10 minute read
BUSINESS
WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | MAY 19, 2021
BY WEST VALLEY VIEW STAFF
The Arizona Coyotes Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, and Sharecare are launching the Small Business Spotlight program, which will highlight five Arizona-based small businesses during the 2021-22 NHL season.
The initiative’s goal is to increase the exposure of small businesses in the Valley. Supporting small businesses is one of the main objectives of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
To participate in the program, businesses must apply at arizonacoyotes. com/smallbusiness. The submission deadline is June 11.
Businesses must be headquartered in Arizona and employ two to 50 employees. They cannot be a 501(c)(3). Applicants will be selected based on commitment to customers, concern for the health and wellness of employees, community service, diversity and inclusion.
The five selected businesses will receive a $2,000 check toward a health and wellness initiative of their choice. The grant is provided by a combination of funds provided by the Coyotes and Sharecare, a health and wellness platform that promotes healthy lifestyles.
“This is a very important program for us,” said Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez.
“We are thrilled to team up with our incredible partner in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and continue our longstanding relationship with them, not just as a corporate partner but as a community partner,” Gutierrez said.
“We both are aligned when it comes to embracing our responsibility to being a community leader. It is also important for us to leverage our platform and leverage our voice that we have as a professional sports franchise in the Valley to do what we can to improve the lives of others. It is important for us to be able to help other businesses in the Valley, to support and celebrate them and their successes, especially during these very challenging times.”
Kathryn Mattson, director of smallgroup sales for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, added, “Small businesses are an integral part of the Arizona community, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is committed to their success, growth and development.
“We are excited to join forces with our strategic partners, the Arizona Coyotes and Sharecare, to launch the Small Business Spotlight program. Through this initiative we look forward to recognizing small employers who make Arizona a great place to live, work and play.”
Craig Petty, Sharecare vice president of strategic partnerships, said he’s proud to support Arizona businesses with their health and wellness goals.
“As the leading digital-health company, we are committed to helping Arizona build employee-wellness programs and make high-quality care more accessible and affordable for everyone,” Petty said.
The selected businesses also will be featured in articles on arizonacoyotes. com, with photos and links to their organizations. They will also be featured in a 2021-22 Arizona Coyotes gameday spotlight, which includes a 12-person suite for a Coyotes game. The dates for winners will be set when the 202122 NHL schedule is released.
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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | MAY 19, 2021
Chlorine fl oater set to make a splash
Roxana Oeriz decided to make her dream of becoming an entrepreneur a reality. She worked on creating a visually appealing chlorine fl oater for two years after not fi nding a
fun design option for her own pool. (West Valley View photo by Tim Sealy)
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BY LAUREN SERRATO
West Valley View Staff Writer
AWest Valley woman is looking to make a splash this summer, as her chlorine pool fl oater product makes its debut on the market this month.
Roxana Ortiz created a chlorine fl oater with a creative look and named it the Cool Floater. Inspiration struck when she was looking for a chlorine fl oater of her own but couldn’t fi nd a fun, creative design she wanted for her pool.
“The product is a chlorine fl oater for pools and jacuzzis with a cool new design, and it has a control fl ow for the chlorine. It is also going to be treated with a high-tech plasma treatment for the plastic,” she said.
After moving to Avondale in 2003, the Puerto Rican native and her husband opened an air conditioning business. However, two years ago, Ortiz decided she wanted to make her dream of becoming an entrepreneur a reality.
Ortiz committed to her product full time, with the determination to make it the best it could be. After two years, she said it is now fi nally ready to be released and sold to customers.
The bright yellow fl oater is intended to bring people joy, especially during such uncertain times, Ortiz said.
“We never liked the options that they had in the market, so we decided to make something different and cool, like the emoji face with the glasses. It’s going to be named Cool Floater because when you put in cool on your phone, that’s the emoji that pops up. It just makes you smile,” Ortiz said.
