VOLUME 14 ISSUE 6
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HENRY F. SHELTON: THE SEABEE WHO SHAPED ARIZONA MIDCENTURY GOLF PHOENIX’S BEHIND-THE-SCENES GOLF CHAMPION: FORREST RICHARDSON PAPAGO GOLF COURSE: BUILT ON A SITE OF MONUMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR MURRAY WENTWORTH’S GOLF LEGACY HOW THE ARIZONA COUNTRY CLUB EMERGED FROM THE INGLESIDE INN
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HOW AI IS TRANSFORMING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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MCCARTHY FINISHES WEST-MEC EDUCATION CENTER BUILDING
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Subscriptions: Online at arizcc.com Serving Contracting Firms and the Arizona Community… Then & Now Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec). ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, equipment rentals, suppliers, and others interested in Arizona and its history. Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions. ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and reserves the right to edit all submitted content material. Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2025 All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS Contributors - Eric Benson & Brian Kassalen From The Editor: My Father’s Golf Shot That Almost Changed History - Douglas Towne Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices Back When: Don’t Tee Off the Golf Sponsors Douglas Towne Tucson National: A Golf Course with Chi-Town Construction Roots - Billy Horner Papago Golf Club: A Course Built on the Site of Monumental Significance - Douglas Towne Phoenix’s Behind-The-Scenes Golf Champion: Forrest Richardson - Douglas Towne Henry F. Shelton: The Seabee Who Shaped Arizona’s Midcentury Golf Courses - Billy Horner Scottsdale’s Century Golf Course: Where a Contractor Hit the First Hole-in-One - Billy Horner Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Forrest M. Cox Billy Horner Old School Equipment: The Caterpillar 619 Scraper: A Mid-Century Earthmoving Pioneer - Billy Horner Building on the Past: 1985 - Pulice Constructs Tournament Players Club Scottsdale - Billy Horner Architect’s Perspective: Ingleside Club Legacy Doug Sydnor, FAIA Digging Through the Archives: Murray Wentworth: A Life Built with Integrity and Iron - Billy Horner Bid Results Advertising Index
Front Cover A photo collage from Tucson National Golf Course. Article on page 48
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CONTRIBUTORS S OA K IN T H E R E L AXAT I O N ERIC BENSON
BRIAN KASSALEN
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castlehotsprings.com | 844.276.8052 | Morristown, Arizona
TEN
ric Benson is the Chief Executive Officer of Benson Systems, Inc., a leading provider of integrated security and fire protection solutions based in Gilbert, Arizona. A hands-on leader with a deep-rooted understanding of the industry, Eric’s journey with the company began at just 16 years old, working in the warehouse and gaining firsthand experience with the systems that now define the company’s success. Over the past two decades, Eric has worked his way through nearly every department at Benson Systems, holding roles that include Field Technician, Purchasing Manager, Service Manager, Director of Sales, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Business Officer. His progression reflects a rare blend of operational expertise, financial acumen, and strategic vision. As CEO, Eric leads a team of approximately 100 professionals and has overseen significant company growth and innovation, positioning Benson Systems as a trusted name in commercial and industrial security across the Southwest. He is known for fostering a culture of accountability, adaptability, and continuous improvement. A lifelong learner, Eric completed the Senior Executive Program through the Arizona Builders Alliance in 2022, further refining his leadership capabilities. His story is one of resilience and a relentless drive to elevate the standards of safety, service, and technology in the security industry.
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rian Kassalen is a partner with Baker Tilly International, a consulting and public accounting firm, and serves as the construction industry leader. He has been in public accounting since 1998 and leads a team of professionals who provide audit, tax, and advisory services to clients in the real estate and construction industries. Brian provides leadership and strategic direction in areas of growth and team member development to the firm’s construction-focused partners and team members. He frequently presents continuing education in construction, auditing, and accounting. As a CPA, Brian is active in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). The PICPA previously recognized him as one of the “40 Under 40 to Watch” in accounting. Brian’s interest in construction extends to his personal life as well. He and his wife have renovated multiple houses. They often roll up their sleeves and do some construction work during those projects. When he is not working or completing a home improvement project, Brian spends time with his wife and kids. If he has any additional free time after that, he can be found on the golf course.
