Golden Corridor Living Magazine

“THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY”

Leadership

FALL 2016

Women in Business The Interview: Evelyn Casuga ARIZONA CIT Y • C A S A GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • MARICOPA

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“THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY”

Leadership

FALL 2016

Contents Features:

Fall 2016

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

The Interview: Evelyn Casuga

18

Women in Business

64

Women in Business The Interview: Evelyn Casuga ARIZONA CIT Y • C A S A GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • MARICOPA

About the Cover: The Golden Corridor's top women leaders gathered at Paramount Theatre for a photo shoot. Representing a wide variety of skills and passions, the women talked about work, life and leadership. Of course, they laughed and made time for some fun too!

Photo credit: Tina Cates, Elegance N Images Photography Studio

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Make It Better: Casa Grande Elementary School Budget Override

Economy & Local Business

Health, Wealth & Education

Travel, Dining & Entertainment

Wise Words on Leadership . . . 20

Free Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Sunshine or Snowfall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

God, What is Poor?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Paramount Theate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

What's For Dinner Tonight? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Loving the Art in Yourself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Positive Impact to Exonomize Development of Women in Business & Leadership . . . . . . . 22 Pinal County Town Hall Focuses on Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . 36

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Letter from the Editor

SAY “GOODBYE” TO POLITICS & “HELLO” TO OUR LOCAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS

I Bea Lueck

have been told by several intelligent people that fall will soon arrive and the hot, HOT weather will be a faint memory until next year. We shall see! Right now, it still seems hot to me – especially the day last week when my air conditioning decided to die. I’d like to thank all of the HVAC companies working sunup to past sundown to fix broken A/C units.

Something else will be over soon – politics. The one thing I think most people will agree upon is that we are very glad it will soon be over! Many of the local level races were decided at the primary. Congratulations to all the winners! The local races did not get deep into the mudslinging and he said/ she said that the federal level races seem to revel in. Or is that wallow in?

Whatever it is, November 8th can't come soon enough. The continual onslaught and barrage of postcards and television commercials has grown old.

There has been much discussion on social media lately about desired businesses the community would like to see come to town. A common misconception is city government gets to decide what business does or does not open. This is not true. City government does get to approve or disapprove things like zoning changes and use permits, but if the land is already zoned for business, the city only has a say in building size, setbacks, signage and similar matters – not whether the business decides to open in a partic-

ular city. That decision is up to the business owner, and in most cases, a regional or national chain management or franchisor. Casa Grande, and to a lesser extent, Maricopa, are just now getting to the population demographics where chains might begin looking at expansion to our area in the near future. The truth is, we are still lacking in both population and income for many chains to consider opening in our area. No business wants to fail, no matter how much locals say they want them to open. Major chains do their homework. Their extensive research shows our area cannot yet support their year-round business model. Economic development staff actively seeks out businesses looking to expand to new locations. And as evidenced by the number of businesses that have located in our area in the last few years, they are successful in attracting businesses!

Speaking of business, this edition includes our Women in Business section. This is where we showcase women in a variety of fields and celebrate their accomplishments. Sadly, while women are closing the income gap, statistically, in 2014 women still earned a salary of only 80.9 percent of their male counterparts*. This is a DECREASE of 1.9 percent from 2013.

Same work for less pay. I can only hope this changes for my daughter and granddaughters. No one should receive a second class compensation

based on their gender, rather than abilities. Our cover features a wide assortment of women in our community who excel in their various fields. Congratulations for all you have accomplished, in spite of being born female.

You did not allow gender to hold you back from reaching your goals.

I'll close with a tease about the upcoming edition of Golden Corridor LIVING. The next edition is our holiday issue. I love the holidays – everything from the decorating to baking and family traditions to gift giving! I'm the one in our family who everyone HATES to draw the name of, because when they ask me "What would you like?" I answer "Nothing." My pleasure is in the giving of gifts, not receiving. Nothing pleases me more than to see the excitement on the face of a child when he or she sees what Santa has brought.

We would love to share your recipes and family traditions with our readers.

So, please take a moment to send me an email with your favorite holiday recipes, traditions, stories and photos whatever you would like to share. My email is editor@raxxdirect.com. Deadline comes fast, so don't delay!

Thanks!

–Bea

*source: www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/womensearnings_arizona.htm THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

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VOICES PUBLISHER Elaine Earle, CPA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bea Lueck MANAGING EDITOR Katie Mayer CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Harold Kitching Donna McBride Jackie Paunil Jim Rhodes ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Debbie Cortez Melody Langevin CREATIVE DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC DESIGN Tim Clarke GRAPHIC DESIGN Jake Pagano Tad Smith CHIEF OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE Elaine Earle, CPA ADVERTISING INQUIRIES info@raxxdirect.com COMMENTS & IDEAS editor@raxxdirect.com CALENDAR INQUIRES calendar@raxxdirect.com

Bob Jackson

Born in Whitefish, Montana, Mayor Robert Jackson has lived in Casa Grande since 1991. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, holding a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He retired from the City of Casa Grande as Public Works Director in 2002 and is now serving his fourth term as mayor ending in 2015.

Helen Neuharth

Helen was hired as the President/CEO of the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce in August 1991 and is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management from Boulder, Colorado.

Helen is an active member of the Arizona Chamber Executives

Donna McBride

Donna McBride is the Program Administrator/Public Information Officer and Supervisor for the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Unit for Pinal County Juvenile Court . McBride is actively involved as a Board Member for Casa Grande Alliance, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, BlackBox Foundation, Mayor’s Reading Program, Pinal County Town Hall Vice-Chair, Parks and Block Watch Captain for the Casa Grande Police Department. A freelance writer and photographer, Donna and husband Mike enjoy white water rafting, kayaking and spending time with their 2 sons and 3 grandchildren who live in the valley.

(520) 426-2074 442 W. Kortsen Rd, Ste 101 Casa Grande, AZ 85122

Harold Kitching

Harold has worked for newspapers across the country. He was city government reporter for the Casa Grande Dispatch for 11 years until he resigned after the newspaper began downplaying local news.

Golden Corridor LIVING is published by RAXX Media. Editorial content is provided by affiliates of RAXX Media, community members and local organizations.

The publishers of Golden Corridor LIVING assume no responsibility for errors or omissions of any advertisement beyond the actual cost of the advertisement. In no event shall the publishers be liable for any consequential damages in excess of the cost of the advertisement. Golden Corridor LIVING shall not be liable for inaccuracies, errors, omissions, or damages from the use of information contained herein. Submitted articles do not reflect the opinions of the owners or management of Golden Corridor LIVING Information contained within submitted articles had not been verified for accuracy and readers are responsible for forming their own opinions. Real CORRID OR ING FA L Lis20 16 8 GOLDEN estate information is asLIofV 9-1-16 and subject to current availability and pricing.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

of the

Community

Evelyn Casuga

Evelyn Casuga CEcD, serves as Economic/ Community Development Advisor for Access Arizona, the area’s regional economic development foundation. Evelyn works part time at CAC and consults with the Center for the Future of Arizona, and other non-profit/private entities. She volunteers with numerous organizations in economic and community development throughout Arizona.

Breanna Boland

Breanna is the Executive Director of the Casa Grande Alliance. She started working for the organization in 2012 as a Prevention Specialist. Breanna studied Public Health at Northern Arizona University and is a Arizona Certified Prevention Specialist.

Victoria “Tori” Ward

Victoria “Tori” Ward is a cruise and resort specialist with a master’s degree in political science. After leaving public service Tori returned to her first love, travel and has completed more than 30 certification courses with the cruise and tour industry including the most advanced certification, Commodore, from Princess Cruise Lines. In addition, they have awarded her “Alaska Expert” status. Tori is a member of the Cruise Line International Association.

Jackie Paunil

Jackie is founder of Terra Medela: Personal Health Coaching. She earned her MFA at Texas Woman’s University and CHC from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Jackie coaches individuals in her private practice, as well as providing classes through the City of Casa Grande Parks & Recreation programming.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

BUSINESS INDEX 100 23 95 93 77 5 81 40 89 56 15 53 31 61 17 95 16 17 28 11 4 26 39 52 71 73 83 91 41 38 92 81 10 51 51 37 88 2 30 78 63, 67 21 81 51 27 67 81 74 63, 66 79 37 87 3 59 47 84 11 90 50 29 31 45, 69 95 72 89 51 53

Academy Mortgage - CG Access Arizona Ace of Shades Adrenalin Motorsports Against Abuse Agave Dentistry American Family Ins-Hobbs Annie-Mac Home Mortgage Arizona Luxury Lawns Banner / CGRMC Brutinel Caliche Senior Living Capital R Construction Casa Grande Alliance Casa Grande Elementary Casa Grande Family Dentistry Casa Grande Main St Casa Grande Union High School District Central Arizona College City of Casa Grande Parks & Rec Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - BROKERAGE Coldwell Banker ROX - Property Management Cole & Leal Coolidge Performing Arts Center Cottonwood Medical Center Craig 4 Mayor D.A. Milewski Household Cleaning David Snider for City Council Desert Sky Dental Dick & Mitchell DDS DM Family Dentistry Fitzgibbons Law Offices Florence Unified School District Grande Innovation Academy Greater CG Chamber of Commerce Impressions Dental At Casa Grande Jenkins Chiropractic Kelsie Pate FNP-c Medical and Aesthetics Kiva Insurance Lucky Sushi & Chinese Restaurant Make It Better Mankel Mechanical Natures Nook O'Neil & Steiner, PLLC Paramount Theater Phoenix Patio Systems Pinal County Federal Credit Union ROX Casa Grande Insurance Rox Travel CG Russell's Run Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum Seeds of Hope Silent Witness Star Towing Sun Life Family Health Center Sunshine Child & Adolescent Care TeePee Sand And Gravel Thirsty Donkey Tap House & Sports Grill Title Security Yang and Horsley Dentistry FA L L 20 16 GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING

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Submit your events online at goldencorridorliving.com OCTOBER

1

Run For Faith-5k / 10k / Walk 12:00 AM-12:00 AM - Francisco Grande Resort-12684 Gila Bend Hwy, Casa Grande - Call (520) 836-7247 for time

2

ALMOST MAINE-A PLAY BY JOHN CARIANI - 7:00 PM-12:00 AM - BlackBox Foundation-413 N. Florence St., Casa Grande

7

Oktoberfest In Old Town 5:30 PM-8:30 PM - Old Town Florence St and 2nd St, Casa Grande

8

Tip Over The Shelves 5K Run/ Walk - 6:30 AM-11:30 AM Central (Main Street) Park

9

TASTE OF CASA GRANDE 30TH ANNUAL - 1:00 PM-4:00 PM - Property-1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande

12

CG CHAMBER 25TH ANNUAL BUSINESS SHOWCASE - 5:00 PM-7:30 PM - he Property-1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande

15

Movie in the Park @ Sundown - 7:00 PM-12:00 AM - Aquatic Center Multipurpose Fields - 174 W. 1st Street, Florence

15

2016 Battle of the Bars FUN RUN - 8:30 AM-12:00 AM - Motorcycle & Car run to benefit

the Boys & Girls Clubs of CG Valley.

520-560-2256 for tickets and info

20

Day Out Downtown & Historic Walking Tour 9:30 AM-2:00 PM - Main Street Community Patio - 110 W. 2nd Street, Casa Grande

21

Concert In The Park - Exit 40 Band - 6:00 PM-8:00 PM - Peart Park 350 E. 6th St., Casa Grande

22

Cause For Paws In The Park - 7:30 AM-12:00 AM 2557 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande (520) 705-2359

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2nd Annual Gymnastics - CG International Meet - 8:00 AM12:00 AM - Vista Grande High School - 1556 N. Arizola Road, Casa Grande

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The Casa Grande Valley Historical Society will be partnering with The Black Box Foundation to have our annual Ghost Tours - 6:30 PM-9:30 PM

27-30

Fall Carnival - 4:00 PM10:00 PM - Heritage Park - 60-0 N. Main Street, Florence

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Central Arizona Speedway - Dirt Track Car Races 7:00 PM-12:00 AM - 512 Eleven Mile Corner, Casa Grande

Thank you!

• Thank you for all the encouragement I have received

• Thank you for having faith in me to do the right thing for Casa Grande • Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your next Mayor of Casa Grande A special thanks to the hard-working volunteers and campaign staff

• Nancy McFarland Campaign V.P. • Robert Miller Campaign Chair • Kelly Herrington Campaign Treasurer

Here is to making Casa Grande even better and my 10 point Initiatives:

1. Build the Community Center 2. Support Public Safety 3. Widen I-10 4. Continue to work on Revitalizing Downtown 5. Expand and connect our Trail System 10

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6. Promote/Market Casa Grande 7. Mayors A+ Initiative/Promote Good Schools 8. Casa Grande – Open for Business Initiative 9. Workforce Development/Training 10. Public Transit THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

October-November 2016 NOVEMBER

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Mud Run - 8:00 AM-12:00 PM - Copper Sky Regional Park - 44345 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Maricopa

4

Casa Grande Chamber Annual Golf Tournament - 8:00 AM12:00 AM - Francisco Grande - 12684 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande

12

17

31

Halloween Fright Night 6:00 PM-9:00 PM - Historic Downtown-Florence Street, Casa Grande

5

15

31

4

18-20

17

19

Halloween Fright Fest - 5:30 PM-8:30 PM - Heritage Park 60-0 N. Main Street, Florence

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Halloween Carnival - 6:00 PM-9:00 PM - Kenilworth Sports Complex - 671 E. Coolidge Avenuue, Coolidge

Ride for The Warrior - 4:00 PM10:30 PM - Paul Mason Sportsplex - 2525 N. Pinal Avenue, Casa Grande

Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum 13th Annual Fundraising Event - Fiesta Time - 5:30 PM-10:00 PM - The Property Conference Center 1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande

5

ZONTA COMMUNITY GALA - 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Property-1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., Casa Grande

The Lantern Fest - 1:00 PM-8:00 PM - Pinal County Fairgrounds - 512 N 11 Mile Corner Rd, Casa Grande 21st Annual Pinal County Sexual & Domestic Violence Coalition Conference - 7:30 AM-5:30 PM - Coolidge Performing Arts Center 684 W. Northern Ave., Coolidge

Day Out Downtown & Historic Walking Tour 9:30 AM-2:00 PM - Main Street Community Patio - 110 W. 2nd Street, Casa Grande

Thanksgiving Boogie/Skydive Arizona - 12:00 AM-12:00 AM - SkyDive AZ-4900 N. Taylor Road/Skydive AZ, Eloy - Call (520) 466-3753 for times Central Arizona Speedway - Dirt Track Car Races - 6:00 PM-12:00 AM - 512 Eleven Mile Corner, Casa Grande

American Indian Arts & Music Festival - 12:00 AM-12:00 AM - CG Ruins-1100 W. Ruins Dr, Casa Grande, AZ 85128 (520) 723-3172

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Junior Parada Rodeo - 10:00 AM-12:00 AM - Historic Main Street - 440 N. Main Street, Florence

City of Casa Grande Community Services Department and Casa Grande Main Street Presents:

FAMILY FRIGHT NIGHT! Monday, October 31, 2016 - Downtown Casa Grande 6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.

GAME BOOTHS WANTED! THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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The Casa Grande H

• A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA • A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOL

Officials weigh sewer upgrade options

CG News

T

by Harold Kitching

cgnews-info.webs.com or www.haroldkitching.com

City to begin new 911 database program

A

new emergency communications program approved by the Casa Grande City Council will allow Casa Grande residents to enter medical and other information into a computer bank that will automatically pop up when 911 is dialed, saving time for emergency responders.

It’s called Smart911, offered by Rave Mobile Safety.

As the staff report accompanying the agenda item describes it, “Smart911 allows members of the community to register and provide information about themselves, their family members, their homes and workplaces, medical conditions and other pertinent information.”

It continues, “Citizens provide profile data into the Smart911 database prior to an emergency. When a registered user dials 911 from a registered device to a dispatch center, the caller’s profile will open on the

12

call taker’s screen. This information can then be sent to the mobile units in the field. By providing this information to the first responders, it can help them make more informed decisions, helping better protect them-

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selves and residents.”

The program, at a cost of $32,000 under a three-year contract, brought some questions from the council.

continued on page 24...

he first thing to understand is that this sewer proposal is not the projected large line running east to the area of the future site of PhoenixMart. This concerns the lines down Kortsen Road and how that system is nearing capacity.

The only way PhoenixMart ties in to the sewer is if nothing is done about Kortsen, because the future flow coming from PhoenixMart and linking to Kortsen will cause major problems.

That’s why, perhaps belatedly, the city is paying an engineering company $499,700 to figure out what would be the best alignment for one of the three reliever line routes studied.

“Currently, the existing sewer lines within Kortsen serve approximately half of the city’s wastewater service area,” Deputy Public Works Director Terry McKeon told the council. “The capacity available in those lines, it’s getting close to full, is the simple way to put it. We need to put together a plan for providing relief for those sewers to be able to continue to serve and develop within the area.”

The evaluation by Sunrise Engineering will determine which of three corridors would be best for a replacement sewer.

McKeon asked, “Where here can we get the most bang for our buck?

What can we afford to build that provides us the most capacity we can afford without having a ridiculously large sewer?”

McKeon said the city has worked with Sunrise to do that evaluation and provide a conceptual design.

“Not full design plans,” he added, “but conceptual vertical and horizontal alignment to identify constraints, challenges and, most importantly, cost estimating. At the end of the day we need a reliable cost estimate that THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Herald

Local News from Golden Corridor Living Magazine

ALL THE NEWS WE THINK IS FIT TO PRINT!

LIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA • A RIZONA CIT Y • CASA GR ANDE • COOLIDGE • ELOY • FLORENCE • M A RICOPA •

Discussions continue on Atessa motorsports complex

A

lthough it could be threeand-a- half years before auto racing starts at the proposed 2,360-acre Attesa motorsports complex project south of Interstate 8, work continues behind the scenes to push the concept forward.

A brief update was given to the Planning and Zoning Commission by Planning and Development Director Paul Tice, followed by additional information from one of the developers.

The proposed raceway would be just south of Interstate 8, with Hanna Road as the northern boundary, Bianco Road to the east and Montgomery Road to the west. South of the area is the Santa Rosa Canal and the Tohono O’odham Nation.

According to a letter sent from attorneys representing the developer, “The Attesa project itself will be a rec-

Sewer upgrade (cont.) we can then carry forward and budget and be able to find the money and build it.”

Councilman Matt Herman, calling the project “very unglamorous, but very necessary,” asked how long it might be before the Kortsen system is full.

“I know it is a bit of a moving target, but what are you anticipating?” he asked. “Are we going to have to be ready for this next year or in five years?”

McKeon replied, “Unfortunately, we haven’t budgeted crystal balls yet.

A lot of it, really, obviously all depends on development. When this project was conceptualized, if you will, or put into the budget process, we were in the process of determining the needs for the PhoenixMart development and adjacent area.”

He continued, “The short answer is essentially when and if the first phase THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

reational motorsports destination that will … have two 2.6-mile road courses, a possible karting track, a driver experience center and a multi-surface track and event area. A small private airport with a 6,000-foot runway will enable patrons to fly in and out conveniently.

Attesa also will include supporting residential, industrial and commercial uses. In addition to the major motorsports facilities, the other development intended for Attesa will likely be automotive systems or component-related. Examples of possible future land uses include automotive testing, racing systems development, autonomous technology as well as advanced drivetrain and battery systems. The goal is the establishment of a motorsports

continued on page 25...

of PhoenixMart is built, that is probably going to take up every drop we have available in the existing system.

So in some ways, we might be a little bit behind the ball on this one, but we need to get this project ready to roll forward and make it shovel-ready for whenever that time comes.”

Herman said he wanted to make clear that this is not the PhoenixMart sewer line project itself.

“No, it is not,” McKeon replied.

“This is not just to accommodate PhoenixMart. It would be almost as complicated as this, but it would be kind of pointless. We’re looking for much more than that – to be able to support much more future development than simply PhoenixMart or even the east area.”

Councilwoman Lisa Fitzgibbons asked if it is common that sewer lines need to be expanded, adding, “How are we here?”

McKeon said, “Well, I think the nature of development is you can mas-

ter plan. We have a number of master plans (and) we’ve had many over the years that show you ultimately this is what you need. But you’re a small community, you can’t afford a 60-inch diameter, 12-mile-long sewer that’s going to sit there for 40, 50 years, so you develop interim solutions, sizing that fits the need.”

City Manager Jim Thompson said that about 10 years ago, before the TransWestern gas line came through the community, the city talked about putting a sewer line along the north branch of the Santa Cruz to help service the area, plus talked about going to Rodeo Road to catch everything from the north.

“Eventually, they all ended up on Kortsen, because that’s where the (treatment) plant is located,” Thompson continued.

That plant would eventually handle 50 million gallons of sewage a day,

continued on page 24...

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CITY

SPEAK M As part of the auditorium removal we also need to help the Boys & Girls Club find new quarters. The facility is over 60 years old and has exceeded its useful life.

14

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

by Robert “Bob” Jackson, Mayor, Casa Grande

y mayor term is coming to an end the first part of December. I am proud of the many things we have accomplished, but there are still projects that we were unable to finish. In fairness, we did spend a significant amount of time working through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, which hampered our ability to complete some of the things on my list.

Of the unfinished business, the proposed community center ranks near the top. We are moving forward with the project and I hope to see construction start early next year, but it would have been nice to have completed the center. A related project is the final disposition of the old high school auditorium. I understand that this project requires the relocation of the Community Services staff and that is scheduled as part of the new community center, but as the auditorium sits vacant, its condition continues to deteriorate to a point that it will become unsafe. As part of the auditorium removal we also need to help the Boys & Girls Club find new quarters. The facility is over 60 years old and has exceeded its useful life. We are working with the Boys & Girls Club to house them in the new community center and hope to finalize the agreement by the end of the year.

