September 2019

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People that “echo” Jeaneth Sanchez

CONNECTING SOUTHERN ARIZONA

6

Teacher of the Year Awards

National Childhood Obesity Awareness

10

Empowering Girls

13

Embracing Cultural Diversity

14

Mayor’s Corner-September

Border Eco Updates

CONTENT

We want to thank our readers and customers for their continued support. Your support helps us report on the great people, events, and organizations who make a difference in our community.

Our goal is to help connect Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz County is a unique bordertown rich in culture, and traditions. We are here to support our community. Please send us any information on any upcoming community events, meetings, or conferences.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter for the latest events, people, and organizations who make a difference in Santa Cruz County.

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People that “echo” Jeaneth Sanchez

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2019 Teacher of the Year Awards

10 Empowering Girls 13 Embracing Cultural Diversity 14 Mayor’s Corner-September

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15 The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program

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Border Eco | September 2019

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This month’s people that echo features Jeaneth Sanchez a rising star in Santa Cruz County. She is the Girl Scouts membership specialist for Santa Cruz County.

Ms. Sanchez was born in Nogales, Sonora Mexico. She later immigrated to Nogales, Arizona with her parents and siblings, the youngest of 5 sisters. She is happily married and mother of a 7-year-old boy currently in 2nd grade attending Francisco Vasquez of Coronado Elementary.

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“I am fortunate to be in such a great community where people work together to advocate and support each other. I believe that we all need to belong, that sense of belonging is what connects me to Santa Cruz County,” said Jeaneth.

A membership specialist is responsible for membership engagement, retention, development, execution of programs, and sales. The role of the membership specialist is to assess the needs, wants and interests of each potential participant matching them to the appropriate youth programs.

“This is not just a “job” being a part of Girl Scouts means that I get to help and educate people, learn new things about the world, and have fun while I do it.

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It means doing things for people other than myself and feeling good about it. I have the opportunity to serve as a role model for many girls and that makes me extremely proud,”said Jeaneth.

“I explain to potential members the benefits of being part of Girl Scouts. I provide parents with a point of contact, a list of program participants and retention activities.

My accomplishments in this organization are many, from starting a new troop to hosting events for our members and the community. We provide resources and support for current Girl Scouts and volunteers as they learn and build new skills for the future,” said Ms. Sanchez.

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On Friday August 9, 2019, the 12th Annual Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony took place at the Americana/Quality Inn Mayan Ballroom.

With the soft sounds of guitarist Ivan Orellana in the background and the room decorated as an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party, the 20 nominated teachers made their way in and took their seats. This extraordinary group, were accompanied by their Superintendents, Principals, family and over 250 guests, who gathered to honor them. The splendid event was co-sponsored by the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velásquez, the Nogales Rotary Club and coordinated by the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent’s Accounting Specialist/ Special Events Coordinator Patricia BarrazaPreciado.

Brad Beach (right), named the teacher of the year winner from Pierson High School, posed with Nohe Garcia (left) of the Nogales Rotary Club and Patricia BarrazaPreciado and Alfredo Velasquez of the County Superintendent of Schools Office.

Photo by Byanca Parra

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The night started with the Rio Rico High School ROTC Color Guard, doing the presentation of colors, Ms. Maria Martinez singing the National Anthem, and Father Marcos Velasquez welcoming everyone with an opening prayer. Superintendent Alfredo I. Velásquez welcomed all guests and thanked all nominees and every teacher in our county, for their extraordinary dedication and commitment to the students of Santa Cruz County. While the guests enjoyed an amazing dinner, over 50 door prizes, which were donated by local businesses from throughout the county, were raffled to everyone in attendance. All proceeds from ticket sales for the dinner and raffle tickets that evening, will be designated to the William I. Rothstein Memorial Scholarship for graduating students in our County.

Master of Ceremonies Mrs. Patricia BarrazaPreciado introduced each of the 20 teacher of the year nominees with a short video on their philosophy on teaching as they took center stage and were award a trophy presented by County School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velasquez. They also received a Teacher of the Year Appreciation Platter consisting of a cash reward and assorted gift cards.

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Given the difficult task of selecting the 2019 Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year, were five incredible judges chosen from across the county. We are proud to announce and congratulate Mr. Brad Beach from Pierson High School, for being the recipient of the 2019 Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year Award. Mr. Beach will now represent Santa Cruz County at the state competition in Phoenix, this November.

Mr. Beach, was awarded the Teacher of the Year Trophy, $2,000.00 check, Stainless Steel BBQ, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, One night stay and golf day for two from Tubac Resort, $500.00 for Professional Development and prizes and gift cards from local community members, valued close to $4,000.00.

