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ACCOUNTING
• Tanner LLC, Salt Lake City, has admitted David R. Hoopes as an audit partner. Hoopes has over 30 years of public accounting experience, including working 15 years with a “Big Five” international firm, six years with a national firm, and two years with a local CPA firm. He also worked seven years for a securities litigation firm, consulting as an expert witness in large broker-dealer financial institution disputes. Hoopes holds a bachelor of science in accounting from Brigham Young University.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its August meeting, approved a pair of incentives for film productions and altered terms of an earlier-approved incentive. Silver Peak Productions LLC was approved for a cash rebate of up to $95,377 for “Prescription For Love,” a feature drama expected to spend $476,883 in Utah. Principal photography is set for Sept. 5-18. The director is Brian Bough, who is a producer along with Brittany Wiscombe. The board approved a cash rebate of up to $4,800 for Villa Theater LLC for “Cipher,” a documentary expected to spend $24,000 in Utah. Shooting took place in July. Directors are Cam Goold and Logan Nelson. The producer is Elisha Gustafson. The board amended a $500,000 cash rebate incentive approved in June for National Lampoon for “Shriver,” which was based on in-state spending of $2.4 million. The production company name has changed to Shriver Productions LLC and the in-state spending has been increased, making the company eligible for a tax credit of up to $604,365.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah recently appointed Ida Ann Thompson and Jason Baum as mortgage loan officers at its St. George mortgage lending office. Thompson has worked 21 years as a senior mortgage banker, holding positions from sales, processing, underwriting, administrative assisting and management. Baum has spent over 25 years working with small and home-based businesses as a consultant in sales, marketing, client relations, customer services and success planning.
COMMUNICATIONS
• AT&T says it invested nearly $175 million in its Utah wireless and wired networks in 2015-17. The investments boost reliability, coverage, speed and overall performance for residents and businesses and improve critical services that support public safety and first responders, it said. The work included 336 wireless network upgrades in Utah in 2017. Of the $175 million total, more than $80 million was invested in Salt Lake City, where 85 wireless network upgrades occurred in 2017.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Oct. 4 to shareholders of record Sept. 28. SkyWest is the holding company for two scheduled passenger airline operations and an aircraft leasing company with more than 17,000 employees.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked fifth and earned an A-plus for overall small-business-friendliness in the seventh annual Small Business Friendliness Survey released by website and application Thumbtack. The company ranked all 50 states and 57 cities on factors including licensing requirements, tax regulations, and labor and hiring regulations. Utah’s overall ranking was two spots higher than last year, when it was seventh and also earned an A-plus. Utah earned B grades for employment, labor and hiring regulations and licensing regulations; a B-minus for tax regulations; a D for government websites and an F for training and networking programs. Details are at Thumbtack.com/ut.
• Wasatch County leads all Utah counties in receiving the greatest amount of investment in their local economies, according to a study by financial technology company SmartAsset. Counties were ranked based on business growth, GDP growth, new building permits and federal funding. Following Wasatch were, in order, Washington, Utah, Tooele, Morgan, Salt Lake, Juab, Cache, Grand and Iron counties. The study is available at https://smartasset.com/investing/investment-calculator#Utah.
• Roosevelt leads all communities in Utah in giving people access to the best 401(k) benefit plans, according to a study by financial technology company SmartAsset. The study compared employer contributions against total contributions, as well as retirement plan investment performance and administrative fees in cities across the country. Following Roosevelt were, in order, Herriman, Spanish Fork, Orem, Layton, Bountiful, St. George, West Valley City, Murray and Provo. The report is available at https://smartasset.com/retirement/401k-calculator#Utah.
• Emery County leads all Utah counties in “getting the most mileage out of Social Security,” according to a study by financial technology company SmartAsset. In the fourth annual study, SmartAsset analyzed Social Security income, cost of living data, and taxes across all counties. Following Emery were, in order, Morgan, Rich, Cache, Sanpete, Beaver, Washington, Millard, Sevier and Wasatch counties. The full study can be found at https://smartasset.com/retirement/social-security-calculator#Utah.