Second on my list is the Phoenix Mart project. As I tell people frequently, it is a large, difficult and complicated project with unusual financing and there are only two in the world. I do think that the hurdles are fewer and I am hopeful that it will be well underway by the time I leave office. There are several related projects that will be built as well as the Phoenix Mart building that have been lost in the buzz surrounding the project. Among them are a hotel to house visitors

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and a business retail center located on the west side of the main building. The total site is almost a squaremile and the master plan has several elements. There is also a sewer line that will be built from the intersection of Kortsen Road and I-10 to not only serve Phoenix Mart but to also open the east side of the freeway for development. The sewer is being built by the city and the cost shared between AzSourcing and the city is allocated by the amount of capacity each will use.

This project should start this fall and be ready when Phoenix Mart opens.

There are also a number of initiatives I would liked to have moved along more before my departure. They include the implementation of the “Life on Main” project on the south side of town. For our city to continue to be healthy, we need to start redeveloping the south side, and the Life on Main study provides a perfect outline to rejuvenate the area.

Another series of projects we have pursued is the widening of Interstate 10. We were successful in widening from Earley Road to Val Vista Drive and ADOT has committed funding to complete widening from Early to Sunland Gin within the next few years. The key piece, however, remains the section from Val Vista Drive to Queen Creek Road in Chandler. We had hoped that when funding for the widening south of Early was approved, there would also be funding for the start of the environmental process for the section through the Gila River Indian Community, but it was not approved.

In talking with Craig McFarland, our next Mayor, I know it is a top priority for him and he will continue to push ADOT to fund this needed project.

I am sure there are many things we didn’t get finished, but these are the ones at the top of my list.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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FALL FUN!

Join us for some of your favorite annual events and discover new ones kicking off this year

By Rina Rien, Director, Casa Grande Main Street

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s most of us reach our breaking point with monsoon storms and air conditioning induced lethargy, take heart in knowing fall is just around the corner with local fun in your historic downtown. Here are some old favorites and new twists you can look forward to as our season kicks off in October: As a result of community feedback received from downtown visitors, merchants and volunteers, the Main Street Board voted to shift away from evening events during winter months to focus on daytime events from Nov. through Feb. We’ll be back on the First Friday evening in March with Spring

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Fling, a street dance celebration.

Meanwhile, we’ll kick off the season on Friday, Oct. 7 with an encore of Oktoberfest, our most popular evening event.

If you are looking to get involved in your community, please consider joining our “Main Street Mob”. We could not bring you these free events without these tireless volunteers.

Traditional polka music, biergarten and street food featuring authentic Polish and German dishes will take place 5:30 to

8:30 p.m. on Historic Florence Street. This event is free to attend and will continue to include guest exhibitors, a community car show, “Live! in the Alley” open mic and the RaMagik Dancers. Come dressed to impress in your lederhosen and we’ll show our appreciation for your enthusiasm with prizes!

Main Street will partner with the City of Casa Grande to bring Family Fright Night back to Historic Florence Street on Oct. 31. Carnival games and food, a Zombie Walk and Monster Mash Dance in the Alley provide a family-friendly environment for your night crawlers!

Day Out Downtown moves to third Thursdays beginning Oct. 20! Our monthly event runs from Oct. through April (except Jan.). Meet on the Main Street Patio at 9:30 a.m. for refreshments and an orientation before heading out for a onehour historical walking tour at 10 a.m. Restaurant specials, a Merchant Scavenger Hunt and tours of The Museum of Casa Grande and the Casa Grande Art Museum complete your day out.

Groups are welcomed with prior notification.

Nov. 5 marks the 10th Annual Veteran’s Day Parade starting at 10:00 a.m. on Florence Blvd. and culminating in a celebration on Historic Florence Street at 2nd Street. Casa Grande Main Street will be partnering to provide live entertainment following the parade right outside our door at 2nd Street, where riders will gather for a motorcycle procession at noon. They will escort Eagle One (the veteran’s mobile outreach HOHP) out to Paul Mason Sports Complex for the Ride for the Warrior event

Historic Downtown…

Experience the Difference 110 W. 2nd St., Casa Grande 520-836-8744

and parade awards ceremony.

On December 3, the 22nd Annual Christmas on Main and Electric Light Parade kicks off at noon on Historic Florence Street with carnival games and food, live entertainment, ice skating and pictures with Santa. Stay for the tree-lighting ceremony in front of City Hall and grab a spot along the parade route to view twinkling floats and marching bands as they make their way downtown.

If you are looking to get involved in your community, please consider joining our “Main Street Mob”. We could not bring you these free events without these tireless volunteers and financial support from businesses giving back to our community.

For the latest event information, visit www.cgmainstreet. org. Click on our Facebook link to stay connected and “like” our page for announcements.

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

LIBRARY AND RESOURCES

Emphasis on effective instructional practices

TUTORING

Available four days a week on all campuses

STEM AT CASA VERDE

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

COMMUNICATIONS

Websites, PowerSchool, Schoolway App, direct email to staff, weekly news

ACTIVITIES

Choir and Drama, FFA, FBLA, FPS, Robotics, Marching Band, National FCCLA, DECA—state, national and international awards

COLLABORATION ALTERNATIVES

CAVIT, CAC, private corporations, City of Casa Grande

The responsibility is Yours and Mine

m

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Success for Every One

Co

More than 10,000 volumes at two campuses

ity

Over 200 course offerings

ol

Residents wishing to participate or learn more about the survey may visit: MAGtravelsurvey.org

COURSE OFFERINGS

ho Sc

W

here are you headed today?

This simple question is an important one for the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). The agency is seeking 14,000 people to join the 2016 MAG Household Travel Survey. This app-based household travel survey is one of the first of its kind in the nation using a smartphone app to reduce the burden on respondents while increasing the accuracy of the information received.

Current travel data helps planners improve "livability" in the Phoenix region by understanding the travel patterns of Valley drivers, bike riders, transit users and pedestrians in Maricopa, Pinal, and portions of Yavapai and Gila counties. MAG’s Travel Survey is so important that participants are compensated for completing the survey.

Since the last survey took place in 2008, the region has grown tremendously. Several new transportation modes, such as light rail and RAPID bus service are in place that have changed how we travel. A formal evaluation of the transportation needs of area residents helps state and local officials make decisions to improve roads, reduce congestion, improve walking and bike paths, and improve public transportation.

Respondents will download a free application on their smartphone. The app logs data on where participants go over two days. Later, respondents will confirm, add to, and submit their information online.

STAFF

Led by 148 qualified teachers

The choice for families in Casa Grande ts en ud St

an announcement from the Maricopa Association of Governments

CAMPUSES

Two comprehensive campuses, one STEM Academy and a Learning Center Program.

Fa m ilie s

MAG LAUNCHES APP-BASED HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL SURVEY

Casa Grande Elementary School District is

m un

Casa Grande Union High School District

A 21st Century Education with 21st Century Choices!

Did You Know?

• Casa Grande Elementary has more A+ Schools and A+ Programs than any other school district in Pinal County • The District has a proven, rigorous instructional program built upon “Success for Every One” • More than 8 out of 10 families in Casa Grande choose the Casa Grande Elementary School District.

• For more than 10 years in a row, 96% of families rate their child’s school an A or a B.

Visit Your Child’s School Today!

FACILITIES

Professional Culinary Arts Kitchen, FFA greenhouse, Art, Auto Shop, Computer Labs, Theater Arts Auditorium

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

ATHLETICS

Baseball, Softball, Basketball, Football, Track, Cross Country, Soccer, Golf, Spiritline, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling

WWW.CGESD.ORG

520.836.2111

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THE THE THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP MEDICAL MEDICALEDITION EDITION

The LIVING Interview

Evelyn Casuga:

From humble beginnings to high voltage career, former city manager, retired APS executive and Make It Better - Casa Grande member talks about her path to leadership Interview by Brett Eisele GC LIVING: Evelyn, tell us a little about yourself and your family. Where did you grow up? Do you have any siblings?

EVELYN CASUGA: I will start at the beginning.

I am an only child of Filipino immigrants.

So, my father arrived in the United States from the Philippines about 1922. Like many thousands of men from the Philippines at the time who came over to the United States, (he found) the streets paved with gold. He toiled in the fields and the farms and Alaskan canneries and the restaurants and hotels of the West Coast. There were laws at the time that did not allow people of a different race to marry white women, essentially. So they just had a great time as young men, working out in the fields and farms, throughout the country.

In the 1930s, the Filipinos were allowed to become naturalized citizens in the United States and my father took advantage of that. In the 40s, World War II broke out and thousands of these men joined the armed services. My father joined the U.S. Army and coincidentally ends up getting stationed in the Philippines. (Laughs) My father and mother met each other through one of the celebrations there and fell in love. My father asked permission of my grandfather to marry. They were married after the war.

GC LIVING: In the Philippines?

EVELYN CASUGA: In the Philippines. I was not born until a few years later when they both came to the United States. He came back and brought my mother with him. I was born in the Central Valley of California out in a small town called Orange Cove – not unlike Eloy,

THE THEMEDICAL LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP MEDICAL EDITION EDITION EDITION EDITION

Arizona, where I later moved as an adult. Although I was an only child and probably got the benefit of that, my father continued to work in the fields and my mother worked in the packing houses of the Central Valley. It was a total agricultural community. The Central Valley, the San Joaquin Valley part of the Central Valley of California, is the fruit basket of the world. That's the quick story of mom and dad.

GC LIVING: And you went to school in California?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes in Orange Cove. My recollection is that the public school system in California was one of the best in the nation, if not the world. So I'd like to think that I had a world class elementary education even in the small town in the Central Valley. Afterward, I had the good fortune…of getting an academic full-ride scholarship.

GC LIVING: So where did you get a scholarship to?

EVELYN CASUGA: I was a Regents Scholar recipient and went to the University of California Santa Cruz. And this would have been 1972-76.

GC LIVING: The great years.

EVELYN CASUGA: The great years. It’s a beautiful campus located in the Henry Cowell Redwoods of California, overlooking Monterey Bay – so just a fabulous setting.

You know with this side you have the forest, and if you walked a little bit further you could see Monterey Bay. So, (it was) a beautiful campus. I originally had declared psychology as a major. When you're a freshman, you don't know what you're doing necessarily. So, I just picked that one and got into a different major as well – community studies. I ended

up with a double major in community studies and psychology.

GC LIVING: Did you do that in four years?

EVELYN CASUGA: I did.

GC LIVING: Did you do any graduate work?

EVELYN CASUGA: I did, but not right away. I did a number of field studies while I was at Santa Cruz. In fact, I took a six-month stint away from the campus. I was in Seattle for part of my junior year and did a field study with Filipino Youth Activities.

GC LIVING: Did anybody have a profound effect on you or was there any specific professor who you remember that stands out?

EVELYN CASUGA: You know, probably… and this wasn't a professor; this was at my field study that I just mentioned. The folks who I worked with in Seattle for six months on this field study, the organization, founded by a couple – Fred and Dorothy Cordova – Fred was a little younger than my father in age. He was one of the children of that generation of my father – the first generation of Filipinos who came to the U.S. called the Manongs. And Fred was a child of that.

He happened to be born here in the United States and he and his wife founded this organization to further the culture, the kind of understanding of one's roots with the Filipinos who were located in Seattle because there was a lot of immigrants and a lot of first-generation and second- generation who were arriving, and this would have been in the 70s.

So Fred Cordova, who was a highly educated journalist for the Seattle Times also taught at the University of Washington and was a

SUMMER 20 16 GOLDEN CORRI-

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Economy • Local Business

WISE WORDS ON LEADERSHIP

by Helen Neuharth, President/CEO, Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce Don’t hold yourself back or be afraid to get involved in business, organizations or community projects.

We all have varying degrees of leadership; it is up to you to develop your leadership skills and move forward.

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lthough this issue highlights women in leadership, I would like to share quotes on leadership with you for men and women and all ages.

I have learned a great deal from these guiding principles and continually remind myself to practice what I have learned. Hopefully, you will enjoy them and even be motivated to read more books and articles on leadership and self-motivation.

Here are some tips on leadership from Dr. Henry Cloud’s book, “9 Things a Leader Must Do”.

• Explore their deep hearts and invest in their inner desires and drives • Do not allow negative things to take up space in their lives • Evaluate their decisions in the present based on how they will affect the future • Continually ask, “What can I do to make this situation better?”

• Achieve big goals by taking small steps over time

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• Develop the ability to hate the right things well • Give back better than they are given • Do not strive to be or to appear more than they really are • Do not make decisions based on the fear of other people’s reaction A few words of wisdom taken from Volume 2, “Expert Women Who Speak…Speak Out! Life and success strategies by women, for women” Editors: Adele Alfano and Kathy Glover Scott • “Women who set a low value on themselves make life hard for all women.” – Nellie McClung, Canadian author • “All of my life, I have recommended that one must ask questions, take a position, and act upon it.” – Theresa Casgrain, Canadian politician

chapters listed below: • Positive: No Problem Is Too Great To Solve • Courageous: I Have Nothing To Fear • Enthusiastic: Life Is Exciting!

• Peaceful: I Don’t Need to Worry • Confident: I Can Change for the Better • Expectant: I Have a Future!

Chapter 7 is titled: “A Winner’s Guide to Eleven Common Problems,” which is too long to summarize for this article, but I have found it very inspiring, perhaps you will too.

Don’t hold yourself back or be afraid to get involved in business, organizations or community projects. We all have varying degrees of leadership; it is up to you to develop your leadership skills and move forward.

Norman Vincent Peal’s “Six Attitudes for Winners” is a nifty little pocket guide with six great short

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Showcase Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce

Business

WEDNESDAY

October 12, 2016 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Property Conference Center 1251 W. Gila Bend Hwy., CG

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND ~ $5 PER PERSON PARTICIPATING CHAMBER MEMBER BUSINESSES

24-7 Automated Storage A Latte Vino Advanced Energy Systems American Family Insurance - Jan L. Hobbs Arizona Public Service Arizona@Work Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Brighton Collision Center Caliche Senior Living Capital R Construction Casa Grande Dispatch Casa Grande Family Dentistry Center for Dermatology & Plastic Surgery Central Arizona College Citizens for Quality Education Coldwell Banker ROX Realty Compassus Comprende Services Daisy Brand Desert Sun Heating, Cooling & Refrigeration Inc. Desert Valley Church of Christ Edward Jones Investments - Fred Tucker Ehrbright & Hankel, DDS Garnet of Casa Grande Golden Corridor Living Magazine/Smart Shopper Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona Sponsors include:

Great Western Bank Healthmatch LLC J. Warren Funeral Services Keller Williams - Advantage Home Team Mary Kay Cosmetics - Judy Kitching MBI Occupational Healthcare My Golden Era Nature's Nook Florist & Nursery Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort Pinal County Sheriff's Office Premier Cardiovascular Center Casa Grande Renewal by Andersen Robson Ranch Communities Sam's Club #4856 Service King Collision Repair Centers Small Business Development Center, CAC SoundPoint Hearing Centers Southern Pavilion Casa Grande State Farm Insurance - Lorrie Carter Stewart Clinic of Chiropractic Sun Life Family Health Center, Inc. UltraStar Multi-tainment Center & Elements Event Center at Ak-Chin Circle Vantage West Credit Union Villas by Mary T. Western State Bank

Vacation Get-Away Drawing-Tickets $10 each or 3 for $20 Grand Prize - Sponsored by Southwest Airlines. Two round-trip airline tickets anywhere Southwest Airlines flies.

Some restrictions may apply. Need not be present to win.

2nd Place - Sponsored by Sam’s Club #4856.

Gas BBQ Grill. Need not be present to win.

Sponsors include:

For more information please contact the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce, 520-836-2125 or events@casagrandechamber.org

LOCAL BUSINESS

POSITIVE IMPACT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP

by Evelyn Casuga, Economic/Community Development Advisor, Access Arizona

I

magine our economy when those who can work – from business owners to employees and men and women – have opportunities to work and are fully engaged. If creating wealth and jobs are basic economic development principles, the role of women in business is having a positive impact on the overall economy in the U.S. as evidenced by these recent findings: Did you know that as of 2016 it is estimated there are now approximately 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States employing nearly 9 million people and generating over $1.6 trillion in revenue*?

Did you know that between 2007 and 2016, the number of women-owned firms increased by 45 percent, compared to just a 9 percent increase among all businesses. Therefore, over the past nine years, the number of women-owned firms has grown at a rate five times faster than the national average*?

Did you know that employment in women-owned businesses has increased by 18 percent since the recession, while among all businesses employment has declined 1 percent since 2007*?

Did you know that business revenues among women-owned firms have increased by 35 percent since 2007, compared to 27 percent among all U.S. firms – thus at a rate that is 30 percent higher than the national average*?

Did you know that women are now the majority owners of 38 percent of the country’s businesses, up from 29 percent in 2007. These firms employ 8 percent of the nation’s private sector workforce – up from 6 percent nine years ago – and contribute 4 percent of the nation’s business revenues, a share that has not changed over the past 20 years* * ”The State of Women-Owned Businesses Report” commissioned by American Express OPEN, A Summary of Important Trends 2007-2016 Let’s also look at Women in Business Leadership. The Rockefeller Foundation and Global Strategy Group released a research report discussing gender disparity from a poll conducted in April. Think about what your responses would be, based on the following data:

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According to the new report, 9 in ten Americans think that there are more women leading Fortune 500 companies than there actually are. And 40 percent of Americans think women should make up at least half of the top executives at Fortune 500 companies.** Americans also agree that business leaders and companies have a significant role to play in reducing the gender gap in leadership positions. The new research showed that 84 percent of Americans agree that businesses have a responsibility to actively recruit women into leadership position, yet only onethird of Americans say their current workplace places a high priority on having women in leadership positions.** The Rockefeller Foundation’s research found Americans feel that having more women in leadership positions would have significant benefits, including reducing the pay gap between men and women for the same work, changing workplace policies in ways that benefit both men and women and attracting a more diverse workforce. Additionally, two-thirds of men and women said it is especially important for younger women starting their careers to have more women in leadership positions as role models. If the gender gap in business leadership positions is closed, Americans believe

there will be a significant shift toward more inclusive workplaces, and more young women will strive to reach those top spots.** ** Redefining the Workplace by 2025, Rockefeller Foundation By recognizing, celebrating and encouraging women in business, as owners and in leadership roles within organizations, the research confirms that benefits accrue to an entire company and individual employees.

Companies grow and jobs are created not only when men are in charge, but when women hold those roles as well. By bringing different perspectives and approaches, the evidence points to a more inclusive workplace, better performance for companies, narrowed pay gaps between men and women and more equitable pay is offered across the board.

Successful economic development is achieved when economic opportunity and increased quality of life components are raised for an entire community and accessible to all segments of the population. Women, and men, have a pivotal role to make sure women have seats and voices at the table in business and in leadership. We all have a responsibility to open doors for others to reach their capacity and contribute to the economy in the Golden Corridor and beyond.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Helping you build your business in PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA

developable land

easy access to air, highway and railway

great place to live

accessarizona.org

Connect with us.

Call 520-836-6868 or email info@accessarizona.org

CG News

CONTINUED…

SMART911...cont. from page 12 Councilwoman Mary Kortsen asked how the word will be spread through the city about registering and whether there would be confidentiality issues with personal information.

On the confidentiality issue, Mike Brashier, commander of the Public Safety Communications Division said, “The information is on the Rave server. We do not have access to the information unless the person makes a 911 call, so we cannot just go in and look it up. Once you make a 911 call, that in-

SEWER UPGRADE...cont. from page 13 Thompson said, noting the city has acquired additional land for expansion.

“We know eventually Kortsen’s going to have to service a lot or we have to come from different directions,” he continued. “We’ve looked at different alternatives but we’ve never sat down and done a master plan to really give us all the numbers and all the information. We’ve talked about alternative lines; we’ve talked about picking some additional up south of it down on Casa Grande Avenue and other locations and bringing it closer to the plant, then putting it back into Kortsen, but we’ve never sat down and talked about the final portion on this side of the interstate.”

On the east side of Interstate 10, Thompson said, “We’ve designed the entire system through the master plan and then in relationship with our partnership with PhoenixMart where they’re going to pay for that portion of the engineering, which they have done.

But on this west side we know that we needed some additional alternatives.”

He continued, “So I think right now the biggest issue for us over the history of it is to find out what of those alternatives is the best.”

A major challenge for upsizing the Kortsen lines, Thompson said, “is that Kortsen is so heavily used and we have multiple schools now located off that roadway and when you put a major sewer line into Kortsen you start tear-

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formation will stay active for about 45 minutes, at that time the window will close and we don’t see that information any longer.”

He added, “How we’re going to reach out, is we’re going to use our PIO from the city and work with the Police Department, the Facebook pages. They (Rave) supply monthly information that we can publish and put out tips about it.”

Councilman Matt Herman asked what the threshold for registered users would be.

“I know it can help,” he said, “but

if we have 200 people registered it’s probably not worth our time.”

Brashier answered, “With the confidentiality, we’re not going to know how many citizens here register. We will be able to tell how many times we’ve used it.”

Herman responded, “You can’t tell how many people are in it?”

Michele Nelson, Rave regional sales director for public information, said the number of registered users in Casa Grande’s ZIP codes will be available.

“Don’t need to know who it is,” Herman said, “just need to know how

many so that way we’re not spending all this money for three people’s information to pop up, which I don’t think will happen.”

Councilman Karl Montoya wanted to know how the information in Smart911 will be kept updated.

Nelson answered, “On the (personal) safety profile, if you haven’t touched it in six months you will continue to get reminders. After so many reminders, that information becomes stored in the database for seven years and will be available until you actually go to update it. We want that information.”

ing up the road. That’s why we looked at the north branch of the Santa Cruz back then, but that was somewhat inefficient and then when TransWestern came in and took some of that area that we would have otherwise used, we talked about concerns over if we do have a large (flood) event how much of the soil is going to be scoured away, will it expose pipes? There are other concerns. So then we started talking about Rodeo. We pick up almost everything from the north if we put a larger lateral down Rodeo and then drop into the plant that way, as well.”