We also want to congratulate the 2019 Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year Runner-up from Desert Shadows Middle School, Mr. Jeff Gudenkauf. Mr. Gundenkauf, was presented the Runner-up trophy along with a $1000.00 check, Fire Pit donated from Home Depot, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, a one-night stay at Tubac Resort, $250.00 for Professional Development along with prizes and gift cards from local community members, valued close to $2,300.00.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Sponsors and Donors that made this event possible and a great success. We appreciate your support.

On behalf of the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velásquez and the Nogales Rotary Club President Mr. Nohe Garcia, we would like to thank all the community organizations and businesses for all their support in making the 2019 Santa Cruz County Teacher of the Year Awards Dinner Ceremony the most celebrated event in Santa Cruz County.

Also, a very special thank you to Ms. Patricia Barraza- Preciado, Accounting Specialist/Special Events Coordinator for the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent’s Office for making this event a memorable evening for all the Teacher of the Year Nominees.

List of Sponsors and Donors

South 32 Santa Cruz County School Superintendent’s Office Santa Cruz Community Foundation Panousopoulos Educational Foundation Unisource Nogales Rotary Club Mc Donald's Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District Nogales Unified School District First Bank of Yuma Mariposa Community Health Center Walmart Santa Cruz County Provisional Community College Cropper’s Nogales Auto Center Nogales Hall of Fame Horne Ford Wise Trucking J. C. Chamberlain Dist.

Southwest Educational Consulting Community Member Nogales Lions Club AXA Advisors Calixtro Distributing Jeong Lizardi, P.C. Shannon Brokerage The Trust Coogan and Martin, P.C. Nogales Women’s Club Zula’s Wisdom’s Restaurant

Santa Cruz County Treasurer Mr. Greg Lucero Santa Cruz County Manager Mr. Alfredo I. Velásquez Santa Cruz County Recorder Ms. Sabrina Hallman Tubac Resort and Spa Mr. Dino Panousopoulos El Zarape Restaurant Ms. Norma Lucero & Mr. Robert Guevara Home Depot Mr. Nohe Garcia Sunshine Dentistry Ms. Lee Ann Richards Jostens Mr. David Verdugo Byanca Parra Photography Mr. Fernando Parra Preciado Art Mr. David Esquivel Gariola’s Deli Mr. Ed Sicurello Italian Peasant Restaurant Mr. Jim Grow & Mr. Arnold Quijada Quality Inn Americana Hotel Dr. Stella Perez Nogales Chamber of Commerce Mr. Bill Swoger Ragazzi Restaurant Dr. Arnoldo Montiel Rascon Stylist Mr. Ken Griffen United Way Mr. and Mrs. George A. Wise La Cucaracha de Tubac Mr. Jaime Chamberlain Prep and Prime Nail Bar Mr. Mike Hughes Ambos Nogales Tours Ms. Irene Molera Elvira’s Restaurant Ms. Claudia Wise LM Photography Mr. Andres Escobedo & Mr. Patrick Chaboya Nogales U.S. Customs Brokers Association Mr. Charlie Calixtro Holiday Inn Mr. David Jeong Santa Cruz Elementary (Little Red) Mr. Terry Shannon Adair’s Mortuary Ms. Gail Zamar Bola’s Trucking LLC Mr. Daniel J. Coogan Santa Cruz County Chairman / Supervisor Ms. Marta Valenzuela Artist Sandra Davila Papachoris Family Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Wisdom Mr. and Mrs. Mark Valenzuela Mr. and Mrs. Hector Ramirez Honorable Judge Emilio Velásquez Honorable Judge Anna Paez Senator Andrea Dalessandro Mr. and Mrs. Michael Scott

Mrs. Liz Gutfahr Ms. Jennifer St. John Ms. Suzie Sainz & Mrs. Mary Lou Sainz Mr. Ricardo Velez Mrs. Socorro Hernandez Mr. Martin Lopez Dr. Bill Ardito Mr. Joe Grossi Mrs. Byanca Parra Young Mr. Luis Preciado Mr. and Mrs. Gustavo Acosta Ms. Kim Rocco Mr. Ken Loc Mrs. Olivia Ainza Kramer Mr. Jorge Leon Ms. Angelica Rascon Mrs. Marcela Chavez Mr. Angel Fernandez Ms. Ashley Valencia Ms. Linda Rushton Mr. Ricardo Garcia Mr. Luis Martinez Mr. Fernando Sandoval Ms. Anna Duran Mrs. Kathy Romero Mr. Alex Zuniga Mr. Charlie Chiquete Mr. Rudy Molera Mrs. Sandra Moraga

Brad Beach-Teacher of the Year Photos by Byanca Parra

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The Girl Scouts of Santa Cruz County seeks to empower girls through courage, confidence, and character through a wide variety of enriching experiences, while helping them develop their full individual potential.

