Building Utah

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Wadsworth Development Group is a family-owned boutique firm and experienced national brand that is developing the future of commercial real estate throughout the Intermountain West from Washington to Arizona. Chief Investment Officer Kade Wadsworth joins us with more. KADE WADSWORTH: While Wadsworth Development Group started in 1996, the Wadsworth family has been doing business in Utah for 50 years. Our portfolio includes everything from office, retail, and industrial projects to multi-family and mixed-use developments, and so much more. Ultimately, our goal is to build world-class teams and partnerships that create and preserve our brand, and this includes our affiliates: Alpha Development Group, a multi-family development platform; Salt Lake City Global Logistics Center, a three-thousand-acre logistics park in the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake County with capacity to build over 50 million square feet; and, Roots Management Group, currently the fifth-larges

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. According to the Utah Film Commission, the film industry has provided $463 million dollars in spending while creating nearly 35,000 jobs and $6 billion dollars in tourism over the last ten years. And, BW Productions is one company making an impact on the industry through Corporate Video. Founder and Managing Director Brent Uberty shares more. Brent Uberty: Utah recognizes growth within the film community, and our economy and story lovers are reaping the benefits. But the market for story sharing goes well beyond film or television, and there’s a massive market for it on the corporate side too. BW Productions helps companies share unique stories to expand their businesses and engage with their audiences. We average 120 photoshoots and 350 video shoots annually to help businesses in dozens of industries nationwide. When you hire us, you hire a company that cares about its employees and community. Since we started, we’ve hired dozens of full-time employees and h

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Great Western Recreation’s mission is to bring the social, public, and private sectors together to create play and fitness spaces that positively impact health and wellness, promote understanding, and strengthen the community. Partner Tyler Kyriopoulos joins us with more. TYLER KYRIOPOULOS: Great Western Recreation has been specializing in complete park and playground solutions from design to construction for over 60 years. We offer customers a full range of commercial play equipment for children of all ages and abilities, and create recreational spaces that encourage multi-generational play. As a leader in the playground industry, we focus on providing the best evidence-based research design principles, innovative products, and high-quality installation services. We currently serve eight states in the Western United States and are also Utah’s exclusive representative for the leading manufacturer of commercial playground equipment, GameTime. In Utah, we have m

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. A new fitness spot has opened up in town that is known for integrative workouts that united the Pilates method with modern exercise training principles. BODYBAR Pilates owner Collin Christensen shares more. Collin Christensen: Utah is known for being full of fitness enthusiasts, so say hello to BODYBAR Pilates! Our doors are officially open in downtown Salt Lake City as of August 21st, and we’re inviting everyone to join us. We’re not just the business owners; we’re your neighbors, passionate about helping you on your wellness journey. Our goal is to make health and strength accessible to everyone. We believe Pilates can change lives like it did for my wife after her many knee surgeries. We want to create a welcoming space where you can focus on your well-being, no matter your age or fitness level. We firmly believe that Reformer Pilates is for all bodies, and we're dedicated to helping our clients feel better, live healthier lives, and build strength from th

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Founded in 1850 by pioneers committed to “Liberty & Truth,” the Deseret News is the longest-running news organization in Utah. Senior Vice President of Deseret Management Corporation, the parent company of Deseret News, Gary Porter joins us with more. Gary Porter: The Deseret News stands for journalism centered on the issues core to the human heart, including faith and family. While the Deseret News has perpetually evolved to meet the demands of its audience, such as reimagining print offerings and launching an acclaimed magazine, it remains committed to timeless ideals. Though independent in its editorial decisions, the Deseret News values are rooted in the teachings espoused by its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Deseret News stands for truth and light. And as Utah’s oldest business, it takes seriously the role of building people and communities. Our CEO Keith B. McMullin said it this way: “Our purpose is not only to inform, bu

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Utah is one of several states that offer school choice options for families of students with disabilities. So far, Children First Education Fund is the first and only state designated scholarship granting organization for students with disabilities in Utah. Executive Director Ronnie Daniel shares more. Ronnie Daniel: Children First Education Fund administers the Utah Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship program. The state legislature passed this law in 2020, which provides school choice options for children with disabilities to attend private school or home school. Children First awards scholarships to children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The law allows Children First to receive donations from individuals and companies and provide our donors with a unique 100% Utah State income tax credit for their donations. This allows donors to redirect money that they would already be paying for taxes to this incredible program to help children with disabilities.

