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ACCOUNTING
• Squire & Company, an accounting firm, has announced that Tim Larsen has retired after more than 40 years at the firm. He started his career as a staff accountant while finishing up as a graduate student at Brigham Young University in 1980 and advanced to become CEO. Larsen plans to remain a prominent voice in the community, especially for small and growing businesses.
ASSOCIATIONS
• Jewel360, a Springville-based, cloud-based retail software company serving jewelry retailers, has been accepted as a vendor member of the Retail Jewelers Organization, a network of more than 1,000 independent jewelers and vendors in the U.S. The organization is owned by its jeweler members and pays a year-end dividend on all purchases made through the group.
• R1 RSM Inc., a Murray-based company providing technology-driven solutions for the patient experience and financial performance of healthcare providers, has announced an agreement to be the exclusive provider of revenue cycle management services for Emergency Physicians Professional Association, a physician group providing emergency medicine and urgent care across Minnesota. The partnership is expected to optimize clinical, financial and operational performance for EPPA while bolstering the patient experience and service for its patients. EPPA serves more than 600,000 patients every year across its 11 hospitals and medical centers and three urgency room locations.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has hired Andrew “Andy” Cromwell as a mortgage loan officer. He will be based at the bank’s home loans office in Logan City Center and help individuals and families in Cache Valley with financing solutions for home purchases, new construction, lots and refinances. A licensed loan officer for seven years, Cromwell previously worked for Low VA Rates/Elevated Mortgage in Nevada. Prior to that, Cromwell was in pharmaceutical sales. Cromwell’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in business management from Utah Valley University.
CONSTRUCTION
• The board of directors of Industrial Supply Co., Salt Lake City, has named Tyler Whipple and Damon Bohn as regional vice presidents of sales. Whipple has been with Industrial Supply since 1999, when he started in the company’s warehouse. He works primarily with the construction and mining industries, covering Industrial Supply’s Elko, Gillette and Rock Springs locations and managing the construction sales team. He also is in charge of the company’s expansion into Arizona. Bohn just celebrated his 20th anniversary at Industrial Supply and leads the company’s metalworking division, and specializes in the manufacturing and aerospace industries. In addition to Utah County, Bohn covers Central and Southern Utah, Southern California and Las Vegas. He also manages many of Industrial Supply’s Outside Sales representatives across the Wasatch Front, as well as several of his own accounts. Industrial Supply has seven locations in the Intermountain West and serves Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and surrounding areas.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 13 on a list of safest states in the U.S., compiled by market research firm TOP Data. It analyzed 37 metrics organized into six indicators of crime and prevention. Utah is No. 7 for transportation and infrastructure, No. 8 for personal safety, No. 16 for mental health, No. 17 for public security, No. 27 for financial safety and No. 28 for public safety. The study indicated that Utah has one of the lowest rates of murder per capita in the country, has the lowest number of bridges in bad conditions in the country, and has one of the lowest number of deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the country. The top-ranked state is New Hampshire. The bottom-ranked state is Alaska. Details are at https://topagency.com/report/safest-states-in-america/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 61 on a list of “2022’s Cities Where Lawns Go To Die,” compiled by Lawn Love. It ranked nearly 200 of the biggest U.S. cities based on the high risk of drought, wildfire and heatwaves, in addition to forced water cuts and extreme weather. It also weighed the water requirement for each city’s most common grass types against the average yard size. The top-ranked city is Bakersfield, California. The bottom-ranked city is Cleveland. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/cities-where-lawns-go-to-die/.
• M&M’s are Utahns’ favorite snack, according to a survey by Wisevoter, a bipartisan education platform. It studied favorite snacks by state. M&M’s are followed in Utah by Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos and Reese’s. Dorritos earned the top spot in 23 states. M&M’s is tops in 13 states. Details are at https://wisevoter.com/favorite-snack-by-state/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Instructure, a Salt Lake City-based e-learning company, has launched a companywide Substitute Teaching Program in the face of the national teaching shortage. As part of its existing “days of service” program, Instructure is encouraging employees to use their skills to support local school districts, by either substitute teaching or volunteering in other capacities. Instructure is even covering any registration fees for employees applying to sub, and prepping employees with basic substitute teacher training and tips through its Canvas platform.