EXPANSIONS
• GPS Capital Markets Inc., a Salt Lake City-based corporate foreign exchange brokerage firm, has expanded with a new office in St. Louis and the addition of Natalie Wheeler. The St. Louis office will be overseen by senior regional director Jeff Jeppesen and director of North American sales Brandon Parke. Wheeler most recently worked the past 12 years at Wells Fargo. She has worked in foreign exchange for nearly a decade and spent three years at MBS as a cash trader.
HEALTHCARE
• Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, recently named Heather Brace as senior vice president and chief people officer and Dan Liljenquist as senior vice president and chief strategy officer. Brace has been a human resources executive business partner with Intermountain. Liljenquist has served as vice president of the Enterprise Initiative Office at Intermountain. Two other Intermountain leaders, David Flood, senior vice president and chief development officer, and Doug Hammer, senior vice president of legal affairs and general counsel, also have been added to Intermountain’s executive leadership team.
INVESTMENT
• Overstock.com Inc. and t0.com Inc., Salt Lake City, have signed term sheets with GSR Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, to invest up to $374.55 million in exchange for common equity in blockchain subsidiary tZERO and common equity in Overstock.com. Overstock and GSR Capital also have entered into a purchase agreement pursuant to which GSR Capital will purchase $30 million in tZERO security tokens from Overstock. As part of the term sheet agreement, GSR Capital will purchase up to 3.1 million shares of Overstock.com common stock at a 5 percent discount to the closing share price on Aug. 1. GSR Capital will also invest up to $270 million for up to 18 percent of tZERO’s equity at a valuation of $1.5 billion (post-money). GSR Capital also will purchase from Overstock $30 million in tZERO security tokens, which were purchased by Overstock during the recently closed tZERO security token offering in a non-cash transaction in which Overstock forgave $30 million in tZERO intra-company debt.
• Tower Arch Capital, a Salt Lake City-based lower-middle market private equity fund, has announced it has recapitalized Panoramic Doors LLC and Kiinde LLC. Panoramic is a designer, manufacturer and distributer of independent panel folding patio door systems. It is based in Oceanside, California. Kiinde, based in White Plains, New York, is a developer of infant and child feeding solutions aimed at alleviating challenges and simplifying care for busy parents.
• Square 1 Bank has provided a $2 million credit facility to DirectScale, a Lindon-based software platform that supports direct and social selling companies and their salesforces. Proceeds from the facility will support continued growth initiatives, Square 1 said.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Pure Broadcast, a Salt Lake City-based provider of mobile sports broadcast facilities, has reached terms to acquire its second HD mobile broadcast unit. The acquisition of the 53-foot, multi-format, high-definition unit marks the expansion of Pure’s Mobile Broadcast Division, which will target live events in the sports, entertainment and corporate arenas in the western United States.
REAL ESTATE
• The Hampton Inn-Provo and Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Sandy have been sold by an institutional seller, according to Hunter Hotel Advisors, based in Atlanta. Hunter represented the seller. The hotels were acquired by a regional ownership group. Additional details, including the transaction amount, were not disclosed.
RECOGNITIONS
• Silicon Slopes has announced the recipients of its first-ever Silicon Slopes Community Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Alan and Karen Ashton, founders of Thanksgiving Point. Alan Ashton is co-founder of WordPerfect Corp., which later was acquired by Novell Inc. Community Hero Awards will be presented to Stephenie Larsen, CEO and founder of Encircle, a place for LGBTQ+ youth and their families; Amy Wylie, executive director of Education at One Refugee and who serves with her husband as refugee specialists for the LDS Inner City Mission in Salt Lake County; Lori Morency Kun, head of social impact at Qualtrics’ “5 for the Fight”; and Mary Crafts, founder and CEO of Culinary Crafts. The awards will be presented Sept. 20 at The Barn at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi.
