Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice@slenterprise.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.
ASSOCIATIONS
• Jenessa Young has been elected chair of the Pleasant Grove/Lindon Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Her duties include oversight of all chamber activities and acting as liaison with city organizations and other area chambers. She has served as a chamber board member since 2017. Young manages in-house interior design and space planning efforts for the design department at St. John Properties’ Utah region. Her responsibilities include the new 140,000-square-foot, five-story Office Tower, as well as other rising commercial buildings in the 62-acre development. Her experience includes design work on more than 700,000 square feet of commercial, hospitality, and multi-family buildings. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in family life with an emphasis in interior design from Brigham Young University.
• Ryan Napierski has been selected as chairman of the board of the U.S. Direct Selling Association. The appointment is for one year. Napierski is president of Nu Skin, Provo. He has been serving as treasurer of the DSA board for the past year. He is the second Nu Skin executive to serve as chairman. Truman Hunt, Nu Skin’s former CEO, served in 2014-15.
BANKING
• People’s Utah Bancorp, American Fork, has added Natalie Gochnour to its board of directors. The election took place at the company’s annual shareholders meeting. Gochnour will serve a three-year term. She has been on the Salt Lake County Advisory Board for Bank of American Fork since 2017. Gochnour is an associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and the director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She also serves as the chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber. She has served as an advisor for Govs. Norman H. Bangerter, Michael O. Leavitt and Olene Walker; was the media spokesperson for the governor’s office during the 2002 Olympic Winter Game; and was a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration, serving in both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services.
CONSTRUCTION
• Layton Construction has appointed Boone Hellmann to its board of directors. He will offer insights to the company based on his 30 years of experience from the owner’s side, where he helped select and administer billions of dollars’ worth of construction projects. Hellmann currently consults for design professionals and contractors through his firm, Hellmann Consulting Group. He recently retired from the University of California, San Diego, after almost thirty years of service as the associate vice chancellor for facilities design and construction and the campus architect. During his tenure, Hellmann oversaw the design and construction of approximately 12 million square feet of new space capital improvements valued at more than $4.5 billion.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 14 among states with the most complaints per nursing home facility in 2018, based on a study analyzing the quality of nursing homes in the U.S. that was undertaken by The Senior List. The study uses data from a 2019 report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Had averaged 9.72 deficiencies (complaints) per facility. In comparison, New Hampshire had the fewest, with just 2.59 deficiencies per facility. As a result of the deficiencies, Utah nursing homes paid $47,322 in penalties, compared to Nevada nursing homes which paid none. Nationally, 15,000 nursing homes had 121,000 deficiencies, or eight per facility, costing them $34 million.
GOVERNMENT
• Salt Lake City’s Department of Economic Development has been recognized as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) by the International Economic Development Council. The accreditation was given to Mayor Jackie Biskupski and department Director Lara Fritts, following remarks by the mayor at the IEDC Economic Future Forum, hosted in Salt Lake City. With over 5,000 members worldwide, only 64 organizations have attained AEDO status from the council. The AEDO program is a peer review process that measures economic development organizations against commonly held standards in the profession. The program consists of two phases: a documentation review and an onsite visit. Salt Lake City’s Department of Economic Development was created by Biskupski in 2016 and since then helped create 9,000 jobs, generate $900 million in capital investment, and has attracted or retained over two dozen companies in Salt Lake City, according to the city.
INVESTMENTS
• Vivint Solar Inc., a Lehi-based residential solar provider, has closed a multi-party forward-flow funding arrangement that includes project-level debt, a levered tax equity partnership, and a cash equity investment. The transaction provides up to $360 million in total funding commitments. It is structured to generate upfront cash margin for the company for approximately 95 to 100 megawatts of future solar energy systems. The financing incorporates a multi-party forward purchase commitment anchored by a levered tax equity partnership, a financing structure used last year by Vivint Solar for what it says is the first time in the residential solar industry. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as sole structuring and placement agent for the cash equity and multi-draw term loan as well as the sole tax equity investor. Hannon Armstrong participated as the structured cash equity investor.
