck, an American Fork-based computer science student education platform, has received $2.8 million in new investment to help K-12 schools adopt equitable and engaging computer science education. The funding round was led by Orchard Ventures, with participation from individuals including Aaron Skonnard, Davis Smith and Sterling Snow. Skill Struck provides school districts with educational computer science software and curriculum. The company said the funding will help it increase equity and access to computer science by helping build more software and curriculum, and expand its reach to more educators and communities in the U.S.
LAW
• Parr Brown Gee & Loveless, Salt Lake City, has announced that Marty Banks, Rick Rose and Chaunceton Bird have joined the firm. Banks joins as a shareholder and is a member of the firm’s Environmental Law practice group and Litigation practice group. His environmental practice includes counseling clients in cost-effective regulatory compliance and permitting strategies. His business litigation practice includes environmental and natural resource matters, real estate and land use issues (including public land use), construction disputes and OSHA matters. Banks previously was a partner at Stoel Rives, a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, andan associate at White & Case. Rose joins Parr Brown as an associate and is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation team with a particular emphasis on complex commercial litigation in state and federal court. He has experience in a broad range of commercial disputes, including contract, securities, intellectual property, cybersecurity and business tort issues. He previously was an associate with Stoel Rives. Bird joins Parr Brown as an associate and is a member of the firm’s litigation team with a particular emphasis on complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. He has experience litigating a broad range of commercial disputes and specializes in defending clients against products liability and mass torts claims and represents manufacturers of worker safety equipment (particularly regarding masks and respirators), consumer goods, and component parts.
NONPROFITS
• YCC Family Crisis Center, Ogden, has launched a $5.5 million capital campaign to raise funds to establish transitional housing units for survivors of domestic violence to help end homelessness and significantly reduce the number of victims that return to their abusers. Currently, no transitional housing units exist in these areas. YCC already has secured $2.55 million toward the $5.5 million costs for the building and initial services. This new housing project will be built on YCC’s campus and will include 14 apartments with space for up to 50 individuals. Details are at https://yccogden.org/.
• Bridge21ParkCity, a nonprofit organization, has formalized its five-year plan, which includes housing goals and the development of an inclusive neurodiverse community in Park City. Bridge21ParkCity aims to be the “bridge” between neurodiverse adults age 21 and older by creating a housing community within Park City and Summit County. While the organization is keenly focused on the needs of autistic residents and those on the spectrum, it also encompasses those with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities, also referred to as IDD. Bridge21ParkCity recently hired Deb Hartley as executive director. A Park City resident for over 33 years, Hartley has extensive experience related to nonprofits and fundraising. As a local real estate professional, she is the co-founder of the annual Park City Turkey Drive, which she led for 20 years before stepping down at the end of 2021. Hartley also sits on the board of directors of radio station KPCW and is a hospice worker at Intermountain Hospital. She has served on the board of directors for many years for the Park City Board of Realtors.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation has created a $3 million endowed gift to create a perpetual directorship at the Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies. Organized in 2011, the center is a nonpartisan academic institute that promotes the instruction, study and research of constitutionalism. The directorship will allow the center to continue to pursue its mission to increase nonpartisan constitutional literacy in Utah and around the world. The directorship also will oversee the ongoing Quill Project, an online platform that builds interactive visual and textual models of state and national constitutional conventions and congressional debates.
• Nursa, a Salt Lake City-based technology startup focused on healthcare staffing, recently hosted a party in Salt Lake City to honor and celebrate area healthcare workers, with every area RN, LPN and CNA invited. The event included comments of appreciation, food, prize giveaways and other activities.
REAL ESTATE
• RealSource Properties Inc., a Salt Lake City-based real estate investment and management firm, has launched its real estate investment trust (REIT). For the first time since establishing its investment and management platform two decades ago, the company is extending an opportunity to accredited investors to join with RealSource in a portfolio of multifamily assets. The $390-million RealSource Properties REIT targets multifamily properties, with 10 properties already owned with more in the pipeline. The 10 properties include 2,897 apartment units in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina and Colorado.
• Dynamic City Capital, a Provo-based real estate investment firm focused on premium-branded hotel investments, has announced the completion of construction and opening of the Element by Westin Milpitas San Jose hotel. The action follows DCC’s Bay Area acquisition of the Hyatt Place San Francisco Downtown and the AC by Marriott Fort Lauderdale in Florida earlier this year. The Element San Jose is the ninth premium-brand hotel the company has acquired or opened over the past 14 months.
