scottsdalechamber.com
MEMBER COMMUNIQUÉ December 2013 - March 2014
The 28th annual Sterling Awards are now in the books, and as always we have seen tremendous interest in applying for this prestigious honor and tremendous judges whose job in selecting an honoree proved most challenging. The Sterling Awards themselves speak volumes about the business community. The process is rigorous. From application to interviews to site visits, the entire Rick Kidder Sterling process is handled by volunteers who dedicate weeks of meetings, review and care to ensuring that the Sterling Awards truly reflect excellence in business and integrity of judging. Beyond coordinating the schedules and planning the event itself, Chamber staff step aside and let the volunteers do their work. Running totally against our natures, we on the staff stay completely out of the process, permit ourselves no input into the selection of finalists and honorees, and allow the cadre of nearly 50 dedicated volunteers to accomplish their daunting task on behalf of the organization. This year’s committee was chaired by Susan Potje of Celebration of Fine Art and Steve Helm from Scottsdale Fashion Square, both previous honorees of the Sterling Award. Dale Fingersh, for whom the Chamber’s annual volunteer award is named, chaired the judging committee, comprised of business people from companies large and small. This year’s Sterling Awards were sponsored by companies whose names are synonymous with excellence as well. Microsoft was our marquee sponsor. Our Big Business sponsor was Scottsdale Healthcare. Cox Media sponsored the Small Business award, and Magellan Health Services showed its commitment to the hard-working entrepreneurs of the Microbusiness category. Lastly, APS once again sponsored the NonProfit award. SRP provided tens of thousands of dollars in support by filming and editing all of the finalists’ videos,
Photograph courtesy of City of Scottsdale
Message from the CEO
The Case for McDowell Road The Early Days All cities in metropolitan Phoenix have been in a constant state of change for many decades. Phoenix has grown to become the nation’s fourth-largest city. Scottsdale has evolved from being a relatively sleepy suburban community into an economic powerhouse while continuing to be a tourism mecca. But not all of Scottsdale has seen the kind of evolution that adds strongly to the economy or the city’s quality of life. Once vibrant and exciting, McDowell Road in Scottsdale, despite its many natural assets, has fallen on hard times. To understand its evolution, one must examine its storied past. Home to the first enclosed mall in Arizona, the once-mighty Los Arcos, the intersection of Scottsdale Road and McDowell was at one time one of the busiest intersections in the State of Arizona. The success of Los Arcos brought more success, and the Scottsdale Motor
Mile was born. Automobile dealerships, at its height representing 26 different car brands, sprang up on the north and south sides of this busy street. They were looking to capture folks venturing to Los Arcos, in part because (believe it or not) automobile purchases are more often than not impulse buys. Every community covets auto dealerships because our state and municipalities depend so heavily on sales tax revenue, and for many years McDowell Road was producing an astounding amount of retail sales tax for Scottsdale. It was also Scottsdale’s first tech and major employer center thanks to the massive Motorola presence, which opened in 1956 and has since become a research and manufacturing facility for General Dynamics. The residential areas of southern Scottsdale, most of which were built in the 1950s, supported the businesses of the area and provided much-needed workforce housing for this economic center of the city.
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