We deeply appreciate our outgoing Chairman of the Board, Rich Walje, president of Rocky Mountain Power, who has served faithfully these past two years. His service to our organization and to economic development in Utah has been most notable. We also express our appreciation and say "Thanks for a job well done!" to outgoing Vice Chairman Ron Jibson, of Questar Corporation, to outgoing Secretary/Treasurer Jill Taylor of KeyBank, and to outgoing Board members Bryce Blanchard, of NAI West Commercial Real Estate; Jonathan Butler, of Parsons, Behle & Latimer; Rod Castillo, of The Pete Suazo Business Center; and to Tom Bingham, of the Utah Manufacturer's Association.
Next, we extend a hearty welcome to Ron Jibson, president and CEO of Questar Corporation, who is our new Chairman of the Board. Further, we welcome Greg Winegardner, of Wells Fargo, as Vice Chair, Private Sector; Sandy City Mayor Tom Dolan as Vice Chair, Public Sector; David Lang, of Goldman Sachs, as Secretary/Treasurer; and Rich Walje, of Rocky Mountain Power, as Past Chairman. New Board Members include: Warren Peterson, of Farmland Reserve, Inc.; Joe Tomon, of Procter & Gamble; Rick Thaler, of Ray Quinney & Nebeker; Lew Cramer, of World Trade Center Utah; and Syracuse Mayor Jamie Nagle. Also, Jennifer Danielson will replace Bob Hatch, of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah; Dennis Likes will replace Larry Cox, of SAIC; and Stan Stoll will replace Stephen Mecham, of Utah Rural Telecom Association on the Board of Trustees.
We also welcome the following individuals to our Executive Committee: Jack Wixom, of Jacobsen Construction, and Joel Steadman, of SOS Staffing Services. Further, Eric Isom will replace Jerry Fenn, of CenturyLink, and Dave Buhler will replace William Sederberg, of the Utah System of Higher Education on the Executive Committee.
For me, a great highlight of the event was the privilege of honoring Lynn Pett and Louis Callister for their leadership in economic development. They received our first-ever "Thayne Robson" public sector and "Nick Rose" private sector awards (respectively).
Also, as I noted in my remarks on Thursday, truly our state has been discovered. Utah is now being considered for large-scale projects that were unheard of in the state a few years ago. We are enjoying job growth of about 3% and expect another record year in economic development. The reason we are an island of success is largely due to the cooperation and partnerships we enjoy in Utah.
Looking forward, we stand on the shoulders of giants and know we can do the hard things because we have the tools and the mindset. For Charles Lindbergh, when he made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, it was never about him, but about his team. It is the same for us. Economic development is about the team and what Governor Herbert calls "unprecedented partnerships." Those partnerships have carried us forward for the past 25 years and we are certain they will carry us forward for the next 25 years.
Thank you for all you do to help support economic development in Utah.
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