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EDITOR’S COLUMN: MY FATHER’S GOLF SHOT THAT ALMOST CHANGED HISTORY DOUGLAS TOWNE
O
ver the years, we’ve noticed that many individuals featured in our employee spotlight enjoy relaxing away from the job by hitting the links. So, in that spirit, we’re putting out a special golf-themed issue. Though I don’t play the sport much these days, I can relate to the satisfaction of nailing the perfect drive that cuts the dogleg or rolling in a long par-saving putt. Of course, memories of sculling a chip shot over the green and wanting to toss my club in a nearby pond also come to mind. My favorite outings include the magical round where I shot par and could do no wrong at the Cochiti Golf Club in 1992. The ball just seemed to find the hole while playing at the New Mexico course with my old University of Arizona friend, Joe Davis. I don’t know what golf vein I tapped, but it was an incredible experience that has yet to happen again. That event was topped only by hosting the one and only Babcock Inn – Raoul TWELVE
Duke Invitational at Tucson’s Arthur Pack Golf Course in 1986. Davis finished at the top of the leaderboard in that hybrid tournament. However, Mark “Lono” Lundgren made a gallant run for the title on the final hole with his unorthodox club selection, which all who witnessed will never forget. But, as fun as these events were, they couldn’t touch my father’s legendary shot, which almost changed history. In the late 1950s, Robert “Bob” Towne occasionally played at Wellshire Golf Course, a public links course near our house in southeast Denver. My father would stop by alone and be paired with shorthanded foursomes, which one day included Murray Armstrong, the famed University of Denver hockey coach who won five national titles, and Alexander Bryans, a pastor from the University Park United Methodist Church. While having a Coke following the round, the reverend asked my father if he wanted to accompany him to play at Cherry Hills
Images Courtesy of Author
Country Club. This nearby private course has hosted 14 national championships. “The pastor said his flock had provided an annual membership for him,” Bob wrote decades later about the event. This was during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency, when “Ike” had summer White Houses in Denver, where he played golf and bridge, and in the mountain town of Frasier, where he fished. This connection stemmed from First Lady Mamie Doud Eisenhower, who was raised in Denver and had a park named in her honor, a block from my house. Here, many years later, my family scattered our parents’ ashes among its cottonwood trees that grew along the Highline Canal. On an early Saturday morning, my father and the pastor teed off at Cherry Hills. Upon reaching the #9 hole, the action began. “It was a strange hole,” Bob wrote. “It went straight up and veered to the right, and the green was not visible.” My father chunked his drive to the right, and the ball ended up in brush and debris at Top left: Robert Towne with his soon-to-be wife, Erma Engel Towne, 1947. Top right: General Dwight Eisenhower and Lt. General Lucius Clay at Berlin’s Gatow Airport, 1946. Above: Mamie Doud Eisenhower Park in Denver, 2006. NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2025
the bottom of the hill. “Of course, I couldn’t see the green and was grousing to myself over the poor drive,” Bob wrote. Then, way up the hill to the left, Dad spied a fellow looking at him, waving him on. “I thought it was strange as it wasn’t the pastor doing the waving, but a wave is a wave,” he wrote. “I was angry but determined to try and avenge that poor drive and save a respectable score for the front nine.” My father managed to accomplish his goal and more. “I did everything right, and the ball sailed out and over the hill,” he wrote. “I scrambled up that incline, but the hole was situated so you couldn’t see the green until it was next to you, like land appearing on the ocean aboard a ship.” Upon reaching the putting green, my father encountered President Eisenhower, Lucius D. Clay, commander of American Forces in Europe, who orchestrated the Berlin Airlift, and several others. A Secret Service agent ran over to Dad and said, “You know who you almost hit with your shot?” “Don’t tell me it was President Eisenhower?!” my father gasped. “That’s right,” the agent responded. My father then said that someone near the green had motioned him to hit the ball. “That was me!” the agent replied. “But I didn’t think you could reach the hole after a
Images Courtesy of Author
poor drive like that.” It turned out that President Eisenhower and his entourage were on the 9th green warming up because the practice green was being fertilized. Later, after that dramatic scene, my father and the pastor were having lunch at the clubhouse. They were seated by a window, but also had a view of a large private dining room with its doors open. “There was a long table filled with Eisenhower’s guests
and their wives,” Bob wrote. “It was inspiring to me as President Eisenhower went to each of his guests around the table, one by one, to see about their well-being before eating.” My father concluded the memory by writing, “I’ve had two heroes in my life: Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Baruch.” And he almost conked one of them with a golf ball.
Top right: Lisa Kyger, Mark Lundgren, and Susan Olsen at the Babcock Inn - Raoul Duke Invitational, 1986. Right: Babcock Inn - Raoul Duke Invitational reunion: Mark Lundgren, Douglas Towne, and Joe Davis (l-r) at Mountain Brook Golf Course, 2023. Below: A pin flag at Cherry Hills Country Club.
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Back When
DON’T TEE OFF THE GOLF SPONSORS DOUGLAS TOWNE
D
uring the 1960s and 1970s, many Professional Golf Association tournaments partnered with entertainers who enjoyed swinging a mashie niblick. From 1972-75, the Old Pueblo promoted its PGA event as the Dean Martin Tucson Open (more on “Dino Martini” later). The celebrities who hosted golf tournaments, often to support local charities, also included Glen Campbell, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Garagiola, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Ed McMahon, Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, and Andy Williams. These golf events took place across the country, including Hartford, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, the Quad Cities, Palm Springs, and San Diego. The Phoenix Open never relied on a big-name entertainer to help market the
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tournament. This likely stemmed from the dedication of the Phoenix Thunderbirds, a nonprofit group comprising 55 A-list men who have long hosted the event to support various nonprofit organizations. By the 1980s, however, celebrity-hosted golf events were struggling to offer significant prize money. As a result, the tournaments began shifting toward more lucrative corporate sponsorships to remain relevant. Eventually, the Phoenix Open followed this trend, rebranding as the FBR Open in 2003 and then as the WM Phoenix Open in 2010. Still, back in the day, the Phoenix Open benefited from some high-profile stars whacking the ball around. The 1972 tournament featured Dean Martin in its pro-am, alongside George Blanda, Bob Hope, and
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Lawrence Welk. An admission ticket to see golf pros mingling with these celebrities on the course was $6. These days, that sum wouldn’t even buy a cold beer at the tournament, which is now known as “The Greatest Show on Grass” or, perhaps more accurately, “The Biggest Party in Golf.” Odds are, Dino would be at the forefront of the festivities. Above: Dean Martin Tucson Open badge, 1972. Below: Dean Martin poses with spectators at the Phoenix Open Pro-Am Golf Tournament sponsored by The Phoenix Thunderbirds, 1972. Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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