Ball Ventures hires new asset manager

Tahri Molifua

Tahri Molifua has joined Ball Ventures as an asset manager. He was most recently with The Richman Group, a large, privately held multi-family residential property owner. As an associate, he performed acquisition and property management for the company's Orange County team.

He attended Brigham Young University - Idaho,  where he majored in communications, then went on to study at Cornell University, where he received an MPS Real Estate degree. He returns to Idaho with his wife, Kehaulani, and their three children.

FleetPride buys out Trane's Diesel

FleetPride, Inc., the nation's largest independent aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, announced Monday that it has acquired the assets of Trane's Diesel Service, Inc. in Idaho Falls. This acquisition includes a 23,000-square-foot facility with 14 service bays located at 683 East Iona Road.

Trane's Diesel is a full-service repair, maintenance, service and parts facility founded in 2002 by Cal Trane and his sons Joel and Andy Trane. Cal Trane will stay on in a consulting role and both Joel and Andy Trane will join FleetPride in management roles. Employment offers were extended to all employees.

The company recently acquired six other locations in Idaho and Utah. "This is a well-run business in a location FleetPride has been interested in for some time," said Lee Stockseth, FleetPride's chief operating officer.

A sweet surprise from the past

I could sing the praises of Sarah's Candy Cottage for any number of reasons -- the truffle and fudge samples, the dozen-plus different kinds of licorice -- but nothing compares to the excitement I felt last month when I discovered they had Bonomo Turkish Taffy.

"I thought they stopped making this years ago!" I thought, as I loaded up the bucket with the individually wrapped pieces.

Based on my rhapsodizing about the Slurpee in a previous post, you've probably figured out that anything sweet from my childhood is going to get me going pretty good. As many Baby Boomers can attest, Turkish Taffy is probably best remembered for the way we smacked a bar of it in its foil wrapper against a tabletop or sidewalk. Harder than salt water taffy, it could keep you occupied for a while and take a few fillings from you in the bargain.

Turns out it did disappear in the 1980s, after Hershey's bought Bonomo, monkeyed with the formula and renamed it. It was resurrected in 2010 by some fifty-somethings with fond memories. Here's to them, and here's a link to a story than ran in Fortune Magazine: http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/27/bonomos-turkish-taffy-returns/

Contractor seeks subcontractor bids for BYU-Idaho apartment project

The 43-unit apartment, as rendered above, will be at West Fourth South and South Fourth West.

Brigham Young University-Idaho is building a five-story, 43-unit apartment project to be used as women’s housing.

Headwaters Construction is seeking subcontractor bids by March 22 for Birch Legacy Apartments, an off-campus project planned for West Fourth South and South Fourth West streets in Rexburg.

Headwaters, which is based in Victor and has a Rexburg office, has built other housing for BYU-Idaho, including a larger complex completed in December for women.

“They have asked the community to come up with housing,” Headwaters President Stan Marshall said. “They are basically increasing enrollment as housing is built.”

Project architect Douglas Gibson, of Eagle-based DG Group Architecture, said the site is in a Rexburg zoning overlay district that calls for higher-density residential uses and pedestrian access close to the BYU-Idaho campus.

The apartments will be owned by The Pacific Companies and Braintree Development, both of Eagle, and Rexburg resident Trent Birch.

Construction on the $5.5 million, 75,000-square-foot building will start in April and is expected to take about a year. The complex will have exercise and tanning rooms, common-area meeting space, a media room, and on-site storage for each unit, Gibson said.

IAAP seeks vendors for April 19 semiar, exhibitors fair

The Eagle Rock Chapter of Idaho Association of Administrative Professionals is seeking vendors for the exhibitors fair at its annual professionals seminar, April 19 at the Red Lion on the Falls. Vendor space is $60.

The seminar offers a great opportunity for professionals to network with each other, said event coordinator Natalie Hebard. For a vendor packet, email her at natalie.hebard@inl.gov or call 526-9332 and leave your name, type of business and contact information. Anyone interested in being a sponsor is welcome to call as well, she said.

