Lögberg-Heimskringla - 18.06.2004, Side 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 18 June 2004
Loftsalir
appropriate in
Salt Lake City
ln the hílls overlooking Salt Lake City,
Utah, is a beautiful spot, the only flat lot
on the.hill. The name of the house on the
property is Loftsalir. This is where Jaye
and Eric Olafson live, only about a five-
minute drive from the downtown area
where they run their business, Tomax
Corporation. Steinþór Guðbjartsson
enjoyed their company and the magnifi-
cent view.
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Jaye and Eric Olafson in front of their house in Salt Lake City, Utah.
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
The view of Salt Lake City from Loftsalir is breathtaking.
Steinþór Guðbjartsson
Salt Lake City, UT
Icelanders and people of
Icelandic descent can be found
all over the world. About one
million people live in Salt Lake
City, and according to a quick
survey only one house in the
city has an Icelandic name:
Loftsalir.
“It is a by-product of com-
ing from Gimli,” Says Eric, the
son of Lois and Irvin Olafson in
Gimli, Manitoba. “It’s a part of
our culture and our history. My
father in particular has a great
influence on that thinking. The
unique location of our home
with its view resulted in a dis-
cussion with historian Nelson
Gerrard about a name. He
called it Loftsalir, which in a
loose translation rneans ‘Halls
in the Clouds.’”
Software for retail
Tomax Corporation was
founded in Salt Lake City in
1981. In 1988 Eric joined the
company as a consultant, and
two years later he bought out
the original founder, along with
two co-founders, and Jaye
joined. When they started, the
company had only six employ-
ees. Now they are about 170,
and more than 100 branded
retail chains representing thou-
sands of stores have licenced
Tomax products.
“Tomax is the leading
provider of centrally hosted
solutions for retail store opera-
tions management,” says Eric.
The idea is to significantly
reduce the cost of managing a
retail business. “With our solu-
tion, called Retail.net, all the
data and the applications are
centrally located.”
So are the headquarters of
Tomax in Salt Lake City. It is
the former home of the Sweet’s
Candy Company which was
established in 1908. Tomax
bought the building in 1999,
and after renovation and recon-
struction the facilities were
ready one year before the open-
ing of the 2002 Olympic Winter
Garnes in Salt Lake City.
A unique place
Jaye and Eric make as
much use of the surroundings as
possible. They ski and hike in
the mountains around the city,
which is about a mile high, and
run and bike in the hills.
Eric hardly has strong
enough words to describe Utah
and what the state has to offer.
“Utah is wonderful environ-
ment, for its business climate,
access to quality technical peo-
ple, and access to the rnajor
centers of the United States.
And socially and personally, it’s
a great place, featuring what our
licence plates describe as the
‘greatest snow on earth.’ From a
lifestyle and business perspec-
tive, Utah is very unique.”
Great discovery
Icelanders started to emi-
grate to Utah 149 years ago
because of their religion. Three
Icelanders settled in Spanish
Fork in 1855, and it is believed
thal about 80,000 people of Ice-
landic descent live in Utah. The
Icelandic Association in Utah
has about 500 people on its
mailing list, and about 200 of
them are active members. Jaye
and Eric are not Mormons but
they support the Icelandic
Association.
During the 2002 Olympic
Winter Games the Tomax
building was designated as the
“Iceland House” and it was the
headquarters of the Icelandic
delegation. One evening they
had an open house and about
700 guests, rnainly of Icelandic
descent, were in attendance.
“Coming from Gimli it
was a natural thing to make the
connection to the Utah Ice-
landers, rnost of whom are
Mormons,” Eric says, and adds
that men like consul J. Brent
Haymond had shown rnuch
interest in strengthening the
ties with Gimli, Manitoba. “A
few years ago Brent Haymond
and I went to Gimli and we had
a great session with everyone
there. The Olympic Games
were an occasion to get away
from Gimli versus Manitoba
versus Utah and strictly focus
on Iceland. It was wonderful to
discover that were we come to
live was also, coincidentally,
íhe first settlement of lcelandic
people outside of Iceland. We
have tried to rnake the connect-
tion.”

ASSOCÍAOOT)
OF UCAlX hK.
I"U#T Ort’HE KOX M4, a'AWSH IVKK, l'TAU 84BÍ0 USA
June 23 - 26, 2005
‘Wi ffXMÍU
The Icelandic Association of Utah
will be celebrating 150 years
since the first Icelanders came to Utah.
The theme for the 2005 celebration in Utah is
(leMemke/Uaa Uu
Plan now
TO ATTEND
m ii um mn mv 'nsNiwi m u wmr Niir'rSiirN ik rim \ rin wmhhi