ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

• The Salt Lake Film Society is looking to replace all 1,100 seats in the six theaters at the Broadway Centre Cinema, located at 111 E. Broadway in downtown Salt Lake City. The theater is used by an estimated 250,000 annual moviegoers. Upgrading the seats, however, is dependent upon raising $54,000 by the end of March. Matching funds for the required cost of upgraded seats have been secured, and supporter George Smith of US Development is assisting with the installation costs, making every dollar contributed reach twice as far. Donations in any amount are currently being accepted, and contributors who give more than $500 will be thanked by having their name placed on a seat in the Broadway Centre Cinema’s largest auditorium. Other donation levels offer benefits that include free annual society memberships, T-shirts and more. Donations can be made at Broadway Centre Cinema, online at www.saltlakefilmsociety.org/creature-comforts/ or on the society’s Facebook page.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

• The Utah chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services will hold its annual charity golf tournament at the Valley View Country Club on June 8. Proceeds will benefit the Children’s Justice Center of Salt Lake County. To view details of this event, including sponsorship opportunities and registration, visit http://www.smpsutah.org.

 

BANKING

• Members, employees and the board of directors of Pocahy Family Credit Union, Pocatello, have voted to merge with Mountain America Credit Union. Pocahy Family Federal Credit Union is a $15.3 million institution with 2,250 members. The merger is scheduled for April 1. However, Pocahy Family members can convert their accounts to Mountain America early. 

• Wells Fargo is celebrating 160 years of doing business with donations and volunteer activities across Utah and the country. The bank is donating $160,000 to nonprofit organizations in Utah and Nevada. In Utah, Wells Fargo is giving $80,000 to five local charities: Alliance House: $16,000; Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake: $16,000; Friends of the Coalition: $16,000; Holy Cross Ministries:$16,000; Rape Recovery Center: $16,000.

• Seacoast Commerce Bank, based in Chula Vista, Calif., has opened a Small Business Administration loan production office at 2825 E. Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 500, Salt Lake City. Eric Wadley will manage the office. Wadley, SBA business development officer, has more than 17 years of banking experience, predominately in the SBA lending industry, all in Salt Lake City. Wadley is a lifetime resident of Utah and a graduate of the University of Utah. The office primarily will handle loans in the Salt Lake City/Park City area south to St. George. David H. Bartram, Seacoast’s executive vice president and SBA division manager, said Seacoast’s primary focus is helping small businesses looking to buy, refinance, construct or expand their own facility. Loans range from $100,000 to $4 million and are across all industries except for financing motels or gas stations. Bartram said the company selected Utah for an office because of Wadley’s talent and success, plus the fact that Utah “has not had the highs nor the lows” in real estate prices in recent years compared to other parts of the country. Seacoast has a centralized processing center in San Diego and has other loan production offices in Bellevue, Wash.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas and five locations in California. It is the nation’s 18th-largest SBA lender.

 

COMPUTERS/SOFTWARE

• Lindon-based Internet security firm DigiCert Inc. received the “Best Practices” award from global analyst group Frost & Sullivan for Customer Value Enhancement. DigiCert was recognized above other companies in its industry for its focus on flexible, value-added features for its customers as well as industry leading customer support. DigiCert’s customer-centric focus leads to a high repeat customer rating and strong customer loyalty and ratings. DigiCert secures connections on the world’s most popular Web pages and is the world’s third-largest issuer of high-assurance digital certificates.

 

CONSTRUCTION

• Architectural and structural systems solutions company Steel Encounters Inc., Salt Lake City, has promoted Ann Tarancon to engineering supervisor. She brings more than 31 years of experience to the role, 15 of them with Steel Encounters. Previously, Tarancon owned a specialty subcontracting firm, as well as working as a drafter, estimator, project engineer and project manager.

• On March 13, West Valley City-based Hunt Electric reached two million man-hours worked without a lost-time accident. Hunt Electric employees have worked over four consecutive years without any job-related injuries that have resulted in time off. March 13 also marked the day Hunt Electric received news of being granted this year’sAssociated General Contractors of Utah’s Platinum Level Safety Award. It is the highest level of award given by the AGC, honoring construction firms that are 25 percent below the combined averages of the OSHA Total Recordable and Lost Time Incidence Rates, and the average (1.0) EMR. 

• FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, released its first quarter 2012 Construction Outlook Report. FMI’s forecast for total construction put in place in 2012 is a 5 percent increase compared to 2011, or $826.3 billion. The last time construction put in place was at this level was 2000-2001. Projections indicate a 4 percent increase in nonresidential buildings for 2012, topping $341 billion, with slightly higher growth in 2013 to $361 billion.

 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Forbes magazine ranked Heber City No. 5 on its list of America’s fastest-growing small towns. Heber’s population rose 14.6 percent to 23,530 between 2007 and 2010, and residents have a median income of $65,204. Heber City was the only Western U.S. location listed in the top five and the only Utah municipality in the top 10. 

• The Ogden-Clearfield area has been rated the second worst in the nation in terms of how much female employees make by the 24/7 Wall Street, which reported that women’s pay as a percentage of men’s in Ogden-Clearfield is 64.4 percent. According to the report, the median income for men in the area is $51,766, while that of women is $33,331. “Utah, on the whole, performs poorly compared to other states with regards to equal pay, ranking third-worst in the country,” according to the report.

• Utah is the eighth best state in which to earn a living, according to MoneyRate.com’s 2012 Best States to Make a Living list. Virginia tops the list while Hawaii is at the bottom. According to MoneyRate.com, Utah’s adjusted average income is $39,250 while Virginia’s is $43,677 and Hawaii’s is $22,394. MoneyRates.com used four factors in its analysis: unemployment rates and average annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, state income tax rates from the Tax Foundation and cost of living data from the ACCRA Cost of Living Index. Starting with each state’s mean annual wages, the figures were adjusted in accordance with tax rates, unemployment rates and cost of living figures. The resulting number is the adjusted average income figure used in the rankings.

• Utah has an estimated 66,300 women-owned firms, employing 57,400, according to the American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, a comprehensive study released March 21 analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 54 percent since 1997. Utah is ranked 15th (57.9 percent) in growth of the number of firms over the past 15 years and fourth (123.6 percent) in growth of firm revenue between 1997 and 2012. 

 

ENVIRONMENT

• Natural gas usage is expanding in Utah thanks to a combination of grants and loans the Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality awarded to several entities, including Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. DAQ has awarded a total of $249,440 in grants and another $100,000 in loans from the Clean Fuels Grant and Loan Program to help six entities purchase natural gas equipment or expand natural gas refueling stations along the Wasatch Front. One of the grant recipients, Momentum Recycling, a small, family-owned business, will use its $35,308 grant to purchase CNG vehicles for their recycling collection services. Allied Waste received $30,000 to purchase a CNG refuse vehicle that provides recycling collection services to organizations in the Salt Lake Valley. Salt Lake City Corp. received $70,000 to purchase one CNG street sweeper and one aerial tower truck. Transfuels LLC got  $70,000 to purchase LNG refueling equipment. The University of Utah received $44,132 to purchase four CNG buses. Uintah Commercial Investment, dba CNG America, received a loan of $100,000 for the purchase of CNG refueling equipment.

• Overstock.com Inc., a Salt Lake City-based online discount retailer, has been named one of the Salt Lake Chamber’s first Clean Air Champions. The Clean Air Champions program is designed to help Utah businesses enhance their commitment to clean air and benefit their bottom lines. Overstock.com is one of the first 16 organizations to be included on the Clean Air Champions list. The others are Rio Tinto, Hale Centre Theatre, UPS, Salt Lake City, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ray Quinney & Nebeker, Economic Development Corp. of Utah, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Questar, Intermountain Health Care, Federal Reserve Bank, Salt Lake Chamber, Penna Powers Brian Haynes, ARES and USANA. Businesses and organizations can become Clear Air Champions by enrolling in the program at www.cleanairchampion.com and indicating practices already in place or by implementing new clean air programs.