RECOGNITIONS
• Several B. More Awards were presented at the recent “Transform” Consumer Summit at the Slopes Evnts Center in Draper. Those recognized are individuals and organizations “that have created and accelerated enormous transformations within their respective industries, that inspire others to be more and to do more by giving back to their employees, their communities and the planet.” Award recipients are Transformational Trailblazer Award, Todd Pedersen; Market Transformation Award, Built; Influencer Transformation Award, Tristen Ikaika; Product Transformation Award, Dree; Customer Transformation Award, Mixhers; Communication Transformation Award, Gabb Wireless; Experience Transformation Award, Crumbl Cookies; Category Transformation Award, Savory Fund; Web3 Transformation Award, Giddy; and Impact Transformation Award, Malouf.
• Forbes Travel Guide, a global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas, has announced rankings for several Utah properties. Among hotels receiving five-star designation are The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection; Montage Deer Valley; and Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley. All are in Park City. Four-star hotels are Amangiri, Canyon Point; The Chateau Deer Valley, Park City; Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City; The St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City; and Waldorf Astoria Park City. “Recommended” hotels are The Cliff Lodge, Salt Lake City; Snowpine Lodge, Salt Lake City; Sorrel River Ranch Resort & Spa, Moab; Sundance Mountain Resort, Park City; Washington School House Hotel, Park City; and Westgate Park City Resort & Spa. Spas receiving a five-star designation are Edge Spa, Park City; Grand Spa at Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City; and The Spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City. Four-star spas are Remede Spa at The St. Regis Deer Valley and Spa Montage Deer Valley, both in Park City. Four-star restaurants are Glitetind Restaurants, Riverhorse on Main, Tree Room and Yuta. All are in Park City. “Recommended” restaurants are Edge Steakhouse, and Powder, both in Park City.
• The University of Utah ranks No. 11 overall (No. 5 among public schools) in the latest MBA rankings for entrepreneurship released by US News and World Report. Brigham Young University is ranked No. 36 and the University of Utah is ranked No. 40 on a list of best business schools. The rankings are for the year 2023.
• Heritage Store, a Nutraceutical Corp. brand has earned a Natural Choice Skincare award from Wholefoods magazine. It spotlighted the Rosewater Facial Mist.
RECREATION
• Topgolf Entertainment Group, a Texas-based sports and golf entertainment company, has announced that development is underway for a new Topgolf venue in Vineyard. The two-story venue will be west of I-15 at the intersection of Mill and 400 East. Set to open early next year, it will include 72 outdoor hitting bays and will be equipped with Topgolf’s proprietary Toptracer technology. The venue also will feature a mini-golf attraction, outdoor patio, and meeting and event space. It will be Topgolf’s second entertainment venue in Utah and have nearly 300 full- and part-time employees. Topgolf has 76 venues in six countries.
RETAIL
• Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., based in West Jordan, will open stores in Saratoga Springs and Stansbury Park. The new stores offer a combined 40,658 square feet of space. With the two new stores, the company will have 125 stores across the U.S., including 12 in Utah.
• Harmons has opened a store at 4727 W. South Jordan Parkway, West Valley City, in Daybreak. This newest Harmons Neighborhood Grocer is the 20th location in Utah. It features Just Burgers, Harmons’ custom burger bar. At 39,517 square feet, the store offers a full-service pharmacy, kitchen department with chef-prepared cold and hot food items, bakery, meat service counter, fresh-cut produce, café and more.
SCHOLARSHIPS
• Havenpark Communities, an Orem-based operator and developer of manufactured home communities, has awarded academic scholarships to 19 residents from its communities across the country. Winners were awarded up to $10,000 annually to cover post-secondary expenses for colleges, universities, trade and vocational schools. Recipients represent 13 Havenpark Communities spanning 12 states. The scholarships are part of Havenpark’s Education Success program, which offers financial support, mentoring and other education initiatives to increase education access and opportunity for residents.
TECHNOLOGY
• DataBank, a Texas-based provider of enterprise-class colocation, connectivity and managed services, has announced that its sixth Salt Lake Region data center will open in October. The center will be at DataBank’s Granite Point North Campus in Bluffdale. Ground was broken last year for the “SLC6” expansion, a 171,000-square-foot data center with 100,000 square feet of raised flooring, half of which will be available the first day. The expansion project establishes two new data halls, expected to open in October of this year, and will add 11 megawatts of power, bringing the total critical IT load to 22 megawatts.