LAW
• Dorsey & Whitney has hired Spencer Glende for the firm’s Technology Commerce practice group in Salt Lake City as of counsel. He also will work frequently from Dorsey’s Palo Alto, California, office. Glende practice is focused on clients in the technology and life sciences industries. He focuses on technology transactions, helping companies structure and negotiate complex commercial agreements, technology development agreements and strategic transactions. His experience includes collaborations, joint ventures and OEM agreements for life sciences, medical devices and technology companies. Glende also advises on the intellectual property concerns that arise during significant mergers, acquisitions, technology transfers and corporate transactions. Glende previously was a senior attorney with Fenwick & West in California. His education includes a B.A. in mathematics and a B.A. in Russian from the University of Utah.
PHILANTHROPY
• Windermere Real Estate Utah recently hosted its annual Community Service Day event in which 200 Windermere Realtors participated in the construction and installation of a new playground commercial-grade swing set, gazebo/pergola and other remodeling projects at 177 Price St., South Salt Lake. Windermere also presented Shelter Kids with a $15,000 check made possible by local Windermere real estate agents. Shelter Kids provides emergency residential placement for youth who are taken into state custody for alleged abuse and neglect. Every time a Windermere agent sells a home, a portion of the commission goes to the Windermere Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 1989. Each year, contributions from Windermere agents, combined with donations from Windermere employees and community members, have allowed the Windermere Foundation to support nonprofit agencies dedicated to helping low-income and homeless families.
• Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation has donated $7,500 to Needs Beyond Medicine that will be allocated to the organization’s relief program, which assists cancer patients in covering non-medical related, essential living costs while undergoing treatment in the state of Utah. The assistance can be used for living expenses such as rent, utilities, groceries, and transportation.
• Nu Skin, Provo, has announced it is celebrating its 35th anniversary with humanitarian efforts in more than 20 countries. As part of the company’s annual Force for Good Day, sales leaders, employees and their families are participating in service projects focused on benefiting the lives of thousands of children. Those projects support the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation’s mission to improve children’s health, education and economic circumstances. This year at Nu Skin’s global headquarters, employees and their families are providing service in the local community at libraries, schools, parks, recycling centers and nonprofit organizations. Employees will paint, clean up and beautify the community as they perform meaningful service.
REAL ESTATE
• The Big Sky Conference has leased space in the new Farmington Tech Center, 286 S. 200 W., Farmington, that will be the corporate headquarters for the collegiate athletic conference. The conference’s prior headquarters was Ogden, which is home to conference member Weber State University. The 33,000-square-foot Farmington Tech Center building was built in 2018. The conference cited a need for space to expand, along with proximity to the airport to accommodate the travel schedules of university athletic directors and commissioners. The lease announcement was made by Newmark Grubb ACRES, whose executive vice president, Chris Falk, and Braxton Willie represented the landlord, Stay FTC LLC, alongside Ryan Flint and Rand Sargent with Colliers International in the transaction. Melissa McIntyre with CBRE represented the tenant.
• Groundbreaking ceremonies recently took place for the Harvest at Marmalade mixed-use project in the West Capitol Hill neighborhood, a designated project area of the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City. The Harvest project features three mixed-use buildings that will include 252 rental units, 12 two-bedroom live/work units, and two 2,400-square-foot ground-floor commercial spaces. The buildings will be located on the northwest section of the RDA’s Marmalade Block development, which is 3.2 acres on the western third of the city block bounded by 500 North, 600 North, 200 West and 300 West. Harvest is the third piece of the four-part Marmalade Block Development. The first, the Marmalade Branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library, was completed in 2016. The second, the Grove at Marmalade Townhomes, was completed in fall 2018. The fourth component, an inner-block public plaza featuring green space and public art, will be constructed following Harvest’s completion.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Association of American Cancer Institute has announced that the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman family will serve its 2019 Champion for Cures Award in recognition of “their significant leadership in supporting efforts to cure cancer and in inspiring others to do the same.” The family’s first major gift to cancer research came in 1993 at $10 million, followed by a $100 million gift in 1995 that formally established and named the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah. Jon M. Huntsman went on to found Huntsman Cancer Foundation (HCF) to engage a community of donors in investing in cancer research. Peter R. Huntsman serves as chairman and CEO of the foundation. The Huntsman family and foundation have made many substantial contributions to cancer research and care at HCI, including a commitment of $120 million by HCF in 2017, and a $30 million gift from the Huntsman Foundation alongside more than $42 million raised by HCF from other donors to support a hospital expansion at HCI.
