Utah Alliance

Here's what some of the Utah Alliance members are saying about the organization and its programs:

I’m reminded of the value of my membership in the Utah Alliance for Economic Development every time I attend a quarterly meeting.  I always come away with ideas or practices that broaden my understanding of economic development.   Often new ideas and practices come from presentations, but just as often I learn from casual conversations with government, private industry and economic development peers.  I have made great professional friendships that support what I do for Millard County and rural Utah all year long.

Linda Gillmor – Millard County

Just what do you know about Mike McCandless?

Mike is the director of the Emery County Economic Development program where he has been for the past 6 years. He was born in Price, Utah and has lived in the state all of his life. Mike has a Bachelors degree from Southern Utah University.

How did Mike get into economic development? He worked in business development for 15 years in the private sector, including a stint at Emery Telecom. When an opening occurred in the economic development industry, he took advantage of the opportunity and dove right in.  So far, his favorite economic development project is developing a 3000 acre industrial park in Green River, Utah.  He claims that knowing Rob Adams has provided him with funny and unusual experiences in economic development.

One of our members recently asked for a list of the Utah Alliance officers for 2011. The board positions are indicated on their membership entry, however, unless you scroll through all the entries, you won't be able to pick them out very easily.

So, I'm linking the list of Utah Alliance Board members and their committee assignments here. The list is a PDF that you will be able to download and print.

I'm a little slow this month, but I just picked up my January 2011 copy of Utah Business Magazine and noticed the article on Utah's most influential people. Of course, I had to take a peek to see if I was in it and in so doing, found a number of our Utah Alliance members listed as some of Utah's most influential. It's no secret that the group of economic development professionals in our organization are part of the movers and shakers in Utah. Congrats to:

Lonnie Bullard, CEO Jacobsen Construction Company - Corporate Sponsor
Spencer P. Eccles, Executive Director, Governor's Office of Economic Development - Corporate Sponsor
Jeff Edwards, President & CEO, EDCUtah - Corporate Sponsor
Scott Hirschi, Executive Director, Washington County Economic Development
David S. Layton, CEO, The Layton Companies - Corporate Sponsor
Jack Livingood, CEO, Big D Construction - Corporate Sponsor
Keith Rattie, Chairman, Questar - Corporate Sponsor
Richard Walje, CEO, Rocky Mountain Power - Corporate Sponsor

And listed as one of Utah's Legal Elite:
J. Craig Smith, Smith Hartvigsen Attorneys at Law - Corporate Sponsor

Meet a great storyteller… Brigham Mellor.

Brigham Mellor currently works at EDCUtah and has been there for just over a year. He was born in Manti, Utah and has lived here for 28 years. (Based on his photo, I would say that is probably all his life.)

Brigham has an M.S. in Economics and prior to coming to EDCU, worked at Woodruff Architects, Architectural News and Rosenberg Engineering. He became involved in economic development in an unusual way. When he was in high school (year 2000), he volunteerd for the “What’s Up Down South” economic summit in St. George. Once again another example of someone getting a taste of economic development and getting hooked! At the Summit, he met Mitt Romney and learned how “the Olympics were going to change the landscape of the state.” He didn’t really understand how to be involved in shaping the state’s economic landscape or what type of job he could do, but he really wanted to be part of it.  He learned about EDCU while in school and after he graduated, he started to work for them.

One of his favorite projects at EDCU is anything to do with recruiting businesses in California. He enjoys sharing with them why Utah is such a great place.

As all of us know in economic development, we sometimes get interesting  clients to work with.  He tells us that he once had a very detailed information request from an individual who was looking for the new location of his favorite restaurant. Apparently they had moved locations and had failed to notify him. Are you kidding me???? Brigham explained to him how to use a phone book and the internet to find the restaurant. “Teach a man to fish”… as the saying goes.

The last book that Brigham read was World War Z: an oral report of the Zombie War. And his favorite movie is “The Incredibles.” He likes this movie because as he gets older, he finds comfort in the thought of an overweight superhero.

Brigham and his wife, Emily, have 2 canine children in their family right now. They love to mountain bike in the summer and snowboard in the winter.  A fun fact about Brigham is that he’s been told that he tells a great story… which he happens to believe.

So look up Brigham at the next meeting and let him spin a tale for you.

Kent Sulser is the Economic Development Director of the Davis County Community & Economic Development office. He was born in American Fork, Utah and has lived here for at least the last 20 years.

Kent has a BA in Finance/Accounting, a MA in Business Administration and an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) Designation. Kent has spent a number of years working in the small business area. Besides about 10 years in Small Business Development, Kent considers himself a serial entrepreneur with 7 start ups under his belt.

Kent has been involved in economic development for about 8 years and got into the business through some of his other business development activities. His favorite project so far is the last one he worked on: Janicki Industries.

The last book he read is really a re-read of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits.”  His favorite movie is “Braveheart” because of its fighting for freedom theme. Kent has been married for 34 years and has 4 children.

