Building Utah

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. High-performing leaders know it pays to plan ahead, and they focus on making their companies better. We’re fortunate to have a non-profit organization to help our companies in Utah do just that. Here’s Winthrop Jeanfreau, the executive director of iMpact Utah, to tell us how. WINTHROP JEANFREAU iMpact Utah is a non-profit training organization and founding member of the Utah MEP Alliance. The Utah MEP Alliance helps manufacturers close their business performance gaps so they can grow bigger, stronger, and faster. For the past 26 years our hands-on engagements have helped companies transform managers into inspiring leaders – leaders who can deliver results that accelerate revenue growth and achieve operational excellence. Our extensive network connects top executives with best-in-class resources that we’ve qualified and vetted. Since 1995, iMpact Utah has completed more than a thousand projects with Utah manufacturers, increasing sales by over $700 million do

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Utah ranks as a top state for business, growth and quality of life. Brennen Brown, managing director of D.A. Davidson’s Special District Group is here to share the importance of investing in sustainable growth through public and innovative financing solutions. BRENNEN BROWN Infrastructure financing is a challenge in a rapidly growing state. Many cities and counties across Utah are feeling growing pains and often lack the necessary funds to build the infrastructure needed to keep pace. That’s where D.A. Davidson’s Special District Group can help. Our team specializes in raising capital early in the process which then allows infrastructure to be built before the growth occurs. This also alleviates some of the burden placed on the budget of local jurisdictions. Last year, we achieved the first bond issuance from a Utah Public Infrastructure District. That was significant. Those bonds financed the public infrastructure needed for the development of a new medical

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The Wasatch Front Regional Council builds consensus and enhances quality of life by developing and implementing visions and plans for a well-functioning multi-modal transportation system, livable communities, a strong economy, and a healthy environment. Executive Director Andrew Gruber is here to tell us more. ANDREW GRUBER The Wasatch Front Regional Council brings government, business, and community leaders together from across our region to plan for the future. According to the most recent Census data, Utah is the fastest growing state in the nation. We need to plan ahead to maintain and even enhance the quality of life for Utahns, even as we grow. Community leaders from across the region have collaborated to develop the Wasatch Choice Vision, a blueprint for the future that addresses transportation, housing, open space and economic opportunities. The Vision plans for all of these elements together, so the location of housing, jobs, and educational opportuniti

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Helping people feel rejuvenation, freedom, and connection with nature is what drives TETON Sports. The Salt Lake company is all about helping people have positive outdoor experiences by making gear that over delivers. TETON’s high quality products can outfit an entire family of five for a few hundred dollars! TETON’s Heather Stone is here to tell us more. HEATHER STONE At TETON, we know enjoying the outdoors often comes down to having the right gear. If you’re camping, you sleep comfortably. If it’s pouring rain, stay dry. On a summer hike, you want to look cool and stay hydrated. Unfortunately, many big-name outdoor brands offer this at a premium price and with a hint of elitism. Not TETON. This year, we’re on a quest to help everyone get “Outdoors Every Day.” We’ve been sharing fun and sometimes zany outdoor challenges daily on social media, and we’ve loved seeing photos and videos of people from around the world hash tagged with “Outdoors Every Day.” One of our

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The Salt Lake Chamber’s Community Partner of the Year, Rich Saunders, is Utah’s first Chief Innovation Officer. We’re excited he’s here to tell us more about upcoming innovations. RICH SAUNDERS As the former director of the Utah Department of Health, I’m honored to receive the Salt Lake Chamber’s Community Partner of the Year award. The unified efforts of the Chamber and my distinguished colleagues at the Department of Health have positively affected the lives of countless Utahns throughout one of the most challenging times in our history. In my newly appointed role as our state’s first Chief Innovation Officer, I am working with many leaders across our great state to ensure the Cox/Henderson administration fulfills its promise to make state government more efficient, innovative, and responsive to every resident. For example, over the next several years we will be consolidating more than 400 state government websites into a single entrance point so Utahns can seaml

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Keller Investment Properties has become one of the largest single private multifamily investment companies in the western United States. CEO and chairman Scott C. Keller is here to tell us more about how Keller Investment Properties has weathered the challenges of the pandemic while still providing quality apartments and giving back to the community. SCOTT C. KELLER With the escalating cost to homeownership accompanied by the exploding population growth in the state of Utah, never has the demand for quality housing been more prominent. Keller Investment Properties has been committed for over four decades to providing safe, clean, well-maintained, and inviting apartment communities. Keller maintains a close relationship with each community by self-managing each property, taking pride in employing the best managers, leasing agents, and maintenance technicians in the industry. We are honored to support our community through philanthropic efforts, political support, an

