The Salt Lake Chamber has announced the recipients of its annual awards, to be presented Sept. 25 at its annual meeting.
The awards honor individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional support for advancing the chamber’s mission and bolstering the business community over the past year.
“Each year, our annual meeting provides the opportunity to recognize champions for Utah’s business community and encourage continued dedication to Utah’s economic vitality,” said Derek Miller, the chamber’s president and CEO. “Since the Salt Lake Chamber’s beginning, it has been committed to advancing initiatives that allow Utah to grow and prosper. Without business and community leaders like the ones we are recognizing this year, Utah’s growth and success would not be possible; their diligence and commitment to the Chamber’s mission are vital to securing a vibrant and prosperous future for all Utahns.”
The honorees are:
• President’s Award for Excellence (honoring an individual or organization selected by the president and CEO): Jonathan Hafen, attorney, Parr Brown Gee & Loveless. Hafen’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, particularly regarding investor fraud and disputes over the ownership and control of businesses. Hafen currently serves on the chamber’s Board of Directors and previously served as co-chair of the chamber’s Public Policy committee, as chair of its International Committee and on the chamber’s Board of Governors. Hafen was recently named board co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Institute and just completed his service as the Federal Bar Association’s national president. He serves as board chair of Tuacahn Center for the Arts and previously served as president of BYU’s Alumni Association.
• Legacy Award (honoring a long-standing business in Utah): Woodbury Corp. Woodbury is one of the oldest and most respected full-service real estate development companies in the Intermountain West. With assets under management approaching $6 billion, Woodbury has a 15-state portfolio that includes 12.7 million square feet of retail and office, 2,383 hotel rooms across 19 hotels, 5,124 residential units and over 5,000 acres of land.
• Fortitude Award (honoring a corporate business in Utah): American Express. American Express is a global, premium payments and lifestyle brand powered by technology that offers its customers products, services and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Founded in 1850, the New York-based company has 100 million merchant locations on its global network in over 200 countries and territories.
• Beehive Award (honoring an organization that helps build the community through volunteerism): One Kind Act a Day/Semnani Family Foundation. The foundation seeks to empower the disadvantaged by supporting the unseen and forgotten, the arts, civic groups and even a volunteer-staffed clinic that has given free care to over 260,000 patients. Its current mission of empowerment is through the organization One Kind Act a Day, which aims to build kinder communities through intentional acts of daily kindness.
• Opportunity Award (honoring a small business in Utah): Nothing Bundt Cakes Salt Lake City. Brad and Fawn Berrett decided to pursue a franchise with Nothing Bundt Cakes and were approved for the Salt Lake City area. Located at 1354 S. Foothill Drive, Suite B, in the Foothill Village Shopping Center, it offers the warmth of nostalgia with a fresh, modern approach.
• Icon Award (honoring a women-owned business in Utah): Pierpont Place. Founder Janice Boes launched Premier Event Services LLC (formerly Premier Corporate Events) in 2001 and expanded offerings beyond event coordination to include bar services, wedding planning and full-scale event production. In December 2006, Boes opened Pierpont Place. Today, the team at Premier Event Services & Pierpont Place designs, plans, coordinates and curates a wide array of events — from corporate functions, fundraisers and seminars to weddings, holiday parties, concerts, birthdays, reunions and celebrations of life.
• Trailblazer Award (honoring “rising stars” in the community): Makaila Kelso, community director, Kiln; and Elsie Powley, project manager, Clyde Cos. Inc. Kelso leads a thriving coworking community with a focus on belonging, connection and intentional leadership. Beyond her role at Kiln, Kelso serves as chair of the Business Women’s Forum, sits on the Board of Directors for Best Seat in the House and serves on the Advisory Board for the Women’s Business Center of Utah. Powley specializes in real estate development, strategic planning and community relations. She currently directs Springville Rising, which is dedicated to transformational redevelopment projects in Springville, where Clyde Companies was founded in 1926. The effort will create a 40-acre community destination for families and the community to gather. She graduated from the Salt Lake Chamber’s Government Affairs Boot Camp and Leadership Utah program, as well as the Women’s Leadership Institute’s Career Development and Political Development Series.
• Chamber Champions (honoring exceptional chamber volunteers): Benjamin Brown, director of government relations and public affairs, Fidelity Investments; Brandon Hansen, general manager, Hyatt Place–Salt Lake City Downtown/The Gateway; Troy Keller, partner, Dorsey & Whitney; Jen Parsons-Soran, founder, Nonprofit Development Partners Inc.; Jennifer Robinson, chief of staff, University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; and Don Stirling, executive director, Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation.
Detailed biographies of all honorees are at https://slchamber.com/events-programs/signature-events/annual-meeting/.
The Salt Lake Chamber’s 138th annual meeting and awards luncheon will be Sept. 25, 11:15 a.m.1:30 p.m., at the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown at City Creek, 75 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City.