Find Kent at the next meeting and find out about his start-ups and why he find that activity so exciting.

Get to know Brad Whittaker, who is the director of the Commission for Economic Development in Utah County. Brad has been involved in Economic Development for over 25 years – 13 of them employed at CEDO and another 12 years as a volunteer. In fact, he got involved in economic development by being a volunteer board member to CEDO. What can we say, once ED gets in your blood, you just have to have it.

Brad was born in Milford, Utah and has lived in Utah all of his life. He has a BS Degree in Business & Industrial Technology and is also an Investment Advisor Representative. Before working for CEDO, he worked for Utah Power/PacifiCorp for 28 years. His favorite economic development project was putting together a Business Resource Center and Technology Center to mentor start-up businesses.

Brad is married and has 5 children and one grandchild. The last book he read was “Think and Grow Rich”. And here’s a fun fact about Brad, he plays in a 60’s rock band. Next time we are looking for entertainment for one of our meetings, we’ll know where to go.

It’s great to have Brad in our ranks.

One thing I have discovered in my change of careers is that the financial institutions in Utah are wonderful partners in economic development. And this is the case with one of our members, Carolyn Stimpson. She has worked at Mountain America Credit Union for the past 35 years.

Carolyn was born in Brigham City and has lived in Utah all of her life. She received a BA degree from Weber State University. Before finding her niche at the credit union, Carolyn worked in a restaurant and a pharmacy.

Carolyn began her experience with economic development at the Logan Cache Chamber during their “Cache Initiative.” The Cache Initiative had a goal to raise $1.3 million in seed capital in a year’s time. Carolyn jumped on the band wagon and found it to be a stimulating experience to market this program to both private and public players. Being involved with this initiative helped her find a love of economic development and a support of small businesses.

The last book that Carolyn read was “Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell.  Her favorite movie is “Invictus” – which she loved because of the great leadership which shaped an entire country. Carolyn is married with 5 children, 9 grandchildren, a dog and a cat. In her spare time, she loves to read, garden and take care of her family. And something you may not know about Carolyn is she loved to play golf.

Make sure you give Carolyn a hearty hello at the next meeting.

Alliance members, meet Rick Stock.  Rick works for Dunn Associates, Inc.  For those of you, like me, who don’t know a thing about Dunn Associates, Dunn is a consulting structural engineering firm. Rick has been there for 2 ½ years.

Rick was born in Oakland, California and has been back in Utah only 15 short years. He received a BS at Utah State University (go Aggies) and spent a number of years in the corporate world jetting around globe.  He has set foot in 22 foreign countries and has done business in 12.  He spent a great deal of time on an airplane en route to somewhere else.

After leaving his corporate gig at General Electric, he returned to Utah and began a new career in the design/construction industry.  A couple of his favorite projects in the state include the Falcon Hill National Aerospace Research Park and the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute.

The last book Rick read was “The Lecture” by Randy Pausch. His favorite movie is “High Road to China” – “How can you go wrong with airplanes, great aerial footage, great scenery, action and the good guy gets the girl.”

Rick has been married for 33 years and has 5 children and 8 grandchildren. He loves to boat and water ski. And something you might not know about Rick is that he is a licensed pilot and an aircraft mechanic.

Let’s welcome this talented guy to the Alliance.

Tammie Lucero is our Economic Development professional at the Uintah County Economic Development Office. Tammie is a newcomer to Economic Development with only one year under her belt. We’re sure that if she hangs around for another couple of months, she will be hooked for life.

Tammie was born in Price, Utah and has lived in Utah pretty much her entire life. She was recruited to her current position by one of the Uintah County Commissioners.  So far, her favorite ED project has been the CNG Filling Station. Before joining the ED ranks, Tammie had long-term careers with Mountain America Credit Union and Utah Power prior to that.

The last book that Tammie read was Shackleton’s Story about Antartica. Her favorite movie is “Top Gun” because she loves the military and she loves planes, which leads us to a little known fact about Tammie. She flew a WWII plane in a dog fight over San Diego, California. Wow! Now that’s a story worth hearing at the next Alliance meeting.

Tammie is married with 3 children and 5 grandchildren. She loves to travel and clean (now really) in her spare time.

Let’s welcome Tammie in the Economic Development fold!

Russ has been in the economic development business for 15 years and currently works at EDCUtah as their Utah County rep.  Russ was born in the heart of Utah, Fillmore and has lived in the state off and on – most recently for 10 years.

Russ got into economic development while living in California. He connected with the State of Utah, Department of Community and Economic Development back then, and contracted with them to be their representative in Southern California. During that time, he followed up on leads produced by the state’s advertising, attended tradeshows in the state’s targeted areas, and made cold calls on companies who were interested in moving out of California. He also set up appointments for state officials to meet with California companies and scheduled site visits.

Besides his economic development experience, Russ worked in the real estate business both here in Utah and in Southern California.  He worked on shopping center development and at one time leased space at the Layton Hills Mall.

