ACCOUNTING

• Wisan, Smith, Racker, & Prescott LLP (WSRP), a full-service CPA firm, has relocated to 155 N. 400 W., Suite 400, Salt Lake City, in the historic Salt Lake Hardware Building originally constructed in 1909. Founded in 1985, WSRP has a satellite office in Las Vegas.

 

ASSOCIATIONS

• The Downtown Junction Association, a division of Downtown Ogden Inc., The Downtown Business Association, has elected officers for 2011-2012. Shawn Hancock of I-Fly/Flowrider will serve as president, and Kirk Chuggs of Holmes Clothing as vice president. 

• Julie Jakob, CEO of Jakob Marketing Partners LLC, was recently named the 2012 chairperson for the Holladay Chamber of Commerce. Jakob Marketing Partners was named the 48th fastest growing company in Utah in 2010 and the 29th fastest in 2011 by Mountain West Capital Network’s “Utah 100.” It was also recognized by Inc. magazine in 2011 as one of nation’s fastest growing companies, at No. 937.

• The Salt Lake Chamber 2012 Public Policy Guide is now available for download at www.slchamber.com/policyguide. The document outlines the business community’s positions on the top policy issues impacting the state and national economies. The 2012 Public Policy Guide was recently presented to legislative leadership and to every member of the legislature on the first day of the session. Hard copies of the 25-page Policy Guide are available upon request.

 

BANKING

• America First Credit Union released a new mobile banking application during third quarter 2011 and already nearly 75,000 of its members are using it. The early adoption rate is occurring as more than 40 million U.S. consumers, predicts analyst firm The Yankee Group, are expected to be using mobile banking by 2012. Mike Salerno, manager of e-services for America First, said America First members’ mobile app adoption rate in two months is the same rate the U.S. mobile banking sector achieved in two years, according to research firm Celent.

• Bank of Utah has added Zack Matson, a mortgage loan officer with 19 years of experience, to its Orem branch. Matson will serve as a senior mortgage loan officer, bringing with him an extensive clientele. Matson previously operated his own mortgage brokerage and was also employed at Envision Lending Group for six years and Bank of American Fork for 18 months.

• In an independent customer satisfaction survey conducted by the University of Utah, 93 percent of customers surveyed rated Ogden-based TAB Bank’s customer service as “highly satisfactory” or above and all respondents rated TAB six or above on a scale of one to 10 in satisfaction. The same survey also asked respondents to rate TAB’s sales experience, and 96 percent view the experience as positive. Fifty-seven percent rated the experience as great, exceptional or outstanding.

• Bank of American Fork has hired Brent Skidmore as a new mortgage loan officer at its Lehi branch. Skidmore has more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Prior to joining Bank of American Fork, Skidmore was a branch manager with National City Mortgage and a mortgage loan officer with Countrywide Bank and Bank of America.

 

COMPUTERS/SOFTWARE

• American Fork-based BidSync, a national leader in government e-procurement, e-sourcing software and bid notifications, said the City of Hartford, Conn., recently decided to return to using BidSync eProcure and Builder bid management system for all of its electronic sourcing needs. Tailored to help government entities such as cities, counties and states meet their procurement needs, BidSync eProcure is a Web-based system that helps track and manage details for all types of electronic bidding.

• Less is better when it comes to viewing online ads. A Poll Position national scientific telephone survey asked, “When you go online to view free content, what do you think is the acceptable duration of an online advertisement you must view before seeing free content?” A majority of those polled said they think 15-second ads are an acceptable duration. Fifty-four percent said 15 seconds is acceptable, 12 percent said 30 seconds, 4 percent said 45 seconds, 3 percent said 60 seconds and 27 percent had no opinion. A breakdown of survey participants by age, race, gender and political affiliation in crosstabs for the poll is at http://media.pollposition.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Poll-Position-Crosstabs-Online-ads.pdf. 

 

CONSTRUCTION

• The Living Planet Aquarium board of trustees selected Beecher Walker Architects and Layton Construction for the development, design and construction of the new Living Planet Aquarium, to be built in Draper. The new 130,000 square foot aquarium will be located off Interstate 15 near 12300 South and will be the permanent home for the nonprofit attraction. The aquarium has raised nearly $7 million and has obtained the support of the City of Draper to bond $11.7 million to complete the new aquarium. The $18 million project will support 317 construction jobs in Utah and generate $1.7 million in tax revenues for the state.