• Pluralsight, a Draper-based technology workforce development company, is offering four months of free access to comprehensive certification prep on Pluralsight Skills and the recently acquired A Cloud Guru platform in an effort to encourage learners to get cloud-certified. Through Dec. 31, learners that currently do not have a paid subscription can now access video courses, study guides, quizzes and more for cloud and IT certifications taught by the experts in their respective fields, free of charge. This offering is open to anyone, including individuals who may not have a background in cloud or IT. Details are at www.pluralsight.com.
HEALTHCARE
• HealthEquity Inc., a Draper-based independent health savings account custodian, has elected Paul M. Black to its board of directors. He also was appointed to serve on the Audit Committee; Risk Committee; and Talent, Compensation and Culture Committee of the board. Black is a former healthcare information technology chief executive officer with more than 25 years’ executive experience. Black was the CEO of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. from December 2012 to May 2022, as well as President from December 2012 to October 2015, and a member of the Allscripts board of directors from April 2012 to June 2022. Prior to Allscripts, Black served in various executive positions at Cerner Corp. for 13 years, ending as chief operating officer. Prior to joining Cerner, he spent 12 years in a variety of leadership positions in sales, product marketing and professional services at International Business Machines Corp. Black currently serves on two nonprofit boards and previously served on multiple publicly traded, private company and nonprofit boards of directors for companies in the healthcare information technology, patient monitoring, healthcare services, healthcare delivery, healthcare device and consumer Internet marketing industries.
INTERNATIONAL
• David Carlebach, chief operating officer and managing director of international programs at World Trade Center Utah, has been appointed as a United States Investment Advisory Council member for its 2022–2024 term. IAC is a new advisory council established by the secretary of the Department of Commerce to solicit private-sector advice on the promotion and retention of foreign direct investment to the United States. Miles Hansen, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, has been selected to serve on the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade for the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The committee will provide policy advice on issues involving trade and development that have a significant relationship to the affairs of the U.S. state and local governments.
INVESTMENTS
• SeatGeek , a technology platform focused on the live event experience for fans, teams and venues, has raised $238 million as part of a Series E financing round. It was led by long-time investor Accel, with participation from Wellington Management; Arctos Sports Partners; and Ryan Smith, founder and executive chairman of Qualtrics and founder of Smith Entertainment Group, which includes the Utah Jazz. The investment values the business at $1 billion on a pre-money basis. SeatGeek will use the new capital in a number of ways, including continued investment in its people, product and partners.
• Limit Break Inc., Park City, has raised $200 million in investment capital from Buckley Ventures, Standard Crypto, Paradigm Ventures, FTX, Coinbase Ventures, Anthos Capital, SV Angel and Shervin Pishevar. Limit Break was founded in August 2021 and is focused on interactive Web 3 gaming. Its first endeavor, the DigiDaigaku NFT collection, was offered to the public for free.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Stage Marketing, a Provo-based creative, digital and experiential marketing agency with clients in the healthcare, high-tech and real estate industries, has hired Ricky Williamson as art director/designer. Williamson was hired to further the goal of expanding the company’s reach in the experiential and large-format design spaces. He will be in charge of developing brand style guides and designing artwork for myriad client campaigns. Williamson has 20 years of industry experience, including working at KJS Marketing Communications Solutions. His work at marketing and promotional companies includes designing apparel and other products for several branches of the armed forces as well as Reebok and Adidas. He also designed sportswear for athletic organizations such as the NCAA, NFL, NHL and the NBA. He also was art director over all Coca-Cola products sold in Latin America and Hispanic markets in the U.S. for Market Vision.
OUTDOOR RECREATION
• The Ikon Pass is adding two more destinations for the 2022-23 winter season: Lotte Arai Resort in Japan and Panorama Mountain Resort in British Columbia, Canada. It is offering five new destinations for the upcoming winter. Added in the spring were Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley in France, Sun Valley in Idaho and Snowbasin in Utah. The pass provides access to more than 50 mountain destinations in 10 countries across the Americas, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Other destinations include Deer Valley Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Alta Ski Area, Snowbird and Brighton Resort in Utah.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based channel management platform and partner relationship management company, has announced a partnership with TD SYNNEX, a global IT distributor and solutions aggregator formed through the merger of Tech Data and Synnex. Through this partnership, TD SYNNEX will offer Impartner’s PRM and Through Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) solutions to TD SYNNEX customers to help them accelerate revenue and profitability through indirect sales channels. The partnership expands Impartner’s reach through more than 300,000 TD SYNNEX resellers and partners.
