INSIDE:
C O M M U N I T Y P. 23 | B U S I N E S S P. 27
www.ahwatukee.com
REMEMBER TO VOTE
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
HELPING THE POOR
. 23
P
CARPET QUEEN
. 27
P
SOCCER HOPES
. 31
P
@AhwatukeeFN |
@AhwatukeeFN
Rejoice! Ahwatukee Easter Parade is coming back BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
AHWATUKEE.COM
| S P O RT S P. 31 | G E TO U T P. 33 | C L A S S I F I E D P. 40
A
fter nearly two years of pandemic gloom and the sad passing of at least one longtime community tradition, Ahwatukee has something to cheer about. The Kiwanis Ahwatukee Easter Parade and Spring Fling is back and will be ready to roll at 10 a.m. April 16 from Warner Road north on 48th Street to Cheyenne Drive. While the Valley’s largest – and possibly only – Easter parade was canceled the past two years because of Phoenix officials’ concerns about COVID-19, the procession got the city’s official approval – contained in permits that Parade Boss Mike Schmitt was holding in his
hands last week with joy. Also returning after the two-year hiatus is the Spring Fling that follows the parade at Ahwatukee Community Center Park, 48th Street and Warner Road, where entertainment, vendor booths, games, food and fun for the whole family await from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Kiwanis Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year is being headed by Andi Pettyjohn for the 22nd consecutive year.
see PARADE page 12
The celebrated mystery Easter Bunny will be in full rabbit regalia April 16 as the 46th annual Kiwanis Ahwatukee Easter Parade rolls north on 48th Street. (AFN file photo)
ASU awards special MLK honor to local professor BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
I
t’s been 53 years since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and the societal change he fought and prayed for seems as much a dream now as it did in 1969. But as his birthday is commemorated this Monday, the countless individuals who have continued his legacy haven’t given up his fight – people like Dr. Neal Lester of Ahwatukee. Lester, Foundation Professor of English at Arizona State University and founder director of its Project Humanities, will be recognized for his work Jan. 20 as the first recipient of ASU’s new MLK Jr. Faculty Servant-Leadership Award. That inaugural award will cap a busy time for Lester, who participated last week in a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., sponsored by
the prestigious Modern Language Association on cultivating relationships between the media and university. He also will be participating tomorrow and Friday in the King Center’s virtual Beloved Community Global Summit, titled this year “It Starts With Me: Shifting Priorities to Create the Beloved Community.” As ASU noted in announcing the award, “Lester’s work not only connects communities, but gives a voice to those who feel marginalized.” He told ASU he was gratified and humbled by
see LESTER page 4
Ahwatukee resident Dr. Neal Lester will receive Arizona State University’s inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Servant-Leadership Award as part of the annual MLK Jr. celebration by the university, where he has been Foundation Professor of English since 1997. (Courtesy ASU)
Financial peace of mind starts here. American Advisors Group offers a full suite of home equity solutions.
Tom Selleck AAG Paid Spokesperson
Call today! (602) 625-9498
Jill Waldrop | NMLS ID: 213327 | JMWaldrop@aag.com
NMLS# 9392 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). American Advisors Group (AAG) is headquartered at 18200 Von Karman Ave., Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92612. AAG conducts business in AZ (BK_0911141). AAG is an equal housing lender. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or a government agency. For full legal disclosure, please visit: www.americanadvisorsgroup.com/disclosure