• A ribbon cutting on Jan. 19 at Hill Air Force Base celebrated completion of the first phase of the Falcon Hill Enhanced Use Lease project, followed by a groundbreaking signifying the beginning of the project’s second phase. During phase 1, R&O Construction, Ogden, completed a 35,000 square foot security forces squadron building, or SFS. All base security operations for Hill will be consolidated there with new office space and warehouse for the security vehicles, plus a centralized emergency communication center. The center is a joint operation between the base’s fire department, security forces and medical emergency response team. The SFS provides force protection, physical security, law enforcement and combat arms training for the five wings of the Ogden Air Logistics Center. Also nearing completion by R&O is a five-story office building to be occupied by Northrup Grumman, plus a new west gate. After the ribbon cutting ceremony, ground was broken on a new three-story office building or Building 1580, which signals the beginning of the second phase that will be built just south of the Northrup Grumman facility, also to be constructed by R&O.

 

EDUCATION/TRAINING

• Officials at the new Natural History Museum of Utah were expecting to have 265,000 visitors during the first year at its new Wakara Way location. They might want to revise that projection. Sarah George, the museum’s executive director, recently told the Utah Board of Tourism Development that early visitorship has far exceeded expectations. Open since mid-November in upper Research Park, the museum had 57,098 visitors in November and December, above the 45,000 predicted for those months. The museum, under the name Utah Museum of Natural History, was at the George Thomas Building on Presidents Circle at the University of Utah for 42 years. George said that during its final year at that site, the museum attracted 90,000 visitors.

• The Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College, Salt Lake City, has created a new undergraduate research initiative focused on exploring the science of Great Salt Lake’s extreme ecosystem. Building Research, Innovation and Novel Experimentation (BRINE) will expand on existing faculty/student research, support new lake projects and create a network of interdisciplinary scholars. To achieve the goals of BRINE, the institute recently received a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. The foundation’s Undergraduate Education Program promotes distinctive learning and research experiences in science, engineering and liberal arts.

• Salt Lake Community College has named Rick Bouillon its new dean for the School of Technical Specialties. Bouillon has worked for SLCC since 1999 in capacities that included interim dean, regional director and director of business outreach. The School of Technical Specialties includes all of the college’s apprenticeship programs — 15 in all — and other workforce development courses such as aviation technology, automotive technology, cosmetology and construction. 

 

FINANCE 

• Primary Residential Mortgage Inc., a Salt Lake City-based mortgage lender, has formed a new Enterprise Risk Management group to help manage risk through the entire loan origination process and ensure that the company has the appropriate monitoring and evaluation policies. Twenty-five year mortgage banking industry veteran H. Burton Embry has been named senior vice president-Enterprise Risk Management. In addition, Shelly Hill has been promoted to compliance director. Previously, Hill was PRMI’s state compliance manager, a position she’s held since April 2011. Primary Residential Mortgage is licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

 

GOVERNMENT

• The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development recently approved more than $400,000 of grants in support of new technologies that universities and licensees are seeking to commercialize to help build companies, create jobs and drive economic development in the state of Utah. The state invests approximately $1.6 million a year in support of university technology commercialization. The grants will help contribute to Gov. Gary Herbert’s overall target of accelerating the creation of 100,000 new Utah jobs in the next 1,000 days.

• The Utah State Tax Commission will no longer print and mail individual booklets and forms for individual income tax returns. Last year, 77 percent of Utah taxpayers filed state income taxes online, said Charlie Roberts, Tax Commission spokesperson. All forms and publications are available online at incometax.utah.gov. In order to file state individual income tax returns, the following information is needed: Copy of federal tax return; all applicable W-2, 1099, K-1 and TC-675R forms with withholding information; and tax deduction and credit documents. For those using Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) for the first time, the Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number and federal adjusted gross income from the previous year is required.

 

HOSPITALITY

• The new Hampton Inn & Suites University-Foothill, located at 1345 S. Foothill Dr. in Salt Lake City, is now open.  The site, formerly occupied by the Scenic Motel and an aging office building, now also includes new retail and office space.  The new Hampton Inn & Suites includes 81 rooms and suites, pool and hot tub, fitness facility, meeting space, business center and large breakfast and lounge area. The hotel is managed by Pearson Hospitality Group. Dee’s Inc., known for its chain of local restaurants, is the owner and developer of the hotel and associated retail.  

 

HUMAN RESOURCES

• Utah’s nonfarm wage and salaried job count for December 2011, as generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, expanded by 3 percent compared to December 2010. This is a 12-month increase of 36,300 jobs, and raises total wage and salary employment to 1,235,400. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is Utah’s other primary indicator of current labor market conditions and registers 6 percent. Last month, the rate was 6.4 percent, and just three months ago 7.4 percent. Such a rapid decline is partly attributed to employment gains and partly attributed to people leaving the labor force. Approximately 80,300 Utahns are considered to be unemployed.

• The Work Data Loss Institute, a database development company, recently announced the release of its 2012 State Report Cards for Workers’ Compensation. Utah performed the best of all the states, receiving an A+ along with Arkansas and Minnesota. 