• Four people were presented with Utah’s 2019 Energy Pioneers honors during the recent Governor’s Energy Summit in Salt Lake City. They were recognized for “their trailblazing leadership and dedication in building Utah’s thriving energy and minerals economy.” Recipients are A. Scott Anderson, president and CEO, Zions Bank; Sarah Wright, executive director and founder, Utah Clean Energy; Kevin T. Van Tassell, a former Utah state senator; and Utah Sen. Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe.
• SecurityMetrics, an Orem-based, privately held company focusing on data security and compliance, has won a 2019 Fortress Cyber Security Award in the Compliance category from the Business Intelligence Group. The awards program identifies and rewards the world’s leading companies and products that are working to keep data and electronic assets safe among a growing threat from hackers. SecurityMetrics won “Best Product” for its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessments, which are onsite assessments performed by certified QSAs to help businesses meet PCI DSS compliance deadlines and avoid card data compromise. The assessments typically last three to six months and qualifying businesses must demonstrate compliance with all PCI DSS requirements annually.
• Purple Innovation Inc., an Alpine-based comfort products manufacturer, has received several recognitions through industry awards and attaining lists. They include 2018 Best in Biz Award (New Purple Mattress, winner of Best New Version of the Year – Consumer; 2018 Digiday Social Campaign Award (The Purple Boys, Best Creative – Finalist; 2019 American Business Awards (The Purple Boys, Online Marketing Campaign of the Year – Gold Winner); 2019 BIG Innovation Award: (New Purple Mattress, Winner); 2019 Edison Awards (New Purple Mattress, Silver finalist); 2019 Men's Health Sleep Awards (Purple Pillow, Winner); 2019 Indigo Awards (Purple Native 360 Ads by Verizon Media Group, Gold in Innovative Use of Mobile Technology 2019 and Silver in Mobile Ads 2019); and Good Housekeeping.com Best Mattresses to Buy Online in 2019 (Original Purple Mattress).
RESTAURANTS
• Chedda Burger will open June 18 at 190 S. 400 W. at The Gateway in Salt Lake City. Formerly located on 600 South, the new downtown location joins Foothill and Lehi locations and will feature a menu from chef Nick Watts, who founded the Chedda Truck in 2012.
RURAL UTAH
• Sunwarrior, a Washington-based company focused on plant-based protein and superfood, has announced it has brought the majority of its manufacturing and fulfillment in-house. The company said bringing the services in-house will allow the company to expedite product launch initiatives, guarantee faster shipping speeds, and provide enhanced quality control.
SCHOLARSHIPS
• Five high school seniors recently were announced as recipients of the Utah Energy Workforce Scholarship, a partnership between the Governor’s Office of Energy Development and Chevron and presented to high school seniors who intend to pursue a science-, technology-, engineering- or mathematics-related course of study at a public or private institution of high learning in Utah. The 2019 recipients are Ameilya Monson, Bonneville High School; Preston Tyler, Stansbury High School; Abigail Mae Hardy, Alta High School; Madison McCandless, Emery High School; and Nathan Gerber, Skyridge High School. The recipients were announced at the Governor’s Energy Summit in Salt Lake City.
• The “What Drives You?” scholarship program funded by Utah Jiffy Lube owners has awarded $19,000 in scholarship money to six Utah high school students for the 2018-2019 school year. Emily Langie of Hillcrest High School is the overall scholarship recipient in the Teen Driver category and will receive a $6,500 scholarship award. Matthew Juarez of Ogden High School and Natasha Vanfleet of East High School will be awarded $1,500 as finalists in the Teen Driver category, which includes all high school students of driving age. In the Driver’s Ed student category, Nayra Green of West High School is the overall scholarship recipient and will receive a $6,500 scholarship award. Makayla Rands of Dixie High School and Jack Miller of Bountiful High School will be awarded $1,500 as finalists in the Driver’s Ed category. Since 2004, Jiffy Lube has awarded more than $192,000 in scholarships to 88 Utah high school students.
SPORTS
• SnoFolio, located in Salt Lake City and Vancouver, British Columbia, has announced a partnership with the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association, making its snow sport performance technology available to more athletes. SnoFolio will have a presence at association-sanctioned events, including the 2020 national championships.