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COMMUNICATIONS
• CallTower, with main offices in South Jordan and Boston, has named Jason Ulm as vice president of product and customer success. Ulm has more than 20 years of telecommunications experience and more than 10 years in executive leadership. Most recently, he was vice president of sales at Appia Communications, which was acquired by CallTower earlier this year. CallTower, founded in 2002, provides cloud-based, enterprise-class unified communications solutions for organizations.
DIRECT SALES
• Nutraceutical Corp., Park City, has announced that Dr. Raphael Kellman will be advising the company in the development and promotion of its Solaray Mycrobiome Probiotic line of products. Kellman is a best-selling author and physician of integrative and functional medicine.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• The Utah average travel time to work is 21.6 minutes, up 1.7 percent, based on the latest Census Bureau data of cities with population of 60,000 or more. In Utah, the fastest commute time was in Orem, at 18.3 minutes. It was followed by Provo, 18.4 minutes; Salt Lake City, 20.1; West Valley City, 22.8; Sandy, 24.2; and South Jordan, 25.4. Sandy saw the biggest increase in average travel time to work, at 9.2 percent. Salt Lake City saw the largest percentage decrease, at 3.6 percent.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• College savings plan my529 has named Bryn Ramjoue’ as its marketing director. Ramjoue’ most recent was director of communications at Red Butte Garden since 2009. Her education includes a bachelor of arts in mass communications from the University of Utah. My529 formerly was known as the Utah Educational Savings Plan.
• FIRST Utah Robotics has named Chelsey Short as regional director. FIRST Utah Robotics organizes an annual high school robotics competition at the Maverik Center. She will work with the FIRST program directors and staff in the development, growth and support of the FIRST programs, including FIRST Robotics Competition, the FIRST Tech Challenge, the FIRST Lego League and the FIRST Lego League Junior, at the local and regional levels. As regional director, she is responsible for the FRC Regional Competition, held each spring in conjunction with the University of Utah College of Engineering. Short has experience with many public education programs, including performing arts for youth, public safety and University Extension programming. For the past six years, she’s been with the College of Engineering at the University of Utah, managing STEM programs funded by the National Science Foundation.
EXPANSIONS
• Superior Drilling Products Inc., a Vernal-based designer and manufacturer of drilling tool technologies, has expanded operations to Abilene, Texas. The company has entered into a commercial lease related to property there to support the manufacture and repair of the company’s product lines and enhance its ability to efficiently service customers.
GOVERNMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) has named Kimberlee Carlile as the first director of the Talent Ready Utah Center. Carlile will oversee the center’s efforts to develop solutions that align education and industry needs. The center will convene partnerships that help Utah students become career-ready, while ensuring businesses in the state have a qualified workforce. Carlile assisted with the creation of the Utah Aerospace Pathways program, and has helped replicate the program for diesel technology, medical innovations and technology educational. Carlile previously was the director of industry and talent initiatives for GOED and managed communications at Avenue H. She received her bachelor’s degree from Utah Valley University in communications.
• Salt Lake County government officials and Kearns business owners have celebrated the completion of a $1.9 million road project designed to boost economic growth. About 40 businesses operate in the industrial area known as Camp Kearns, a former World War II Army air base. The road paving project broke ground in December 2017. Prior to its completion, the unpaved roads at Camp Kearns were prone to flooding, making it difficult for delivery trucks and customers to access businesses in the area. The Salt Lake County Council approved the project in November 2017. A total of 1.5 miles of roads were paved.
PHILANTHROPY
• Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum and community partners recently unveiled the Mark Miller Subaru Express Service exhibit, sponsored by Mark Miller Subaru. The exhibit features a child-sized 2019 Subaru Ascent. Children will have the opportunity to work under the hood on the engine, change the oil, tighten lug nuts on all four tires and fill the gas tank as they learn about the science the vehicle uses.
REAL ESTATE
• The sale of Canyon Center, a 47,866-square-foot shopping center in Sandy, has been completed. The sale price was not disclosed. Built in 1998, Canyon Center is located on 6.79 acres at the intersection of 9400 South and Highland Drive in Sandy. The sale included Smith’s gas station, Wells Fargo and Wendy’s, as well as 38,000 square feet of active lifestyle and daily needs shop tenants. Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors executive vice presidents Bill Asher and Kevin Fryman, along with President Edward Hanley, represented the seller, Pacific Canyon Center LLC, based in Irvine, California. The buyer was a local investor and was represented by Greg Swedelson and Jon-Eric Greene with SSG Realty Partners.
RECOGNITIONS
• Big O Tires, a North American retail tire franchisor, has recognized three multi-store owners as 2017 Franchisees of the Year, including Kent and Kory Coleman, multi-store owners in Utah. The company has nearly 450 stores in 23 states. The top 40 stores, based on numerical results, were eligible. Candidates submitted information on their community involvement and an executive committee considered that material, along with feedback from other franchisees, to make a final decision. Recipients were recognized at the annual convention in San Antonio alongside fellow franchisees, managers, corporate associates and supplier partners.
SCHOLARSHIPS
• Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, will award $750,000 in scholarships to aspiring students who apply to WGU by Sept. 30. The Back to School Scholarship is valued at up to $2,000 per student ($500 per six-month term, renewable for up to four terms). The university will award 375 scholarships, which will be granted based on a candidate’s academic record, financial need, readiness for online study and current competency, as well as other considerations.
SERVICES
• Technology repair brand uBreakiFix has opened a location at 11426 S. Parkway Plaza Drive, Suite 200, South Jordan. It is the brand’s second location in the Salt Lake City area, joining a store in Sandy. Both are owned by Stacey, Scott and Dalton Wells, who plan to open additional locations in the area. UBreakiFix has more than 425 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
SPORTS
• ArbiterSports, a Sandy-based athletic management software company, has hired Karen Mogridge as vice president of product management. Mogridge is a product manager, software engineer and business analyst with two decades of experience overseeing the development of new products. Before joining ArbiterSports, Mogridge served in several positions at CoreLogic, including senior professional product manager, director of quality assurance, director of special projects and senior business analyst. She also worked as a software engineer with F-22 Lockheed Martin.
TRANSPORTATION
• Penske Truck Leasing, based in Pennsylvania, has opened a new facility at 925 W. 12th St., Ogden. It is the fourth new facility announcement in the company’s western region this summer and is the eighth new facility announcement this year. The Ogden facility offers full-service truck leasing, consumer and commercial truck rental, contract truck fleet maintenance and connected fleet solutions. The 7,629-square-foot building sits on 2.5 acres and has six truck bays. Penske currently has 10 employees in Ogden and intends to hire as business continues to grow in the area. Penske operates more than 270,000 vehicles and serves customers from more than 1,000 locations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia.