Companies in Utah’s rural counties were honored recently with the first-ever Rural Businesses of the Year awards.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) worked with county commissioners to select the winners to represent the individual counties. The companies were nominated based on economic impact in their community, the size of the business and the number of jobs created.
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The announcement of the winners occurred at the annual “Rural Day on the Hill” at the Utah Capitol.
“Today’s Business of the Year recipients demonstrate a commitment to growing their businesses, creating jobs and strengthening our rural communities through promising economic opportunities,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive director. “We’re confident they will continue to impact their communities and inspire others to find the resources they need to grow.”
The 2018 awardees are:
• Beaver: Skope.
• Box Elder: Lewis Cabinet Specialties.
• Cache: Conservice.
• Carbon: Intermark Steel.
• Daggett: Flaming Gorge Resort.
• Duchesne: L&L Motor.
• Emery: Bronco Utah.
• Garfield: Ruby’s Inn.
• Grand: Moab Brewery.
• Iron: Genpak.
• Juab: Barnes Bullets.
• Kane: Honey Marketplace.
• Millard: Magnum.
• Morgan: Innovative Structural Solutions.
• Piute: Tomatoes Pizza Pie.
• Rich: STR Helper.
• San Juan: Bluff Dwellings.
• Tooele: Chad Hymas.
• Uintah: VTV Channel 6.
• Wasatch: Heber Valley Historic Railroad.
• Wayne: Legacy Outdoor Adventures.
In addition to the Business of the Year awards, the Utah Leopold Conservation Award winner, Fred Thurston, was recognized. The award honors a Utah landowner’s achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources. His earning of the 2017 honor was announced in December at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Layton.
The award is presented by Sand County Foundation in partnership with Western AgCredit, Utah Farm Bureau Federation and the Utah Cattlemen’s Association. Thurston owns a cattle ranch in the Weber River Valley in Morgan County, where his great-grandfather settled.
“Farmers and ranchers are the fathers of conservation here in the great state of Utah,” said Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo. “Long before modern organized conservationists, it was the agricultural producers that cared and tended to our land with the goal of preserving and passing it on to future generations. The families that have received this award have been a model for how conservation and agriculture go hand-in-hand in a prosperous operation. I want to sincerely congratulate Fred Thurston and the others for the incredible work they have done.”
Rural Day on the Hill highlights economic challenges, successes and opportunities in rural Utah. The 2018 event featured updates from rural legislators, progress of Gov. Gary Herbert’s 25K Jobs initiative (25,000 new jobs by 2020) and a lunch with legislators.
Herbert has spent the last several months meeting with representatives from each rural county to discuss incentives, grants, funding opportunities, resources, and each county’s strategy to grow and diversify their local economy.
“Utah has experienced unprecedented economic growth, but not all of Utah’s communities are full participants in this success,” Herbert said. “The 25K Job Initiative aims to improve economic success in all 25 counties by exploring new opportunities and clearing roadblocks impeding economic progress.”
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