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ASSOCIATIONS
- Kevin Guest, executive chairman of Salt Lake City-based USANA, has been named the chairman of the Direct Selling Education Foundation. Over the next year, he will help guide the strategic actions of the organization, which works with the academic community to support research in direct sales-related disciplines. Guest was named chief executive officer of USANA in 2016, followed by the role of chairman and CEO in 2020. Guest recently transitioned from his role as CEO to executive chairman of USANA’s board. He also served as Direct Selling Association’s chairman for the past two years.
- The Utah Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce officially formed on June 30 as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit chamber. The chamber’s mission is centered on bridging gaps, overcoming obstacles and offering solutions to the challenges faced by Pacific Islander entrepreneurs, small-business owners and business professionals in Utah. The chamber’s president is Alyn Toalepai. The chamber also announced the establishment of the Women’s Executive Alliance, which will serve as the women-in-business arm of the chamber. The alliance will focus on creating, providing and developing resources to support and empower women-owned businesses, enabling them to sustain and grow their companies.
- The Park City Chamber of Commerce|Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced the recipients of its first-ever Sustainable Tourism Grant. Candidates were awarded up to $30,000 each to fund sustainable tourism projects that will support the objectives outlined in the Sustainable Tourism Plan. Forty-two applications resulted in the following recipients: Alf Engen Ski Museum, Arts Council of Park City & Summit County, Canyons Village Management Association, Deer Valley Resort, Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, fulFILLed, High Country Fly Fishing, Mountain Mediation Center, Mountain Trails Foundation, National Ability Center, North Summit Unite, Park City Conservation Association (dba Recycle Utah), Park City Film, Park City Museum, Park Silly Sunday Market, PC Trails & Open Spaces, Prospector Square Property Owners Association, Summit Land Conservancy, Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, and the Housing Resource Center.
BANKING
- Bank of Utah, Ogden, has hired Becky Anderson as a mortgage loan officer at its Ogden main branch. Anderson began her career in the mortgage industry in the late 1980s. Her experience also includes opening a daycare center. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to contribute to her community, she established a Business Network International chapter in Huntsville where she currently serves as the president.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Utah is ranked No. 9 on a list of “America’s Top States for Business,” compiled by CNBC. It scored all 50 states on 86 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. Utah was ranked No. 6 for both economy and workforce; No. 7 for business-friendliness; No. 22 for cost of doing business; No. 23 for both technology and innovation and for access to capital; No. 29 for infrastructure; No. 38 for life, health and inclusion; No. 39 for cost of living; and No. 44 for education. The top-ranked state is North Carolina. The No. 50 state is Alaska.
- Utahns indicate that they would need $6,972 to return to their pre-pandemic places of work, according to a survey by Authority Hacker. The survey asked work-from-home employees what amount of money would entice them back to the office full time. The average nationally was $12,188. The highest number was in North Dakota, at $28,176. The lowest figure was in West Virginia, at $5,626. Details are at https://www.authorityhacker.com/cubicle-comeback/.
- The Salt Lake City rental market (Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Juab, Morgan, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah and Weber counties) is one of the most competitive rental markets in the West, according to a competitivity report of 137 markets by RentCafe.com, a nationwide apartment search website. It used five metrics in the study. In the Salt Lake City market, a prospective renter has to compete with 10 others to secure a lease, which is slightly above the national average of nine apartment-hunters per vacant rental. Although there was a 0.61 percent increase in newly constructed apartments in recent months, Salt Lake City still seems to fall short of meeting the growing demand, resulting in a high occupancy rate of 94.4 percent. Nearly 54 percent of apartment dwellers chose to renew their leases this rental season – which is significantly lower than last year, indicating that more people are actively seeking a new place to call home in the area. On average, local apartments were filled within 40 days, which is three days faster than the national average. Details are at https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/us-hottest-rental-markets/.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 79 and West Valley City is No. 179 on a list of “Best Cities for Ice Cream Lovers,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on four categories, considering access to ice cream, froyo, and gelato, consumer ratings and ice cream awards, among 10 total metrics. The top-ranked city is Miami. The No. 200 city is Montgomery, Alabama. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-ice-cream-shops/#rankings.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 69 and West Valley City is No. 194 on a list of “2023’s Geekiest Cities,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on four categories, including access to comic book stores, geek social groups, and comic-cons, among 13 total metrics. The top-ranked city is New York City. The No. 200 city is Miramar, Florida. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/geekiest-cities/#rankings.
