Fraser Bullock welcomed MWCN's 30th Utah 100 Awardees at the Grand America. He also reviewed the success of the 2002 SLC Winter Olympics and discussed preparations underway for the Winter Games returning in 2034.
Today Fraser Bullock, former COO of the Organizing Committee of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, spoke about preparation plans for the 2034 Salt Lake City Olympics at the Utah 100 Award Event. Mountain West Capital Network (MWCN), celebrating its 30th year, hosted the event. MWCN is a large supporter of Utah's business community; it gathers data about Utah businesses and publishes lists indicating the fastest growing companies in the state, those with the highest revenue, and those that they believe are most promising emerging organizations in the state.
Taking the stage at the Grand America's Grand Ballroom and addressing a full audience, Bullock recounted the success of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and why Utah is still poised as the ideal location for a repeat of the Winter Games. Bullock described the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as an unexpected success. The tumultuous events surrounding the 9/11 attacks, occurring just five months prior to the games, caused much difficulty getting for the Organizing Committee to prepare the games, Bullock recalled. However, in the end, the games garnered $100 Million dollars in profit, an almost unheard accomplishment for any Olympics, according to Bullock.
The 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics set a high bar, but Bullock wants the 2034 games to be even better. Bullock has faith this can be achieved due to several factors. First and foremost, 80% of Utahn support bringing back the Olympics, said Bullock. Further, the state boasts unified political support for the idea, the population is overwhelmingly supportive, Utah has strong and growing sports community, and there are significant logistical advantages each each event being within an hour's drive from the Olympic Village – an uncommon attribute of past Olympics locations.
Bullock explained how each county in Utah will be visited by members of the 2034 Organizing Committee to assess what can be done to improve the state's stance and inclusion with regards to the Olympics, such as sports education and volunteerism. Along those lines, Bullock stated plans are afoot to elevate youth sports programs across the state, which he believes will help young people learn about teamwork. He stressed how youth need to take a break from technology and instead turn their attention towards sports.
Bullock believes that a strong community is the key to making the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic games as good as possible. Utah already encourages athletes from over 30 countries to come to Utah to practice, which he said isn’t something all Olympic venues allow. Bullock also announced a new program called the "Athletes Families Initiative," which plans to supply housing, translators, and transportation to each of the athletes’ families that travel to Utah (often under short notice) to support and cheer for the athlete in the family. These visiting families will stay at the "Athletes Families Village," whose goal is to enable local residents to build community with Olympic families during their stay.
Bullock mentioned the International Olympic Committee visited Utah last weekend. They were amazed by Utah's beautiful landscapes and state-of-the-art venues, but most of all, they were impressed by how welcoming Utahns were. Bullock proposed that if the supportive community mindet in Utah continues to get stronger, the 2034 games will be better. He challenged companies in Utah's business sector to build up their own communities, as their communities are an important part of Utah’s community. Bullock believes community building is a statewide effort, and everyone can play a role in improving the state in preparation for the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Bullock also welcomed the Utah 100 awardees, greeted them and posed for pictures as the winners took the stage.
Pure Healthcare took the No. 1 spot at the 30th annual 2024 Utah 100 awards event. First presented in 1994, the Utah 100 is MWCN’s yearly list of the fastest-growing companies in the state.
"Pure Healthcare’s patient-focused mission has been essential to their incredibly fast growth as more people benefit from affordable, quality care through its network of providers," said Chris Badger, chair of the MWCN Utah 100 committee. “Healthcare companies have trended upward on the Utah 100 for the past several years, pointing to greater need for better, more efficient healthcare options, including medical information and services provided."
The top place for the Top 15 Annual Revenue category went to Layton Construction, second place to Zions Bancorporation, and third place to Extra Space Storage.
For the Utah 100 category, the top award went to Pure Healthcare, second place to Motos America, and third place to Gabb.
See full list of the 2024 MountainWest Capital Network Utah 100:
2024 Top 15 Revenue:
2024 Emerging Elite (in alphabetical order):
According to MWCN's methodology, Utah 100 honorees were determined using a weighted calculation of percentage and dollar growth over a five year period, through December 2023.
MWCN ranked companies in the Top 15 Revenue category based on the highest total dollar growth over the past five years.
The Emerging Elite represents a list of organizations less than five years old that show the most promise of future growth.
Companies were allowed to be recognized in only one category.