He added, “That’s where we kind of gravitated towards over the years, but now we want to really know what’s the best alternative (and) what the costs are associated with that. But we have been talking about it for 10 years, so it isn’t something that we’ve ignored, it’s just a matter of this is a sewer project, so whenever we go to spend money it impacts rates. And we know our concerns over the rates over the years, we’ve tried (to be) as frugal as we can, and as Terry’s mentioned we found other ways to divert flows, to do other things, but now we’re to the point that we need to start doing something and move the project forward, so that’s why we’re here this evening.”

Mayor Bob Jackson said the situation is similar to the southwest area of the city, where the Burris Road sewer line was upgraded to handle more flow from the industrial area.

Councilwoman Mary Kortsen said,

“I like the timing on this because my concern has been that we have that Kortsen interchange (on I-10) coming up, we’re trying to encourage Arizona Department of Transportation to come in and expand and add those lanes in there. I’d like to have this in place and done before they come in to do it because I think it’s going to be cheaper than them putting everything in and then us trying to dig under. So the

timing, I believe, is just critical in that area in addition to capacity.”

McKeon replied, “Just to note, as Jim mentioned, the city’s east area sewer expansion project, which is currently under design and that PhoenixMart is actually paying for, goes from the west side of I-10 all the way over toward PhoenixMart. That project actually accommodates the footprint of that overpass.”

New paving machine will take on larger projects

C

asa Grande is buying a paving machine that will allow the Public Works Department to take on larger projects.

The $145,627 machine brought some questions from the City Council before approval was granted.

According to the staff report from Streets Supervisor Pedro Apodaca, the city’s current paver “is a small entry-level paver that was used to pave many of the city-owned parking lots in the past, but it is undersized and underpowered for our current needs. The replacement unit is a midsize paver that has the ability to do parking lots as well as larger street paving projects. It has a larger paving path, a self-feeding hopper and it is able to push a loaded truck for continuous paving operation, producing smoother finished pavement surfaces.”

The report continued, “Used in

conjunction with our new milling machine, this paver will increase the division’s ability, efficiency and performance, allowing them to replace larger road sections with new asphalt.”

Public Works Director Kevin Louis told the council, “The paver that we’re going to be purchasing is a midsized paver and it will really allow staff to take advantage of doing some larger projects. In the past, we’ve done smaller projects, parking lots. We’ll be doing large projects in conjunction with the purchase of our asphalt zipper, which is our milling machine that we were currently doing projects with.”

Louis said the present paver, a 1998 model with 914 hours of use on it, will be traded in upon the new purchase.

The only topic that brought questions from officials was the 914-hours

continued on page 58...

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

CG News

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ATTESA...cont. from page 13 core (attracting events and tourists) surrounded by automotive-related employment uses (and some complementary commercial and housing options).”

City Involvement At this time, Casa Grande is not directly involved with the proposal because the area lies outside the city limits. However, the city is working with Pinal County planners on thoughts and proposals.

As Tice told the commission, “It happens to be that although the property is within the county – an unincorporated area of the county – it is within the city of Casa Grande’s planning area. And if it’s within our planning area, it’s also included in our General Plan. So what it means to be within our planning area is the vision that ultimately it will be part of the city.”

He added, “It’s not eligible for annexation now. It’s three miles away from the corporate boundaries. The developer sat down with us and talked about annexation. We said, ‘Look, it’s not feasible for us to annex you at this time because we don’t have contiguity with the existing corporate boundaries and it’s a long ways off, three miles.’

We encouraged them to seek approval to build in the county, which is what they’re doing, but with the idea that

eventually it will be part of the city in the future. Because it’s in our planning area, the county seeks our review and comments on this proposal.”

The Attesa developers are seeking a major amendment to the county’s land use plan. When the area is eventually annexed into Casa Grande, changes to the city’s general plan would have to be made.

“In our general plan, it’s actually designated as agricultural. That whole area below I-8 is agricultural and rural, other than the frontage along the I-8 itself,” Tice told the commission. “But I do note that although this type of use would not normally be allowed in our agricultural land use category, given the fact that it’s adjacent to Montgomery Road, which is the western boundary to the site, and Montgomery Road is an expressway north of I-8 and a major arterial to the south and Montgomery Road is identified as one of the potential I-11 corridor alternatives, it is logical that this kind of site might be located in that area – close to I-8, close to the commercial development on the south of I-8.”

He added, “If it was in our jurisdiction, we would also have to be having to seek a general plan amendment in order to build the facility.”

Tice said the developer’s proposal for a package sewer treatment plant at the site brought no objections from the

city’s Public Works Department, “with the caveat that it is designed in a way that when we bring sewer, the sewer system can be connected to our system and gravity flow into our infrastructure. And we’ve discussed that with the applicant. The project will be initially served with a package treatment plant but eventually will be connected to the city sewer system, long term.”

A question arose from the commission on the effects of an airport in that area.

Tice responded, “I think the concept is that some of these owners of race cars have private aircraft and they want to fly in to train their vehicles. And they would have a home here, a garage here and fly in to train, stay for awhile and then leave. That’s part of the concept.

Obviously they had to go to the FAA for approval, right, to make sure that all works with air space.”

He added, “I don’t really think there’s much conflict. From a land use standpoint, the area was planned, for example, to be rural or ag, all rural and ag. We actually have no residential design out there. All rural or ag, other than commercial along the interstate corridor. There’s really no big residential planned area developments or anything like that.”

From the developer Commission Chairman Mike Hen-

derson said he believed the development would be similar to Stellar Airpark in Chandler, with homes that have small hangars.

Pat Johnson, one of the principals in Danrick Builders which is developing Attesa, said, ‘the development is, as the chair mentioned, very, very much like Stellar. In fact, that’s what we used as a model and in 1972 my first development client was Stellar Airpark. So I’ve seen that before.”

The airport runway will be eastwest, Johnson said, adding that during discussions with the Tohono O’odham Nation just a half mile south of the project, “Their concern with the airport was that it not go north and south, which is perfectly understandable. There will be a restriction on arrival and leaving.”

If all approvals go as expected, Johnson said, “We should be able to break ground on an at-risk basis about 12 months from now and the construction then.”

He continued, “We’re thinking that the first races are 42 months away from today.”

Johnson added that, “We already have a joint venture agreement for a 330-room resort hotel on the site for the conference center. That agreement has been made.”

He said 1,850 acres of the project has been purchased outright, with the remainder pending in escrow.

Thousands of streetlights to become LED

I

t won’t be “quite the difference” between night and day along city streets, but you’ll notice the improvements.

Casa Grande is entering into a contract to replace streetlights with LED fixtures, abandoning the high-vapor sodium ones that have been here for years.

There are more than 6,000 street lights in Casa Grande, with electricity provided mostly by APS, but also Electrical District 2 and San Carlos Irrigation District (east of Interstate 10). This project includes only the lights powered by APS. “The goal for the LED street lights is to improve energy efficiency and save ener-

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

gy and dollars through correct sizing and lighting levels,” Senior Management Analyst Steven Turner told the City Council.

Eventually, he said, all lights will be connected to a system that will allow dimming or brightening, depending upon a given situation.

Ameresco, the company working with the city and the one that oversaw solar lighting at parking facilities, has recommended that the adaptive lighting system be tested on 70 fixtures along the route of the annual Electric Light Parade Using that adaptive control system, Turner said, “We can dim the lights so

people have a better viewing of the parade itself.”

In the future, he added, “All 3,867 fixtures will have the capability to interface with the citywide wireless control. That control system allows the different light-

ing to be dimmed or brightened or turned off or on. It can also be used to brighten during traffic accidents or during a lighting failure. If a pole gets knocked down,

continued on page 58...

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EDUCATION

NEW COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER CERTIFICATE PROGRAM NOW OFFERED AT CAC

by Angela Askey, Executive Director Public Relations & Marketing

A

Community Health Worker (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of his or her community and has a close understanding of the area being served (including urban, rural and tribal communities). This relationship enables the CHW to serve as a liaison between health services and the community by using culturally relevant methods to break down barriers to health care. A CHW builds health understanding and self-efficacy in individuals through a range of activities such as outreach, commu-

nity education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy.

New this fall, Central Arizona College is offering a Community Health Worker Certificate Program. This program will provide the competencies and skills students need for employment opportunities within the State of Arizona. Throughout the United States, the Community Health Worker field is growing, both in interest and in demand. According to the Department of Labor, a 21 percent increase for CHWs is projected between 2012 and 2022 — twice the projected

increase of other professions.

Throughout the CHW program, students will be introduced to community and public health topics such as; chronic disease management, health communication, health literacy, counseling and motivational interviewing, wellness and health advocacy.

This part-time program may be completed in one year through distance learning. This includes a 90-hour internship which can be completed almost anywhere in the State of Arizona.

“The CHW Certificate Program aligns with the vision and

mission of CAC. Students will be prepared for a high demand career, serving the diverse communities in Arizona,” explains Instructional Specialist Kim Bentley. “The field is also rapidly expanding into new areas of health and community wellness as Community Health Workers continue to work in health promotion, disease prevention and chronic disease management.”

For more information on the Community Health Worker Certificate Program and application form, please visit www.centralaz.edu/CPH.

Your Future Begins Today at CAC! Academic degrees and certificates, high school outreach programs, career training, university transfer courses, personal enrichment and continuing education classes.

Eight Pinal County Locations To Serve You Campuses:

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Aravaipa Campus 80440 E. Aravaipa Rd. Winkelman, AZ 85192 520-357-2800 Florence Center 800 E. Butte Ave. Florence, AZ 85132 520-494-6801

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San Tan Campus 3736 E. Bella Vista Rd. San Tan Valley, AZ 85143 480-677-7825

u d e . z a ntral

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

LORRIE CARTER

LEGAL

NEW OVERTIME EXEMPTION RULES BEGIN DEC. 1

Overtime exemption threshold is set to double, from $455 per week to $913

by Tina Vannucci & Denis Fitzgibbons, Fitzgibbons Law Offices

I

n a move affecting many employers, the Labor Depa r t ment re cent ly a nnounced a sharp increase in the minimum salary requirement for employees to be exempt from overtime pay.

Whether workers are exempt from overtime or non-exempt depends, in part, on their duties. Executive, administrative and professional employees are generally considered exempt.

However, in addition to satisfying the “duties test,” to be exempt the employee must be paid a salary of at least $23,660 a year ($455/ week).

On Dec. 1, the minimum required salary for overtime-exempt employees will more than double, to $47,476 per year ($913/week), and many employees who are currently exempt may soon be entitled to overtime pay.

Example: You pay an exempt employee a $500 weekly salary.

In an average week, that employee works 50 hours. Under the new rules, that employee’s $500 weekly salary will be $413 below the $913 weekly minimum to qualify for the overtime exemption. If the employee continues to work 50 hours a week at $12.50/hour, that employee will be entitled to 10 hours of overtime pay at $18.75/hour, raising

30

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the weekly pay to $687.50.

To prepare for this change, employers should take a number of steps.

First, determine whether employees really are exempt.

If they do not satisfy the duties test, change their status to non-exempt.

Second, if your employee meets the duties test but is not close to the new salary minimum, consider whether you will raise his or her pay to remain exempt. If the employee does not regularly work more than 40 hours a week, it may be less expensive to pay overtime instead.

Third, for a currently exempt employee who works many hours but whose base weekly salary is less than $913, determine whether to lower the hourly rate so that, with overtime, he or she will continue to earn roughly the current amount.

Fourth, employers should also be stricter in limiting overtime and determine which employees can be capped at 40 hours.

Finally, to avoid excessive overtime, consider adding fullor part-time employees.

For assistance in working through the new regulations, contact Fitzgibbons Law Offices (520-426-3824).

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 19... mentor. His ability to instill in those of us who were still young, to be proud of who we are and where we came from, but to understand that you needed to work very hard, of course, but never forget where you come from and to use that as a platform to grow and thrive. I never forgot that.

GC LIVING: Did you document a lot of history from your parents?

EVELYN CASUGA: I need to, and this is where I'm falling down. One of my big projects as a senior at UC Santa Cruz was to document my father's story. And how I did it was, I used little snippets. I had interviewed him and so I had the front end of my chapters about his story but, of course, then there was the historical research that I had to do about that particular generation. And so, I have that captured, written by a 20-year-old in the house somewhere.

GC LIVING: What about your mom’s history?

EVELYN CASUGA: A friend of mine did do an oral history. This is so horrible, but they're on a cassette tape and I never transcribed them.

My mother, who's 90, is of that second wave of Filipino immigration to the United States, or the Filipino war brides. This is my mother’s generation You first had the men who came in the 20s. Then after World War II the Filipino war brides who all came out in droves because, you figure, there were these thousands of men who could not marry and finally go to the Philippines and fall in love… find a sweetheart, bring their wives over and start their families here in the U.S..

And then there's a third wave of Filipino immigration that was in the 60s when the U. S. loosened up their immigration laws and a lot of professionals came over at the time, so the doctors, the nurses, the teachers and the professional ranks in the Philippines who wanted to leave because of political situations…

GC LIVING: Well, you did this internship in Seattle your senior year and it had a profound effect on you. You graduated and then what happened?

EVELYN CASUGA: After graduating, I did a summer project in Long Beach, working in a barrio with a program that took kids from the barrio and gave them summer school since they didn’t have access to any schooling over the summer. I was part of a team that was called

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New Dawn. I wasn't in the classroom teaching, I was more of the support staff for the teachers. We were all college students and…

GC LIVING: …set the world on fire?

EVELYN CASUGA: (Laughs) Set the world on fire.

We were going to change the world, right? So that's what we did that summer.

GC LIVING: Was that a rude awakening?

EVELYN CASUGA: Well, it was! It was enlightening and not too unlike my experience working in Seattle. We were able to give these children an opportunity to experience the zoo. We actually went to Disneyland; we went to the beach. These are kids who lived close to all of these places, but could never have afforded to do it. And because of that summer program, we were able to share that experience with first through fifth graders.

GC LIVING: Was it after this that you knew what you wanted to do?

“...all the relatives who came after mom and dad…a lot of the firsttimers immigrating from the Philippines, ended up at our house.”

EVELYN CASUGA: No. (Laughs) After the program in the summer ended, I had to move back to my parents’ house I moved back to mom and dad's house. And I'm going to pause right there for a second because I have to tell you about mom and dad's house.

GC LIVING: This is the house you grew up in?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes it's actually their third house. The first house they moved into was a three-room, not much of anything. But this was a decent house, in a good neighborhood in our little town. So my mother and dad’s house ended up being, as my uncle calls it, the “port of entry,” because all the relatives who came after mom and dad…a lot of the first-timers immigrating from the Philippines, ended up at our house. My father would take them out in the field and show them

what real work was all about, which you have to do in America. And, you know, they got the message and a lot of them continued or completed their education or they finished up their degrees or became certified here in the United States. They all went on to establish themselves all over the country and started their own families and had their own houses.

So that richness of those waves of immigration that have come to the United States over centuries, my family had a role in that part of the niche they played.

GC LIVING: And your moving back is when you started learning about life?

EVELYN CASUGA: Oh absolutely. I learned more just about everybody else's stories. And, you know, I got my room back. That was good.

My parents, my father in particular, were very active in the community, so he happened to know the director of the Orange Cove Community Center. His name was Victor Lopez and Victor had an opening for an activities coordinator and my dad said, “Hey go ask Victor if there's something you can do over there.”

So I applied. I got the job because I was very qualified. I was a college graduate in a small town. And I thought, “Oh, what the heck else am I going to do?”

So I jumped in and did that role. It was kind of working in the community. I was working with a preschool program, a Head Start program, summer youth programs, a senior citizens program and, at the time, there was also this Disability Club. And I was in charge of doing outside activities with all these groups.

I actually worked there for about three years.

But what happened was Victor became the mayor of the city of Orange Cove in the middle of all of this.

GC LIVING: Ah ha!

EVELYN CASUGA: So it all starts coming together.

They also hired their first city administrator in that period of time I was working for the community center. And that city administrator was Bill Little. Some of you might recall, Bill Little ultimately became the city manager in Eloy. I actually moved over to the City of Orange Cove for work. So my old boss is now the mayor. They hired a brand new city administrator and I was still on this comprehensive employment training program, so the city didn't have necessarily the funds but this was federal dollars to supplement employment, whether it was the public or the

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

private sector. And so I happened to transition from the community center over to the city of Orange Cove. That was my first taste into municipal government.

GC LIVING: And Bill hired you?

EVELYN CASUGA: Bill hired me there.

GC LIVING: And was he a mentor?

EVELYN CASUGA: He was a mentor as well. So Bill Little was an out-of-the-box city manager. He had worked in Southern California and gotten his feet wet in Orange County. They were going through massive growth, lots of infrastructure projects. This would have been in the early-to-late 60s or early 70s. This was his first city manager job. He was an assistant in his previous jobs. So as kind of where I was in my career and where I had come from in my work experience, this was like a playground for me to learn so much about municipal government and to understand how to work with elected officials, how to work with public sector projects and different sorts of funding to get projects done.

GC LIVING: And you're still in your twenties?

EVELYN CASUGA: I was 24, maybe a little bit older. Then what happened was Bill leaves to go back to graduate school in Long Beach.

Can you guess what the council does? They make Evelyn, the greenhorn, the acting city manager.

GC LIVING: You obviously had an impact on the community or they wouldn't have done it.

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

EVELYN CASUGA: I guess. I was scared to death.

(Laughs) GC LIVING: Now you're in a management position?

EVELYN CASUGA: I'm in a management position. I knew I didn't want the job, the permanent job, but because I was temporary, it was okay. And there were enough seasoned team members at the time who helped mentor .

GC LIVING: Here's the trick. You allowed them to do that.

EVELYN CASUGA: Absolutely! Because I didn't know what I was doing necessarily. I tried my best to pull it all together and would present proposals or recommendations to the council and that worked out. I did that for probably eight months. It took them about that long to hire the new city manager. And somebody warned me at the time saying, “You're used to being at the lead. (Laughs) You're not going to like working with another manager.”

GC LIVING: This was now on your resume though.

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes. This is true. I stuck around for about another year, because one thing I did recall was that you needed to be somewhere for three years to look good on your resume. So, I stuck it out and ended up working three years for the City of Orange Cove. And this is when I then left for graduate school.

GC LIVING: Why did you make that decision?

EVELYN CASUGA: I knew I was going to go to graduate school after I got that three-year work experience at a municipality, and actually, the next city manager I worked with, Izzy Rodriguez, was another mentor and one of the lessons that I learned from Izzy – and I've never forgotten this one – is you can be replaced. So never forget that.

GC LIVING: But having a master's degree is sort of a hidden rule as you're going to progress.

EVELYN CASUGA: It was the next step. Absolutely.

GC LIVING: So where did you go?

EVELYN CASUGA: I went to the University of California at Berkeley. I got my master’s in city and regional planning. I didn't necessarily go a traditional public administration route at all. It was more kind of in the weeds.

GC LIVING: Did you get a scholarship?

EVELYN CASUGA: I did – a graduate scholarship fellowship. It was a two-year program.

GC LIVING: Were you being taught something that was different from what you'd learned from practical experience? Or was it pretty well the same?

EVELYN CASUGA: It was more the practical applications of what municipalities do and can do.

GC LIVING: All right so you're in graduate school and you've had some experience. At what point in graduate school did you realize, "It's time for me to start looking for work?”

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The LIVING Interview (continued) EVELYN CASUGA: Understanding what it was going to take to find a real job and because the program allowed this, there were opportunities while in grad school for field work and internships. I worked for a small housing agency in West Oakland of all places.

GC LIVING: That's a good experience.

EVELYN CASUGA: It was a great experience. I think I was just doing paperwork and grant administration for the agency, so that was a short-term gig, but that was good, so that's just another thing on the resume. Then I got this great internship with the agency at the National Council of La Raza. It still exists today and is based out of Washington D.C. It’s a community-based organization that does a lot of social services, whether it’s housing or job training.

So I did that for six months and that finished up my last six months in graduate school in the summer after I graduated from Berkeley.

GC LIVING: Now does Bill Little enter the picture again?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes, exactly. So in that period of time, Bill Little finishes up his master’s degree. He ends up in Eloy, Arizona because he followed his significant other at the time, because she had gotten a job with IBM Tucson in 1980. Bill ends up in Eloy because of Edith.

GC LIVING: Wow. EVELYN CASUGA: So there's that story. Upon graduating from Berkeley in 1983, some people who were here at that time might even

34

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recall Ken Buchanan was working for Bill at the City of Eloy.

GC LIVING: And we should interject that Ken was from Eloy.

EVELYN CASUGA: Ken was from Eloy and Ken, who had just retired from city management also ... Well, I'll just finish this story because the Town of Florence loses their city manager.

Bill says to Ken, "I think this would be a good experience for you to go be the acting town manager in Florence," so Ken takes that opportunity. Well, there's a job opening in Eloy.

That was the same time that I was getting out of graduate school.

GC LIVING: Did he call you?

EVELYN CASUGA: He called me. I had no idea. I mean we kept up communication, of course, and he says, "Hey Evelyn, I've got this job opportunity in Eloy, Arizona." I'm like, “Where is Eloy, Arizona? Really?” So this was 1983.

(Laughs) GC LIVING: So you go from Berkeley to Eloy?

EVELYN CASUGA: Correct. I did! When I came out here, he flew me out here to check out the job, meet some of the folks that he was working with and then I'm thinking in my head, "I can do this for a couple years. I already know his management style. I already know that I'm going to learn a great deal from the experience, so I can do this!" I had nothing tying me anywhere else and I was applying for other jobs, but I was applying to planner-level jobs with some of the larger municipalities in the Bay Area. I'm glad that those didn't work

out. I got notices, but I had already made the commitment to come here. So I moved to Eloy, Arizona in September, Labor Day weekend of 1983. I have been here ever since.