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. With five locations throughout the Salt Lake area, Saffron Valley Restaurants serve authentic Indian food in a warm, friendly ambience. Owner of Saffron Valley, Lavanya Mahate, is here to share what her restaurants provide to Utahns. LAVANYA MAHATE This year marks our 10th year in business, and to be recognized as the Small Business of the year by the Salt Lake Chamber is incredibly rewarding and very humbling. Saffron Valley offers dine in, delivery, take out and catering services. Corporate catering, which is one of our main offerings, got cut down completely due to the pandemic. We stayed busy with take-out and delivery, as the majority of the people worked from home. We also offered virtual cooking classes and opened our dining rooms for community projects where we packaged meals and essential packages for the underserved families in Utah. It was a tough year, but we got through together. This year, catering and dine-in are back. Restaurants are moving tow

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs seeks to improve the quality of life for Utah’s veterans, military and their families by increasing awareness and access to appropriate federal, state and local resources. Executive director Gary Harter is to tell us more. GARY HARTER The mission of the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs is to make this state the best in the nation for veterans and members of our military. One major focus of that mission is connecting our service members to employment and education resources by working closely with our federal, state, and local partners. We have a Veterans Business Resource Center located at the Miller Campus of Salt Lake Community College to assist veterans, military members, and their families who are interested in starting a small business here in Utah. We partner with the Department of Workforce Services and the Utah Patriot Partner Program to find and support veteran-friendly employers throug

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. USANA Health Sciences creates high-quality nutritional products focused on putting a healthy life within reach for all. Jim Brown, president of USANA, is here to tell us more about his company’s vision to promote wellness and fight malnutrition throughout the world. JIM BROWN At USANA, we’ve always set our goal to create the healthiest family on earth. We have more than 900 employees in Utah working hard to provide the best supplements, skincare, and lifestyle products to people all over the world. We’re proud that the majority of our products are made right here in Utah. On top of providing a great place to work and high-quality products, we are dedicated to helping end malnutrition through our charitable USANA Foundation. We’re working in countries as far away as Thailand and Kenya, but we recognize the need to combat hunger right here at home. In fact, one in five children along the Wasatch Front doesn’t know where their next meal will come from. Through our

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. August is Black Business month and James Jackson, III of The Utah Black Chamber is here to share what the Utah Black Chamber has been up to. JAMES JACKSON At the Utah Black Chamber, our goal is to provide growth opportunities for the Black community and for Utah’s Black-owned businesses. We are laser focused on addressing the diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges we are facing across the state, by helping businesses fulfill their promises to equality and social good. While Black-owned businesses closed at a rapid rate during the pandemic, we’ve also seen more Black businesses and organizations start at a rapid rate, and they need our support. The growth the Chamber has experienced over the past year has provided us the resources and support to strengthen our strategy by expanding into Southern Utah, developing several programs, and building new partnerships. These include the Black Success Center, our educational and incubator program, and New Pattern, a

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Cache Valley Bank has the resources of a large bank with the support of a community bank. Richard Skidmore, Cache Valley Bank’s executive vice president, is here to tell us how CVB can help you succeed. RICHARD SKIDMORE Cache Valley Bank’s mission is to help business owners – large and small – to grow and succeed by providing high quality service, advice, and financing. Cache Valley Bank stands out in this effort by partnering with customers as a true community bank combined with the capacities of a large bank. We tailor our services to meet the unique needs of every client and their community. One way we support local communities is to help finance new, affordable housing. For instance, we are currently funding a substantial line of credit for low-income housing to serve families across the Salt Lake Valley. When the economy paused due to the pandemic, Cache Valley Bank moved quickly to help businesses access the Paycheck Protection Program. In doing so, we he

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The Utah Department of Heath works with numerous community partners to create healthy environments to live, work and play. Tom Hudachko with the Utah Department of Health is here to tell us more about how to protect yourself and those around you. TOM HUDACHKO Your health is everything. When your physical, emotional, and mental well-being are taken care of, it helps you live your best life. That’s why those of us at the Utah Department of Health, and in other public health departments throughout the state, do what we do — we know a healthy society means a prosperous society. Getting vaccinated against diseases like COVID-19 is the best way to protect yourself and those around you. Plus, getting vaccinated will help ensure our economic recovery from the pandemic. With our kids returning to school, it’s important to do all we can to keep them safe. So if your child is 12 or older, get them vaccinated. Students, teachers, and staff should also wear masks in school as

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. I’m here with Ray Pickup, CEO of WCF Insurance. WCF is headquartered in Sandy, Utah, and is the largest workers’ compensation insurer in Utah. Ray is here to discuss the importance of workplace safety and protecting your business and your employees. RAY PICKUP WCF Insurance has been protecting Utah businesses and employees for 104 years. We’ve come a long way from where we started in 1917. Today, WCF is an innovative insurance provider with nationally offered products and services. We are committed to providing excellent customer service, building strong business partnerships, providing exceptional claims management, and keeping workers safe. Recently, we launched new lines of property and casualty insurance, including a businessowners policy for small businesses. On our website, we have hundreds of free workplace safety posters, videos, and other safety resources for employers and employees to use in their workplaces. We also have an entire team of safety profes

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Diversity and inclusion are critical factors that keep businesses competitive. Sara Jones founded InclusionPro in 2017 to help companies amplify inclusion as a core leadership skill and develop diverse and inclusive work cultures to keep our Utah companies competitive. Here’s Sara to tell us more. SARA JONES I’ve spent over 20 years helping build Utah’s business community - from patent lawyer to tech entrepreneur to CEO. I founded InclusionPro to help executive leaders align their diversity, equity and inclusion work to their core business strategy, which is key to transformational change. When inclusive behaviors are taught and modeled, team members feel valued, solve problems more creatively, and engage meaningfully to build the business. Sometimes DEI initiatives feel intended for only a minority of employees at a company. My goal is to reframe this work so that all team members are valued as part of the solution. When employees understand that DEI includes e

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. This year’s recipient of the Salt Lake Chamber’s Board Chair’s Initiative Award is AT&T—a long-time member and partner. Here to accept the award is Tara Thue, state president for AT&T in Utah and co-chair of the Chamber’s Diversity Council, which engages business and community leaders to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces. TARA THUE It’s an honor to be recognized. Since the 1960s, AT&T has been at the forefront of civil rights advocacy and the fight for equality. In 2020, in the face of unprecedented need and challenges, we put our resources toward initiatives we believe can move the needle. From helping bridge the digital divide to fostering upward mobility for those who face social inequities, we built on our longstanding commitment to the communities we serve. We also focused our philanthropic efforts on students who faced unprecedented challenges when in-person classes were suspended. Nationally, we allocated 10 million dollars to AT&T’s Distance Lea

Speaking on Business: Utah System of Higher Education This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The pandemic has taken a toll on the health and wellness of our citizens and economy. Dave Woolstenhulme, Utah’s commissioner of higher education, is here to tell us how returning to school is helping Utahns find work. DAVE WOOLSTENHULME An economic issue coming out of the pandemic is the deficiency of a skilled and ready workforce. Workforce shortages across the state and nation are causing employers and business leaders to rethink their hiring strategies. We want to address these issues head-on by helping Utahns reskill or upskill to get back to work. To do this, we must address the barriers keeping students from accessing and completing higher education. We also must provide valuable credentials leading to employment. We need to address barriers for students of all ages, including cost, simplifying processes, and addressing student needs. The Board of Higher Education is working on these issues over the nex

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Small businesses are always in need of affordable financing to fund growth. John Evans of Mountain West Small Business Finance is here to discuss the impact of their SBA lending programs on small businesses in Utah. JOHN EVANS At Mountain West Small Business Finance, we empower small business owners to grow and succeed through our lending programs. We provide SBA 504 loans to help businesses acquire the real estate and equipment necessary to facilitate growth. This unique loan in conjunction with a partner commercial lender, provides (up to) a 25-year, fixed below market interest rate and (in most cases) a 10% down payment. The 504 loan program enables businesses to retain cash in the business and have low monthly payments, enhances small business growth and success through very favorable financing terms, and encourages commercial lenders to make term loans that would not otherwise be made. We also provide working capital loans to enable businesses to fund

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Utah is a state that cares about its people and communities. Recently, heavy rain and flash flooding have caused major damage across Central Utah in Cedar City and Enoch. In response, the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce, the Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation, and the Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance have teamed up to raise funds to help those affected by the recent flash floods. The Cedar City Chamber of Commerce set up the Iron County Area Disaster Relief Fund at the State Bank of Southern Utah. Donations can be made at any State Bank branch. If you prefer to send a check, you can find the information on the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce website. One hundred percent of the funds raised will be distributed to those who are impacted by these floods. In addition, the Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation have established a fund online through the Givebutter Organization. For those able, please visit givebutter.com/cedarcityfloodrelief. Or, if you wish to help the students

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Success in Education’s purpose is to create pathways for higher education and careers that change the world. Rick Folkerson of Success in Education is here to discuss programs that will involve everyone from elementary school to retirement. RICK FOLKERSON Our most well-known initiative at Success in Education is “Keys to Success,” which connects students and adult users with opportunities to prepare for and start a career or continue on in higher education. We initially created an app for high school students to track their CTE pathways, access scholarships, find internships, and other opportunities. In the past year, Keys to Success has expanded to middle schools and adult graduated users. Adults have access to the job board, skill trainings and scholarships as a resource to those entering the workforce – all the way through retirement. Anyone can download the app and sign up! Keys to Success is the messaging platform for Success in Education’s other programs li

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Giv Group came together in 2011 with a vision that affordable housing could be profitable, socially beneficial, and a catalyst for positive community change. Chris Parker, founder and executive director of Giv Group is here to tell about an upcoming project. CHRIS PARKER To give everyone an idea of what we do, it probably makes sense to talk about a project we have that just opened up. Citizens West is the latest iteration of Giv Group’s building electrification model. Informed by Giv Community’s Pragmatists for Clean Air Initiative, this project will be designed to provide the same level of comfort as a typical market-rate apartment unit while reducing the amount of required infrastructure. As a mixed income residential project, the rent at Citizens West will range from $400 to $1200 a month and will include studio apartments up to three bedrooms. It will be a carbon-neutral, emission-free building with Giv-funded electric vehicle sharing that's available to tena