The Avondale resident takes pride in the chlorine fl oater’s creative design. While simple, it has the ability to bring a whole new summer mood to swimming pools.
“The design that we created is what makes it so special and unique. The new design just makes people very happy. It makes you have a cool life when you are around the pool and enjoying time with your friends and family,” she said. Additionally, it holds up to four chlorine tablets to sanitize the pool or jacuzzi, and the adjustable control fl ow rate will ensure chlorinated pools will receive the right amount of chlorine. To kick off the fi rst month of offi cially launching her product, Ortiz is offering merchandise and special offers on the
Cool Floater website at coolfl oater.com. “This month we will start selling through my website. On that website, you’re going to see offers where you can add T-shirts, sunglasses and even fi nd a discounted price,” she said. The fl oater has taken Ortiz over two years to create, as she said she committed all her time, energy and effort into this project. “It’s been a long two years, and since the pandemic started, we’ve been doing the prototype, the design, the engineering, and working on the patent and trademark. And in those two years I have also been learning about plastic,” she said. Ortiz is no stranger to the business world, as she and her husband Antonio
Foglia also own a barber shop. Now as she commits her time to her Cool
Floater product, she hopes it will receive the same support as her family’s other businesses. “I want people to support it, and I think they will. This is something very different, and I am very proud of it,” she said. Despite the bumps in the road that Ortiz admitted to hitting on her journey to releasing the Cool Floater, she said it was all worth it to see it come to fruition. “If the will is strong, the can is real.
If you want to do something, even if you have obstacles in your way, you can do it. Just go forward and don’t let nobody drag you down,” she said.
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It’s ‘showtime’ for Keeton Sanchez
BY ETHAN GRENI
West Valley View Contributing Writer
Keeton Sanchez is one of those kids who doesn’t let much keep him down for long.
After a senior year at Youngker High School full of unfortunate setbacks, like fracturing his leg and the death of his grandmother, the distance runner recently committed to Western Oregon University.
“I’m stoked,” Sanchez said.
“I had a lot of good options for college. I would’ve been happy wherever I went, but I’m super excited. I’m glad I can represent a team that looked like they wanted me to run with their program, and just the community of the team itself just felt welcoming.”
Sanchez made a name for himself during his time as a Roughrider, setting a new school record time for the mile at 4:24.96, and finishing top three in Youngker history in the cross-country, 800-meter and 2-mile runs.
All that success led to discussions with coaches at several universities, including ASU, but Sanchez said WOU felt right.
“Western Oregon just felt homey and felt like somewhere I could grow as a person and as a runner,” Sanchez said.
In August, about a week before the start of his senior season, Sanchez was running in one of the fields around Youngker when he stepped in a gopher hole.
“We were doing what’s called a temple run, so it’s pretty fast but not full-on race pace,” Sanchez said. “I was going fast, and right when I went to check my watch, I stepped in (the hole), and the whole thing caved in. It turned my ankle in.”
Initially, he didn’t think much of it and ran in his team’s next race.
“I ended up racing after that, because I was like, ‘Oh, it’s just a twisted ankle. It’ll be alright,’” Sanchez said. “But I think the race was what fully broke it.”
He ended up in a boot for the next few months, forced to watch from the
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VALLEYWIDE SERVICE • 602-550-7732 Keeton Sanchez is headed to Western Oregon University, where he will participate as a
distance runner. (Photo by Tim Sealy)
sidelines.
“It was difficult for me mentally. I struggled a lot my senior year, just watching everybody,” Sanchez said.
He stayed active as best he could during his downtime.
“I did a lot of swimming. I did a lot of biking. I really lifted a lot during that time,” Sanchez said. “Just to stay locked in mentally. Obviously I wasn’t able to run, but just to stay active so my mind didn’t lose motivation.”
That hard work paid off, as he finished 21st out of 149 participants in the Division II cross-country state championship in November. His boot was only removed three months prior.
“Mentally, I was still struggling.
Sanchez...continued on page 17