GC LIVING: So you're in Eloy and you're working again with one of your previous mentors.

What are you learning now?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes. I came in as the assistant to the city manager in my original position.

So I was covering the planning and zoning stuff. I was staffing various other boards and commissions at the City of Eloy – certainly helping to staff the council and knowing how Bill works, there were multiple projects going on at the time, and if we might recall from the 80s, those were some boom years for Arizona.

All of a sudden, Arizona is starting to show up as a blip on people's radar as a place to do business. Because of what has always been, as the magazine has called the "Golden Corridor," these were just amazing opportunities.

One of my biggest projects was doing annexations for the city of Eloy. So if you look at the city boundaries of the community ...

GC LIVING: They go to Los Angeles.

EVELYN CASUGA: (Laughs) They go to Los Angeles then go to Mexico. (Laughs) They go everywhere because – and this is one of these funny side stories – working with Bill in the City of Orange Cove in California, we were doing an annexation. Well, oh my God, that was tedious, just multiple agencies that had to approve one annexation. Arizona? It's a little different, but the time and the rules have changed on how you do annexations in Arizona now. At the time, you just needed 51 percent of the property owners as well as 51 percent of the assessed valuation to approve an annexation. We were annexing property that the property owners were willingly saying, "Hey, we want to be part of the City of Eloy," understanding what a municipality brings to the table and to the value of the property. So that was one of my biggest projects to this day – all of the I-10 interchanges were annexed while I was doing the legwork to make that happen.

GC LIVING: And how long did you do this for Eloy?

EVELYN CASUGA: I worked at the City of Eloy for a total of five years. The last two years of my tenure there, I was the city manager.

This is one of those ironies where the political wind shifted and as happens with city managers, they sometimes leave, whether

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

“A mutual friend of ours introduced us at the Arizona Planning Association Conference in Scottsdale that year and he worked for the City of Scottsdale.” by choice or not. So Bill left. Once again, I'm put in the position of an acting city manager, but this time I said, "I'm going to do this, this time." So I applied for the job and I actually got the job.

GC LIVING: What project, while city manager of Eloy, are you most proud of?

EVELYN CASUGA: I would have to say getting those annexations done. I wasn't the city manager at the time. I was just the behindthe-scenes "get this project done" person.

GC LIVING: Were you involved in the Eloy Industrial Park development?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes at the ground level, whether it was doing some rezonings or helping write the grants to get infrastructure.

GC LIVING: All right. So you're where now?

EVELYN CASUGA: I was in Eloy five years, two years as the manager and political winds changed again.

GC LIVING: Did you jump from there to Arizona Public Service?

EVELYN CASUGA: No I had a couple of interim spots before APS. GC LIVING: Where did you go from Eloy?

EVELYN CASUGA: Knowing that there was an election, I kind of saw the handwriting on the wall. It was time to start looking for a job. Because I had ... you’re just spreading your wings and you develop relationships. And young people, you should know, relationships are valuable.

GC LIVING: It's not what you know, it’s who you know.

EVELYN CASUGA: My next job after Eloy was with the Western Gateway Team which was the first regional economic development organization in Arizona from back in the 70s started by a gentleman named Bruce Hillby,

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

which I think the development community may know in the West Valley. So the Western Gateway Team served Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, and Tolleson. We were an office of three doing traditional business recruitment at the time. It was funded by private sector as well as the five cities that we represented.

GC LIVING: And in those days, those communities were way out in the middle of nowhere?

EVELYN CASUGA: Oh, they were these one square-mile towns with all of the cotton fields surrounding them. This is one of these ironic situations. So, I knew about Western Gateway Team because one of my professors in graduate school actually had done a consulting project in Arizona for Western Gateway. So I knew about it back in 1982 or 1983, so this is now 1988 and I'm going "Oh my God, I know about this place," so Bruce Hillby, master development guy, he had put together some documentation. We didn't have the Internet then; we didn't have all of the access to all the social media and all of these other fancy electronic means.

So he produced a book, a very slick document that showed the five communities. It showed their infrastructure; it showed the water lines; it showed whatever he could show by electricity and showed the sewer lines. So it was a masterful document from 1980-something-or-other, mid-80s. This was the organization that I was now working for.

So this was toward the late 80s and I did a lot of work with the municipal relationships because that's what my strength was, but also worked with the clients if they came into town and were looking at X,Y,Z piece of dirt in Buckeye or Goodyear, whatever it happened to be.

Some of you might recall the late 80s boom years for Arizona again. This part of our funding came from Charlie Keating because he had a lot of property that he owned in the West Valley which tied to some Westinghouse land and then American Continental at the time. Well lo and behold, this is when he gets busted by the Feds. So our funding dried up ...

GC LIVING: Were you the first to go?

EVELYN CASUGA: I was. We all went about the same time. Here's another little irony ...

American Continental or AmCor was one of our big funders. Another big funder of ours was Sun Corp. Sun Corp was a subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation with APS

at the time. So our last check actually came from Sun Corp. Who knew?

GC LIVING: Was this during the Mark De Michele years?

EVELYN CASUGA: I think it was Turley still.

It might have been Keith Turley, or else the transition from Mark De Michele. So my last check from Western Gateway Team came from Sun Corp, as I said, and we closed up shop. We were able, fortunately, to transition some of the work and some of the work products to the Tri-Valley Chamber of Commerce, which was a good thing.

GC LIVING: So you started looking?

EVELYN CASUGA: So I started looking. And from a personal side, this was all about the same time that I met Jerry, my husband.

GC LIVING: Where did you meet him?

EVELYN CASUGA: A mutual friend of ours introduced us at the Arizona Planning Association Conference in Scottsdale that year and he worked for the City of Scottsdale. Our first date was my last day at Western Gateway.

GC LIVING: So your life's path has just been laid out for you?

EVELYN CASUGA: Laid out, but kind of fuzzy ... very fuzzy-looking. I did indeed start looking for a job, so I leapt into city management again. And once again, you have your networks, and you have your relationships, and so Ernie Kleinschmidt, who was then city manager of Goodyear, thought I might be interested in the town of Marana, for the city

continued on page 42...

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Sponsorship packages are still available!

Platinum Partnership: 2,500 Gold Partnership: $1,250 Silver Partnership: $850 Bronze Partnership: $500 Copper Partnership: $250 Special Sponsorships: Wayne G. Gerkin Memorial Youth Scholarship Breaks/ Breakfast/ Luncheon Signature Opportunities For details and benefits for sponsors, contact: Executive Director Maxine Brown 480-322-1626 or m.leather@ mchsi.com

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Pinal County Town Hall Vice Chair Donna McBride and Chair Sandie Smith presented $1,000 college scholarships to Kris Mejia, Casa Grande Youth Commission/Casa Grande High School; and Juan Carrillo, Maricopa High School DECA.

PINAL COUNTY TOWN HALL FOCUSES ON TRANSPORTATION

by Donna McBride

“L

inking Transportation: Paving the Way to Economic Growth” is the theme for the 29th Annual Pinal County Town Hall. Approximately 150 delegates are expected to attend the informative sessions being held at Robson Ranch in Eloy on Thursday, Oct. 6. Now in its 29th year, Town Hall has embraced a variety of topics such as economic development, drug prevention, gang violence, rural health, technology, education and volunteerism.

Keynote speakers include Mary Peters, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2006 – 2009) and Victor Mendez, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation since 2014 has also been invited.

The overall goal of the sessions, according to Town Hall Director Maxine Brown, is “to equip citizens with information and knowledge to understand how Pinal County transportation is funded, how to get involved in obtaining local projects, what a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is, and how it all links with the economic health and growth of Pinal County.

We will hear from federal, state and

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local transportation officials, representatives from business, economic developers and regional planners. The Pinal County Town Hall believes delegates will be able to return to their community with a better understanding of local transportation and economic growth of the county.”

Pinal County Town Hall’s Wayne G. Gerken Youth Scholarship will be awarded during the event. Town Hall offers students the opportunity to attend the event and participate in a roundtable discussion to apply for the scholarship. In discussing the youth component of the program, Town Hall Advisory Committee Vice-Chair Donna McBride stated, “Town Hall has provided a venue for young people to come together with local leaders. Helping them learn about important issues such as issues related to transportation and economic growth will help create the next generation of leaders.”

Pinal County Town Hall Advisory Committee Chair Sandie Smith explained, “I have attended all 28 Town Halls. These events have been instrumental in bringing together diversified interests to focus on

DEADLINE IS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH Adult Delegates $85 by September 1st (Early Bird) $100 after September 1st Student Chaperone/Sponsor $50 each *Each registration includes Breakfast, Lunch and Breaks Questions?

Pinal County Town Hall Registrations 6499 S. Kings Ranch Rd, Ste 6-70 Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 Executive Director Maxine Brown 480-322-1626 m.leather@mchsi.com timely, relevant issues vital to Pinal County and its citizens. This focus is then transformed into information taken back to local communities for a better understanding of the issue. The networking and friendships formed at these Town Halls are invaluable for forming alliances that will help ensure Pinal County is a place where we can live, work and play.”

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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Dos and Don’ts when Buying a Home While you are considering the purchase of your home, you should not do anything that will have an adverse affect on your credit score or employment while your loan is in process. We know it can be tempting. When you are moving into a new home, you might be thinking about purchasing new appliances or furniture, but this is really not the right time to go shopping with your credit cards.

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We’re seeking volunteers to help with customer service in a number of different positions within the hospital. We’re looking for those who are service-minded, enjoy working with the commu-

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1919 N Trekell Rd, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 ©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

The LIVING Interview (continued) continued from page 35... management job. He was another mentor of mine who has since passed away.

GC LIVING: So you went Marana?

EVELYN CASUGA: I went to Marana.

GC LIVING: So are you married yet, when you go to Marana?

EVELYN CASUGA: No, we are still dating. I'm always up and down the I-10 traveling to see him.

GC LIVING: And he's in Scottsdale, and you're in Marana?

EVELYN CASUGA: He's in Scottsdale and I'm in Marana. He would come over from Scottsdale on Wednesdays. So the I-10 is home to me.

The road is my home.

GC LIVING: And you were in Marana how long?

EVELYN CASUGA: I was there for about two years.

GC LIVING: So you've built up quite a resume?

EVELYN CASUGA: I have. I was not looking for a job when I lived in the Town of Marana. I loved my job in the Town of Marana. I just enjoyed my time there being the city manager and working with a council that was very progressive in how they wanted to build their community, which was very cool.

GC LIVING: So you weren't looking for a job, someone kind of recruited you?

EVELYN CASUGA: I got a phone call one day from the economic development director for Arizona Public Service, who I had ...

GC LIVING: And how did he find out about you?

EVELYN CASUGA: I had worked with him. Once again, it's the relationships and the connections you make in your life.

It was Paul Wiggs, who was the economic director at Arizona Public Service. So I get this call one day, "Hey, Evelyn, it's Paul Wiggs, wondered if you'd be interested in becoming the community development manager here at APS to work with all of our rural communities in our service territory?" And he said it just like that, and I'm like "What?"

GC LIVING: If you want the job you can have it?

EVELYN CASUGA: “If you want the job you can have it and this is what we are going to pay you.”

GC LIVING: And now it's private enterprise. It's not government any more.

EVELYN CASUGA: Oh, yeah. So the salary scale was way more than I had ever anticipated. Although money has never been my driver in selecting the positions that I've chosen.

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GC LIVING: How many minutes did it take you to accept the job?

EVELYN CASUGA: I hesitated because I really liked the job that I was doing in Marana working with that council, doing what we were doing at the time. Here's another great story. This job offer happened on a Monday, so I called Jerry, because we were dating still at the time, and so I said, "You won't believe this, I got this job offer that I didn't know was coming, and they're willing to pay me X." And he said, "Really, are you going to take it?"

And I said, "Well, you know, let's talk about it. I told him I would call after the following weekend," that was Monday.

I went up to Phoenix, and Jerry said, “Let's go out to dinner and celebrate. I said okay, that's cool.” So Friday night, he takes me out to dinner. We go to the Princess and it was a different restaurant that was there ... shame

“They started moving me up the ladder. First it was economic development.”

on me for forgetting the name of it. So he takes me out to dinner; we walk outside and he proposes to me. So I got a job offer and a proposal.

GC LIVING: How many minutes did it take you to make that decision?

EVELYN CASUGA: None. That one was much quicker. So then I said “yes” to both the job offer and the marriage proposal.

GC LIVING: Did your dad like him?

EVELYN CASUGA: My dad liked him.

GC LIVING: So you had all of the approvals and the stars are lined up. So where was your new office?

EVELYN CASUGA: My initial office was at APS. So, I very sadly left my job at Marana. I had to tell the council that. That was very tough for me. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. So by November of 1990 I started with APS in the headquarters office at 5th and Van Buren streets, on the 6th floor of that tower.

Unfortunately, at the time, for the company, they were going through a re-engineer-

ing process, so I happened to get a job when a bunch of other people were losing their jobs, just because of the downsizing that was happening at the time. So it was a little heartbreaking. I didn't know a whole lot of people and my job was really out in the field, so I stayed out in the field.

GC LIVING: Are you enjoying this work?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes, I loved the job, because of the freedom. I was out in the field. I could develop relationships and talk about what APS could bring to the community. So that was probably the first two years, and then…

GC LIVING: They started moving you up the ladder?

EVELYN CASUGA: They started moving me up the ladder. First it was economic development. I was still working for the economic community development department for Bill Stephenson at the time, but then one of the vice presidents in the customer service organization had me working in this business unit as well, so I started to learn the core of the company, you know, the “keeping the lights on” side of the business. And then ultimately, what brought me back to Pinal County was being appointed the division manager for southeast Arizona, which I was the first female in that role, ever, in that company history.

GC LIVING: Was that a big change from working in community development?

EVELYN CASUGA: Not really, because for me, it was like being a city manager.

GC LIVING: So now you have to move back to Casa Grande and your husband still works in Scottsdale?

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes, still in Scottsdale, but I said, "Hey, I've got this chance for a promotion." And he said, “Let's do it.” So we left Scottsdale.

GC LIVING: And moved to Casa Grande?

EVELYN CASUGA: After 19 years.

GC LIVING: That's true love.

EVELYN CASUGA: Yes. And he gets a job at Pinal County. In Florence as a senior planner and then he ultimately became the planning director, so it worked out for both of us.

GC LIVING: Is he retired now?

EVELYN CASUGA: He retired before I did. He retired in June of 2014. I retired December of 2014.

GC LIVING: And how long were you with APS? EVELYN CASUGA: Twenty-five years. But I didn't stay in the division manager's office. Reorga-

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

nization happens with a lot of these corporate roles and I ended up in 2007 or 2008, I started commuting back to Phoenix again because my job changed and I had more statewide responsibilities. So I just worked out of the corporate office, but kept an office here too.

GC LIVING: What was life like when your son was born?

EVELYN CASUGA: We got married in 1991 and our son was born in October 1993. My father passed away right before we got married, unfortunately. My mother moved in with us in '93 and she's been with us ever since. And now she's 90.

GC LIVING: Did your son go to college?

EVELYN CASUGA: Our son has just completed his bachelor’s from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and their honors college. And he has just recently gotten a real job.

GC LIVING: What's he doing?

EVELYN CASUGA: He is working for that brand new startup company called Zenefits. They're in one of those shiny high rises off of Tempe Town Lake.

GC LIVING: So, with everything you’ve accomplished, you’re still not even retired?

EVELYN CASUGA: No, I retired from APS. Now I’m in an advisor role at Access Arizona.

GC LIVING: So you haven't taken it over?

EVELYN CASUGA: No. We have no intent. I’m in an advisor role, but I'm also sitting on the board.

GC LIVING: Is that a conflict?

EVELYN CASUGA: I'm not getting any remuneration from the organization.

GC LIVING: Are you enjoying it?

EVELYN CASUGA: Oh, absolutely. Because it's not that big of a role, but here, I'll tell you all of the things that I'm doing now as I'm in this other phase of my life. I work part time at Central Arizona College as assistant to the president, so that’s one of the roles I play.

GC LIVING: You’re also involved in Make It Better - Casa Grande. Tell us about that organization and why you decided to be part of the founding group of individuals?

EVELYN CASUGA: Make It Better - Casa Grande (MIB) is a small group of individuals who proactively champion projects and/or other efforts that propel the community and position Casa Grande and the region as a forward-thinking area to live, work and play. Coming from very different political, organizational, public and private perspectives, the individuals involved are

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

driven by the same desire to improve the well-being of the entire community.

My interest in Make It Better - Casa Grande stems from my own passion for community, economic development and civic engagement. Over my professional career, I have been an advocate, advisor and facilitator in this arena, working in other communities and with leadership organizations throughout Arizona. Now that I am in a different phase of my life, I have an opportunity to contribute in my own backyard. I still volunteer at Arizona Town Hall, the longest serving civic participation organization in the state, and I consult with the Center for the Future of Arizona whose mission includes a civic health component. For me, participating with Make It Better - Casa Grande is an opportunity to engage at a grassroots level.

Casa Grande and the region are in an enviable transition. We still have a choice to seize the unknown opportunities and determine our own trajectory and future.

GC LIVING: And what else are you doing now?

EVELYN CASUGA: I'm doing some consulting work for the Center for the Future of Arizona with Lattie Coor, president emeritus of ASU, who is the CEO founder of the center. And working on the two big ideas from that center – The Arizona We Want and The Education That We Need. So I'm on The Arizona We Want side doing some community outreach

with them. Also working on the eight citizen goals that came out of a Gallup Poll from 2008 where Arizonans agreed on these eight citizen goals.

And then I've got a few volunteer gigs, Access Arizona, we can consider among those.

But I'm also representing the college on there as well, so that’s kind of part of the role. And then working with Arizona Town Hall as the development chair for that organization.

And then still sitting on the hospital advisory board at Banner Casa Grande.

And I sit on Business Development Finance Corporation, which is an SBA-approved financing organization working with the banks and financing economic development projects throughout the state. But that's a very low-key role. And I also sit on the Arizona Rural Development Council that sits under Local First Arizona.And then I am chairing the Friends of Public Radio Arizona KJZZ 91.5.

GC LIVING: To close this interview out, is there something bubbling up down in the depths of your brain that you still haven't done that you want to do?

EVELYN CASUGA: I think I want to continue using the skills and knowledge that I've acquired over the years. And with people of like-mind making – wherever I am and in this region – a better place.

GC LIVING: Evelyn, it's been a pleasure.

EVELYN CASUGA: Thank you. This was fun. 

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43

HEALTH

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

by Sun Life Family Heath Center

W

hen it comes to leadership in the nonprofit sector, it takes a leader with a strong feeling of purpose to guide a public sector organization toward success.

At least that’s what Sun Life Family Health Center’s Chief Executive Officer Travis J. Robinette says. Robinette, who has been at the helm of Sun Life since 2006, says that the distinction between running a for-profit business and a nonprofit organization is its mission.

“While private sector organizations may talk about a mission, it is generally not a distinguishing priority to their business strategy,” Robinette explained. “Not-for-profits will typically be driven by their missions as the priority focus upon which business strategy is developed.”

“My personal belief,” he added, “is that the mission of a nonprofit like Sun Life is further supported when our diverse patient population recognizes that our services are the same quality or better than the private sector offerings. My conviction is that our underserved or uninsured customers should be getting service equivalent to or better than private sector offerings, and that underpins our mission as it drives us to excel.”

While excellence in delivering quality services in a nonprofit health care setting is more of a mission than profits, accomplishing the latter is exactly what keeps clients coming back - and helps Sun Life generate money to pour back into the organization “to further the mission.” It’s a perfect, closedloop system.

While running an organization like a business is one thing, leading the people who work in it is something completely different.

Robinette says that he strives every day to reach his ideal of how he believes a true leader should lead.

I believe that is best done by cultivating a culture of trust, he says, and having “impeccable integrity” as a leader.

“An effective leader must be purpose-driven and persistent, but realistic,” he added. “He or she must have principals that others can see exercised consistently and which set high mor-

44

GOLDEN GOLDENCORRID CORRID OR ORLILI VV ING INGFA FA L LL L202016 16

al and performance standards, and the ability to recognize and reward the people that he or she relies on to deliver goals. A leader must be able to listen effectively and to take constructive feedback, and must always have a trusted person or two that will not always say yes.”

And that’s taken a long time to learn. But Robinette had been exposed to the nuances of running a business and the skills it takes to lead other people starting at a young age, growing up the son of an entrepreneur.

“My father, James Robinette, taught solid business principals to me from the time I was a child using illustrations of better and worse examples and why that was important,” Robinette explained. “Dad was a Depression-era child, and completed only third grade in school due to having to work along with the rest of his family. Still, he understood the customer and how to treat them so that they became repeat customers loyal to the business.”

After working for his father for most of his formative years, Robinette became owner of his father’s business in 1980 at the age of 25.

Although he knew how to run the business from the inside out, outside influences such as business environment and politics drove him to school so that he could understand business operations from more angles. While earning his Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Arizona State University in Tempe (which he completed in 1993), Robinette spent 11 years working the financial end of the Pisinemo Trading Post in Sells, Arizona. He moved on to working as a staff accountant for an accounting firm and then business manager of the Picacho Elementary School District.

In 1998, he joined Sun Life as its chief financial officer, before he was chosen as the organization’s next CEO in 2006.

Throughout that time, though, Robinette says that his leadership style has certainly evolved.

“In my beginning years I was more of an autocrat,” he explained. “I set very tough standards and demanded that my people meet them with perfection. Needless to say, I went through a lot of employees trying to

Travis Robinette - Chief Executive Officer at Sun Life Family Health Center, Inc. Photo by Casa Grande Dispatch

find those that could stand up to my standard, a standard I finally realized I also could not meet on a consistent basis.”

It was a tough learning curve. But as time passed, he learned that working with his employees on a more cooperative level helped a business grow and flourish much faster.