 

GOVERNMENT

• Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is inviting the public, business owners, builders and developers to a free workshop and conference on March 29 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Grand Hall at Utah Fair Park to explore the ways the new, multi-use corridor of North Temple, soon to be home to a new TRAX line, may contribute to the future development of North Temple. Becker will join local and regional speakers in presenting on Transit Oriented Development issues and participants will also be able to take part in a moderated panel discussion focused on the future of the North Temple business district. The event is free and open to the public. Participants can register for the event online at www.slcgov.com/ntc. More information on the conference can be found at www.slcclassic.com/northtemple or by calling (801) 535-6230.

 

HEALTH CARE

• IASIS Healthcare has released a mobile app for smartphones and iPads that instantly provides users with up-to-date ER wait times at all IASIS hospitals, along with physician directories and GPS-enabled directions. The app is available for free download at Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Apps Market. IASIS Healthcare operates four hospitals in Utah – Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Davis Hospital and Medical Center, Jordan Valley Medical Center and Pioneer Valley Hospital, a campus of Jordan Valley Medical Center.

 

HOSPITALITY

• Country Inns & Suites By Carlson has selected Grant Dahlstrom, general manager of the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Bountiful, with the 2011 General Manager of the Year Award. The award is presented to the general manager who has provided the highest standard of leadership, particularly in the areas of sales and profit achievement, guest service, green initiatives implementation, charitable giving and community involvement. Dahlstrom started in the hospitality industry in 1985 working as a front desk clerk at another hotel company. Having worked in Idaho, Colorado and Illinois with various hotel brands during his career, he has been with the Country Inn & Suites in Bountiful since September 2005.

 

LAW

• Eric Nielsen, an attorney in Snell & Wilmer’s Salt Lake City office, has been appointed as a member of the Salt Lake County Clark Planetarium Advisory Board. Nielsen will serve on the advisory board for a period of three years. The Clark Planetarium opened in April 2003, replacing Hansen Planetarium, with a grant from the Clark Foundation in cooperation with Salt Lake County. Hansen Planetarium opened in 1965. Nielsen’s practice is centered on IP counseling—in particular, the design and implementation of business driven strategies to identify, protect, defend, enforce and otherwise build value around IP assets, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.

• Durham Jones & Pinegar shareholder Michael F. Leavitt was recently elected as the new Utah State Bar Commissioner for the Fifth Division, representing attorneys in all of southern and most of eastern Utah. His term begins July 1. Leavitt is a litigator in Durham Jones & Pinegar’s St. George office, specializing in construction and real estate disputes, and representing creditors in bankruptcy. He previously served as president of the Southern Utah Bar Association.

• Jones Waldo has added new associate in its St. George office and a new marketing assistant in the Salt Lake City office. New associate Thad D. Seegmiller earned his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in Missoula and a business management degree from Brigham Young University. Prior to joining Jones Waldo, he was with Seegmiller Law in St. George. Whitney Roseborough has joined Jones Waldo as a marketing assistant. Roseborough previously worked for an Internet advertising company after earning her bachelor’s degree in communications from Westminster College, attending on a volleyball scholarship.

 

MANUFACTURING

• Provo-based Tahitian Noni International received the Worldwide Direct Selling Award for Best Wellness Product from the Obtainer Media Group for their biotopical line–the Defy Age Intervention System. The Obtainer Award for Product Innovation and Performance–Best Wellness Product is awarded to companies with a strong and effective core product range, and recognizes outstanding product performance. The Obtainer Worldwide Awards consist of 13 categories, and were created to recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the Direct Selling industry. The selection jury was comprised of senior members of the Obtainer Media Group editorial team.

 

MEDIA/MARKETING

• Scott Anderson has launched billwheels.com, Murray, in an effort to get advertisers to place their promotions on the spare wheel tire covers of SUVs. SUV owners would rent their tire covers to advertisers. Anderson can be reached at (801) 815-7201 or wheelvertise@billwheels.com.

 

NONPROFIT

• Provo resident and founder and CEO of Domo Josh James has been elected to the Save the Children’s board of trustees. He will serve a one year term.  James joins a team of 33 trustees representing the academic, corporate, entertainment, financial, and political sectors. Save the Children is an independent organization serving children in need in the United States and around the world.