The theme of this year's seminar is "Making The Leap To Remarkable." The featured speaker is Jasmine Freeman, chief executive assistant to Joan Burge, CEO of Office Dynamics. As a strategic business partner to Burge, Freeman is involved in a number of the business' aspects, including the company's social media initiative. Freeman is the company's blogger, and has contributed to the books "Life Choices: Putting the Pieces Together," "Life Choices: It's Never Too Late" and the recently published "Who Took My Pen ... Again?"

Registration, due no later than April 9, is $125 and includes lunch and refreshments. If you have questions or concerns, contact the registrar, Anita Thompson, at 526-9528, or email anita.thompson@inl.gov.

Mayor's Scholarship Fund winners announced for 2012

Twenty-seven local students have been named recipients of the Mayor’s Scholarship Fund for 2012.

In its seventh year, the program was expanded to include 15 Senior Scholarships to graduating high school seniors (previously there were 12) and a dozen Promise Awards to scholars in eighth through 11th grade.

Recipients of the Senior Scholarship receive $1,500 to help cover tuition at an accredited institute of higher learning in the state of Idaho.

The Promise Award is $500 and is given to students who maintain a college-bound path. Promise Award funds can also be used to pay for dual credit classes while students are still in high school.

The recipients will be honored April 25 at the Mayor’s Scholarship Fund Awards Event, at the Red Lion Hotel on the Falls.

Mayor Jared D. Fuhriman launched the scholarship program in 2006 as a way to demonstrate the city’s commitment to its youth. It’s overseen by the Idaho Falls District 91 Foundation and relies on the support of local residents, business owners and corporations.

The money that is raised goes to scholarships; an endowment for the scholarship fund; a College Pathway account to help educate students and parents; and the annual awards event.

The fund has distributed tens of thousands of dollars and awarded 139 scholarships to local students in the “forgotten middle” – those whose families are not able to support them financially through college but who are unable to qualify for financial aid.

Anyone interested in attending the function or in sponsoring the Mayor’s Scholarship Fund is encouraged to contact Cami Smith at 525-7506 or smitcami@d91.k12.id.us.

By school, here are this year's recipients

Senior Awards

Emerson
Andrea Black

Hillcrest
Callie Evans
Emily Edwards
Gabrielle Phillips
Hannah Sarah Scalia
Amy Tracy

Idaho Falls
Ethan Fisher
Alisa Kuharske
Jessica Marboe
Alex Zwahlen

Skyline
Jared Hinckley

Bonneville
Nichelle Hutchings
Asucena Leon
Galilea Lavariega
Roxana Nava

Promise Awards

Taylorview
Nathan Burton

Skyline
Karina Cruz Flores

Home schooled
Isaac Hassel

Rocky Mountain
Logan Holverson

Eagle Rock
Amanda Higley

Bonneville
Jordan Likes
David Rivas
Christie Seedall

Sandcreek
Natalie Mihu
Kaitlyn Peterson
Hailey Saunders
Laurana Wheeler

Deadline is Tuesday for tradeshow booth reservations

If you are thinking about having a booth at the 10th Annual Area Business Connections Tradeshow, to be held at March 27 at Idaho Falls High School, the deadline is this Tuesday (March 13).

As part of the annual Mayor's Business Day, the show offers area businesses and organizations the opportunity to display their products and services to a wide number of people. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. in the high school gym.

There will be prizes, including an iPod Touch and $500 in cash, for anyone who visits  every vendor booth.

Signing up gets you:

• a 10-by-8-foot booth with standard draped back wall and side
• an 8-foot table with two chairs
• Internet and electrical access
• a listing in the flyer and program directory
• a listing on Powerpoint to run during the Grow Idaho Falls Luncheon Presentation
• live mentions on Riverbend Communication radio stations during event

Click here for an application: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109493549661&s=2718&e=001YD-RMmIb9AEgkR0DPTleFXyFmJwkAARTzUSebdo1OzqVQABE93iYujnZWSYMJBF-JBl8KciQaOyYm0wb5ftgqIVb5ZlyMmwOFIvY3ovnfGZ3VwWx4XXYlPoYb8801Og4yAVt6poPXMD-Y7yqBkHOEqrKCbZQoFDoRf9RBNnBwddeJdQJuiTaz11ArcOzDUHzJNNvfZUNYR8=

For more information, contact Kerry McCullough at the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, (208) 523-1010 or kmccullough@idahofallschamber.com