During EDCUtah’s annual meeting the organization will present its annual economic development awards to Derek Miller, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, John Curtis, mayor of Provo City, and Mark Gibbons, president of City Creek Reserve.
Miller will receive the Nick Rose Award for Leadership in Economic Development – Private Sector. In selecting Miller for the award, the EDCUtah Awards Committee made note of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s high praise for Miller. Gov. Herbert said: “Derek played a crucial role in countless economic successes throughout the past decade. He continues to make a name for himself as an architect of economic opportunity and innovation in the great state of Utah. Our state is flourishing, due in part, to Derek’s leadership and vision. Utah’s economic stakeholders could not have selected a better recipient for this award. I am honored to call Derek B. Miller a friend and advisor.”
Prior to taking the helm of WTC Utah, Miller served as chief of staff to Gov. Herbert, and before that he was executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).
Mayor Curtis will receive the Thayne Robson Award for Leadership in Economic Development – Public Sector. Regarding this award, Kevin J. Worthen, president of Brigham Young University said, “Since Mayor John Curtis was elected, more than half a billion dollars of investment has poured into Provo’s downtown. During his tenure, Provo has become one of the nation’s fastest growing economies, especially for entrepreneurial and startup businesses. He has successfully created public/private partnerships and captured the energy of the college students in Provo. He has connected with the community through social media, with thousands of residents following his blog. We join EDCUtah in recognizing Mayor Curtis’s many contributions to our community.”
Mayor Curtis was elected in 2009 and has made economic development and the revitalization of Downtown Provo among his highest priorities.
Gibbons will receive the Cornerstone in Economic Development Award on behalf of City Creek Reserve. This is a new award created by EDCUtah to recognize associations, organizations or developments making a substantial economic development impact in the state. City Creek, the massive 20-acre development that has transformed downtown Salt Lake City, came at a time when the nation was struggling with the Great Recession. When it debuted in 2012, City Creek was the first enclosed regional shopping center to open in the U.S. in six years. It has since won the International Council of Shopping Centers’ “best-of-show” award and certainly helped the magazine Elle describe Salt Lake City the “new Dubai,” what with City Creek’s “700,000-square-foot mecca of choreographed fountains, 18-foot waterfalls, and a fully retractable glass roof that houses stores such as Tiffany & Co. and Michael Kors.”
Speaking of City Creek, Salt Lake Chamber President & CEO Lane Beattie said the impact of the development extends far beyond the two city blocks where it is located. “You see its influence in the confidence of builders that followed, who knew – and still know – that this is a city that will continue to rise. You see it in the new businesses streaming into Main Street, the Broadway District, along 100 South and at The Gateway. And you see it in our future, manifest in plans for privately-led projects like a public market, film and media center, new residences and new office towers. City Creek has catalyzed the growth of Utah’s capital city and the economic strength of the entire region. I can’t imagine what our state would look like without it.”
EDCUtah Chief of Staff Michael Flynn says Miller, Curtis and City Creek Reserve are most deserving of the recognition they will receive during the annual meeting and EDCUtah is excited to honor them.