He describes his leadership style today as a “cross-functional team-based approach.”

“I utilize the various talents of a diverse management team,” he said. “Each member of the team has individual strengths and weaknesses and I try to keep each positioned within their respective strengths so that each can excel.”

On top of the list of characteristics he believes every good leader should have is also the ability to foster leadership skills in those who work for you. So in turn, Robinette aspires every day to mentor Sun Life’s employees to “be innovative, purpose-driven leaders” in their own rights.

“I expect the managers and management team members at Sun Life to lead with integrity and by example,” he adds. “They should always work to inspire their people to ultimately become better leaders than they are.”

This allows for an engaged, driven workforce, inspired every day to support Sun Life’s mission, which is to deliver comprehensive, high quality services to all people in need of affordable, accessible and culturally effective health care.

For more information about Sun Life Family Health Center, visit www.sunlifefamilyhealth.org, or visit http://www.aachc.org/ to learn more about health centers in Arizona.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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DO I REALLY NEED RENTERS INSURANCE?

by Cindy Garcia, Licensed Insurance Agent with ROX Casa Grande Insurance This insurance coverage is specifically designed to cover your belongings and liability and the policy will protect you in important ways.

46

A

recent study has revealed most people who rent apartments or homes will not have a Renters Insurance Policy unless the landlord requires one. This raises the question, “Do I really need Renters Insurance?”

To find the answer to this question, we need to define Renters Insurance. The only way you can make an informed decision on insurance coverage is to FULLY understand what it covers.

Renters Insurance is strictly for people who rent. Commonly, this includes renting a single-family home, apartment or condo. This insurance coverage is specifically designed to cover your belongings and liability. The policy will protect you in important ways.

But what does it cover? Renters Insurance covers some things like your personal property. A good analogy is to imagine turning your dwelling upside down and shaking it – almost everything that falls out is your personal property. Think of your posses-

GOLDEN GOLDENCORRID CORRID OR ORLILI VV ING INGFA FA L LL L202016 16

sions such as pots and pans, linens, clothing, and furniture, among many others. Renters Insurance also offers you liability coverage. This means that if someone is injured in your home and you are sued, your policy will cover court judgments made against you and any legal expenses up to the limit of your coverage. As well, it covers additional living expenses, which means that you are covered in the event you need to stay somewhere else due to a covered cause of loss. This also includes expenses, such as increased cost for food.

Most causes of loss are: • Fire or Lightning • Windstorm or Hail

• • • • • •

Explosions Smoke Vandalism Theft or Burglary Falling objects Weight of ice, snow or sleet

Most renters and home insurance policies do not cover flood. Flood is caused by water rising from the ground up, like from a broken levy or dam. If there is a windstorm that comes through the area and tears the roof off and it rains on your belongings, this is not a flood. The wind actually caused the damage originally and then it rained on your household goods. Flood insurance is a separate policy that can be purchased.

You will be amazed at how fast your belongings will add up if you had to replace them. The average renter has about $20,000 in personal belongings, if not more. The average cost for a policy is anywhere from $200 to $300 a year. That could average out to two pizzas a month, which is not much to pay or give up the piece of mind that comes with protecting you and your family.

So, do you need a Renters Insurance Policy? Talk with a Licensed Insurance Agent to discuss your needs today, as well as everything a Renters Policy will cover. The truth is, you don’t know what is going to happen. We work too hard to obtain our assets, so protecting them is important.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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Out & About Exciting events and striking scenery in Pinal County

PHOTO BY ADAM MILLER

If you would like to contribute images of area events, people, pets and scenery, please post on our Facebook page or email to: editor@raxxdirect.com

PATRICK BERNEY

PHOTO BY APRIL CRIMMINS

PHOTO BY ELAINE EARLE

PHOTO BY MATTHEW LEMBERG

PHOTO BY ADAM MILLER

PHOTO BY PATRICK BERNEY

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RENA THORNHILL

PHOTO BY PATRICK BERNEY THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Health • Wealth • Education

PHOTO BY JOHN MCGUIRE

JOHN MCWHIRTER WITH AMOS MIKEL MCBRIDE - A THIN BLUE LINE

PHOTO BY PAMELA KRAUSE

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PHOTO BY MATTHEW LEMBERG THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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FREE MONEY. YES, SERIOUSLY.

by Terri Durham, Office Coordinator

Fry’s Food Stores has a Community Rewards program that makes a donation to Seeds of Hope every time you shop.

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I

love getting a good deal. And by good deal I mean FREE. If there was a competitive sport for stretching a dollar, I’m pretty sure I’d be on the podium. Just the idea of getting more “bang for my buck” makes me want to do a double back flip with a one-and-a-half twist in pike position.

But a good deal is only good if people know about it. So, have I got a deal for you!

You can make a monetary donation to Seeds of Hope that costs you

GOLDEN GOLDENCORRID CORRID OR ORLILI VV ING INGFA FA L LL L202016 16

absolutely nothing. Yes, you read that right. You can support us with a regular contribution without it costing you a dime. Are you still reading? OK, good. Fry’s Food Stores has a Community Rewards program that makes a monetary donation to Seeds of Hope every time you shop at any of their stores. Talk about more bang for your buck. It’s like a 2-for-1 deal! I can hear you saying, “OK, this sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch?” Well, there isn’t one. Really. The only thing you have to do is register your Fry’s VIP card online at www.frysfood.com and choose Seeds of Hope under the Community Rewards tab. Enrollment starts every August and is good for one year.

We love community partners like Fry’s Food who invest in local organizations. In the three years Seeds of Hope has participated in the Community Rewards program, almost $3000 has been donated through the Fry’s Community Rewards program. The real benefactors are the people and families we serve through programs

like the hot lunch, after school, Jobs for Life, and Stanfield clinic. Helping people improve their lives also improves our community. The Fry’s Food Stores Community Rewards program is an easy and cost-free way you can be a part of Seeds of Hope’s efforts to enrich individuals and families.

So tell a friend, neighbor, and coworker about the Fry’s Food Stores Community Rewards program. We all buy groceries. So why not make your grocery dollar do double duty and support Seeds of Hope at the same time? Now that’s the best deal in town.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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53

Esther Turner Cotton This final chapter of Esther Cotton’s memoir is poignant for me. Since the early 1930s, my grandparents lived on Peart Road at the base of the Casa Grande Mountain and my father’s closest friend was Cline Sligh, Mary Rugg’s brother, who became my father’s Best Man when he married my mother on November 30, 1947 at Calvary Baptist Church. Bill Rugg was my father’s mentor and partner for many years, farming and ranching.

Nadine Turner Hackler is my dearest friend, a woman of strength, character, and compassion, who has made a very real difference in my life. Born in Prescott, Arkansas, her family moved to Casa Grande in 1938. Each time I have wanted to confirm facts about Casa Grande’s history for articles I have written, Nadine, without fail, has been my source of details and information. Her memory is as sharp as her wit. We also share a deep love of sunsets.

Nadine’s parents, A.L. ‘Buck’ and Effie (Machen) Turner married in 1923 in Camden, Arkansas. Buck was a dirt farmer, logger, grave digger, cabinet maker and carpenter. They raised four children: J.T. (John Thomas, known to his friends as ‘Buck’), Nadine, Esther, and Opal Lavone (Bonni). Effie’s father was a Confederate in the Civil War; Veteran. J.T. retired a Colonel in the U.S. Army, serving in WWII and the Korean Conflict. Esther became an LPN and X-ray technician and has lived in Bisbee since 1951. Bonni worked as the office nurse for Dr. J.B. Tucker for many years and lived in Casa Grande until her death in 2000. Growing up, music was always part of their lives; Buck was “an old fashioned hoe-down type fiddler,” J.T. played the guitar and Nadine played the organ and piano by ear. To this day, they remain a close-knit family.

In the early 1970’s, Esther, began writing for her children a memoir of her life in Arkansas and Arizona. In keeping with Nadine’s wish, Esther is sharing the following excerpt from that work.

Finally, the Turner, Hackler and Cotton families have been important influences in my life. I recall my grandfather fishing with Buck in the White Mountains. Buck built cabinets for our home on the farm.

Effie taught my little girls to crochet.

Nadine lovingly cared for my daughters when we first moved back to Casa Grande in the early 1980’s...playing the piano with them, singing, baking bread, 54

GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING FA L L 20 16

“God, what is poor?”

by Esther Turner Cotton In fond remembrances of Mother and Daddy Dedicated to Nadine, my sister

Chapter 6

W

e were renting a small house from Bill and Mary Rugg who also managed the Alfalfa Fee Mill (later known as the Arizona Flour Mills). They lived in the house next door also on the mill grounds. Daddy worked for Bill at the mill. Mary Rugg is special, a kind and generous person. She was a registered nurse and worked at the Eleven Mile Corner Government Hospital.

My mother helped in Mary’s home with housework. Her parents had died leaving three teenage children*** before starting their own family. I remember especially one of the many kind things she did for us.

My sister, Nadine, didn’t have stockings to wear at her eighth grade graduation and Mary gave her a pair. This past February, 1983, her five children and her brothers and

sister had an open house for Mar y’s 70t h bi r t hday. I was unable to attend but mother and Nadine went and said Mar y is still smiling and enjoying a pleasant life.

That same year, in the fall, daddy bought a brand new car, our first ever. It was a 1949 Chevrolet sedan and with his trade-in and some cash it was all paid for. We moved to town again. This time we lived at the south end of Florence Street. I don’t know why we made this move. Probably because daddy didn’t work at the Alfalfa Mill any longer and they needed the house for their employees. Maybe because Nadine and J.T.

nursing them through chickenpox, teaching them scriptures and values and having sleepovers. Those memories are filled with joy, sadness, wisdom, trust and love.

Nadine and my mother, by then a widow, spent many long hours visiting, usually on the phone. Esther’s visits to Casa Grande

were always a time of happiness and reunion. I am so grateful that they have, again, shared their lives with me and now with you.

– Georgia Schaeffer Casa Grande native and Associate Broker at Coldwell Banker ROX Realty THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Esther Turner Cotton ***Mary Rugg’s siblings were Bob, Cline and Ida Mae (Storey) Sligh.

were both in high school and it would be more convenient. The house we moved into wasn’t any bigger or as nice. I have to ask mother the reason we moved.

I don’t know if we were better off financially or if our parents were just working harder at pulling us up. Mother bought her first complete set of pots and pans (and is still using them). They bought us a new piano and we started taking piano lessons. The lessons were short lived however. My sister has a fantastic ear for music and plays well.

I would practice diligently, then Nadine could sit down and play every note she had heard. Mrs. Scott, our teacher, finally gave up and told mother she wouldn’t be able to teach Nadine. Well, I got my feathers ruffled and decided if she wouldn’t teach my sister then I would quit also. I realize now I only hurt myself in the long run. This was the summer I decided to go to work.

My eighth grade homeroom teacher, Mr. Casey Bussell, and his family had moved into a new home over in Evergreen Addition, the elite section of Casa Grande. His wife had just recently had a new baby, their third child, and needed a mother’s helper. It took a lot of pleading and cajoling but daddy finally said O.K. and I moved in with the Bussells for the summer. I didn’t realize how homesick a person could get being just across town, but I stuck it out working five-and-a-half days a week, getting Saturday afternoons and Sundays off.

Our family had two setbacks this year.

First, I had a serious illness. I had my tonsils removed two-and-a-half years prior.

Dr. Charles Nevins had done the surgery in the old two-story Lincoln Hospital located at the corner of First and Florence streets and across the street from where Don’s Market is now located. I had a recurring throat infection which finally developed into Strep throat. There were no antibiotics such as Penicillin and the sulfa drugs were just becoming the major treatment for infections. It took many days to overcome

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

this illness.

Before I became ill, our eighth grade class was planning to do the operetta, “Tom Saw yer”. I had auditioned and got the role of Becky Thatcher and I was thrilled. But with the illness, I was unable to practice or be in the performance. We didn’t even get to see the final performance. This was a great disappointment, but not as big as the one mother and daddy had shortly after. J.T. had asked to use the car to go to a football game and dance at the high school. Like a lot of teenagers, he went over the allowed limits and left town with some friends in the car. South of Coolidge and Florence on Highway 89 there is a big sandy wash. The guys were probably driving very fast and lost control of the car and rolled it. It was a total wreck.

Unfortunately, daddy did not have insurance (it was not mandatory) so the accident was a terrific financial loss. However this too passed and we survived.

We moved again. Now we lived on west First Street – three houses west of the old San Carlos Hotel and only half a block from where Mr. Ethington had his business years earlier. Daddy had steady work, mother was still working at the laundry and J.T. was working for Les Bennett as a meat cutter. I was 13 years old and had obtained a Social Security card and was working at Martin’s Drugstore downtown at the corner of Fourth and Florence streets. I was a soda jerk and loved it. Nadine got a job as an usher at the movie theater a few stores down the street from the drugstore. Times were getting a little better.

This was 1941 and now that I have read books and historical accounts as to what was politically at home and abroad, I know why the economy was getting better. The big W.W. II was brewing.

December 7, 1941 started out as a quiet day at our house. Nadine, Bonni and I had gone to Sunday School at Calvary Baptist Church. Since mother and daddy worked,

they spent Sundays catching up at home.

They didn’t go and J.T. had stopped going with us.

After church we had Sunday dinner, then Nadine and I went to the funeral of Mr. Stevenson who was the father of Marion “Jughead” Stevenson who was a class friend to J.T. Nadine and I had been asked to sing at the service.

While at the funeral, news came over the radio about Pearl Harbor. The impact was the same on us as it was across the nation – first terror, then anger.

Each of us did the usual things to help the war effort. J.T. went into military service in the Eighth Air Force and served well. Daddy worked on government building projects – one being the internment camp at Rivers near Sacaton where the Japanese refugees from the West Coast were housed. We collected bacon fat, tin cans and other needed items. Nadine and I were involved in amateur entertainment shows and we bought war bonds and stamps.

The record of our country gearing up to help support, fight and win a war is history and the economy soared to new heights but – the bottom line of this book is – for our family and many others – the depression wasn’t over until the war started. Sad to say, but true.

God, is it poor…to have parents who worked all their waking hours at giving us pride, character and values that would see us through life? Is it poor…to have had grandmothers around us, while we were young, to give us their wisdom in basic values? Is it poor…to have known the Riley Moodys, The Mixon family, Ella Thweats, Peter Ethingtons, Wiley Hintons, Carl Haisington and Mary Ruggs who gave of themselves, encouragement and material aid through the years?

If you measure poor with eating steak or always having shoes or a big white warm house, then we were poor. But poor in important values of life, God?...Never!

FA L L 20 16 GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING

55

HELPING WOUND PATIENTS HEAL FASTER AT THE WOUND CENTER

S

ince this edition of Golden Corridor LIVING focuses on women leaders in our community, it’s important to note the significant impact our women leaders at the Wound Center at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center have made when it comes to providing exceptional patient care. Women like Kathy Bishop, M.D.; Anne Donos, nurse practitioner and the other registered nurses and staff all contribute to the excellent clinical care we provide our wound patients every day.

“I’m proud of my colleagues, these great women who are so dedicated and focused on helping people in our community,” said Rona Curphy, CEO of Banner Casa Grande Medical Center. “Wound Care is such a highly specialized service. They understand the special attributes they must have to take care of these patients – some of whom have the worst cases of wounds we see in this hospital.”

The topic of wounds is not pleasant for many people to talk about. Nobody wants a wound; nobody asks to have a wound, but one thing we do pretty well is treat wounds.

The Wound Center at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center is a comprehensive outpatient center that provides treatment for patients suffering from all kinds of wounds, including those that are non-healing or extremely difficult to treat.

Every year, more than 6 million people in the United States suffer from chronic wounds

by David Lozano, Public Relations External Media

caused by a variety of conditions including diabetes and other circulatory problems.

Diabetic patients suffer from some of the most severe wound cases, like ulcers. Unfortunately, half of all diabetics have or develop

We’re so proud of the work we do here and proud that the Wound Center is able to offer state-of-the-art equipment to treat the most difficult of wounds. neuropathy or some type of nerve damage in the lower portion of their bodies, like the legs or feet, which then leads to gangrene (a condition where body tissue dies), or ultimately amputation.

“We’re so proud of the work we do here and proud that the Wound Center is able to offer state-of-the-art equipment to treat the most difficult of wounds,” Donos said. “Technology and specialized treatment like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy helps us promote and accelerate the healing process for patients suffering from diabetic foot ulcers, soft tissue infections and other conditions.”

Other wound conditions treated at the Wound Center at Banner Casa Grande include: • Arterial insufficiency ulcer • Compromised grafts and flaps

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Necrotizing soft tissue infections Carbon monoxide poisoning Crush injury and traumatic ischemia Venous stasis ulcers Gas gangrene Chemical or thermal burns Air or gas embolism Radiation tissue damage Venomous spider bites Osteomyelitis (Refractory) Compartment syndrome Post-radiation tissue injury Pressure ulcers Post-operative wounds

In addition to offering leading edge wound care technology, the hospital also has physicians who are trained in Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy and wound management. Nurses at Banner Casa Grande, trained in the care of serious and chronic wounds, and our staff, are able to assist patients with appointments, medical records and any health insurance processing.

Patients who suffer from these conditions can have their primary care physicians refer them to the Wound Center at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center. Once a thorough examination is completed, our physicians will develop a comprehensive and individualized treatment plan. Patients and their loved ones are able to participate in that individualized treatment plan and are given the tools, education and resources they need to help care for their wounds between visits.

“The technology we have, coupled with the individualized treatment plan is really a win-win for both the physician and the patient,” Donos said. “Patients and their loved ones learn what they need to do to take care of themselves and are able to see the improvements being made with their wounds.

In addition, our doctors are able to better communicate with the patient; they’re able to see the patient’s progression and keep in contact with the patient’s primary care physician, so that everyone is informed of the patient’s treatment and progress.”

For more information about the Wound Center at Banner Casa Grande, please visit www.BannerHealth.com/casagrande. Go down the page until you see ‘Services at this Location’ and click on ‘Wound Care.’

56

GOLDEN GOLDENCORRID CORRID OR ORLILI VV ING INGFA FA L LL L202016 16

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CG News

CONTINUED…

LED STREETLIGHTS...cont. from page 25 we can brighten the lights next to that light to make sure there’s adequate light for that area.”

He continued, “When Ameresco did the study session a few months ago, they talked about the potential for better response of public safety, because if you’re trying to find a black car or blue car or green car, with the high pressure sodium, they make it look like the same exact color, but with this LED street technology you’ll be able to differentiate the colors a little bit better.”

It’s a situation of both money and energy savings.

According to the presentation, conversion would cut energy consumption by 68 percent.

The cost now for electricity for the 3,867 streetlights is $307,016, the staff report says, and the cost of maintenance is $2.35 per pole per month, or $109,049.40 per year.

“The LED streetlights are 100,000hour fixtures with a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty,” the staff report continues. “The expected life of each fixture is almost 24 years. The proposed project reduces the streetlight energy consump-

PAVING MACHINE...cont. from page 24 figure.

“It says 914 hours on it, on an 18-yearold machine,” Councilman Matt Herman said. “We’re using it about an hour a week, then?”

Louis responded that paving is not done every day.

“Our paving operations are very limited,” he continued, “and that piece of equipment gets used for about 10 minutes and then you wait for the truck to come.

It’s a very slow operation. The hours are not tied to how many hours we actually had that piece of equipment on projects.

It’s one of those pieces of equipment that sits around 90 percent of the time doing nothing until we actually need it.”

Councilwoman Lisa Fitzgibbons asked, “But now this new equipment has the capability of doing other things, so you’ll probably use it a little more, is that

58

GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING FA L L 20 16

tion by 68 percent and the billed utility costs are reduced by over 39 percent.”

The billed costs, Turner told the council, are lower than the energy savings “because there are some fixed costs that APS charges that we simply cannot avoid at this time.”

Turner added, “Over the first 10 years, they’re predicting 35 failures. That’s threeand-a-half lights. We could look into providing the maintenance in-house and reducing the maintenance cost significantly.”

Dark sky

He added, “It’s something that we’ve been mindful of. We want to make sure that we’re not brightening the sky or doing damage to our residents. We want to make sure that we are well within the recommendations of both the Dark Sky Association and the American Medical Association.”

The staff report gives the following financial breakdown: • Total financed project cost $1,689,249 • Estimated utility rebate - $215,726 • Finance term - 15 years • Finance interest rate - 2 percent • 20-year benefit (energy and maintenance) - $3,139,589, broken down as maintenance benefit of $2,035,884 and electricity benefit of $1,103,987.

• The city is paying for the project from the general fund as a loan with 2 percent interest. The savings from the project in the Highway User Revenue Fund, which covers streets projects, will be used to repay the general fund.

“The amount of light removed from the environment is over 65 percent and that’s because the light quality from these new fixtures is over 250 percent better than the high-pressure sodiums that we currently have,” Turner told the council. “The LED street lighting has a color rendering index of 70. To give a little perspective, on the scale of one to 100, with a 100 being full sunlight, the current streetlights have a color rendering index of 25, so it’s a significantly better quality lighting that we are proposing to change these fixtures to.”

Turner continued, “With dark sky complaints, a lot of articles were put out … that talked about potential harm of changing to LED street lights. But both the International Dark Sky Association and the American Medical Association recommend using a 3,000 Kelvin color temperature to minimize potential harm to human health effects and also protect the astronomical community, and that’s what we’re proposing to use in our project as well. I also received an e-mail from the Steward Observatory from the University of Arizona thanking us for considering the 3,000 Kelvin color temperature.”

As Mayor Bob Jackson sees it, “I’m old enough that I remember when they had mercury vapor lights and they converted them all to high-pressure sodium and they went through the same thing. And they paid for those conversions with the savings on the light. It’s just that technology has improved so much, the LED is the next generation.”