The Girl Scout Movement began more than 100 years ago, when Juliette Gordon Low organized the very first Girl Scout troop in Savannah, GA on March 12, 1912. In the years that followed, Girl Scouts spread across the United States, blazing trails and redefining what was possible for girls everywhere.

Today, 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults, as well as over 50 million alumni, are proud to call themselves Girl Scouts, united across distance and decades by lifelong friendships, shared adventures, and the desire to do big things to make the world a better place.

The Girl Scouts is the preeminent leadership development program for girls in the world.

“We take the potential of girls, combine it with fun and robust skill-building programming, and add caring adult mentors and strong female role models, to prepare girls in our community for a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success”, said Jeaneth Sanchez Member Specialist.

The programming focuses on four main areas—STEM, the outdoors, development of life skills, and entrepreneurship—and is designed to meet today’s girls where they are and to grow along with them.

The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona council was chartered in 1935 and serves girls in Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, and Yuma counties, as well as in Santa Cruz County. We are one 112 Girl Scout councils across the United States. The council currently serves 5,400 girls and 2,100 adult volunteers.

It serves girls ages 5-17, of every race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ability, gender identity and expression, religion, and geographic location within the council jurisdiction.

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The community also has dedicated adult volunteers who help deliver our time-tested, researched-backed programming, which serves as role models or mentors inspiring girls to take the lead.

“As the Membership Specialist for Santa Cruz County, I wear many hats! I help new Girl Scouts, volunteers, and troops in Santa Cruz County get started. I also put on local programs and events for our members and the community, while providing resources and support to current Girl Scouts and volunteers as they learn and build new skills, said Sanchez.

As a whole, Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona employees 40 staff members. Research shows that girls learn best in an all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment. Our Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls— the inclusive, all-female environment of a Girl Scout troop creates a safe space where girls can try new things, develop a range of skills, take on leadership roles, and just be themselves. Research studies have found the Girl Scouts help girls thrive in five key ways, as they develop a strong sense of self, seek challenges and learn from setbacks, display positive values, form and maintain healthy relationships, and identify and solve problems in their communities.

We currently have 2,100 adult volunteers serving in all kinds of capacities. Troop leaders and co-leaders help girls develop vital leadership skills, form lifelong friendships, and deepen their connection to their community, while our episodic volunteers help out with local programs and events as their schedule permits, and share their passions and expertise with our girls.

“The Girl Scouts are always in need of more adult volunteers! Our volunteers are a dynamic and diverse group, and there’s no one “type” of volunteer whether you’re a recent college grad, a parent, a retiree, or a Girl Scout alum, we encourage you to get involved.

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Anyone with a sense of curiosity and adventure can help make Girl Scouting a powerful leadership experience for girls, and our council provides many resources to support our volunteers and empower them to focus on what matters most—creating amazing experiences for girls,” said Sanchez.

According to Jeaneth, the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona have a strategic fundraising plan, leveraging a diverse portfolio of community support including individual donations, in-kind contributions, grant funding, and corporate sponsorships. “We are especially grateful to have two long-standing supporters directly supporting programs here in Santa Cruz County: UniSource Energy Services and the Country Fair White Elephant Thrift Store.”

For greater sustainability, GSSoAz also generates revenue through retail sales and select program fees (e.g., camp tuition).

Every Girl Scout in Southern Arizona can also participate in a fall product sale and the sale of Girl Scout cookies which not only teaches them critical business and financial literacy skills but provides support for troop experiences and travel. Additionally, $1.20 of every box of cookies sold goes toward ensuring equity for all girls through program delivery.

For more information about joining the Girl Scouts, volunteering or supporting this local program in Santa Cruz County please contact: Jeaneth Sanchez Membership Specialist, Troop Support Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona 1831 N. Mastick Way Nogales, AZ 85621 520-319-3195 jsanchez@girlscoutssoaz.org

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Nogalian inspires young people to embrace their differences A local Nogalian living in two cultures, in two different countries as a young child.

Greta Solinap-Peng Inspires young people to embrace their culture. People often ask me what it’s like growing up in two countries at thousands of miles apart. And I always say that it has been the fact that I was raised in a multicultural and multilingual. Sure, you might say this was inevitable in my case because my parents lived apart in two different countries. I had the “Mexipino “experience. I lived one year with my dad in the Philippines and the following year with my mom in Nogales.

Growing up in the best of both worlds was an experience that I am able to thank my parents for going the extra mile in my upbringing.

They could have made my childhood all about “fitting in” by renouncing a specific culture but they didn’t. For them, it was all about finding a healthy middle ground.

There were goodbyes all the times while growing up, missing my loved ones, missing out, and jetlag to overcome.

