Jeanette Blain | News Editor | @JeanetteBlain
Utah business leaders met in the Sorenson Center, May 14, for the fourth annual UVU Business and Economic Forum.
The educational event offered local professionals a choice of 16 workshops, taught by experts, in topics, such as tax planning, crowd-funding, and community engagement. It also featured inspirational speeches by workplace accountability expert Roger Conners, UVU President Matthew S. Holland, and champion rugby coach Larry Gelwix.
Roger Conners, co-author of the New York Times bestseller, The Oz Principle, gave the morning keynote. He talked about the power of personal accountability in achieving success.
At 12:30 p.m., UVU President Matthew S. Holland gave a lunch keynote address.
He opened by presenting an Outstanding Community Partner Award to three local business figures; Reed Halladay, who sits on the National Advisory Council for the Woodbury School of Business, State Tax Commissioner John Valentine, and Bill Fillmore, who accepted the award on behalf of the Provo law firm Fillmore Spencer LLC.
In his 30 minute speech Holland talked about UVU as an “indispensable institute” in the valley and the state.
“I’ve got three years to get that done,” said Holland.
On a more serious note, he showed a picture of the school as it is today and said, “In those buildings are thousands and thousands of students whose lives are being transformed—programs that are making a difference in our communities: civically, commercially and in every possible way.”
Holland thanked attendees for helping support the growth of UVU. He talked about the role that UVU has played in the wider community and how future expansions will bring more positive impacts to the local economy and business culture.
Larry Gelwix gave the final keynote titled Always A Winner! Championship Strategies for Sustainable Success.
Gelwix, a former coach of the Highland Rugby Team in Salt Lake City, was the inspiration for the movie Forever Strong. He shared his principles for winning at life, but said that even with strong principles, being a champion takes work.
“There’s the pain of hard work, then there’s the pain of regret. If we don’t do everything we can to do whatever needs to be fixed…the pain of regret will never go away,” said Gelwix.
