This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah boasts one of America's most vibrant economies, which is in part due to the many outstanding businesses that call Utah home. Each year, the Best of State awards program honors several of Utah's most celebrated organizations. From mom-and-pop shops to high-tech startups, the Best of State awards program aims to recognize outstanding individuals and businesses that are making are making waves in the state. Though each award-winning organization is different, they are all dedicated to the same mission of building a business that enhances our community.

Craig Norman of award-winner Hobble Creek Golf Course thanks the many individuals who have helped his company grow. "There is a lot of hard work by many people that help make Hobble Creek successful," he says. "It's a team effort, and it's great to be a part of."

Carrie Biggers-Burnett, owner of Carrie's Cakes, says she enjoys seeing her customer's smile. "When I think about my company's future, I am most excited to be able to continue to play such an important role in the happiest of life's special occasions," she says.

Mark Paulson, president of Park'n JET, says he is honored to receive the Best of State award. "This award was not merely the result of the efforts of one or two individuals, rather it represents a by-product of the collective efforts of the entire organization," he says. "This award sends the message to each employee that he or she clearly is making a difference to the organization and to the community."

Michael Tobian, CEO and owner of Utah Life Bands, advises entrepreneurs that in order to win at business, you don't need others to lose. "Build up those around you and help them to be successful," he says. "Do that enough and the work will just flow in."

In the following pages, we honor four of Utah's Best of State winners: Hobble Creek Golf Course, Carrie's Cakes, Park'n JET and Utah Life Bands. Though they are vastly different organizations, it is clear that they are each dedicated to excellence and deserve the Best of State designation.

Hobble Creek Golf Course, named after the stream that meanders through Hobble Creek Canyon a few miles east of Springville, Utah, is renowned for its spectacular tree-covered, mountain-surrounded scenery. The oak, box elder, choke cherry, aspen, poplar, maple, pine and cottonwood trees that in autumn display their resplendent reds, oranges and yellows and the multitude of wildlife including trout, deer, elk, moose, turkey, and the occasional black bear, became a source of recreational potential for Springville's city fathers in the mid-1960s.

After completing the first nine holes in 1967, constructing a clubhouse and driving range in 1970 and the second nine in 1973, the course became a regulation eighteen hole golf facility that soon became a host of major state, regional and collegiate amateur tournaments.

The list of important golf events held at Hobble Creek Golf Course is impressive. As the site of the 1996 Utah State Amateur, it was one of the few public courses to host the prestigious event. It has also hosted numerous other state-wide sanctioned events including Utah State Mid-Amateurs, Utah Junior Golf Association State Tournaments, and Utah State high school boys and girls championships. The ever popular and hotly contested Art City Amateur and Hobble Creek Ladies Invitational are two of the best tournaments in the state of Utah, having created and maintained a reputation for not only an immaculately maintained golf course with subtle, but with the highest standard of professionalism in tournament hosting.

Indeed, since the Hobble Creek Golf Course became a regulation eighteen hole golf course, it has established itself as one of the best and most popular courses in Utah and beyond, public or private, being recognized nationally by Golf Digest as a one of the "best values in North America" in 2000-2001 and given a "Best Places to Play" four and one-half star rating in 2000-2001 and 2006-2007. Only 200 golf courses received these awards out of a possible 18,000! It has also been voted the best public golf course in Utah and similarly by the Provo Daily Herald's "Best of Utah Valley."

Of course, it is not just that Hobble Creek Golf Course is superbly designed in a one-of-a kind natural setting or its affordability that makes it a special place. The professionalism and integrity of its pro shop and course maintenance staff are key reasons BYU Women's golf team made it its home course for over 25 years and the site of its annual BYU Invitational and Utah Valley University's golf team has recently chosen it for its Hobble Creek Collegiate Invitational.

Visit Hobble Creek Golf Course for more information. Find us on Twitter and follow us on Facebook for special deals.

Carrie Biggers-Burnett took a cake decorating class at a local middle school in 1978 because she wanted to make fun cakes for her kids' birthdays. That little hobby has since become a full-time professional endeavor, and has taken Carrie all over the country demonstrating and teaching the art of cake decorating, competing for big prize money on TLC's "The Ultimate Cake Off," and being featured in many national publications, including Martha Stewart Weddings and People magazine.

While her kids were young she supplemented the family in come as a caterer and a wedding gown seamstress, until she found a way to combine both passions by creating cakes adorned with lace and flowers, bows and beads made entirely of sugar. Her basement sewing room was eventually taken over by a licensed commercial kitchen that boasts more square footage than her home's entire living space! Although while in school she avoided art classes like the plague, Carrie now receives comments on her website like the following: "You are a true artist. Your work is exquisite. . . . I was stunned by the beauty and artistry in your cakes."

Carrie has raised the bar for custom cake designers everywhere. And in the local market, she's become the go-to person when a client has a wild and crazy idea they want to see turned into a cake. Want an edible six-foot bridge? Call Carrie. Want a delicious model of the Utah State Capitol building? Call Carrie. Want a five-foot high replica of the Walker Center tower, including 750 cut out windows, revolving glass doors (sugar syrup, of course), and even the iconic flashing lights on the top? Yep. You guessed it—call Carrie. She loves a good challenge ... obviously.