He continued, “I know that we’ve got probably another 2,500 streetlights that we don’t own, but it would sure be nice if we work with those providers, be it ED2 or Hohokam or San Carlos, to see if they would be interested in converting those, as well, just so that there’s some continuity and maybe there’s some additional savings there that we could realize, even if we had to share it with them. I just suggest that, but (let’s) see what we can do about it.

correct?”

That is the plan, Louis said, adding that, “As long as we have funding to pay for the materials we’re definitely going to use it as much as we can.”

Councilman Karl Montoya asked if the department has a budget for materials for the paver.

“Yes,” Louis responded. “Each year, we program materials into our operation budget. I believe this year it’s $165,000 (that) was identified for maintenance materials. So that’s what is used to cover the cost of the asphalt to supply this piece of equipment.”

Herman asked, if the paver is used only for a small amount of time, would it be better to hire for projects.

“I mean, what justifies us owning this paver if we’re only using it 10 percent of the time?” he continued. “I understand how pavers work, you just use it for a little bit and you have to wait for

it to fill up.”

It comes down to the size of the project and whether it makes financial sense to hire it out, Louis responded.

“We can typically do a small project for about $50,000,” he said. “If we were to contract that out, $50,000 probably wouldn’t even cover the cost of mobiliz-

ing a contractor to come out. So we use these pieces of equipment sparingly on smaller projects — alley paving, small sections of pavement, those types of things — not large projects. We still have our capital improvements projects budget that we use to do the larger projects and get that economy of scale.”

The financials

In summation

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59

A SATISFYING ANSWER TO THE QUESTION,

“WHAT’S FOR DINNER TONIGHT?”

by Stephanie Collier, Prevention Specialist, ACPP I, Casa Grande Alliance

O Guided conversations and family activities centered around mealtime can provide additional opportunities for family bonding and learning new things.

ne simple family activity that has been proven to reduce youth substance abuse is having frequent family dinners, five to seven days per week. The magic that happens during family dinners isn’t the food on the table; it is the conversations and interactions between youth and adults that takes place during the mealtime.1 Even the everyday conversation questions like, “How was your day?” or “What’s new with you?” can provide parents with valuable information about their children’s lives – what they are excited about, something they may be anxious about, the exhilaration of a new friendship or the confusion that comes from problems with a friend. This information not only helps parents understand their children better, but also lets children know that the parents care about them and what’s going on in their lives.

Guided conversations and family activities centered around mealtime can provide additional opportunities for family bonding and learning new things. Questions like, “What do you

think your life will be like in 10 years?” give parents a chance to hear about their child’s goals and dreams, as well as gives the child an opportunity to learn about goals and dreams the parents have too. A family activity such as planning the week’s meals together gives everyone the chance to share their likes and dislikes, feel valued and learn about nutrition and balanced meals.

If schedules do not allow for frequent family meals, there are many other opportunities to have meaningful family engagement. A story on the news, a television show, or a song on the radio can provide parents an opportunity to invite their child to share what they know and their opinion about an issue. Youth are more likely to engage in an ongoing conversation than listen to a parent give a well-meaning lecture. When conversations between the child and parents include factual information about the dangers of substance abuse, it increases the odds that the child will not use alcohol or drugs. Another way to build a positive relationship with a child is to spend time doing something they want to do. This could be as simple as playing a short game with them or as challenging as taking a class together through the local Parks and Recreation Department.

How well do these methods work? Research shows that young people who feel they are a valued part of the family

are less likely to engage in substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Also, young people who are exposed to more opportunities to participate meaningfully in the responsibilities and activities of the family are less likely to engage in drug use and other problem behaviors.2 Teens who spend 21 hours or more per week with their parents are twice as likely to not use alcohol or try drugs compared to their peers who spend seven hours or less with their parents.1 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) has a website full of information, tools, and fun family activities that can help families have frequent meaningful interactions all year long. In 2001, they launched a national movement called Family Day to celebrate parental engagement as an effective tool to help keep America’s kids substance free.3 This year, Family Day will be celebrated on Sept. 26.

More information about Family Day including tips, tools, and activities can be found at www.casafamilyday.org.

For the past few years, the Casa Grande Alliance has partnered with several local restaurants to celebrate Family Day by making conversation starters available for families to use during their meals. Many of the restaurants have offered discounts, freebies or family activities to encourage participation. We look forward to partnering with local restaurants on Sept. 26 to help families celebrate Family Day. Conversation starters will be made available at participating restaurants and will also be posted on the Casa Grande Alliance website for families who choose to celebrate at home. For more information and a list of local participating restaurants, visit www.casagrandealliance.org or call 520-836-5022.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the Importance of Family Dinners VII, Sept. 2011 Hawkins, J., Catalano, R., and Miller, J. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64-105 3 http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/ 1 2

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

What’s for dinner? ?

Good conversation!

Eating together at least 5 nights a week can prevent youth drug use and other risky behaviors.

Share a meal to celebrate National Family Day on Sept. 26th, 2016.

Go to www.CasaGrandeAlliance.org/family-day to see participating local restaurants and deals.

Teens that have good relationships with their parents are 2 times less likely to use alcohol and 3 to 4 times less likely to use marijuana. One way to keep that good relationship with your child is by having frequent family dinners, 5 to 7 times per week, whether at home or at a restaurant. It is not about the food being eaten, but about the conversation and parental engagement that takes place at the dinner table.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, The Importance of Family Dinners V111. (Sept. 2012)

Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Referrals 901 E. Cottonwood Lane - Suite C Casa Grande, Arizona 85122 520-836-5022 www.CasaGrandeAlliance.org Facebook: CGAlliance | Twitter: @CG_Alliance

PATHWAYS FOR TOXINS TO ENTER YOUR BODY PART II By providing your body with fresh air, clean water, nutrientrich foods, quality sleep, and physical movement, you assist the body with processing and removing the waste that can become toxic when accumulated.

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by Jackie Paunil, MFA, CHC., owner of Terra Madela: Personal Health Coaching

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ersonally, I find myself awestruck time and time again at the incredibly well-designed bodies we inhabit. The details of the systems and processes have wonderful resilience, and if given half a chance, will protect, rebalance and restore. The accumulation of toxic substances within the body can lead to the manifestation of many symptoms. These symptoms are the body’s way of communicating imbalances and damage that may be occurring within. These vary for each individual and can include, but are not limited to, headaches, skin rashes, digestive issues, congestion, joint and muscle pain, diarrhea, constipation and brain fog, as well as eventual disease diagnoses.

• First Line of Defense - The skin is one of our greatest protectors. Skin eruptions indicate when something is amiss. For those substances that have arrived via the nasal passages and make their way within the lungs, we have simple exhalation to expel such elements. If you suffer from airborne allergies, you may be aware of some of your body’s very effective methods to clear these substances – sneezing, watering eyes, coughing and mucous production.

When ingesting bacterial toxins, stomach acid is the first line of defense in eradication. When necessary, plan B is to vomit out substances that the body recognizes as deleterious.

• Detoxification - For those toxins that eventually make their way past the stomach and enter our body, we have a sequence of events that occur with the end result of expelling and excreting these substances from within our bodies. In an ideal world, the toxins or waste products within our body would be limited to those that are the result of bodily processes, such as metabolism. These would be in the form of expired hormones or dead cells that understandably must be cleared from the body. But as we are aware, the environment that we live in has a long list of toxins with which our bodies are now challenged to process. This includes less supportive ingredients found in our foods as well. Once a toxin is in the body, the liver has the job of screening, filtering and determining what is useful or not, so that eventually substances will either be sent to the organs that require them or toxins will be repackaged so that our body can dispose of them through various outlets.

There are two phases to detoxification that require specific nutrients in order to be completed effectively and efficiently. It is important to realize that the body must be in a state of rest for this to occur. For many with high stress, poor sleep quality or nutrient-poor diets, detoxification is low on the body’s list

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•

of priorities. During these phases, the liver begins the process of converting fat soluble toxins into a water soluble state for removal from the body. At this time the body has several options for removal. By understanding the pathways out of the body, an individual can assist in the process by providing very simple, supportive measures for the excretion and cleansing of the body.

Pathways Out of Your Body - Exhalation is one pathway out of the body. The lungs exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide, but also many other toxic fumes or aerosols exit through this process. Spending time in fresh, clean air, while taking nice deep breaths, provides the best saturation of usable air. Via the pores of our skin, toxic substances can be excreted though perspiration. Once toxins are in a water soluble form (thanks to the liver), they are carried out within the sweat we excrete. By incorporating movement activities to generate perspiration, we can assist in detoxification’s final elimination. Other substances will be filtered through the kidneys to the eventual elimination through urination. By staying hydrated, we provide the transportation route for the toxins to be flushed from the body. And finally, as the children’s book famously declares, “Everyone Poops.”

After our digestive tract has extracted the nutritional content from the foods we consume, the remaining waste continues to travel through the intestinal tract, eventually to the colon. The constrictive action of the bowels removes the fluids and we are left with the toxins trapped within the feces for final disposal. By eating whole foods with a generous plant-based proportion we provide not only the nutrients, but we also provide components that bind with toxins to usher them out of the body. Avoiding all processed foods to clear the system to reset and regain momentum in the detoxification process is essential. By providing your body with fresh air, clean water, nutrient-rich foods, quality sleep, and physical movement, you assist the body with processing and removing the waste that can become toxic when accumulated. These are all lifestyle choices that optimize the excretion of waste and toxins from the body.

Contact Jackie for a complimentary health coaching session to learn about how health coaching can benefit you in developing and achieving your health goals.

Jackie Paunil, Certified Personal Health Coach terramedela.com • 520-444-5434

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L-R Front row: Bea Lueck, Dolly the Spokesdog, Helen Neuharth, Anne Doros, Paula Leslie L-R Middle row: Tabitha Picone, Audra Michael, Gloria Smith, Rona Curphy, Pam Burke L-R Back row: Eloisa "Elli" Fritz, Tiffanie Grady-Gillespie, Andrea Mora, Dr. Jacquelyn Elliott, Tish Sopha, Elaine Earle, Tina Cates, Renee Louzon-Benn, Marge Jantz, Susan Rooney, Debby Martin

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Celebrating Women in Business

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hey come from many different backgrounds and have a variety of careers, but the women featured in this year’s special Women in Business section have one thing in common – they are all pretty incredible women leaders.

From championing important local causes to working in traditionally male-dominated industries to even savBea Lueck has been involved in various forms of media in Casa Grande since the mid 1990s. While her careers in magazine publication and real estate keep her busy, she has two causes that are dear to her heart – animal rescue and youth services.

Bea and her husband Rick enjoy spoiling their granddaughters. Noisy musical instruments are appropriate gifts!

Dolly, the Pinal County Animal Care and Control “spokesdog,” was picked up as a stray in San Tan Valley. She was very pregnant and covered in ticks. Within a few days she had labor complications at the vet and lost her puppies. She is now our ambassador dog and attends many events and classes to educate the public about pit bulls.

Helen Neuharth is President/CEO of the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce and has, for the past 25 years, developed strong connections between business growth and community development.

Anne Donos has been a nurse for 26 years and a Family Nurse Practitioner for two years.

Her nursing career involved working in various capacities including ER, acute care, Director of Nursing and currently in wound care. Anne has been with Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Wound Care and Hyperbaric Clinic for the last 11 years and says, “This is the most rewarding part of my nursing career.”

Paula Leslie moved to her mother’s hometown of Casa Grande in 1980 after her father retired from the U.S. Air Force. She graduated from CGUHS, and then received a degree from Arizona State University. In 1999, she founded the plumbing business Mankel Mechanical with Eddie Mankel. Paula has two sons, who work at Mankel Mechanical, and one granddaughter.

Tabitha Picone is a teacher of children ages 6 to 8 at Thrive Academy in Casa Grande.

Thrive Academy is a pre-K - 12th grade private Christian school.

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

ing lives, these women are shining examples of what leadership means. We’re grateful to live in a community with such a talented group of women at the helm.

You probably already know many of them, but if you don’t, we’re proud to show you even more about what makes them special!

Audra Michael was a volunteer at Apache Junction Animal Control when she went on her first ride along with an Animal Control Officer (ACO). That is when she knew she wanted to work for animals and applied as an ACO with Pinal County. After moving up the ranks fairly quickly, she was given the tremendous opportunity to serve as Interim Director of PCACC after the former director left. She was selected as the best candidate for the position and became Director in July 2015.

Gloria Smith, a local artist and Zonta Member, previously served as director of The Museum of Casa Grande. She brings to life Casa Grande Pioneer, Pauline Cushman, during Day Out Downtown, kicking off 3rd Thursdays starting October 20. Visit www.cgmainstreet .org for more information.

Rona Curphy, RN, BSN, FACHE is Chief Executive Officer at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center. She has been with Banner Casa Grande (formerly Casa Grande Regional Medical Center) since 2002, serving as Chief Nursing Officer from Jan. 2002 to Feb. 2009 before serving in her current role.

Pam Burke was raised in Minnesota, a graduate of St. Cloud State University and moved to Casa Grande in 1981. Pam has been with Pinal County Juvenile Court Services as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Coordinator for 19 years, dedicating her career to increasing community awareness on volunteerism and being an advocate for children. Pam and husband Mike have one son, Sean, daughter-in-law Samantha and grandson Corbin.

Tiffanie Grady-Gillespie CPT is the owner of WickedFiTT in Casa Grande. She is a well-known personal trainer, group fitness instructor and all around fitness junkie. Tiffanie specializes in weight loss, strength and conditioning and general fitness.

Andrea Mora, born and raised in Casa Grande, has been a local hairstylist for over 10 years. You can find her at Shear Gossip by Sabrina in downtown Casa Grande.

Dr. Jacquelyn Elliott became President/CEO of Central Arizona College on July 1, 2016.

She has more than 27 years of experience working in higher education, specifically in senior level administrative and leadership positions at the community college level.

Tish Sopha has been specializing in commercial, agricultural and residential real estate transactions throughout the State of Arizona for over 25 years. Starting a rewarding career with First American Title conducting title searches, she now leads the Pinal County Escrow division for Title Security Agency.

Tish provides her clients with a high level of expertise and personalized service.

Elaine Earle is an accomplished publisher and management professional with 20 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant and publisher of destination marketing products. Elaine and her team bring a “one firm” solution to clients. She has a passion for traveling and has been to over 30 countries.

Renée Louzon-Benn is the Director of Community Outreach for Sun Life Family Health Center (Sun Life). She has worked with Sun Life for over 12 years and has lived in the Casa Grande area for 21 years. She is happily married to Bob Shogren. She has an amazing son, who currently serves in the U.S. Air Force, and three cats full of “cattitude.” She enjoys hiking, cooking and exploring Arizona.

Marge Jantz is a champion of Historic Downtown Casa Grande as a previous Main Street Director, historical tour docent and current chairperson for the Historic Preservation Commission.

Debby Martin has owned the 1929 historic Paramount Theatre, where the cover photo was taken, since 1993. The preservation and rehabilitation has been a long and sometimes painful process, but the end result has been one of her proudest successes. The theatre is available to rent for a variety of events.

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Special Section: Women In Business

Debra Neely: From secretary to business leader

M

y first adult working experience began in my mid-to-late 20s, working as a secretary for a law firm. We were preparing for trial. My boss approached me saying, “We need this or that, and I need you to put it together.” I started asking him, “Why that? What will this do for our clients?”

He looked at me and said, “Obviously you care about the start, not just the finish.

You should be a part of my team, go to law school or be my paralegal.”

Law school was enticing, but not realistic as a single mom, so I obtained my paralegal certification. Thereafter, I transitioned to a freelance paralegal, having the privilege of working with Phoenix law firms, APS and the Attorney General’s office.

In 1986 I met my husband, Chuck. We married in 1988, relocated our family to Pinal County and I took a paralegal position in Casa Grande. With a third daughter added to our family, the time challenge for

motherhood and full-time work grew, as it does for many women. I was offered a position as an insurance agent for a company in Casa Grande. That company is what we call a “captive company.” You could only offer that company’s products. While that affiliation gave me a stronghold in the insurance industry, it also had limitations.

One product didn’t always fit my client’s needs and I was working on building a business owned by that company, not by me.

I left that company to start my own agency. I wanted a Southwestern name for my agency. In certain cultures, a “kiva” is a safe house or community service gathering place. That’s the vision I had for my agency, so I began Kiva Insurance – an independent agency writing with multiple companies.

Women in business – I’m just one of millions. Women are intuitively caregivers, nurturing and circle their wagons for what they love and care about most. With insurance products, we help people protect

Debra Neely what they spend a lifetime putting together – their homes, businesses and families, and I get to meet great new people all the time. We have a fabulous staff - all women - who share that concept, and I have partnered with my daughter, Melissa, for the future service of the agency to this community.

Paula Leslie: A lady in a man's world

I

'm 51 years old. You'd think all of life's mysteries would be answered by now. But every week, I learn something new.

One thing that hasn't changed are the looks and comments received when people learn that I am an active female boss in a predominately male industry.

There should be a balance between being “one of the guys,” so you fit in and your male peers feel comfortable talking shop with you, while still maintaining the "I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy" femininity that I believe is an important character trait in business. You can get lost on either side of that spectrum - too much of being one of the boys and you lose respect, but too much of being a girl and you never gain the respect. I think it helps that I've only had brothers and sons, so my female influence was limited to a very independent woman I call “Mom,” and another very independent

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woman I called, “Grandma.” Grandma was widowed at age 56. Mom was widowed at 51. I divorced at 47. I don't state those facts to make it seem like a woman doesn't need a man. I state them to let you know that I come from strong woman stock - women who valued the man in their lives, but wasn't defined by him, and women who overcame obstacles in life to forge their own paths. Most days, I feel like I fall short, in comparison to the two generations before me.

And now I am the leader of two more generations - my two sons (along with their dad), who help me run the business, and my very smart, full-of-spunk 7-year-old granddaughter. Days that she spends in the office, you can find her shredding papers, banging on the ten key or engineering some masterpiece building model from leftover scrap material at the yard. Most of my balance in life, I draw from those three people. People have

Paula Leslie

Owner/Partner Mankel Mechanical

different definitions of success. But when I look at those three, I need no other interpretation.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Special Section: Women In Business

Tina G. Cates: Follow your dreams

T

ina Cates opened Elegance N Images Photography Studio in early October, 2014 after many years of working from her humble CG home. Her passion for photography is eclipsed only by her love for God and her children. Her unique work can be seen in numerous websites and publications across Arizona.

But her story did not start out as colorful as many of her vivid photographs.

A checkered past can be a challenge to overcome, especially when you are raising five children as a single parent. Many years of paying her dues and paying for her mistakes has made Tina a strong, independent and successful woman.

Tina’s photography career started out with a bit of twist. Although Tina has always had an enthusiasm for photography, her first professional camera was purchased with the soul intent of capturing her daughter's tackle football games. She never missed a game…or a shot, for that matter

Editors Note: Tina has shot many events and covers for Golden Corridor LIVING Magazine. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for all your hard work and efforts. We greatly appreciate your talents! and by the end of the season, Tina and her camera were inseparable. Many players’ parents wanted to purchase some of the action shots and she was asked to be the team’s photographer for the next season. It was this moment that she first thought of turning her passion into her career.

Struggling to make ends meet but determined to make a better life for her children, she took a huge gamble and started her first photo-based business called Full of Grace Fogtography. It was in this early endeavor that she honed her craft and learned everything NOT to do when it comes to running a home-based photography studio.

On Oct. 4th 2014 Tina opened a designer portrait studio with new found exhilaration for her art. Elegance N Images has been an amazing chapter in her career and has opened up a world of possibilities.

When asked what her inspiration is, she always replies, “ I want to make women feel as beautiful as I see them.” And that is

Cindy Garcia I am a native Arizonan who takes a great deal of pride in providing my clients with the customer service they deserve at the best possible pricing. I have over 25 years of insurance experience and look forward to working with business owners and individuals to find insurance solutions for their everyday needs. No matter what your insurance necessities are, I can help you find a solution. Please give me a call to discuss a comprehensive review of your insurance.

Irene Rayrao I was born in Casa Grande and grew up in Eloy. I am a veteran who served in the United States Marine Corps for four years. Semper Fi! I have been in the insurance industry for about 13 years.

Casa Grande has changed and grown over the years but has maintained that hometown atmosphere. I’d like to think I have contributed in a small way by assisting new and existing customers with their insurance needs. Though many of my clients are local, I also offer coverage anywhere in the state of Arizona. I look forward to meeting and assisting you.

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

Tina G. Cates what she does! Having a portrait taken is definitely not like department store photo sessions. It is an experience that is to be remembered, and the photos will be passed down from generation to generation.

And really, isn’t that the point? To capture a fleeting moment in time in hopes to live on in the memories of our loved ones.

P

atty Messer moved to Casa Grande in summer 2014 with a grand vision of re-chartering a local school as the Grande Innovation Academy. As the executive director, she is devoted to growing their program and tailoring it to the needs of their Casa Grande scholars.

This growth includes the addition of another building so the school can expand its primary education to offer a complete K – 8th grade experience. Likewise, Mrs. Messer has adapted the program to include the Path-to-Potential, a program for gifted scholars.

Mrs. Messer has 27 years of experience in the field of education as a teacher, academic coach, gifted education coordinator, curriculum coordinator and principal. As a two-year res-

Patty Messer ident of Casa Grande, she has built many community partnerships and serves on the Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee. She regularly attends service organization meetings as a guest speaker and creates many opportunities for the community to access the school through the Fab Lab, Community Garden, yoga classes and volunteerism.

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Special Section: Women In Business

The women behind

Elaine Earle Elaine Earle serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the ROX Group (collectively, “ROX”) and oversees all financial operations of Coldwell Banker ROX Realty, ROX Insurance, ROX Travel and all of the group’s publishing and media entities. At ROX, Elaine serves in a multifaceted capacity, overseeing mergers and acquisitions or other expansion, capital and cash management and all aspects of financial and tax reporting. She also oversees many aspects of operations, including but not limited to human resources, sales and marketing.