 

REAL ESTATE

• Scott Pirraglio, a real estate sales professional in Salt Lake City, has recently joined the Keller Williams Realty Salt Lake Market Center. A native of Park City, Pirraglio has an extensive background in resort hospitality/property management and has been indirectly affiliated with the real estate industry for more than 20 years. The Keller Williams Salt Lake Market Center is located at 1214 E Wilmington Ave., Suite 200.

• LendingTree LLC, the nation’s leading online source for competitive loan offers, has rated Utah as having the sixth healthiest housing market in America. This is according to its Healthiest Housing Index, a state-by-state ranking of housing health. Evaluated and weighed by seven critical housing market elements, the index ranks 48 states and Washington D.C. to evaluate the combined effect of the seven elements using a LendingTree proprietary model. The elements are debt-to-income ratio, unemployment rate, home ownership/vacancy, percentage past due, foreclosure percentage, loan-to-value ratio and equity. North Dakota has the healthiest housing market, according to the index, while Nevada has the least healthy.

• Montage Residences Deer Valley has sold an unfurnished four-bedroom, five-bath residence for $8.25 million, marking the 16th sale in 15 months. The firm said the pace is unrivaled among mountain destinations in North America. The 6,858 square-foot residence is the largest offering and sits atop the Craftsman-style Montage Deer Valley, with ski-in, ski-out access to Deer Valley Resort. The remaining homes for sale at Montage Deer Valley range in size from one to five bedrooms with floor plans from 1,225 to 5,400 square feet, and are priced from $2 million to $11 million.

 

RESTAURANTS

• Corner Bakery Cafe is slated to open a new Draper location on April 2. It will be located at 264 E. 12300 S., next to Smith’s Foods. The first 100 guests through the doors at 7 a.m. will receive free coffee or soda for a year. This location is the first in Draper and the third in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, all owned and operated by Ron Bagley, president of Cornerstone Foods, and his partner Russ Wilcox. They have signed an agreement to open a total of eight stores by the end of 2014.

 

RETAIL

• Lifetime Store, a retail factory outlet store showcasing the products of Clearfield-based Lifetime Products, including playsets, sheds, kayaks, basketball hoops, tables and chairs, is celebrating the re-opening of its store at 5296 S. Freeway Park Dr. in Riverdale. Special pricing will be in place through the end of the March. The Riverdale Lifetime Store closed on Christmas Eve for an extensive expansion and complete store remodel. The store acquired an additional 1,700 square feet of indoor showroom area and expanded its outdoor display space by 3,500 square feet. Lifetime Store, formerly known as Backyards Inc., opened its first store in 2007 in the Freeport Center in Clearfield. Today, it has five retail locations in Clearfield, Draper, Orem, Riverdale and Salt Lake City.

• Hapari Swimwear, American Fork, has opened a new location at 275 W. 200 N. in Kaysville, marking the firm’s second location. Hapari was initially founded to offer swimwear that was both flattering and stylish for any body type, and from 2010 to 2011 the company saw 68 percent growth in online sales. The new retail outlet is an opportunity for Hapari to continue its growth through other channels. The company also offers its swimwear through wholesale distribution to other domestic and international retailers.

 

TRANSPORTATION

• American Stone, located at 2100 N. 1200 W. in Lehi, recently added U-Haul truck and trailer rentals to its stone landscaping and masonry business. American Stone can now offer its customers a variety of moving equipment and supplies designed specifically for moving household furnishings, including moving vans, open trailers, closed trailers, furniture pads, appliance dollies, furniture dollies, tow dollies and auto transports. American Stone also will offer sales items to protect their customers’ belongings and make moving easier, such as heavy-duty boxes, which are made of up to 90 percent recycled content and are available in a variety of sizes.

• The Woodlands, Texas-based FleetPride Inc., which bills itself as the nation’s largest independent aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, has opened a new 8,000 square foot location at 3200 S. Bouwhuis Dr. Suite 1, West Haven. FleetPride now has four locations in Utah.