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ASSOCIATIONS
• The Utah Black Chamber and Podium, a Lehi-based customer messaging platform company, have partnered to create Utah's first online portal to find and connect consumers with local black-owned companies. The joint resource is called Utah Black Pages. Over the past 10 years, both the Utah Black Chamber and Black Lives Matter Utah have hosted similar lists of companies on their websites, and the new site will combine those efforts. The website is utahblackpages.com.
• Starting in August, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Utah will offer a free online class for parents of youth with mental health conditions. Basics, a six-week course, is taught by a trained team of parents who have personal experience raising a child or teen with a mental health condition. Parents and caregivers learn the signs and symptoms of mental illness, treatment options, crisis prevention and preparation, the importance of self-care, communication strategies, and how to advocate for their youth in school systems, medical systems and the juvenile justice system. The class will be Tuesday evenings, 7-8:30 p.m. Registration can be completed at namiut.org or (385) 246-5931.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 8 among the best states for businesses to survive the pandemic, compiled by FitSmallBusiness. It surveyed every state using metrics including overall financial health, infection rates, emergency reserve totals, and consumer confidence to determine in which states businesses were most likely to survive the coronavirus-driven recession. Utah, it said, was bolstered by its competitive maximum, weekly unemployment benefits, $560; a highly affordable average corporate tax rate, 4.95 percent; a best overall state unemployment ranking; and a formidable consumer confidence index, 89.2. Ohio was top-ranked. New York was bottom-ranked.
• Summit County leads all Utah counties for having the highest earners, according to a recent analysis by financial technology company SmartAsset. The analysis was completed as part of the company’s study on the places with the most purchasing power. Summit’s cost of living is $59,115 and its median income is $94,952, according to the study. Following Summit are (in order) Morgan, Daggett, Davis, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Utah, Uintah, Tooele and Duchesne counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/mortgage/cost-of-living-calculator#Utah/median-income.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Becklar LLC, an Ogden-based parent company of both AvantGuard Monitoring Centers and Freeus, has completed a transaction on a new partnership with Boston-based BV Investment Partners. Becklar was formed in 2017 by Josh Garner to unite the complementary Freeus and AvantGuard businesses under one entity. Freeus is a North American provider of mobile personal emergency response system solutions to life safety, security and technology businesses. BV Investment Partners is a sector-focused private equity firms in North America. The Edmonds Group served as exclusive financial adviser to Becklar.
PHILANTHROPY
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has begun a fundraising campaign to help Weber County Search and Rescue (WCSAR) purchase a new high-tech drone that will cut rescue time in reaching stranded and injured people in the county’s diverse terrain. The bank is backing WCSAR with a “Reaching New Heights” campaign to generate $30,000 in donations to buy a DJI Matrice 300 RTK Drone. Roger Christensen, senior vice president for Bank of Utah, recently presented a $1,000 check to launch the fundraiser at a demonstration of the DJI M300 for local dignitaries at Weber State University’s Stewart Stadium. The bank will support the month-long campaign with billboard advertisements, internal signage, an email campaign and social media. Centerville-based Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems (RMUS) is donating $2,500 in training for WCSAR. Donations can be made at http://webersar.org/donate-to-wcsar/.
REAL ESTATE
• A development venture between Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate has broken ground break ground on 650 Main, a 10-story, 332,100-square foot Class A office and retail development at the corner of Main Street and 600 South in downtown Salt Lake City. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2022. It will have floor plate sizes ranging from 40,000 rentable square feet on the first four floors and 29,500 rentable square feet on floors five through 10. EnerBank USA is the first company to sign an office lease. It will occupy 88,900 square feet on the top three floors of the building.
• The Utah Department of Transportation will have its first online auction this year of surplus land. The 18 properties will be auctioned July 30-Aug. 6 at www.UDOTauctions.Utah.gov. Examples of properties is a 62-acres parcel in Saratoga Springs currently zoned for light manufacturing, with a starting bid of $3.8 million; and an adjacent 57-acre parcel with a starting bid at $3.5 million. Other offerings are in Bluffdale, West Valley City, Riverton, West Point, Highland, Levan, Herriman and South Ogden.
• Van Daele Homes, a privately held California-based homebuilder, has announced its expansion into the Utah market. It currently has operations in California and has bult more than 20,000 homes since its inception in 1987. The company is in the process of identifying and recruiting talent in the Utah market to join the company’s expansion efforts.
RETAIL
• Uncharted Supply Co., an emergency preparedness company, has hired Todd Ballard as acting chief marketing officer and Mike Dufner as chief financial officer, and expanded its Park City headquarters. Ballard most recently spent nearly a decade serving in multiple C-level marketing roles at GoPro. As acting chief marketing officer, Ballard will work closely with marketing manager Kate Cier and newly appointed partnerships manager Cathryn Haberman. Dufner has years of experience at DPS Skis and Reynolds Cycling. The company also has expanded its operational functions, hiring two full-time managers for its customer service and warehouse teams and a lead purchasing manager, Black Diamond veteran Jon Foster. The warehouse will be led by new warehouse manager Joe Nuzzolo. Bobby Armijo, who came on board when Uncharted moved into Cotopaxi’s warehouse, will fill the role of customer service manager.
SERVICES
• Ovation Up Inc., an Orem-based company focused on a guest feedback tool for restaurants and retailers, has appointed Kelly MacPherson to its advisory board. MacPherson has 30 years of experience in the restaurant and retail space, including serving as chief information officer for Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons and leading technology for Abercrombie and Fitch, MICROS, Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe.
• Drybar Salt Lake City has opened with a 2,000-square-foot location at 1133 E. Wilmington Ave., Salt Lake City, featuring 14 styling chairs. Drybar is on track to have more than 145 locations by year-end.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• MX, a Lehi-based financial data platform company, has announced it will host Money Experience Summit 2020, an online event Sept. 1-2 for people in the banking and fintech industry to help organizations deliver data-driven experiences that address the challenges of today and transform the future of money. It will feature four keynote presentations, more than 30 breakout sessions and more than 2,000 one-on-one networking meetings. Details are at https://www.mx.com/summit/.