You know, there aren't many states where you can snow ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon. Welcome to Utah! The warm, spring air last week was fabulous. Aside from the weekend, the outside temperature is warming up, and so too is economic development. 

We were pleased to be on hand Wednesday when EMC Corp. officially opened its technical support center in Draper. EMC is a wonderful corporate citizen and we are thrilled to see its Utah facility open. Upwards of 500 people will eventually be employed there in high-tech and customer service jobs. Refer to our news links column in this newsletter for media coverage of this event. 

Further, I hope you will join me in welcoming two new members to our economic development team, Jorge Sanchez, Business Development Manager and Christina Seifers, Business Development Coordinator. They join the Business Development Team led by Senior Vice President Todd Brightwell. We also congratulate Sheila Yorkin on her promotion to Director of Marketing and Communications. Sheila joined EDCUtah in 2008 and has managed communications and public relations strategies both internally and externally for the organization. 

A few upcoming events to make you aware of… 

Next week, on Mar. 22, another exciting "Social Commerce Exchange" event will take place at Salt Lake Community College's Miller Campus from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Networking begins at 5:30 p.m. The focus this time is on "Emerging Social Technologies." The Social Commerce Exchange is a free event organized by local companies to help Utah businesses utilize social media more effectively. Register for the event online here. 

On Mar. 28 EDCUtah will hold its Quarterly Investor Update meeting and reception, from 4-6 p.m. at Regence BlueCross BlueSheild of Utah, 2890 Cottonwood Parkway, Salt Lake City. Jessica Gulick, an assistant vice president at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), will be our guest speaker. We are grateful to Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah for hosting our event. Please RSVP to Eileen Burt (801) 323-4249 or email eburt@edcutah.org. 

And then on April 5, we hope you will join in for the Governor's State of Sport Awards luncheon, celebrating Utah's Sports Industry and honoring excellence in high school, amateur, collegiate, Olympic and professional sports for the 2011 calendar year. Voting is now open so be sure to vote for your favorite athletes. More details about this event can be found here.