At at time when Americans don’t seem to agree on much, 76% “believe in the American dream,” Salt Lake Chamber president and CEO Derek Miller told Utah’s top business, civic and community leaders convened Thursday evening at the Grand America Hotel.
Offering remarks at the chamber’s “Under One Sky: America250 Utah Awards Gala,” Miller recalled visiting the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C.
“I came to this conclusion: that at its founding, the American dream is a simple promise, a promise that the next generation can have it better than the last, that your children will have more opportunity than you had,” he said. “That is the reason we build today, so that they can build higher tomorrow.”
So, Miller said, the Salt Lake Chamber chose to honor “the people who have kept the dream alive in Utah.”
“We celebrate the businesses that have stood for generations, and we recommit ourselves to the work of making sure that the American dream and the prosperity that powers it can reach every corner of our state and every person who calls Utah home, because everything Utah has built, we built together,” Miller said.
This awards gala took the place of the chamber’s annual “Giant in Our City” awards gala this year.
This year’s awards were tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States, honoring “those who build bridges across sectors, steward opportunity with integrity and create networks that drive lasting progress for generations to come,” as stated during the event’s introduction.
Throughout the program the Salt Lake Chamber recognized a variety of Utah businesses and individuals with eight different awards.
The Salt Lake Chamber honored three organizations: Larry H. Miller Company, Intermountain Health and the Huntsman Family Foundation.
The chamber also recognized five individuals: Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; Christian Gardner, CEO and chairman of the Gardner Group; Fred Lampropoulos, founder of Merit Medical Systems, Inc.; Lavanya Mahate, founder of Saffron Valley and RISE Culinary Institute; and Wayne Niederhauser, former Utah Homeless Coordinator.
Each of the award recipients was honored by having a star named after them.
Andy Farnsworth and Amanda Dickson of KSL NewsRadio emceed the event. After the awards were presented the audience was graced by a musical performance from the trio Gentri.
The gala was America250-themed, the decorations were red, white and blue and outside of the ballroom attendees could take photographs with a bald eagle.
Organizations and businesses honored
The Larry H. Miller Company was presented with the Under One Sky Award which honors an organization that has consistently brought people together and that advances a shared vision for the community, strengthening the whole.
“The company is a family investment that has been built on the Miller family’s legacy of community building, philanthropic giving and business leadership,” according to the chamber. “The organization’s business platforms and companies span real estate, health care, sports and entertainment, and investments. ”
Intermountain Health was presented with the Steward of the Sky Award, which recognizes an organization that leads with integrity, responsibility and a commitment to the community while uniting people, inspiring actions and creating a lasting impact for the future.
“Intermountain Health is committed to improving community health and is a leader in improving healthcare” with locations in six states and other operations across the Western United States, according to the chamber. The nonprofit system headquartered in Utah contains 34 hospitals, around 400 clinics, medical groups with over 4,600 physicians and advanced care providers and the health plan Select Health.
The Huntsman Family Foundation was presented with the Milky Way Award, honoring an organization whose work brings together a variety of efforts, partners and initiatives to “create a constellation of service across the community.”
The organization carries on Jon and Karen Huntsman’s legacy of giving and mission of providing “hope and dignity to all who suffer.” The foundation focuses on researching, treating and eradicating cancer and mental health challenges and also works on ending homelessness, stopping domestic violence and supporting education.
Individuals who were honored at the gala
During his remarks at the gala, Miller shared that upward mobility, prosperity and the American dream are alive in Utah because of “the leaders who we are here to recognize it’s because they have spent their lives making sure the ladder is there for the next person to climb.”
“You didn’t just build this ladder for yourselves. You built it so others could climb up too, and you understand that a rising Utah can lift every Utahn,” he added.
Natalie Gochnour was given the United Star Award which honors an individual who brings people together to discuss complex challenges and issues with balance, fairness and respect.
In addition to her work at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Gochnour is an associate dean at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. She has also worked with three Utah governors, and was a political appointee in Washington, D.C. during the George W. Bush administration.
Christian Gardner was presented with the Constellation of Connection Award to honor a leader whose “greatest strength is connection” and is known for building trusted relationships across communities and industries, linking people and ideas to drive innovation and opportunity.
Under Gardner’s leadership, the Gardner Group, a privately owned collective of companies, is driven by commitment to sustainability, innovation, quality real estate development and using philanthropy to invest back into the community, according to the chamber.
The North Star Award had two different recipients — Fred Lampropoulos and Lavanya Mahate. This award honors founders who have turned an idea into lasting impact, making opportunities not just for themselves but for others along the way.
Lampropoulos has been part of the medical device industry for over 40 years. He has invented and holds patents for more than 240 devices used in therapeutic and diagnostic treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Mahate has founded and scaled 12 restaurants, helping to transform Utah’s culinary landscape. Her nonprofit, RISE Culinary Institute, empowers women from diverse backgrounds.
Wayne Niederhauser was honored with the Guiding Light Award which recognizes an inspirational leader who has gone beyond their duties to address needs in the community and who has “strengthened communities through hands-on service, mentorship and consistent action.”
Niederhauser served as the Utah Homeless Coordinator before retiring last year. He had a long career in the state government, he was in the Utah State Senate for 12½ years. While serving as the Utah Homelessness Coordinator, Niederhauser led a transformative period for the state’s response system and secured unprecedented funding for deeply affordable housing and public safety.