• The Utah Labor Commission is requesting applications for grant projects or initiatives demonstrating a commitment to workplace safety. Proposals can include, but are not limited to, development of workshops and training, implementation of specialized safety programs, increasing effort and resources for existing programs and collaborative workplace safety training between organizations. For more information, visit www.laborcommission.utah.gov.

 

LAW

• Shareholders at Parsons Behle & Latimer have elected Raymond J. Etcheverry, Hal J. Pos, Laura S. Scott, Michael R. Kealy (Reno office) and Michael P. Petrogeorge to the 2012 board of directors. Etcheverry will continue serving as chairman of the board, president and CEO. Pos continues as vice chairman, vice president and treasurer. Scott and Kealy continue as vice presidents. Petrogeorge is newly elected to the board and serves as vice president and secretary. Etcheverry is a member of the firm’s litigation department and practices in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property, securities, class action defense and other complex business litigation. Pos is a member of the environmental, energy and natural resources department and concentrates on environmental and mining matters. Scott is a member of the litigation department and concentrates her practice on real estate and banking litigation. Kealy is a member of the litigation department and practices commercial litigation and personal injury. Petrogeorge is a member of the litigation department and concentrates his practice on real estate litigation and complex commercial litigation.

 

MEDIA/MARKETING

• Just 9 percent of senior marketers believe traditional ad agencies are doing a good job of evolving and extending their service capabilities in the digital age. As 2012 kicks off with new budgets, significant accounts up for review and the Super Bowl right around the corner, the CMO Council’s study identifies current significant impacts on agency relationships, compensation models and factors contributing to agency change and review. Traditional agencies are more likely to be challenged in their retention of client relationships, as 48 percent of the 250-plus surveyed report they are hiring specialized digital marketing providers to implement new social, mobile and interactive strategies. Fifty-eight percent remain unsatisfied with the current process of measuring their agencies’ advertising effectiveness. The analysis included best-practice discussions with more than 20 leading brand advertisers, including Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, Kia Motors, Safeway, The Hershey Company, Dunkin’ Donuts, Crayola, Allstate, Wyndham Worldwide, Ricoh, Ocean Spray, PepsiCo, L’Oreal, Best Buy, Weight Watchers, Welch’s, The North Face, Farmers Insurance, Sports Authority and Renault. 

 

REAL ESTATE

• The CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) Utah chapter held its first Business Excellence Awards Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City. The organization recognized the accomplishments of leaders in the commercial real estate section. It also inducted F. Orin Woodbury, founder of Woodbury Corp., to a newly created Business Excellence Hall of Fame. MHTN Architects won the Architectural Design of the Year Award for the David Eccles School of Business. Okland Construction was named Contractor of the Year. Hamilton Partners won the Development/Redevelopment of the Year Award for the 222 S. Main St. building. The Green Lender of the Year Award went to City Creek Reserve Inc. and Mark Gibbons. Lender of the Year accolades went to The Clawson Group and J.R. and Johnny Clawson. Industrial Broker of the Year was Rad Dye of CBRE. Kip Paul of Commerce Real Estate Solutions is the Investment Broker of the Year. Brandon Fugal of Coldwell Banker Commercial won the Office Broker of the Year Award, while J.R. Moore of CBRE took home Retail Broker of the Year honors. 

• Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has named Brian Gottfredson manager of the company’s Union Heights office. Gottfredson has enjoyed a successful 30-year career as a top-producing agent and manager for real estate brokerages and property development companies in Utah and California. He will oversee a sales team of nearly 150 real estate professionals.

 

RESTAURANTS

• A full rack of barbecued baby back ribs, along with a choice of coleslaw or potato salad, are on sale at the Market Street Grill Markets for $10.99. The special runs through the XLVI Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5. The meal, which comes with a choice of one pint of potato salad or coleslaw, is regularly $15.99.  

 

RETAIL

• Macy’s is hiring for sales positions in cosmetics, women’s shoes and general selling and support positions in merchandising and receiving for its new City Creek Mall store in Salt Lake City slated to open on March 22. Employment for the City Creek store will begin on Jan. 30. Open job postings are now available on Macy’s website; interested candidates can apply online at http://www.macysjobs.com. Roughly 155 people will be hired.

• Nordstrom Inc. has named Linda Hostetler as store manager of the new Nordstrom at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. The new store will open March 22. Originally from Australia, Hostetler began her career with Nordstrom in 1999 when she helped open the Norfolk, Va., store as a beauty advisor and shortly thereafter was promoted to assistant cosmetics manager. In 2001, Hostetler took on a new opportunity as the cosmetics department manager while opening the Tampa, Fla., store. She then became the cosmetics regional merchandiser for the Texas stores in 2004 and later added four stores in the Midwest region. As a regional merchandiser, Hostetler helped support four new store openings. In 2009, she took on her first store manager position, and also her current role, when she opened the Southlake Rack store in Texas.