But Carrie's reputation goes far beyond Utah's boundaries. She was voted one of the "Top 100 Cake Designers in the United States" in 2013 by Brides Magazine, and was listed among the "Top 63 Pastry Pros in the U.S." by Martha Stewart in 2014. She is a frequent guest on national—as well as local—television programs and has been featured on episodes of three different TLC competitions, including the "Ultimate Cake Off" and "Outrageous Kids Birthday Parties." And lest you think the beauty of her creations is only skin deep, when she competed on TLC's "Ultimate Cake Off," she was awarded the prize for "best-tasting cake." Her cakes taste as good as they look.

In addition to creating an average of 450 custom masterpieces a year, Carrie has become a master teacher in her Sandy School of Cake Design. Her classes and seminars have drawn students from as far away as Kuwait, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Belgium, and Australia. And for those who can't travel to Utah to learn at her feet, she has produced a popular series of five instructional DVDs that are helping Carrie share her talents with people all over the world.

For more information about Carrie's Cakes, visit our social media pages:

Catching a flight is often the most stressful part of any trip, particularly when pressed for time. With little time to spare, imagine searching for an open parking space amidst a "sea of cars" at the airport parking lot. After locating a space, you rush from your car with baggage in hand, racing across the lot in search of the nearest shuttle. Undoubtedly, this process can be unnerving.

Park'n JET has carefully designed its parking service to take the hassle out of parking and make parking EASY. We are more than just a "Parking Lot", offering parking products and car care services to meet your individual needs. We believe that our parking service is just as quick if not faster than other on-site airport parking alternatives.

For added convenience, make a reservation for your Salt Lake City Airport parking at www.parknjet.com before your next trip. Check in on our Facebook page and become eligible to win a free meal on us. Upon arrival at our lot, you will be greeted by a booth attendant who will help you determine the parking service that best fits your needs and will instruct you where to park to secure a space.

Immediately thereafter a shuttle driver will be dispatched to meet you at your car. Park'n JET provides complimentary luggage assistance. Enjoy a short, five minute trip to the airport terminal after leaving the lot. While you are away on your trip, schedule to have your car professionally serviced or detailed. See http://www.parknjet.com/auto-services for a description and pricing of our services.

After returning from your trip, simply call Park'n JET at (801) 596-7275 to request pick up after you have your luggage. Our shuttles generally arrive 5 to 10 minutes after receiving your call. Complimentary baggage assistance is again provided. Before leaving our lot, treat yourself to a free car wash using our automated touchless car wash and free bottled water.

Park'n JET offers many attractive discounts (e.g. AAA, Military, and Senior Citizen Discount) and coupons. We also offer several appealing programs including: Corporate, MVP (Most Valuable Parker), Prepaid, and Monthly Parking.

Most popular is our MVP Program, which allows members to receive $1 off Standard and $2 off Covered Parking per day. Additionally, members earn frequent parker points for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for free parking and car care services. Other benefits include online account access allowing users to view/redeem parking rewards points, print receipts from past trips, and express exit capability. Register for our MVP Program at http://www.parknjet.com/customer/register.

We routinely email our customers special promotions. Sign up to receive special deals on our Park'n JET home page under the section "GET SPECIAL OFFERS". We invite you to use our parking service next time you travel and see how Park'n JET makes parking EASY.

Utah Live Bands was started in 2005 by Michael Tobian to help him pay for his studies as a music major at Brigham Young University. At the time they only offered a couple small jazz combos for background music for weddings and small parties. Ten years later, they have produced dozens and dozens of bands and entertainment groups for some of the world's largest companies and celebrities. They are a 10 time Best of State winner, have sent their bands and entertainers all over the world (to 4 different continents) and have seen tremendous growth each year they have been in business. Their national marketing arm of their business is DanceBands.com

Unlike most booking agencies, the Utah Live Bands entertainment groups are almost all produced and created or managed exclusively by Utah Live Bands. Because of their intimate involvement in the actual product, they are able to oversee the quality and consistency of everything they book out. Also, because their bands book exclusively through them, middle man costs are avoided for the client as clients end up working directly with the source.

In addition to bands, the company can handle almost all aspect of an event, from audio visual to the actual entertainment and planning. They are constantly adding new acts and keeping with current trends with events. Some of their most recent and unique productions are:

1- Amplifly Aerial Band, a dance bands that flies through the air on harnesses and aerial equipment as they play.

2- Utah Casino Events, where they host corporate, modern and classy Casino Parties

3- Dinosaur Events, a dinosaur show/roaming dinosaur performers that perform in 15 foot long, realistic dinosaur outfits.

4- Drive Country Band, a band that specializes in teaching guests line dances and acts like a party band for country themed events

Each year, Utah Live Bands starts 3 or 4 new acts, usually quite large productions. They keep with current and trending themes in the corporate event market and fill spaces in the industry where they feel there is a lack of quality entertainment in a particular segment of the industry. Some of Utah Live Bands most popular bands include the Groove Merchants, the Salamanders, Voodoo Box, Shaun Canon and the Pops Orchestra, the Utah Swing Orchestra, the Dance Doctors, Jersey Street, the Famous Unknowns and many more.