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My experience was a unique one centered on moments like these- eating Filipino food while listening to Juan Gabriel’s Mexican music. I think one of the best parts of being Mexipino was that I was able to embrace my cultural differences in the best way possible. And growing up on the border, Nogales, also totally influenced my worldview.

After graduating from Nogales High School in 2009, I left for college and attended Harvard College in Boston graduating in 2013.

Before going to medical school at Brown University, I took some time off to work as a volunteer in different tasks serving the underserved communities in the Philippines and spearheaded a collaborative center for X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP) in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital.

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Thereafter, I enrolled in medical school at Brown University and continued doing work with diverse groups of people. One of the projects I worked with was working on data analysis of health information gathered from several mobile health clinics that served nearly 2,000 Bangladeshi garment factory workers.

Now, I’m living with my husband in San Francisco both practicing physicians living in a community with a large number of people with origins from all over the world. But thanks to both my parents and family their immeasurable influence on my childhood equipped me to be a better physician and human being. Unendingly devoted, they sacrificed so that I can get the very best opportunities and experiences, said Dr. Solinap-Peng .

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I would like to welcome back all teachers, staff, parents and students to the start of the 2019-2020 school year!-Mayor Arturo Garino

Events and Happenings at City Hall 1. The 2nd Annual Dedicated Employee’s Years of Service Ceremony was on July 22.

I was absolutely delighted to see how so many City of Nogales employees received Years of Service Plaques. This is a terrific achievement; every employee should be very proud of their incredible dedication to the City of Nogales.

2. City Council Members and myself attended the National Health Week at the Mariposa Community Health Center on August 8th. Congratulations to all the employees for their 20 and more years of service, rooted in communities, Nogales, Rio Rico, Tubac and Patagonia. Again, thank you for the unselfish, passionate and enthusiastic personnel at the Mariposa Community Health Centers across Santa Cruz County!

3. Mayor and Council unanimously approved the budget for the fiscal year 2020 on July 16.

As a teacher myself, I truly know that students are the reason we love teaching.

When students come onto campus, we celebrate their potential, accomplishments and drive to learn. We also value the parents/guardians for their dedication; we how that their constant positive presence makes an impact and ignites every child’s confidence in life. I strongly believe that when families, community groups, businesses and schools’ band together to support learning, children achieve more, stay in school and enjoy the experience of learning more. Good luck to all the schools in Santa Cruz County & Have a successful new school year!

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4. Congratulations to the Little League Intermediate West Regional Baseball players! It is a great honor that the Little League Association hosts the tournament in Nogales! A shout-out to Vice Mayor Jorge Maldonado for this hard work and contributions to the Little League Baseball Association!

5. A “Thank You” to the United Way of Santa Cruz for inviting Cathy and myself to the 30th Annual Border Shoot-Out Charity Golf Tournament!

6. On behalf of the City Council and myself, I would like to welcome our new Fire Chief, Mr. Jefferey Sargent to Nogales.

7.Our dedicated city employees are busy working on several street projects; Water/Paving replacements is on-going and streets and roads are constantly being improved.

We appreciate your patience as we push through several construction phases.

Please feel free to reach out to my office should you have any questions about a specific project you see around the city.

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The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP)

The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP) is a social and economic development project of the Baha’i Faith. It is a secular program currently implemented in cities and towns all around the world. Through it, neighborhood groups of 10-15 youth, ages 11-15, are formed and meet weekly to study and discuss materials that focus on moral issues affecting the world. The groups are facilitated by trained “animators”, usually older youth, who serve as mentors and true friends. In addition to studying these materials, the groups plan and undertake service projects for their communities, and occasionally participate in other recreational and arts activities together. The goal of this program is to enhance powers of expression, develop strong character, and to further develop their natural desire to make positive change in their community and in the world at large.

Our group in Nogales meets at the gymnasium of the Nogales Housing Authority. This small group of 12-14-year-old, many of whom attended Jump Back to School when they were in elementary school, decided that they wanted to have a booth this year to help others. They held a yard sale fundraiser so that they could purchase enough erasers to give to the children.

“They decorated our table with a poster they had made and selected pictures to share showing some of the many fun activities in which the group has participated during the past year. They manned the booth by themselves. We, the animators of the group, were merely accompanying and encouraging them in their act of selfless service. They did all the work!

We’re extremely proud of these wonderful kids,” said Jill Moritz!

“We are hoping to expand this program in Nogales and Rio Rico with additional groups, but we need more people to arise and serve as animators in order to make this happen. We will train the potential animators and help them to get started. We currently have 2 people training to become animators in Rio Rico so there will probably be a new group starting there this fall,” said Jill Moritz, Program Coordinator.

For more information about this program please contact Jill Moritz @ 520-455-7151 or jillmoritz@me.com.

Jill Moritz

Maribel Beltran Marlon Corrales Sam Beltran

Carmen Lee

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