• Strider Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, has announced a partnership with Mandiant to deliver joint customers access to the Strider Shield dataset as part of their suite of Mandiant Insider Threat Security Services. The partnership is designed to provide organizations with insights that will help decrease investigation times, expand visibility into emerging risk landscapes, and move security and legal teams to a proactive risk management posture.
PHILANTHROPY
• This fall, the Granite Education Foundation is partnering with The Depot on its “Santa Sacks” toy drive, where concert fans are being asked to bring in items most needed by children in the Salt Lake City community this upcoming holiday season, including new toys and winter hats and gloves. Through Oct. 31, the first 20 fans to bring one of the following items to a concert at The Depot will get to skip the line: new toys, Legos, craft and bead kits, remote controlled cars, soccer balls, curling irons, new STEM toys, and new winter hats and gloves. Details are at https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpZAJk7IA/the-depot-events.
REAL ESTATE
• The Ranches, a build-for-rent townhome community in North Ogden, has been acquired by Los Angeles-based Orion Real Estate Partners for an undisclosed amount. The Ranches was built in 2018. Orion plans to invest about $900,000 in the 79-unit apartment community for interior and exterior improvements. It is Orion’s second acquisition in Utah and 22nd deal overall since 2016. Orion secured a fixed rate loan for up to 10 years from CBRE Multifamily Capital through Fannie Mae. Orion and its affiliates own 2,367 units in Colorado, Texas, Utah and California.
RECOGNITIONS
• MGIS, a Salt Lake City-based disability insurance provider for healthcare professionals, has announced Dr. Mindy Ward as the winner of its annual Dale Brunken Annual Student Loan Repayment Award. Ward is a doctor of internal medicine with the Intercoastal Medical Group in Sarasota, Florida. Now in its fourth year, the award is named for the man who founded MGIS over 50 years ago. It provides a $15,000 payment to the winner to go toward repaying student loan debt.
RESTAURANTS
• The Habit Burger Grill, a California-based restaurant company, has opened a location at 1375 N. Mail St., Logan. It will offer dine-in, takeout and drive-through ordering. Curbside pick-up and delivery will be available via The Habit Mobile App and online at order.habitburger.com. It is the company’s 13th restaurant in Utah. It has more than 335 restaurants in 14 states and 13 international locations in China and Cambodia.
• Raising Canes will open a location this fall at 694 W. Antelope Drive, Layton. It will be the company’s seventh location in Utah. It will employ more than 140 people. The company has nearly 700 restaurants in over 35 states and Guam.
SERVICES
• Creative Colors International, an on-site repair and restoration franchise, has launched a franchise location in Payson. The new franchise is owned by Jeff Hughes, who previously spent 29 years in the herbal and vitamin supplement manufacturing industry. CCI offers leather repair, the mobile repair, reconditioning, protection, and color restoration of leather, vinyl, fabric, plastic, and carpeting in the automotive, furniture, commercial and residential markets. Launched in 1991, CCI has 75 locations with over 125 mobile units serving 27 states and parts of Canada.
TECHNOLOGY
• Weave, a Lehi-based company offering a customer communication and engagement platform for small business, has named Brooke Shreeve as its chief people officer. Shreeve has led Weave’s people team since earlier this year. Prior to joining Weave in 2020 as the head of human resources business partners, Shreeve led HR initiatives and operations for organizations ranging in size from 250 to 16,000 employees based in both the U.S. and globally. Companies include Wex Inc., Marketstar, Flying J, Kohls and Sears.
• Filevine, a Salt Lake City-based company offering a legal work platform, has added an online user community called Filevine Innovators. The product-focused online forum is the official community for Filevine users to connect. It is open to Filevine’s more than 25,000 users, where they are encouraged to engage with each other and the company.