EDUCATION
- Twenty-three people recently graduated from Salt Lake Community College’s Prison Education Program at the Utah State Correctional Facility. Sixteen received an associate’s degree, all but one in general studies, and seven received a certificate of completion for general education. In the past year, more than 220 students have participated in SLCC classes offered at the Utah State Correctional Facility. The community college anticipates about 300 students to register next fall for classes. The SLCC prison education program (PEP) started as a pilot in 2017 with 40 students in seven classes. SLCC now offers 20 classes that can lead to associate’s degrees in anthropology, business, criminal justice, general studies, history and paralegal studies. More than two dozen SLCC faculty members teach in the Prison Education Program.
EVENTS
- The Utah Beer Festival, taking place Aug. 19-20, has relocated this year to 742 S. 500 W., in the Granary District of Salt Lake City. The 13th annual festival is the state’s largest beer sampling event, with more than 250 beers from more than 70 breweries, six food trucks and food vendors at the Woodbine Food Hall. Details are at utahbeerfestival.com. Proceeds will go to the festival presenter and sponsor, City Weekly, and to Press Backers, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports local journalists and independent news.
GOVERNMENT
- Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has hired Chris Jones as communications director. He will serve as the primary news media contact for inquiries related to Salt Lake County matters. Jones has been a television journalist in Utah for 23 years. He started at ABC 4 in 1999 covering the justice system. He joined 2News in 2008 and was the chief education reporter there for the past five years.
HEALTHCARE
- EvolvedMD, a behavioral health specialist with office in Utah and throughout the Intermountain West, has announced plans to hire up to 50 new behavioral health professionals in the coming months to support expanded operations and new locations. The company recently raised $14 million in new investor capital to support its expanding business in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and beyond. It also signed exclusive behavioral health support agreements with primary care partners at some of the largest health systems in the West, including Banner Health, HonorHealth, Optum, Granger Medical and Ogden Clinic. Since launching in 2017, evolvedMD has served 25,000 patients and has increased access to care for more than 1 million patients.
HOUSING
- Qualified applicants can now apply for the First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Program. Funding will be made available to Utahns on or after July 25 and will help individuals and families receive a loan of up to $20,000 to buy down interest rates, apply funds towards a down payment or pay closing costs on a first home. The Legislature has allocated $50 million to the program, which will help an estimated 2,400 families purchase homes. Those who have not owned a home in the previous three years and have lived in Utah for at least one year prior to closing may be eligible to apply for the program through the Utah Housing Corp. To qualify for the loan, buyers must purchase a home up to $450,000 that is either a new build or has never been lived in. The loan will have a zero percent interest rate and will not require a monthly payment. When the recipient of the program either sells or refinances their home, they will pay back the loan amount or a portion, subject to program requirements, to the Utah Housing Corp. The funds are then rolled back into the program for other Utahns to use. Details are at https://utahhousingcorp.org/homebuyer/programs/sb240.
INTERNATIONAL
- World Trade Center Utah, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, is organizing a trip to Düsseldorf, Germany, Nov. 13-16 to showcase Utah’s life science technology industry at Medica, a medical B2B tradeshow that attracts over 120,000 visitors and 5,000 exhibitors from more than 170 nations. The application period for Utah companies to participate closes Oct. 1. The cost is $500 to secure a spot in the Utah booth. Applications can be completed at https://wtcutah.formstack.com/forms/wtcutah_international_programs_interest_form.
INVESTMENTS
- Recursion, a Salt Lake City-based techbio company, has announced a $50 million investment by Nvidia, which was executed as a private investment in public equity. Recursion also announced plans to accelerate development of its AI foundation models for biology and chemistry, which, in collaboration with Nvidia, it intends to optimize and distribute to biotechnology companies using Nvidia cloud services. Recursion plans to utilize its proprietary biological and chemical dataset to accelerate the training of foundation models on Nvidia DGX Cloud for possible commercial license/release on BioNeMo, NVIDIA’s cloud service for generative AI in drug discovery.
LAW
- Wilson Sonini Goodrich & Rosati, based in California, has announced that Meredith Krannich has joined the firm’s Executive Advisory Program as an executive advisor in its Salt Lake City office.She will advise clients on legal, operational and business matters. Her experience in the life sciences industry has been focused on the medical device and in vitro diagnostic sectors. Krannich most recently served as vice president and general counsel (North America) at bioMérieux. Krannich also was vice president of legal affairs and senior corporate counsel at BioFire Diagnostics, which was acquired by bioMérieux in 2014. Krannich is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, where she has taught lawyering skills, arbitration, and advance negotiation and mediation since 2014. She earned her J.D. from the UofU.