Elaine has actively worked as a Certified Public Accountant for 19 years, obtaining her license in Arizona in 1997 after studying at the University of Arizona, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Accounting.

In 1997, Elaine started her career at KPMG, a “Big 4” accounting firm, and immediately was immersed in performing financial audits for a diverse set of clients, including many publicly held clients. Elaine has lived in London, Sydney and Zurich and worked in these financial centers for large multinational clients of KPMG. In 2003, Elaine accepted a position in private industry with Financial Pacific Insurance Group (FPIG) in Northern California as Assistant Vice President and Controller.

After the birth of her twin boys in 2007, Elaine took a short break from public and private practice to raise her sons, but kept up with markets and the accounting practice.

Soon after, in 2012, Elaine joined the ROX Group as Chief Financial Officer. In 2013, Elaine married Rock Earle, the President and CEO of ROX Group.

Elaine currently serves as Publisher on four consumer magazine titles consisting of lifestyle magazines, real estate magazines, shopper magazines and TravelHost: Northern Arizona & Phoenix magazines. Elaine also serves as Publisher of several destination marketing titles, including Official Visitor

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Bea Lueck

Guides, tourism maps and other custom products.

Elaine has a passion for traveling and has been to over 30 foreign countries and she travels internationally two to three times per year. Her fondest desire is to have Chandler and Christian, her twin sons, see the world and all that there is to learn and discover.

Bea Lueck Bea Lueck is the General Manager and Managing Editor of ROX Media. She handles the various day-to-day activities necessary to take the publications from concept to print and distribution. ROX Media is now printing over 20 different publications each year, including four monthly publications, one bi-monthly and two quarterly magazines.

ROX Media has grown to include several an-

Elaine Earle

nual publications for chambers of commerce, offices of tourism and economic development and visitor bureaus around the state.

Bea is also an award-winning REALTOR® with one of the other ROX Group businesses, Coldwell Banker ROX Realty. Bea became a real estate agent in 2010 at the urging of her longtime friend, Rock Earle, and joined his brokerage, ROX Real Estate as soon as she received her license. The bottom of the real estate market was an interesting time to become a REALTOR®!

Married to Rick Lueck since 1983, Bea and her husband have two adult children who reside in the Casa Grande area with their spouses and two beautiful granddaughters, as well as an assortment of grand-puppies.

They enjoy spoiling rotten both the kids and dogs! Their main “hobby” for the past year is remodeling the family home and they hope to never undertake a major remodel again!

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“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.�

-John Quincy Adams

Excellence in Health, Wellness & Education

At Sun Life we support diversity, women in leadership and those who inspire others to dream.

Learn more about us at www.sunlifefamilyhealth.org

Special Section: Women In Business

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP – LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY

by Jim Rhodes, Business Advocate

A woman who can make her own decisions is a participant in society rather than simply a spectator.

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I

recently read on an Internet blog that women own several million businesses. Through their payrolls and products they contribute $1.6 trillion to the economy and employ nearly 9 million people nationwide. A young lady friend owns a small company that makes gunnery targets for military tanks. She competes aggressively with the big companies for Federal government contracts. On the other side of that accomplishment, another friend teaches business owners how to land and administer government contracts. She is in great demand and has helped numerous business owners – many of them women – around Arizona. Women function very well as business owners and more importantly as business leaders.

A key outcome of a woman owning her own business is that she is rewarded with her independence. A woman who can make her own decisions is a participant in society rather than simply a spectator. Women have made great strides in business and politics.

Unfortunately, they don’t get credit unless they stick to a nice script – no disagreeing, no contentious talk and certainly no emotion. Among males, differences of opinion are expected and accommodated. But let a female leader speak up against the popular grain and

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she is “emotional” and perhaps even a loose cannon. What we must realize is that in order to get the full value of her education, training and experience, we have to get out of her way and be good listeners. I can’t tell you how many times what I thought was in a wonderful and inclusive two-way conversation ended when somebody screamed, “Will you shut up and listen to me!”

In the Jobs for Life work readiness training program that Mark Vanderheyden offers through the Seeds of Hope, Debra and I stress the importance of younger women learning to be leaders. Debra distills leadership training to its component parts. Young women and young men learn how to walk with poise and self-confidence. As they mature, this will be walking with purpose and authority. Her students practice entering a room, assessing the situation and participating in whatever manner is most helpful to the group.

She drills right down to the welcoming smile and a handshake. The techniques are right out of her restaurant dining room staff-training manuals. The value of this type of training is evident in the number of corporate executives who began their work careers at McDonalds and other eateries. Servant leadership is a good way to begin developing a

resume for greater responsibility down the line.

In the Jobs For Life training, female students learn that in the classroom and in life there is no traditional back seat they have to take. They are judged on their brains and their ability, and no one is more equal than the next person.

One of the most difficult tasks in training business owners is to get them to see themselves as business executives.

This is especially true with female business owners. When asked to describe their position in an organization many females choose one that does not require them to define and manage the activities of others.

Where can we start to change? In the wonderful world of entrepreneurship, we create our own path to success. Female-owned businesses account for almost half of all privately held firms.

The number of women who express an interest in becoming entrepreneurs is also rising. Yet they’re still regularly deterred from taking that path. Even though many entrepreneurs are not wildly successful, perhaps financially, there is a certain panache that comes with owning a business. Our education system provides nearly the same exposure to business and leadership principles for both men and women. That’s where it stands and where change will need to begin. Culturally, beyond the training, we still see that men can and will make a job, while we encourage women to simply take a job.

Somewhere between birth and a goal of becoming a responsible leader, I suspect that we have a number of opportunities to assess a person’s “leader or not” potential. Leadership development is a process not a program. Locally we have a number of outstanding efforts to expose our citizens of all ages to the nuts and bolts of leadership. These include school clubs, citizen academies, service organizations and various “boot camps”. In the leadership development continuum, perhaps we need to include an additional step of voluntary assessment of leadership readiness.

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• Incredible mountain views and city lights!

• This custom home has an open concept perfect for entertaining!

• 3 roomy bedrooms and an office/den which could easily convert to a 4th bedroom.

• A grassy backyard is a haven with a sparkling pool with three waterfalls and a Ramada for outdoor dining.

• A 28’ x 28’ detached garage/workshop has an air conditioning unit, fresh drywall, and interior wall and floor paint.

• The south portion of the property is fenced with an RV gate and is roomy enough for your barn, stalls and corrals!

• Easy access to I-10.

GEORGIA F. SCHAEFFER ASSOCIATE BROKER, REALTOR , GRI, ABR, CDPE, SRES, SFR ®

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DAWN M. ZIMBELMAN REALTOR , CDPE, ABR, SRES ®

520.431.2875 | dawnz@coldwellbanker.com 520.423.8250 | ROXsells.com ©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

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Bea and Dave are pleased to announce Andy Estrada has joined their award-winning team at Coldwell Banker ROX Realty. Andy brings years of experience in the automotive industry to help you negotiate the best deal possible in your real estate transaction. Andy is bilingual in Spanish to better serve our Hispanic clients.

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Bea Lueck

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A Vision for Casa Grande’s Future

MAKE IT BETTER - CASA GRANDE (MIB-CG) is a group of local stakeholders who believe in a bright future for Casa Grande Evelyn Casuga

Craig McFarland

David “Red” Fitzgibbons

Rona Curphy

Robert “Bob” Jackson

Tim Smith

Judee Jackson

Larry Yount

Rock Earle

Robert Miller

Brett Eisele

Darrell Wilson

You Can Help Us Make Casa Grande Better Contact Make It Better - Casa Grande: Info@Mib-Cg.org

CONSEQUENCES OF THE NOV. 8 VOTE FOR THE CASA GRANDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS As was reported in the summer issue of Golden Corridor Living Magazine, the Casa Grande Elementary District Governing Board has called for a $44.66 million bond election in November. This decision resulted from the recommendations of a 40-member Capital Planning Committee, which met from January to May 2016. To help voters understand the proposed bond and its impact, Make It Better – Casa Grande has assembled the below information outlining the implications of both a “No” vote and a “Yes” vote.

cents lower than the current secondary property tax rate of $0.55 for existing bond debt.

Look for the following question on your November election ballot: Shall Casa Grande Elementary School District No. 4 of Pinal County, Arizona, be allowed to issue and sell general obligation bonds in the principal amount of not to exceed $44,660,000?

It is important to note that voter approval of the measure will not produce a tax increase. In fact, the average tax rate over the repayment period for new bonds would be 10

BOND APPROVAL, YES BOND APPROVAL, NO

What happens if Voters Say YES

What happens if Voters Say NO

If approved by voters, proceeds from the bonds would be used to:

Casa Grande Elementary School District has experienced $23 million in state cuts to capital funding over the last eight years. There is little likelihood this funding will be restored.

Other than a capital override election (which would also require voter approval and would involve a tax increase), there are very limited resources available to attend to needs such as replacing roofs, repairing parking lots, replacing worn out flooring, replacing buses or fixing air conditioning units.

• • • •

Make modifications intended to bring 21stcentury security to each campus Repair and replace facilities throughout the school district Construct replacement space for Saguaro Elementary School and Casa Grande Middle School Replace older buses in the district’s fleet of 70 buses

With a successful vote, the design of replacement space for Saguaro Elementary and Casa Grande Middle School (“CGMS”) would begin. Construction would be carried out on the grounds of Saguaro and CGMS during the 2017-18 school year. Students would continue to attend Saguaro and CGMS through the construction period, then would begin attending school in the new facilities in the 2018-19 school year. In 2018-19, existing facilities at Saguaro and CGMS that will no longer be used would be razed. However, facilities such as the CGMS auditorium and gymnasium would be kept, as these facilities are of significant benefit to the community.

In addition to the construction of the replacement space described above, other projects that would commence would be the design of security enhancements and renovations elsewhere in the district and the initiation of a schedule of bus replacements.

•

•

•

•

A “No” vote would mean that additional security measures, to be funded with approximately $10 million of the proposed bond funds, would not be implemented. With an 85 percent cut in capital funding allocated by the state, it would require several decades to implement the additional security measures identified by the Capital Planning Committee.

A “No” vote would mean that aging schools, including Casa Grande Middle School and Saguaro Elementary School, would, in all likelihood, face further decline.

A “No” vote would also worsen existing differences between the quality of the facilities in which children in different neighborhoods attend school.

A “No” vote would mean that buses needing replacement would continue to be on the road. If just one bus could be replaced each year, it would take 70 years to replace the entire fleet of buses serving the elementary and middle schools.

Importantly, a “No” vote will not result in an end to the challenge of caring for schools and buses. Just as a home requires care and attention, Casa Grande’s elementary and middle schools, which serve over 7,000 students every day, need care and attention as well.

30th Annual

Taste of Casa Grande

by Jo Anne Pinto, MS Children’s Counselor, Against Abuse, Inc.

D

o-gooder foodies have some place to be on Sunday, October 9, 2016 between 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at The Property Conference Center for the 30th Annual “Taste of Casa Grande.” For 30 years, restaurants, concerned community members and the general public have come together to enjoy great food, good drink, and generous company – all while benefiting Pinal County’s own Against Abuse, Inc. (AAI). It is a big party for an important cause – and we hope you will come out to sample all of the wonderful cuisine that is situated right here in our own backyard!

Founded in 1981, Against Abuse, Inc. is one of Arizona’s most well-respected domestic violence agencies. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we serve victims of domestic violence and child abuse through shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, education, case management and a myriad of constantly evolving services designed to help victims become self-sufficient. AAI funds its programs through a combination of federal, state and corporate grants, as well as community events and individual giving. Like many small nonprofits, each year AAI pieces together funding for staff salaries and program materials in order to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. Here are a couple of examples of the impact of services for women and children: 1) 8-year-old “Johnny” returned to the shelter with his mother after a nine-month absence. His mother had several broken bones in her face and ribs, but it was little “Johnny” who remembered what he had learned in the children’s education group: When his mommy

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was getting hurt again he didn’t waste any time - he ran to the next door neighbor’s house and had her call 911. He was SO proud of himself!

2) We recently took a crisis call from a young lady who was crying and upset. Staff could hear her husband yelling and cursing her in the background. When asked if she wanted us to call 911 she said "yes" and whispered the address. About an hour later she appeared at the shelter gate with her two children. The staff member who took the call introduced herself and the young lady “K” began to cry saying she was embarrassed. After she calmed down, they talked about her situation. She did not have time to get her work uniform or kid’s school uniforms out of the house when she left. She was also concerned because her in-law used to babysit the children and she was sure that assistance would no longer be available.

Staff helped her organize what she needed to do, which started by calling her place of employment and asking for the next day off to take care of things. AAI assisted her with an order of protection and

police escort to get her belongings out of the home. She then applied for alternative housing resources. AAI gave her childcare, transportation assistance and counseling. Her children finished school, she applied for and received more hours at work, and she was eventually approved to enter a transitional living program.

Possibly the most exciting thing about “K” is that she took all of her counseling sessions and group lessons very seriously and she became a peer mentor for other women coming out of abusive situations!

Each dollar contributed goes a long way toward helping people in crisis regain hope, a sense of meaning and purpose to re-establish their lives. For example $5 pays for prescriptions, $10 helps get copies of birth certifcates/ID’s for housing, $20 can purchase work/school clothing or non-slip shoes needed for employment, $50 helps with transportation/relocation costs, etc.

Never forgotten are the innocent child victims in AAI services.

To meet their needs, AAI has developed programming for children who have witnessed violence or suffered abuse themselves and we also teach teens about healthy relationships.

PHOTOS BY CASA GRANDE DISPATCH

You may support Against Abuse, Inc. by attending the 30th Annual Taste of Casa Grande on Sunday, October 9th at The Property Conference Center located at 1251 West Gila Bend Highway (HWY 84), Casa Grande, AZ. You will have a great time and be able to sample various hors d’oeuvres, amazing entrees, scrumptious desserts and beverages from over 24 local restaurants! You will be astounded by the variety and QUANTITY of food donated by local eateries. Entry tickets are $40 and all proceeds benefit AAI and the victims we serve. The Taste is also well known for its beautifully presented raffle baskets and imaginative door prizes! Raffle tickets are available for purchase on-site. Please visit the AAI website under “Events” to purchase entry tickets (www.against-abuse.org or Tasteofcasagrande.com). Sponsorship opportunities and other questions can be directed to Pat Griffen, Executive Director. 520.836.1239 x 12.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

30th Annual

“Taste of Casa Grande” Sunday, October 9, 2016 • 1:00 - 4:00pm Hosted by: The Property Conference Center 1251 West Gila Bend Highway (HWY 84) Casa Grande, AZ 85193

Tickets are $40 each.

Available online at tasteofcasagrande.com Or call Against Abuse, Inc 520-836-1239

Did you know

Against Abuse, Inc. has a THRIFT STORE?

YOU'LL FIND GREAT VALUES SUCH AS: • Furniture • Electronics • Appliances • Name Brand Clothing • Children & Baby items • Antiques and Collectibles • Housewares • And So Much MORE! Summer Hours: Tues - Sat, 7am to 3pm Winter Hours starting October 1st - 8am to 4pm YOUR DONATIONS ARE NEEDED! PLEASE CONTACT LYDIA RAMIREZ, THRIFT STORE MANAGER AT 520-836-0621 OR STOP BY THE STORE. Located at 110 E 1st St (in Old Town Casa Grande) Behind the former Don's Market

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Sponsor a Child or Family this Holiday Season by donating a new, unwrapped toy or clothing, non-perishable food or cash to Against Abuse. Call 520-836-1239 for information.

EDUCATION

FLORENCE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PROGRAM MAXIMIZES ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS by Harold Kitching

I

n times past, unruly or bullying students were paddled or made to sit outside the classroom door or sent to the principal’s office for discipline.

Those were actions that usually didn’t leave a lasting impression on the student.

The Florence Unified School District has had a program for the past three years that takes a gentler, more positive approach.

It’s being used in several of the schools, with more to come.

The district’s website gives this description of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support effort: “PBIS is a framework or approach for assisting schools in organizing evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students.

It IS NOT a packaged curriculum, scripted intervention or manualized strategy.”

It continues, “PBIS is a prevention-oriented way for schools to organize evidence-based practices, improve the implementation of those practices and maximize academic and social behavior outcomes for ALL students. PBIS practices include team-based leadership, data-based decision making, continuous monitoring of student behavior, regular universal screening and effective ongoing professional development.”

The website adds that the components essential for PBIS success are: • Shared leadership • Data-based problem solving and decision- making • Continuum of student supports

• Evidence-based instruction, intervention and assessment • Universal screening and progress monitoring.

• Family, school and community partnering “This framework provides for a systemwide prevention-based framework for improving learning goals for every student,” the site says.

To put that into plain language, program coordinator Teresa Sharrow said it’s a matter of working directly with a student, learning the root of the problem, reinforcing positive behavior, keeping the student on track and rewarding him for his success.

It’s a three-tier effort, the district said.

In Tier I, all students are explicitly taught positive behavioral

expectations. All teachers use a consistent approach to discipline.

Students who are in need of Tier II supports are provided with small group, targeted behavioral skill interventions that promote pro-social behaviors.

In Tier III, student-centered planning is used to develop customized interventions with frequent progress monitoring.

“Parents play a critical role in supporting what their children are learning in school,” the district said. “FUSD believes that the more parents are involved in student learning, the higher the student achievement.”

Learn how your school is implementing the program, read tips for parent involvement – both at school and at home – and see examples of questions to ask at http://www.fusdaz.com/mtss

Best Schools in Pinal County CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE Full benefits at all levels of education • Two A+ Schools of Excellence • Three New Campuses to Serve You • Enrolling New Students Every Day • We offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program at Florence High School • We offer the S.T.E.M. Diploma Program at Poston Butte High School

For further information visit www.fusdaz.com or call (520) 866-3500 / (480) 888-7551 www.facebook.com/FlorenceUSD • Twitter: @florenceusd 78

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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WITH LOVE, THERE IS HOPE

by Michael Allen

O

ur journey began on May 20 with the birth of our daughter, Skylar Allen. Because a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is not available in Casa Grande, we were sent to the Tucson Medical Center, where my wife, Jessica, underwent a cesarean section.

While Jessica was getting to the recovery room, I got to see my princess Skylar. She was so beautiful, but everyone knew something wasn't right. Jessica wasn’t able to see our daughter until the next day. Our beautiful little girl, Skylar, was so tiny – a mere 3 pounds, 8 ounces and 17.5 inches long. The NICU nurses loved her. As the days went by, the doctor said they would conduct genetic testing on Skylar and that he believes she has Trisomy 18.

“What is this?” we thought. The doctor said results would be back in a couple weeks. While waiting for the confirmation, he broke the news to us on Trisomy 18 – and boy did we take it hard. How can you tell someone your child is incompatible to thrive with life, and that most babies won't make it a couple weeks? We later found out 90 percent of babies with Trisomy 18 don't survive to their first birthday.

We were in shock, with emo-

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tions going through the roof. We called our family to visit in case she went to see God. Family from as far away as Georgia came out for support and to see their beautiful niece. After several days, Skylar was transferred to Peppi's House Hospice. We traveled back and forth to Casa Grande and the Ronald McDonald House. Eating out for all of your meals is expensive and gets old fast.

Fortunately, June 7 was a day of celebration. The doctors said we could bring Skylar home! The arrangements included bringing her home in a special van and she was hooked up to oxygen.

After settling her in and waiting for her nurse to arrive to show us her care routine, the monitors, which constantly alarmed, scared us beyond belief. When the nurse asked us whether we wanted a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate order), our emotions were raw when we said, “Yes.” As the conversation went on and on, we decided to have Skylar stay at Ryan's House hospice in Phoenix.

Jessica and I took turns staying in the beautiful room assigned to us. One of us was always with her. After about a week, Skylar stabilized enough to take her home - this time without the monitor and only oxygen. It wasn't long before she was off the supplemental oxygen. Skylar is still on a feeding tube (NG or Nasal-Gastric tube).

She delights in pulling it out, requiring nurses to come replace it.

She needs the extra nutrition it provides, as she is still so small.

The community has been a blessing to our family. Jessica and I were out of work

after Skylar was born. I started a new job with Merle's Auto Supply after about a month. We've had so many people reach out to help with car washes, yard sales, ribbons and raffles, donation buckets and many, many prayers. So many of our religious leaders from St. Anthony's of Padua have been to the house to bless our home and Skylar and pray for us. Fr. Ariel and Fr. Alan, Deacons Steve DiMuzzio and Pat Dugan and even the "Money Man," a monk from St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox

Monastery in Florence has come to pray for Skylar. Our family has been to church every Sunday since returning to Casa Grande.

The power of prayer is a huge part of our journey forward.

Skylar is now three months old and continues to amaze her doctors and nurses. She has reached so many milestones that they never thought were possible. We told Dr. Berger we want to treat her for the long haul. We have God on our side and we are going to prove the doctors wrong on Trisomy 18.

WHAT IS TRISOMY 18?

Editor's Note: Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a genetic condition caused by an error in cell division. Instead of the normal pair, an extra chromosome 18 occurs in the developing baby and disrupts the normal development in significant ways that can be life-threatening. A Trisomy 18 error occurs in about 1 out of every 2500 pregnancies in the United States and 1 in 6000 live births. Most children born with

Trisomy 18 die before or shortly after birth.

Some infants will survive to be discharged from the hospital with home nursing support. About 10 percent may survive to their first birthdays. But there is hope.

There are a small number of adults (usually girls) with Trisomy 18 who are living into their 20s and 30s. Here is the journey of the Allen family in Casa Grande and their precious gift – Skylar.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Associates in Pediatric & Internal Medicine

Cottonwood Medical Center, LTD is pleased to welcome

Dr. Joel A.Braunstein.

Dr. Braunstein specializes in Family Medicine.