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Cass Studios helps businesses, entertainment productions, and individuals share their stories through visual representation and communicate their message with a greater impact to stand out from the competition and get noticed quickly. Owner Natalie Cass joins us with more. Natalie Cass: Brands and business owners have a hard time standing out in the market place visually. They typically bootstrap the marketing content using their phones to create photography and video, or purchasing stock content that looks like everyone else or content that is AI generated. Until it’s time to hire a professional photographer and filmmaker. Cass Studios assists brands and business owners with visually distinguishing themselves and standing out from the competition. Cass Studios is a commercial photographer, corporate filmmaker and drone pilot that has been working in advertising for 20 years in 50 different industries internationally. People come to us to have their sta

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. In 2017, evolvedMD launched as a solution for the lack of access to mental health care. Today, it is one of the most comprehensive integrators of physical and behavioral health in the United States. Vice President of Strategy and Chief of Staff Sentari Minor tells us more. Sentari Minor: According to Mental Health America, Utah ranks 46th in the nation for mental health, with Utah adults having higher rates of mental illness and lower rates of access to care compared to the rest of the country. The truth is, the people of Utah are struggling and at evolvedMD, we are proud to offer a proven solution. evolvedMD’s mission is simple: to integrate physical and behavioral health to reduce stigma and increase access to sometimes lifesaving services. We partner with some of Utah’s most renowned primary care groups and health systems to place licensed therapists and counselors at practices who collaborate with primary care providers for whole patient care. With our mode

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. The Utah Inland Port Authority is working to ensure that we are growing in ways that will help preserve our economy, environment and quality of life for future generations. Executive Director Ben Hart joins us with more. Ben Hart: The Utah Inland Port Authority is actively involved in developing solutions for a balanced transportation system, regional economic growth and caring for our natural environment. One of the questions that we get most often is "what is an inland port?" In short, an inland port is a facility where we can transfer truck cargo to rail. In Utah, we love our roads, but we have to find ways to put more cargo on rail. This approach has proven to be better for the economy, the environment and lowers the cost of money needed to build and maintain roads. We are also focused on building regional economies. We support communities with their economic goals by helping businesses to expand and create high-wage jobs for Utahns. As we all work to

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. At Brandless, everything is about better-for-you consumer products and brands that help people, families, and the planet live healthier. In just over 2 years, Brandless has created the leading multi-channel platform and achieved 5,000 percent growth. Brandless CEO Cydni Tetro tells us more. Cydni Tetro: Today’s customers care more about what they put in and around their body than ever before. On every level, they want to fill their lives with things that help them live healthier. At Brandless, we give people better-for-you products and brands for everything they need in their body, on their body, and around their home. Brandless uniquely makes people the platform. We partner with powerful creators to bring together better-for-you product collections and we curate mission-driven consumer products, all powered by a technology consumer influence platform. What better-for-you products look like. They include products like earth-sourced diatomaceous bath mats that i

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. For over thirty years, Best Friends Animal Society has been working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across America, and giving pets second chances and happy homes. CEO Julie Castle joins us with more. Julie Castle: For more than 150 years in America, shelter dogs and cats have been killed for simply not having a safe place to call home, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Since its founding in 1984, Best Friends Animal Society has worked with shelters, rescues, and communities all over the country to reduce the killing from 17 million to 378,000 a year. This has been done through collaboration between public and private agencies, as well as innovative programming that helps the most at-risk dogs and cats. Best Friends is dedicated to making America a no-kill country by 2025 and we are so close to reaching this milestone. Every animal lover can help by fostering, adopting, donating, volunteering or simply sharing about homeless pets in your community

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. One of Salt Lake City’s newest areas is the Maven District -- a curated block of locally-owned businesses working to create a community of walkable shops, eateries and offices that believe in diverse communities, self-growth and dreaming big. Founder Tessa Arneson joins us with more. Tessa Arneson: Maven District is the proud home of Salt Lake City’s largest community of women-owned small businesses. With more than 100 locally-owned shops, services, and startups, our collective of buildings is located in the heart of downtown on the corner of 900 South and 200 East. This includes our own two businesses, Maven STRONG, a boutique Pilates studio, and Maven CREATE, a coworking and event space. In addition to commercial properties and private offices, we also offer luxurious, but affordable residential apartments and townhomes. Overall, our goal is to build a dynamic city for our children so we approach real estate development and property management much diffe

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. WCF Insurance is an innovative insurance provider with nationally offered products and services. They are not only committed to providing excellent customer service and high-touch claims management, but also building strong partnerships in the community. President and CEO Matt Lyon joins us with more. Matt Lyon: At WCF Insurance, our commitment goes beyond our company; we’ve been in business for over 100 years serving the communities we love. We're your neighbors, friends, and partners, striving to make Utah a better place. Every day our dedication is to the people who make Utah and the western US thrive – from the amazing businesses we insure, to our incredible agency partners, to our fantastic employees and the non-profits we support. We're here to make a positive impact, and we are proud to sponsor local initiatives, fueling prosperity within the community. We’re proud that we have evolved beyond workers compensation and can offer a whole suite of insuran

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum’s mission is to inspire children of all ages and abilities to imagine, discover and connect with their world to make a difference. Executive Director and CEO Kathleen Bodenlos shares more. KATHLEEN BODENLOS: Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum’s mission is served by offering over 60,000 square feet of interactive workshops, programs, exhibits, and community outreach activities that invite the whole family to create, learn, and play together. Such as the “I Dig Dinosaurs,” an interactive exhibit where children can dig for dinosaur bones and process them in our lab. There are even real dinosaur fossils in the exhibit! Through onsite interaction with exhibits and museum educators and offsite learning with science outreach, Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum encourages children to spark their curiosity and learn through play, helping to further advance children as they excel through their educational journey. Our engaging and int