• Todd Leonard recently was named USA Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. Held in New Orleans, the 2018 cooking competition invited chefs from around the country to create, cook, and display four plates in 60 minutes using regional ingredients. Leonard was assisted by two apprentices, both culinary arts students at Utah Valley University, where Leonard is the director of the Culinary Arts Institute. Leonard is founding chef at Blue Lemon.
• Zions Bank recently presented Stephanie Horne with the Roy W. Simmons Community Service Award. The recognition is made annually to one employee in honor of the late Roy W. Simmons, community leader and founder of Zions Bancorporation. Horne is the executive vice president and director of private banking at Zions Bank, and her involvement in the community ranges in causes from education to healthcare. She has been with Zions Bank since 1997.
• America First Credit Union was recently ranked Utah’s No. 1 credit union in a Best-In-State Credit Union listing compiled by Forbes. It was followed, in order, by Security Service Federal Credit Union, Utah First Federal Credit Union, Utah Community Credit Union and Mountain America Credit Union. Forbesand market research partnerStatistasurveyed more than 25,000 customers to create the list, with rankings based upon overall satisfaction encompassing five criteria: trust, terms and conditions, branch services, digital services and financial advice.
• Smithfield Foods Inc. recently honored several of its facilities and employees with Environmental and Sustainability Awards for their innovation and dedication to sustainability. One facility is in Salt Lake City, which included the local fire department in its mock ammonia release, which included real-world emergency scenarios and facility evacuation. Each award winner received $5,000 and donated a portion of the prize to the charity of their choice. The company said efforts saved it more than 1.1 billion gallons of water, more than 8.8 million kilowatts of electricity, and more than 21.1 million pounds of solid waste generation in 2017.
RETAIL
• IFA Country Stores has opened an 18,000-square-foot store at 1027 E. Pioneer Road, Draper. The original Draper store was a 1071 E. Pioneer Road. IFA operates 23 stores in five states.
RURAL UTAH
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board, at its August meeting, endorsed a $50,000 Rural Fast Track Grant for Mountain West Seed Co., of Ephraim in Sanpete County. The funds will help the company expand its current facility and build a new warehouse of about 10,000 square feet. The $262,000 project is expected to result in one new full-time position at the company. The grant had been approved by the Governor’s Rural Partnership Board.
SERVICES
• Foresight Wealth Management, a Draper-based wealth management and financial services company, has hired David Wrigley as chief investment officer. Wrigley has 14 years of institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investment management experience. Most recently, Wrigley served as senior portfolio manager at Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators (DMBA), and previously held investment management roles at Ivy Funds and J.P. Morgan. Also, Eric Stats, the company’s former chief investment officer, has transitioned to his new role as director of strategic partnerships and acquisitions, where he will focus on future and alternative offerings, recruiting new advisors and future acquisitions.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Web Vision Technologies was recently awarded grants from Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at the Baylor College of Medicine to develop vision-testing devices for the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) to be used on the International Space Station (ISS). The devices will allow NASA scientists to detect, monitor progression and guide medical interventions for vision issues astronauts are experiencing on long-duration deep space missions. NASA has asked the Salt Lake City-based company to develop two specialized vision testing devices. One is a very compact, self-imaging retinal camera that will allow astronauts to take an image of their retina so doctors on the ground can look for signs of vision issues. The second is a goggle-based headset that will allow astronauts to test the functionality of their visual field, along with other vision tests that can be performed with the same device.
• Sentient Lasers, a Park City-based pre-owned aesthetic laser company that buys, sells, warranties and provides service contracts for aesthetic lasers and light devices, has hired Ryan Haller as director of marketing and business development. Haller will be responsible for spearheading marketing strategy, including helping the company merchandise its new, state-of-the-art headquarters and service and repair facility. Haller has more than 20 years of experience in the medical laser industry, including co-founding TheLaserTrader.
• OptConnect, a Kaysville-based managed wireless connectivity company, has hired Paula Beck as senior sales manager. She will oversee the continued expansion of OptConnect products into the cash automation market. Beck has 13 years of sales experience, most recently working at Glory Global Solutions, and served as vice president of strategic accounts at Loomis.