MILESTONES
- YouScience, an American Fork-based technology provider focused on closing the skills gap between students and employers, has announced it has administered over 1 million certification exams to high school students across the U.S. during the 2022-23 academic year. With certifications, students can demonstrate and quantify their skills to share with future employers. Students in 43 states, 848 districts and 1,635 schools across the United States participated in the exams. The company exams are used for over 200 entry- to mid-level certifications.
NONPROFITS
- Utah Tech Leads, a 501(c)6 organization focused on economic growth and innovation, current and future workforce, and social and economic mobility, has named Alyssa White as chief operations officer. She will primarily be responsible for interactions between members and the association. White most recently was executive director of the Utah Optometric Association.
PARTNERSHIPS
- IperionX Limited, which is producing titanium metal powders from titanium scrap at its operational pilot facility in Utah, and Aperam Recycling, through its American entity ELG Utica Alloys, have executed an agreement to create a low-carbon, 100 percent recycled titanium supply chain. ELG will supply clean titanium scrap metal and IperionX will use its titanium processing technologies to produce low-carbon titanium metal for a more sustainable and fully circular supply chain. In addition to its Utah operations, IperionX intends to scale production at a titanium demonstration facility in Virginia.
PHILANTHROPY
- The Home Depot Foundation, in partnership with the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City and HandsOn Greater Phoenix, recently upgraded two permanent housing facilities for homeless veterans, people with disabilities and the chronically homeless through a large-scale volunteer project. More than 500 volunteers led by Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, were involved with interior painting and installing murals, adding seating areas and common space improvements, and completing kitchen renovations and recreational upgrades. Over 120 formerly homeless veterans live in HASLC’s Freedom Landing facility and Sunrise Metro facilities. Since 2011, the foundation has invested more than $475 million in veteran causes and improved more than 55,000 veteran homes and facilities. It has pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025.
RECOGNITIONS
- Several Utah sites were named in the “World’s Best Awards,” compiled by Travel+Leisure, based on traveler surveys for 2023. On the list of favorite resorts, Goldener Hirsch, Auberge Resorts Collection, Park City, was named No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 4 in the world. The list of Utah’s top favorite properties includes Goldener Hirsch at the top, followed by (in order) The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberg Resorts Collection, Wanship; The Chateaux Deer Valley, Park City; Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley, Park City; Montage Deer Valley, Park City; Sundance Mountain Resort; Yonder Escalante; The St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City; Amangiri, Canyon Point; and Capital Reef Resort, Torrey. The list of readers’ favorite domestic airports includes No. 9 Salt Lake City International Airport. The list of readers’ favorite national parks includes No. 9 Zion National Park and No. 20 Bryce Canyon National Park.
- A pair of 529 education savings plans, including Utah’s my529 and Michigan’s, have earned Gold Medalist ratings from Morningstar, which rates 54 plans, representing 93 percent of the industry’s assets. The ratings reflect its analysts’ confidence in each plan’s ability to offer a compelling risk-adjusted performance relative to peers. The my529 investment menu includes 22 options.
- Domo, an American Fork-based company offering a cloud-native data experience platform, has topped the list of vendors in the Dresner Advisory Services’ 2023 Self-Service Business Intelligence Market Study for the fifth consecutive year, placing ahead of 15 other vendors. The Dresner report examined end-user deployments and trends around self-service business intelligence. Top vendors in this market were ranked on their collaborative, governance, natural language analytics and Guided Analytics features, as well as the ability to create an environment where users can easily build and share insights in a managed and consistent fashion.
TECHNOLOGY
- Matia Mobility, a Salt Lake City-based provider personalized robotic mobility devices, has appointed Karen Royas Southeast regional sales director and head of its Ambassador Program. An advocate for the disabled community and a paraplegic, Roy will be spearheading the company’s new Ambassador Program, aimed at sharing inspiring stories of Matia Mobility users overcoming adversity and becoming leaders in their respective communities and fields. Roy has over 20 years of experience advocating for the disabled community. She joins Matia Mobility from Numotion, where she spent the past eight years both as a brand ambassador and a territory manager. Prior to Numotion, she was a medical social worker for over 15 years.
- Lendio, a Lehi-based company offering a small-business financial solutions platform, has appointed Heather Zynczakto its board of directors. Zynczak has more than 25 years of product and marketing experience across enterprise technology and SaaS industries, most recently serving as chief marketing officer at Pluralsight. She also served as CMO at Domo; held executive positions at enterprise technology companies, including SAP and Oracle; and has led teams at multiple startups.
- Voze, a Sandy-based field sales technology company, has appointed Cade Krueger as chief revenue officer and co-founder with CEO Dan Caffee. Krueger has experience driving revenue growth and guiding sales organizations to initial public offerings and acquisitions. His experiencing includes leading sales organizations at Instructure, Artemis Health and BetterUp.