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. With over 30 years of industry experience EnviroServe is a rapidly growing company that specializes in safely and sustainably managing industrial waste and environmental incidents. Nathan Savage, EnviroServe’s CEO, joins us with more. Nathan Savage: From our vibrant cities and towns to our beautiful natural landscapes, our Utah environment is a national treasure worth protecting. Here at EnviroServe, we’re committed to building environmental sustainability, both in Utah and across the country, by working to ensure that waste is managed properly, safely, and in an eco-conscious way. Based in the greater Salt Lake City area, we have highly trained team members and specialized equipment at 36 locations nationwide and growing. With a focus on enabling our customers to achieve their sustainability goals, we deliver reliable, expert waste handling and processing services, always striving to reduce, recover and recycle waste. Should there ever be an accident or natu

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. One of the great benefits of living along the Wasatch Front are the gorgeous mountains to our east. They catch the winter snows that provide great skiing and other recreational opportunities many of us enjoy. They also capture the rainfall and winter snows that provide the water we need in the summer months. Unfortunately, those wonderful mountains also block polluted air from leaving our valleys during both winter and summer, which is why the Salt Lake Chamber, along with TravelWise Utah and UCAIR, recently kicked off the 14th Annual Clear the Air Challenge. For the past few years, the Challenge was held in February to address wintertime inversions. However, it was transitioned to July to focus on Utah’s summertime ozone issues which are just as harmful, but not as visible. The Challenge is a month-long competition designed to encourage Utahns to reduce vehicle emissions by choosing alternatives to driving alone. By commuting smarter, we can protect our hea

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. The Policy Project is a nonprofit organization that promotes and advocates for solution-based policy to remove barriers to education and the workforce. Director of Policy and Government Affairs Mary Catherine Perry shares more on the launch of their new initiative -- the Teen Center Project Mary Catherine Perry: The number of Utah students experiencing mental health struggles, unstable housing, and other physiological needs is increasing. Over the past year, we have been working on the Teen Center Project, a public-private partnership between the Utah Legislature and private donors to create a space within Utah high schools that provides students support such as laundry facilities, showers, a food pantry, and a trusted adult who can connect students and families with outside resources for more sustained and comprehensive care. Through The Policy Project advocacy and support of Utah community members, we secured a $15 million dollar appropriation from the Utah L

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. With new customer expectations and consumption channels, the customer journey is increasingly more complex across marketing, sales, and service teams. While technology can help ease these complexities, when software is cobbled together, it creates siloed teams, inaccurate data, and a disjoined experience. That’s where GROWL comes in. CEO Greg Olson joins us with more. GREG OLSON: GROWL has been in business for over 13 years with offices in Salt Lake City and Grand Junction, Colorado. We empower businesses to tell their story and maximize revenue through software utilization. GROWL’s marketing and technology solutions are crafted, not cobbled. We implement advanced software like HubSpot to create a connected customer experience and establish a single source of truth for data. This enables businesses to initiate the right conversations with the right people at the right time, making meaningful relationships throughout the customer journey. Here is a stat for our

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Merrimak Capital is the industry’s leading and largest diverse lessor and asset resale company based in North America. For over thirty years, Merrimak Capital has been delivering the lowest cost for equipment use with full equipment lifecycle management. CEO Mary Kariotis shares more. MARY KARIOTIS: Merrimak Capital is a Business-to-Business leasing company currently serving 25% of Fortune 500 companies and the like. We provide transparent and competitive financing structures for all types of equipment, while focusing on material handling, tractor-trailer, IT and copy/print. With incorporation in the US, Canada, and Mexico, our services extend seamlessly through North America, providing our customers the lowest cost of equipment use. Merrimak owns and operates its warehouses where we refurbish and resell our off-lease equipment. This year, Merrimak is approaching one billion dollars in assets under active management and has remarketed and repurposed over five

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. This spring, the Larry H. Miller Company launched the Big League Utah coalition to bring Major League Baseball to Utah. They are partnering with Rocky Mountain Power to develop 100 acres at the Power District on Salt Lake City’s westside that could include a stadium. Larry H. Miller Company CEO Steve Starks tells us more about this statewide effort. STEVE STARKS: Baseball holds a special place in our hearts – from little league games to summer nights spent watching the Salt Lake Bees. The community response to Big League Utah and its mission to secure an expansion team has been remarkable. The impressive support rate above 80% is on par with that of bringing a second Winter Olympic Games to Salt Lake City. Utah is what baseball would call a “5-Tool Player.” Our key attributes include our premier economy, the youngest and fastest growing population, our love and support for sports, and our unparalleled quality of life. The Power District is perfectly positi