4 minute read
Moonshot Innovators Honored NAU Creates Performance Center for Athletes
from July 2022
TGen North Director Dave Engethaler, Ph.D., joked with Rich Bowen on Zoom, while presenting the award.
Courtesy photo by Sean Openshaw
Prescott Bark Wins Pioneer Pitch
By Ray Newton and Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Genterra Enterprises Senior Vice President Rich Bowen received the Mission Control Award at The 2nd Annual Shoemaker Awards dinner Friday, June 17, at Little America, hosted by Moonshot at NACET (Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology).
“I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved from the beginning with several great community leaders in creating and building NACET/Moonshot,” said Bowen in a news release. “It is a prime example of what community collaboration can do to create a vision for building an entrepreneurial and startup community. This award reflects the work of many leaders and collaborators.”
Bowen has served Northern Arizona University as an associate vice president in the Office of the President, and as president and CEO of the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA); however, the Mission Control award honors his volunteer work and advocacy in advancing the mission of Moonshot at NACET.
“In Flagstaff, the NACET Moonshot 37,000-square-foot startup business incubator and accelerator space, built over the past 15 years, has been critical to building Flagstaff’s fast-growing bioscience, technology, medical products and software companies that are heading towards becoming major employers,” said Bowen. “Under the leadership of NACET Moonshot CEO Scott Hathcock, NACET Moonshot has become a statewide force operating incubators and programs in Phoenix, Tucson, Verde Valley and Winslow.
Continued on page 40
Athletes on an All-Time High
By Diane Hope, FBN
Since the run up to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Flagstaff’s elevation has put it on the global map as a place where top-performing athletes can improve their performance. In April, Northern Arizona University added a significant facility to further enhance the city’s reputation as a world-class venue for high altitude athlete training with the grand opening of its new High Performance Center.
Entering the new state-of-the art facility’s Grand Hall across a walking bridge, student athletes find themselves at the canopy level of the surrounding forest, where there’s now an expansive space providing academic, weight training, recovery and nutrition needs all under one roof.
The Center is dedicated to maximizing the athletic and academic potential of 380 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 students, who compete in more than 15 sports, from football, outdoor track and field to swimming and tennis. One key component is the Jennifer Marie Wilson Strength and Conditioning Center, which, at 11,500 square feet, is more than three times the size of what was previously available. It includes warm-up turf, plyometric space and 21 Sorinex weight rack stations. Then, there’s the Michael E. Nesbitt Athletic Training Center, which can help athletes to recover from and prevent injuries with three hydrotherapy recovery pools, hot and cold tubs for before and after workouts, and an underwater treadmill.
The altitude simulation chamber can be adjusted to create atmospheric pressures, from sea level to 12,000 feet. “Having that flexibility is very helpful for athletes,” said NAU Associate Athletic Director Matt Howdeshell. “With this we have the second largest facility of its kind in the USA. Only the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs is bigger. We can accommodate up to 15 people in the altitude simulation chamber, which takes about an hour on average to change elevation.”
With this new investment, the established success of NAU’s student athletes is expected to continue, especially in men’s cross-country as well as the women’s swim and dive teams, which have been dominating national conference championships for the past few years.
“We have a donor-funded laboratory in the building supporting faculty research, where undergraduate and graduate students get vital hands-on experience as part of their NAU degree programs,” said Howdeshell.
Sean Anthony was assistant director at NAU’s original high altitude training center for 12 years until 2009, when university budget reductions left him
NAU and HYPO2 continue to attract elite athletes to Flagstaff. Courtesy photo
Continued on page 41
Angie Rodriguez Cal McLoy Mark Colletti Gary Nelson 75 years of combined experience in Northern AZ Real Estate
Thinking of selling? Feel stuck? Sell your Flagstaff area property with us and make a difference in the world.
Contact us to find out how!