• Seventy Utah schools will benefit from Harmons Grocery Stores’ 23rd Annual PTA Day in-store fund-raising effort scheduled for Feb. 9. The locally owned grocer hopes to raise $50,000 or more by inviting the community to buy their weekly groceries at one of Harmons’ 15 stores that day. Harmons will donate 5 percent of net sales for the day to participating local schools and will feature special pricing on groceries to make it more enticing for families to shop. Local school children will decorate the stores, and parents and teachers will bag groceries and coordinate games and activities for families from noon to 7 p.m. on Feb. 9.

• Utah shoppers donated more than 5,000 meals to local food charities, including the Utah Food Bank and Park City Christian Community Center through Whole Food Market’s Grab ‘n’ Give program, which ran two months ended on Dec. 31, 2011. Every holiday season, Whole Foods Market gives shoppers an opportunity to feed the hungry by choosing $5 breakfast bags, $10 lunch bags, $10 dinner bags or a full-day bag for $25, all filled with nonperishable food to donate. Utah Whole Foods Market stores joined forces and identified local nonprofit organizations that would benefit from the program to fill food pantries and help families in need. The program, in its fourth year, raised more than $125,900 this season from four Utah locations, including Cottonwood Heights, Park City, Sugar House and Trolley Square.

 

SECURITY/DEFENSE

• Pinnacle Security, an Orem-based residential and commercial security provider, was recently announced winner of the Electronic Security Integrators (ESI) Forum 2012 Best Practice Award for Production Management (Design/Installation), for its Dashboard and MySales websites. The annual ESI Forum Best Practice Awards Program recognizes outstanding business processes in the electronic security integration industry. A panel of anonymous industry experts selects the winners. Pinnacle Security’s Dashboard and MySales websites allow for instant access to real-time data as it pertains to sales and installations. The websites were given the ESI Best Practice Award because they are a good example of the use of technology for tracking and motivating staff to increase overall job performance. 

 

SPORTS/FITNESS

• The Gold’s Gym in downtown Ogden invited the public to join their “Dance for the Men in Blue” Zumba-a-thon to raise funds for the Ogden Police officers involved in this month’s shooting. During a 90-minute Zumba-a-thon on Jan. 14, Gold’s Gym members and the community raised $1,300. 

 

TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES

• Provo-based Veracity Networks will be introducing new high-speed Internet and phone services to the downtown Salt Lake area in February. The new products will provide technologies for 10,000 homes and businesses that are serviced out of the Salt Lake Main Telecommunications Central Office. This move will put Veracity Networks in the heart of Salt Lake City and will give local businesses another choice among phone and Internet service providers. 

 

TRANSPORTATION

• Hinckley Dodge has named Matthew McIntosh as service department manager for the auto dealership. McIntosh has worked for Hinckley Dodge for 23 years is a certified salesman accredited by the National Automotive Dealer Association. He is a graduate of the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He was honored by Chrysler Automotive as a Gold Certified Service Manager.

• Since its launch in January 2011, more than 200 Utah tow truck drivers have received their tow truck driver certification through the Utah Safety Council’s online program. This is the first tow truck driver certification program that is entirely online. The course has been approved by the Motor Carrier Division of the Utah Department of Transportation as meeting the requirements of an authorized program through which to obtain designation as a Certified Tow Truck Driver in the state of Utah. This certification covers topics specific to Utah’s laws and driving conditions. The Utah Safety Council is excited to be able to provide this interactive online program for the tow truck drivers in Utah. To access this certification program visit www.utahsafetycouncil.org.

 

TRAVEL/TOURISM

• The Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, the official destination marketing organization for Utah County, is offering a sneak peek of the nearly completed Utah Valley Convention Center in downtown Provo. Hard-hat tours and new interior renderings will give interested groups and organizations can view of the 83,578 square foot meeting space before its grand opening in May. To schedule a tour of the Utah Valley Convention Center or to view its interior renderings, visit MeetInUtahValley.com. Personal inquiries can also be directed to 1-888-414-UTAH (8824).

• Following 13 years overseeing the management and operation of Salt Lake’s Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center and South Towne Exposition Center, Allyson Jackson is leaving her position and taking a job as manager and operator of Georgia’s Jekyll Island Convention Center. SMG, which bills itself as the world leader in venue management, is actively pursuing a replacement. During her tenure in Salt Lake, Jackson oversaw community relations during the 1999 Salt Palace expansion; launched the sales and marketing efforts for the South Towne Exposition Center, completed in 2000; and acted as project liaison between Salt Lake County and the architectural design firm and general contractor for the second expansion of the Salt Palace, completed on time in 2006 and within budget. 

• Visit Salt Lake has booked the Episcopal Church’s 2015 General Convention, which will bring 10,000 attendees to Salt Lake. The citywide convention will generate approximately 25,855 room nights and $9.23 million in direct attendee spending, fully utilizing all components of the Salt Palace.