560 N Camino Mercado, Suite 7 Casa Grande, AZ 85122 www.cottonwoodmedical.com

(520) 836-5538 (800) 895-5538 Fax (520) 876-0878

Accepting New Patients

CHINESE MENU: APPETIZERS • • • •

Pot Sticker Steamed Dumpling Chicken Lettuce Wraps Appetizer Assortment Plate

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520-836-0102

WWW.LUCKYSUSHICHINESE.COM THIS IS JUST A SMALL PART OF THE MENU. SEE THE FULL MENU ON OUR WEBSITE. THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

• Edamame • Soft Shell Crab • Tempura

SUSHI ROLLS

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STUCK ON

by Gigi McWhirter, Casa Grande Animal Hospital

C

can be found in certain brands of toothpaste, an peanut butter kill dogs? That chewing gum, peanut butter, cake mixes and nuquestion seems to keep coming merous other products found in and around the up these days, whether through house, or in your backpack or handbag. a conversation with friends, at Xylitol is very toxic to pets and it does not the vet's office and especially take a lot to have very serious and fatal conseonline with the ever-knowing triple board quences. According to John McWhirter, DVM, certified “Dr. Google.” Here is some import“If a 20-pound dog consumes ant information to help answer the only one gram of Xylitol, it will question.

Xylitol is very only take 10-15 minutes for the Generally speaking, peanut butter alone is not toxic. But since there are dog to have life-threatening low toxic to pets now new kinds of peanut butter availblood sugar levels. After the low and it does able at the market that may look and blood sugar, dogs may experinot take a ence liver failure or liver death. taste like our favorite spreadable treat, lot to have Basically, the liver starts necrosit’s important to know they are not all ing (decomposing) while the body the same. What's the difference? Some very serious is still alive and being treated for are sweetened with Xylitol, a sweetener and fatal the early signs of the toxicosis.”” that is toxic to dogs. consequences.

Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol sweetIf you think your dog has gotener used for its low glycemic index. It ten into Xylitol, it is essential that

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you get your dog to a veterinarian immediately.

And, if possible, grab the package or sample of what the dog ingested and bring it with you for the doctor to see.

Signs of Xylitol poisoning include: • Vomiting • Yellow Gums • Weakness • Sluggishness • Falling Down • Tremors • Seizures • Black or Tarry Stools Some brands of peanut butter containing Xylitol are Nuts 'n More, Krush Nutrition and P-28. Read the labels before offering anything to your pet, and as always, consult your veterinarian with any concerns.

Happy Tails to you!

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

One of a Kind

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520.560.2083 | cathyt@coldwellbanker.com 520.423.8250 | ROXsells.com ©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

SUNSHINE OR SNOWFALL

by Tori Ward

W

hether you crave chestnuts roasting on an open fire or a tequila sunrise, these winter cruise options are guaranteed to make any traveler’s season magical and memorable.

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THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

Traveling • Dining • Entertainment

T

he holiday season was always a bit of an obsession with me when I was younger. I wanted something special and unique for those on my list and would shop all year to avoid being one of the hysterical “hit and runners” at the mall in the final days before the holidays. I bought a lot of people a lot of sweaters.

So, it was with a sense of delight that I discovered Christmas markets almost by accident. On the spur of the moment, with plenty of frequent flier miles and hotel points between us, I traveled with two friends to Paris two weeks before Christmas. The first night we strolled over to the Champs-Elysees and froze. No, not from the cold, but from the lights twinkling in the gently falling snowflakes from every tree and tiny chalet that lined a fairy tale village extending from the end of the avenue to Place de la Concorde.

We also discovered the Christmas market Marchés de Noël, and the magic of that moment changed my visits to Paris forever. Since then, I’ve returned to shop the markets many times for treasures such as beautifully embroidered linen lingerie bags with satin draw strings, Bavarian hand-painted glass ornaments, and beeswax candles.

Wrapping these gifts always reminds me of the roasting chestnuts and mulled wine you can smell for blocks away.

Christmas markets are a European tradition and I’ve discovered them in Vienna, Prague and Nuremburg. Viking Cruises highlights a number of the towns and villages on its Christmas Market Cruise, spending two

THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

days each in Paris and Prague in order for you to not only get a feel of the markets, but to enjoy other parts of the cities as well. (Expert tip: make a reservation at St. Chappelle for dinner and a Christmas concert if you will be there when the concerts are scheduled. The haunting beauty of the music as it swells and bounces off the stained glass windows will be a personal treasure to cherish.)

While in Prague visit the Patisserie Jolie for the best hot chocolate in Europe IMHO! If sophisticated clubbing is more appealing, both cities boast a Buddha Bar where you just might see a celebrity or two.

For someone who grew up in Florida, I want snow or at least cold weather for Christmas, but it’s not everyone’s cup of hot chocolate. If warmer climates are on your agenda, a family cruise to Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera or Caribbean might be more suitable. Winter is the season for these markets and Princess Cruise Line has cruises that will fit most budgets and time constraints, from a 15-night Hawaiian cruise to four-day Pacific Coast cruises. The Mexican Riviera is incredibly close for most Arizonans and some of the cities on the itinerary have charming shopping areas that offer wonderful and affordable gift ideas. Turquoise and silver jewelry, folk art and leather are available in most ports of call and the prices

are generally negotiable. (Expert tip: skip the busy marina in Cabo San Lucas and opt for a trip to the old town of San Jose with its lovely mission church and less touristy boutiques.) And, don’t forget, if you like tequila, to purchase it before you leave Mexico. I discovered prices up to 80 percent cheaper than my local store.

Over the holidays, gifts are great. But the memories created by the magic of traveling with your loved ones will be remembered long after all of those sweaters have gone out of style.

Victoria “Tori” Ward is a cruise and resort specialist with an interest in traveling and seeing the world since she first began to crawl. For more information on these trips and others, contact Tori at tori@roxtravel.com or 928-254-9968.

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THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE

by Staff Reports

T

Deborah Martin

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he opulence of the theatre shines through the moment you enter. Built in the 1920s

by J.E. Richards and Harry Nacy, whose chain of 18 theaters included the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix, this building was a gem that called Casa Grande home, according to the theatre’s brochure. From the towering curved ceiling to the hand-painted columns, plaster niches and rich velvet drapes, the original Egyptian Revival architecture is breathtaking.

The ceilings are slightly domed, specially designed to enhance the sound distribution throughout the theatre and decorated with huge custom medallions that resemble peacock tails.

The acoustics in the building are said to rival Carnegie Hall.

The grand opening took place with a Grand Gala on December 24, 1929, featuring the "talking" movie, “The Trespasser,” starring Gloria Swanson.

Sadly, the theater did not survive the Great Depression and closed in 1939.

Over the years and several owners later, the last movie was shown on the silver screen in 1992. By that time, the building had fallen into a state of disrepair and much of the original architectural elements were either damaged or destroyed.

In 1993, the building was purchased at a tax auction by the current owner, Deborah Martin. At this time the build-

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ing was in danger of demolition. Martin worked with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office to restore the building to its former glory. In 1999, the Paramount was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The phase 1 restoration also won numerous awards for the restoration of the marquee, store fronts and ticket booth.

Phase two began in 2000 to repair the damaged interior of the main theater, including main auditorium, balcony, under stage dressing rooms and projection room. Much of the original, antique projection equipment is still in place. The plaster ornamentals, peacock tail medallions and Egyptian paintings were all painstakingly restored. The Paramount once again opened in all of its splendor in 2003.

Since then the theater has been open for both private and public events including theater, concerts, recitals and private parties such as weddings, anniversaries and fundraising dinners.

The Paramount Foundation of Cen-

tral Arizona Inc is a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization established to ensure the historic Paramount Theater remains an artistic focal point and a community cultural center for Casa Grande and Pinal County. The foundation has also provided, through the Paramount Fine Arts Academy entertainment, fine arts and educational programs for individuals and groups of all ages to enjoy. To learn more, visit paramountfoundation.org EDITORS NOTE: As a teen, I remember seeing the new release of Star Wars in this theater in 1977.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

HAVE YOUR SPECIAL EVENT AT THE PARAMOUNT! Weddings, Birthday Parties, Quinceneras, Anniversary Parties!

For more information call 520-836-4200

FOR OUR UPCOMING SEASON WINTER/SPRING 2016/2017 THESE SPECIAL EVENTS & MANY MORE STAY TUNED TO OUR WEBSITE OR CALL 520-836-4200 DeGrazia Celebration Concert & Art Show with Ted DeGrazia Featuring Domingo DeGrazia and his Spanish Guitar Band Shows December 2016 thru April 2017

“The Legends” Featuring Wade Hammond 2015 MALE VOCALIST OF COUNTRY MUSIC OPRY

Shows December 2016 thru April 2017

420 N. Florence Street, Casa Grande • GROUP RATES AVAILABLE

The Black Box Foundation partnering with the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society presents:

Ghost Tours Saturday, October 22, 2016 6:30-9:00pm

$10.00 $5.00

(for kids 16 and under and seniors)

110 E Florence Blvd., Casa Grande

Experienced, Quality Care for the Entire Family Living & Serving in Casa Grande for over 60 Years After-hours Emergency Treatment Available Most Insurance Accepted Services Provided by an Arizona Licensed General Dentist

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(520) 836-7111 • 721 N Olive Ave. • Casa Grande, AZ 85122 • www.dickandmitchelldds.com

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THE LEADERSHIP EDITION

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Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum Join us for food, fun and a great cause

by Kristin Gramando

O

n Toltec Road between Interstate 10 and Jimmie Kerr/Frontier Boulevards, on the east side of the road just south of the railroad tracks, sits a building with significant historical value to the community. Eligible for the National Historic Registry, the old

Toltec Elementary School is currently being restored by the Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum.

The mission-style building was completed in 1930 on lands donated by the Shedd family and it was used as a classroom in the Toltec School District until 1956.

From 1958 to 1966 it was used

a t s e i F

e m Ti

13th Annual

Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum Dinner Dance Fri, Nov 4 - 5:30 pm- 10 pm At The Property 1251 West Gila Bend Highway Casa Grande, AZ 85193

To benefit the renovation of the Old Toltec School building in Eloy Live Music: Acertijo Norteño Plated Dinner Raffle / Silent Auction / Live Auction

Tickets $50 ea or two for $90

Kristin Gramando, 520-705-0910 Dick Myers, 520-840-1041

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by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1966 the building was renovated and was used as a school again for the next 10 years. A jail cell was installed when the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office used the building as a substation from 1977 to 1984. The wooden building, just to the southeast and built in the late 1920s, is believed to be one of the last standing “colored” schools not restored in Arizona. In 1951 desegregation was instituted in Arizona and all the children were then taught together.

Composed entirely of rural farming areas south and west of Eloy, the school district was never part of any city until the 1960s.

From the beginning, area farmers employed many multicultural workers from all over the Valley, including the Tohono O’odham Nation. They employed only the best and most dependable of the migrant workers and Native Americans. Children living on the farms attended the old school.

The museum acquired the school buildings in 2003 with the intent of restoring them so they could be used as a multi-purpose museum and visitor center where artifacts of the past would bring history to life for present and future generations. Successful fundraising efforts, material and financial support from the community and various grants have allowed the museum to accomplish significant advances in this

renovation process. The renovation of the “colored school” was completed in time for the Arizona state centennial in 2012 and was selected by the state as a Legacy Project. A great deal of restoration has been accomplished.

However, much more needs to be done. The electrical and mechanical work need to be brought up to current codes. A restroom that meets ADA standards needs to be installed. The intention is also to build a replica of the original wooden schoolhouse. Two five-ton air conditioning units have been installed. Of course with any old structure, there are many additional projects which still need to be addressed.

Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum’s annual fund raising event is a dinner dance held at The Property Conference Center.

The theme for this year’s event is “Fiesta Time”, with the Acertijo Norteño Band providing the live music. Sponsors, contributors and attendees are sought to aid in the success of the event. With good food, good music and good fun, guests are encouraged to purchase tickets and attend in order to join in on the door prizes, raffle and both silent and live auctions.

The 2016 event is scheduled for Friday, November 4. For more information about the museum, the renovation efforts and this year’s event, contact Dick Myers at 520-840-1041. The website is http://scvhmuseum.org.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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“LOVING THE ART IN YOURSELF” AT THE ARTISAN VILLAGE OF COOLIDGE

by Corianna Lee

The vision of the Artisan Village of Coolidge is an interactive place where all people regardless of age can fulfill their desires to learn, express their talent, interact with artisans and experience the joy of making through the arts.

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“L

ove the art in yourself…” says Constantin Stanislavsky, and the Artisan Village of Coolidge offers many opportunities to do just that!

Located at 351 N. Arizona Boulevard in Coolidge, the Artisan Village of Coolidge is also home to the Coolidge Chamber of Commerce, the Pinal Gem and Mineral Museum, The Artisan Village Children’s Theatre, a glass art lab, a lapidary and metal arts lab, a fibre arts lab, a military honor park and an art gallery coming soon – just to name a few! But how does an unused school become a gathering place for artists of all ages?

Jan. 1, 2015 the “North School” of

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Coolidge officially became the Artisan Village of Coolidge with a mutual agreement between the Coolidge Performing Arts Center Foundation and the Coolidge Unified School District.

North School hadn’t been occupied by students since 2009 and was used by the district as office and storage space for a few years. Members of a team from the Coolidge Unified School District, The City of Coolidge and members of the community began researching the best possible use of the facility. Inspiration was taken from a community in Ajo, the maker movement and input from local artists. The vision of the Artisan Village of Coolidge is an interactive place where all people regardless of age can fulfill their desires to learn, express their talent, interact with artisans and experience the joy of making through the arts. Since that point, many classes and events have taken place on the grounds of the village such as performances, facility rentals and community events.

One upcoming performance event is the “Cool Town Music Festival” on

Feb. 18. The festival brings a variety of bluegrass, folk and country music bands, classes, food and all-day fun for all ages.

Have an interest in the visual arts?

There are so many opportunities to learn a new art or enhance your current skills. Artists are on-site on Saturday mornings to talk about their various art forms, and lab tours. The Artisan Village has spaces offering a wide variety of labs. Come explore the ceramics lab, or try your hand at painting or glass art. Visit the maker space with the 3D printer or learn to use that sewing machine you have in the closet in the fibre arts lab.

Classes are available with the artists for a variety of prices and for all ages. Want more information? Visit the website at www.artisanvillageofcoolidge.org or visit the Coolidge Chamber of Commerce to discover and love the art in yourself!

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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RUSSIA

by Margot Unger

F

rom the golden domes of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin) to the onion domes on the Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi Island and to the magnificent domes of Saint Basil’s Cathedral (The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed) in Moscow, there are many wonders to be found during the Viking River Cruises Waterways of the Tsars River Cruise.

My husband and I went on this wonderful two-week trip, which started in St. Petersburg, where we saw the Hermitage Museum, the Catherine Palace and many other sites that were in the included tours. Viking also has optional tours that you can purchase. There is so much to see and do that you don’t have time for all of it!

Viking has its own tour guides for when you are in the major cities, but when you are in the smaller towns on the river, they have local guides who all speak English – most of whom are school teachers. We visited Mondrogy, where we got to watch artists work and we could buy their hand crafts; we toured Kizhi Island, which is 310 miles from the Arctic Circle.

The Church of the Transfiguration was built with wooden nails, but during the reconstruction, metal nails are being used when they need to. In Yaroslavl, we toured a secondary school and also a governor’s mansion and again

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learned a lot about the history of the area. And, of course all along the way, we toured many monasteries and cathedrals – many of them have been restored since WWII. In Uglich, we were treated to a home-hosted visit with a local family and then it was off to Moscow, where we toured the city by bus, water and foot. We were able to tour a subway system that was beyond belief, Red Square and the Kremlin. Viking River Cruises provided us with wonderful meals throughout the trip.

On a boat that held 204 passengers, we had only 196 and we had a crew of 112, so we had very personal service.

On days when we were cruising on the rivers, we had Russian history lessons and also Russian language lessons. They have so many included tours in their cruise package and then there are the additional tour packages that you can purchase. The food was wonderful. Included with the meals at lunch and dinner was the house wine and beer, which was of very good quality. You could also choose to purchase a spirits package. This trip, Waterways of the Tsars, was a “bucket list” trip for me and I am so glad I went. I can’t say enough about how well we were treated by Viking, and I would certainly book another river cruise with them again. Peggye Eck of ROX Travel was a big help to us when planning the trip.

THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

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FA L L 20 16 GOLDEN CORRID OR LI V ING

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HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT

SLOW COOKER

Fall is the perfect time to dust off your slow cooker or purchase a new one to fill your home with warmth and the fragrance of cozy comfort food.

by Jenny Khoo

D

o you love to cook healthy, nutritious homecooked meals but do not have the time to prepare and watch over them? Then you need a slow cooker.

Preparing delicious home-cooked meals will be as easy as adding ingredients to your slow cooker because it will do all the cooking for you. There are a lot of slow cookers available on the market right now. Before we proceed to choosing the right one, it is helpful to first learn how they work.

Learning how a slow cooker works will help you understand what features you need to look for. When a slow cooker heats up, the steam is caught in the grove of its lid and circulates back into the pot. This helps lock moisture and flavor in whatever you are cooking. Slow cookers also maintain a low pressure and there is no risk of accidents to the accumulation of high pressure that comes with pressure cookers. The food is gradually and continuously cooked at temperatures of 170-200 °F as the crock acts as the heat reservoir. Because of the way a slow cooker works, finding a model with a great locking lid, a sturdy base and a reliable heating

element should be your primary priority. High quality ones may cost a little more, but they are absolutely worth the purchase.

Crock pots or slow cookers come in different sizes and you can find one that suites your needs. It is important that you get the right size on your first purchase so you wouldn’t have to buy another one, in case the first one is too small. Slow cookers function best when they are about three-quarters full because it ensures that your food maintains its moisture as it cooks. To help you decide which size to get, remember that a three- quart slow cooker can feed two to four people and a six-quart one can feed six to eight people.

Another important factor to consider is the shape of the slow cooker. The oval ones are your best choice if you want to cook poultry and roasts most of the time. They are more useful as the shape of the meat will fit better.

If you mostly want to cook stews, soups and chillis, then you can get any shape you want.

Some slow cookers are programmable and they offer several advantages for the user. Even if all slow cookers are designed to

be left, programmable ones will let you control how long they will cook and set them to automatically switch to keep warm when they are done. That way, your food will never be overcooked and you will always have a warm dish waiting for you when you get back. Some of them also have a delay timer where you can set what time they will start cooking.

Another factor to consider is the weight of the slow cooker especially if you want to take your cooker to a pot luck party. Their weight varies a lot. Some slow cookers have also extra features for traveling like a clip-tight lid, a clip-on serving spoon, and bigger handles.

A slow cooker is a great way to let you enjoy nutritious homecooked meals. Preparing them would be a breeze. All you have to do is add all the ingredients before you leave for work, and when you get back home, you can enjoy a warm and healthy meal. There may be hundreds of slow cookers to choose from, but now that you know what to look for, it’s easier to narrow down your search.

Once you know what you want, you can go ahead and check out reviews to help you choose which specific model is right for you.

About The Author: For more information about Rice Cookers, Please visit http://bestricecookersreviews.com/rival-slow-cookers Copyright © 2001-Present ArticleCity.com http://www.ArticleCity.com/

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Cozy & Comfortable Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Fall food is all about comfort – the rich aromas that waft through your home, the warmth of casseroles and stews and the joy of families gathered around a hot meal. This fall twist on an American favorite is sure to bring comfort to the whole family.

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 pound of dried pasta (shells or elbow) 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 4 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk (room temperature) 2 cups grated aged/sharp cheddar 2 (15 ounce) cans butternut squash 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the breadcrumb topping:: • 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs • 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh sage • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese • 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter • Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper (to taste)

THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

Instructions

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water and drain two minutes early than what the package indicates. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and set an oven rack in the middle position 2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes, then stir in the milk and cook until just starting to thicken (about 3 minutes). Take the sauce off the heat, then stir in the cheddar until fully incorporated.

Add butternut squash, mustard, nutmeg, cayenne and black pepper, stirring to combine. Season to taste with Kosher salt.

3. Pour cheese sauce into the bowl with the cooked pasta until the macaroni is sufficiently coated in sauce. Using a spatula, transfer pasta and sauce into a 9” by 13” baking dish.

4. Combine breadcrumbs, sage, Parmesan cheese and melted butter in a medium bowl, tossing until crumbs are evenly coated in the butter. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and several turns of black pepper. Sprinkle breadcrumb topping evenly over the shells and cheese. Bake in the oven until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and sauce bubbles around the edges (25-30 mins). Let cool for a few moments before serving.

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Library Creative Writing Contest

Zootopia's Cop Team

by Christina Stueland

O

ne day Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were driving in their police car and they saw a thief run across the road.

“Get him!” Judy shouted.

Nick hit the flashing lights on and they sped across the road following the thief. When they caught up with the thief, Judy jumped out of the car and landed behind him. Nick stopped the car and ran out with pawcuffs in his paw. Judy jumped on the thief and grabbed the bag from his paws, then nick put the paw cuffs on the thief’s paws.

– The End

Have your child stop by the Vista Grande Library in Casa Grande to enter the Golden Corridor LIVING essay contest!

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THE THE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIPEDITION EDITION

Puzzles Sudoku

Crossword Puzzle

Answers to puzzles on page 51 THE THELEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP EDITION EDITION

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n S v o bo da Da w n SDa v owbo da Producing | NMLS #177235 Branch Manager

Branch Manager Producing | (480) NMLS 221-9826 #177235 (520) 421-1171 ▲ Cell: 442 W Kortsen Road, 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 (520) 421-1171 ▲ Cell: (480) 221-9826 dawn.svoboda@academymortgage.com

442 W Kortsenhttps://academymortgage.com/dawnsvoboda Road, 104, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 AZ 0913936 dawn.svoboda@academymortgage.com Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081 https://academymortgage.com/dawnsvoboda AZ 0913936 Co r p NMLS #3113 | Corp State Lic AZ #BK-0904081