July 30, 2018
The Salt Lake Chamber is celebrating 131 years of doing business in Utah.
Join us at our Annual Meeting on September 4, as we pay tribute to those who commit their abilities and time to help further the Chamber’s mission and bolster the business community.
This year we will recognize:
- Goldman Sachs as Corporate Partner of the Year,
- Intermountain Healthcare as Community Partner of the Year,
- And, Parr Brown Gee & Loveless with the President’s Award for Excellence
Additionally, we will honor a few exemplary volunteers as this year’s Chamber Champions. They are:
- Vance Checketts formerly of Dell EMC
- Janet Healy of Catholic Community Services of Utah
- Ray Pickup of WCF Insurance
- Sally Steed of Utah Media Group
- And, Brittany Westover of JP Morgan Chase
July 31, 2018
Amidst your barbecues, pool parties and camping trips this summer, there’s a chance the subject of politics may come up as a topic of conversation. The general election is just around the corner, and it’s never too early to be thinking about how you plan to vote.
Here are 5 easy ways you can stay informed about the issues and candidates in the general election this fall:
- Start local. Find out who currently represents you and who is on the ballot.
- Understand federal issues and candidate positions.
- Expand your perspective with local journalism. Before you turn to cable news, look to Utah’s own outlets. They usually have a good pulse on what’s happening on the local, state and federal level.
- Get involved in a Salt Lake Chamber policy committee.
- Share your thoughts. Respectful conversations are possible and important to our democracy.
Utah voter turnout is among the lowest in the nation. Feeling uninformed or disliking politics is not a reason to skip voting. Staying informed this summer is easy, if you take a little time to do your research about the issues that impact your business, family and community.
August 1, 2018
Utah’s economy has been doing well for the past few months. Our job growth rate is the highest year-over-year in the country. Our unemployment rates are below the national average. We’ve also attracted some big name companies who have chosen Utah as their new home.
One of the largest companies settling in Utah is Facebook. Their new data center located in Eagle Mountain will create numerous construction jobs as well as management and operations positions.
Canopy and GoHealth have also joined the neighborhood. Collectively, they will add more than 1,000 new jobs.
This is exciting news. However, with rapid growth comes the challenge of housing. The Wasatch Front is quickly joining the likes of Northern California, Southern California and Seattle in terms of speedy job growth and housing affordability issues. We must work together to address this challenge before it becomes a crisis.
Additionally, we will need to plan and implement new infrastructure to support the growth. We’ve come a long way, and we sill have a ways to go.
August 2, 2018
Community and business leader, Jason Mathis has recently announced his resignation from the Downtown Alliance. He has served as the executive director of the Alliance and executive vice president of the Salt Lake Chamber since 2008.
Jason’s role in creating a vibrant downtown and prosperous capital city cannot be overstated. He helped to encourage and support more than $5 billion dollars in new investment in downtown including office, residential and retail projects.
Jason played important roles in the development of City Creek, the Eccles Theater, the revitalization of The Gateway and supporting Main Street’s resurgence.
During the past decade, he has helped to launch several initiatives in downtown Salt Lake City including Last Hurrah, GREENbike, Downtown Rising, the Street Ambassadors, and the HOST Program along expansions of popular programs like Dine O’Round and the Farmers Market. Most recently, he helped launch THE BLOCKS, Salt Lake’s Cultural Core.
Jason has been hired as the new CEO of the Downtown Partnership in St. Petersburg, Florida.
His leadership and friendship will be missed by all who had the privilege of working with him.
August 3, 2018
Recently, the Salt Lake Chamber received the 2018 Grand Award for Communication Excellence from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
The Chamber received this recognition for our work on the Utah Tax Modernization Campaign.
Every year the ACCE recognizes chambers of commerce for outstanding marketing and communications through their Awards for Communication Excellence program. Submissions are categorized into one of the following: advertising and marketing; campaigns; digital; or publications.
We are proud to receive this award. As Utah’s business leader, we support tax policies that strengthen Utah’s economy and properly balance tax simplicity, revenue sufficiency and fairness.
This campaign not only resulted in a reduction of both individual and corporate tax rates, but also paved the way for future discussions on how to create a tax code fit for our modern economy.
We share this recognition and the success of this campaign with all those involved, especially our instrumental partner Utah Media Group.