The last book that Russ read is “The 7 Miracles that Saved America” and his favorite movie of all times: “Hoosiers” (basketball, duh!) Russ and his wife have 6 children and 23 grandchildren. He loves to produce flowers and vegetables in his garden, when he’s not producing jobs for Utah county.

According to Russ, he is the “ultimate optimist.” According to everyone else, he is a hard worker and a lot a fun to be around.

At yesterday's meeting, the Utah Alliance Board approved a new program to recognize members and their successful programs. Nominated and approved for this first round of awards were:

A Main Street Revitalization Program in Plesant Grove City
A Revolving Loan Fund in Davis County
The Academy Square Project in Brigham City
A new Economic Development Organization in Davis County
The Taylorsville Economic Development Forum

Richard Bradford, Pleasant Grove City Economic Development Director received recognition for his work in putting together and implementing a plan to revitalize downtown Pleasant Grove. 

In the past 18 months eleven new businesses have located along Main Street in downtown Pleasant Grove.  Seven of those have set up shop in the last six months.  We expect many more in the near future. The turn-around downtown has been accomplished by engaging the following economic development initiatives for downtown.  Among them are:

1. Forming a Marketing On Main Street (MOM’s) committee of stakeholders.  Their mission is to initiate a holistic plan to revitalize downtown.
2. Branding downtown as, “the place where woman-owned businesses cater to women’s’ needs”
3. Promoting vacant shops and sites as potential places for new businesses to set up shop using hand delivered brochures to targeted stores and creating a dedicated website to the brand.
4. Focusing our recruitment energy on destination retail (boutique) shops.
5. Organizing a farmer’s market and Promenade which brings vendors and music to the downtown
6. Putting together a beautification plan which includes clean-up campaigns and standardization of newspaper racks.
7. Adding trash receptacles and benches downtown.
8. Soon we are hoping to add a program to provide façade improvement loans or grants

Congratulations to Richard Bradford for this successful project.

Kent Sulser and Davis County is being recognized for two projects in Davis County.

The BDF revolving loan fund PowerPoint is a $4 million dollar revolving loan fund that is used to retain, expand and promote business development within Davis County, this is not a County fund, but is owned by our Davis County Council of Governments Inc. (DCCOG) a 501 c 3 but is staffed by County personnel. Our goal is:

• To seek out the most promising entrepreneurs, products, services, and help accelerate access to money, markets, and mentors.  We measure the ROI of the program as the number of quality jobs created for the community

Overview of the Program:

Amount: $50K - $250K debt financing & Gap financing
Partnership with Banks for Gap & Bridge Loans
Approvals needed by the Business Development Fund Board
Support loanees with ongoing mentoring and training with outside agencies including the NorthFront Business Resource Center
Motivation to create and retain jobs in Davis County
Restricted to David County-based companies

Congratulations to Kent Sulser and the Davis County Team.

Understanding that companies need land sites, and sites are controlled through land use within a municipalities jurisdiction; we needed to develop a strategy to get land sites ready for development.  Seeing how there is little ground left and no developable sites in Davis County proper.  Since we provide no services to support business, therefore we needed to garnish support and cooperation with the local cities to enable those opportunities to develop.  Now this concept is not new, but the process and how we coordinate with outside agencies like GOED and EDCUtah and others is new as the process was never orchestrated.  DUED is a group of 50 people from Cities, city councils, elected officials, commercial real estate folks, developers, contractors, EDCUtah, and utility companies to discuss, plan and educate one another on available sites and processes that facilitate and promote economic growth and development.  

DUED meets monthly throughout the County to promote economic development, this year we have put together a calendar of DUED events and topics that we will cover during 2010.  This group helps with site identification and development, zoning, RFI site submittals, and generally just keeps everyone informed about what is going on in the County.

Brigham City and Paul Larsen have successfully completed the first phase of the Academy Square project.  The Box Elder Academy of Music and Dancing, built in 1904, launched the careers of the Christensen Brothers - Willam, Harold, and Lew.  Among their accomplishments are establishment of the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, and choreography and production of the first American production of the Nutcracker ballet in 1944, which became synonymous with Christmas throughout the United States and the world.  

The Academy Square project will include the rehabilitated Academy building, a multi-use plaza on the south side of the building, and a hotel.  Together, these elements will have a dramatic impact on downtown revitalization.  The building will be used for public and private events and activities including concerts, dances, professional conferences and meetings (like the Utah Alliance for Economic Development!), wedding receptions, parties, and so on.  The plaza will be available for passive recreation and concerts, and will be the venue for events such as the Brigham City Heritage Arts Festival and Peach Days.  

Phase One of the Academy Square project completed the reskinning, structural stabilization and seismic upgrade of the building, a new roof, and restoration of the building's signature windows.  This work was accomplished using funds from a HUD EDI grant obtained through the auspices of Senator Bob Bennett and Rep. Rob Bishop.  Partners on the project included the Academy Square Foundation, the Front Porch Institute, CRS Architects, and Big D Construction.

Good job Paul!