For nearly 10 years, the city of Goodyear has continued to fill a need through a program that has provided gifts to brighten the holidays for families experiencing financial and medical hardships.

For the 2013 Christmas season, the City of Goodyear’s Fill-A-Need Program was able to assist 21 families which included 100 children and also connected another eight families with a total of 28 children at Moose Lodge No. 2078 in Goodyear during its recent Annual Christmas with Santa Luncheon.

There were about 30 volunteers – including several city employees – who donated more than 250 hours wrapping the present on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 12-13 and passing out the gifts on Saturday, Dec. 14. The city of Goodyear sponsors the Fill-A-Need program, but also receives support from Black Bear Diner at 980 N. Dysart Road and Peter Piper Pizza (1463 N. Dysart Road), who donate a percent of the proceeds on certain days throughout the year to the Fill-A-Need program.

Veronica Holquin, chairman of the 15-member Fill-A-Need Committee who works in the city’s Information Technology Services Department, said everyone was excited and grateful to receive the gifts.  Each family also was provided with a Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, a food box, household items box, a Fry’s gift card and turkey to help with the holiday meals.

“The families were very appreciative of all the items,” Holquin said. “We had kids so excited to see presents being put under their trees and parents crying of happiness and hugging the volunteers as they dropped off the gifts. It was very touching.”

Each fall, the city receives referrals of families in need from schools, law enforcement and other agencies. Last year, the Fill-A-Need program was able to help 28 families with gifts, Holquin said. Overall, Fill-A-Need has been helping families in the community since 2005 on an average of 35 families a year.

Families submit information of why they are in hardship, a one-time application.  This year, there single mothers raising their children alone on one income, families with members that have disabilities or illnesses and can’t work, and families faced with mounting medical bills. “This year, the number of families was slightly less than last year, but that was only because we received less applications,” Holquin said. “That could be a sign that more families are doing better, and we hope that’s the case.”

To learn more about contributing to the Fill-A-Need program, please call (623) 882-7081 or e-mail your name and contact information to gyneed@goodyearaz.gov.

– GOODYEARAZ.GOV –

A native of Chandler, Mayor Tibshraeny began his service to the community in 1980 as a member of the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission. After six years, he ran and was elected to the City Council, where he served until he was elected Mayor in 1994.

In his first eight years as mayor, he championed the development of many of the city’s recreational facilities – providing an outstanding quality of life for residents. He was also instrumental in the development of a transportation system that links the city economically and socially to the region. ‘

Mayor Tibshraeny returned as mayor in 2011 and was re-elected in 2012 to an unprecedented sixth term. Since his return, he has focused on keeping neighborhoods strong through a number of successful initiatives. He also developed partnerships with both Arizona State University and University of Arizona, while working to retain and attract high wage jobs and enhanced regional cooperation.

Most recently, Mayor Tibshraeny was named the Municipal Leader of the Year by the American City and County magazine.

“This honor is in large part due to Mayor Tibshraeny’s role in economic development and specifically, creating, protecting and preserving the Price Corridor. The Price Corridor is Chandler’s major employment corridor and has been instrumental in attracting high wage technology jobs to the city (In Business Magazine).”

Price Corridor is a prime example in how strategic investments in long term planning can positively build a community.  Price Corridor hosts over 35,000 jobs, including 11,000 jobs that have arrived in the past 18 months. It is the home to large corporations like Intel, Bank of America, PayPal, Microchip Technologies, General Motors & Wells Fargo. “We are known in the Southwest United States as an innovation and technology hub… we work very hard to attract businesses…” says Mayor Tibshraeny.

There is no doubt that Mayor Tibshraeny’s role in economic development in the City of Chandler has resulted in the city’s tremendous growth, particularly over the past 18 months. A total of 12 projects have been initiated, representing more than $5.6 billion of capital investment. “Mayor Tibshraeny really understands the importance of keeping the construction of the corridor contiguous,” says Barry Broome, the head of Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), which promotes business in Maricopa County, which includes Chandler. “He’s not afraid to dig in his heels on issues.”

Thank you Mayor Tibshraeny for your dedication to the City of Chandler!

Lynette is the silver lining of a tragedy because she and her team provide support in people’s darkest days. She is responsible for the Glendale Crisis Response Program, which includes therapy dog Topaz.

The Glendale Fire Department Crisis Response Program provides crisis intervention. Their philosophy is to deliver an innovative service delivery that involves immediate Crisis Intervention to family, victims, and witnesses of tragic events; including but not limited to fires, drownings, unexpected death, or to support victims of a crime.

This program has been an effective tool for the past eleven years in dealing primarily with crisis intervention after a tragic circumstance through the utilization of trained volunteers and student interns.  Volunteers and interns are recruited and complete rigorous training in victimology, crisis intervention, communication skills, sudden and violent death, stages of grief, death notification, post-traumatic stress disorder along with many other profound and bitter circumstances.

Lynette works endless hours in the community and helps people determine what to do next while working through a traumatic experience. There are also no boundaries with her. After the Yarnell tragedy, she immediately reached out to Prescott and started volunteering her time and services for two weeks up there, literally working around the clock to plan 19 tragic funerals. Lynette has dedicated her life to helping people move forward in their lives and she continues to be an excellent Samaritan in her community.

A new addition to the Crisis Response program was adopted in 2008 to enhance the crisis intervention efforts. Lynette, is the owner of Topaz a three year old yellow Labrador retriever who was adopted from Paws with a Cause which is a service dog school.  Topaz is a tool used much like a therapy dog in a hospital, but the Glendale Fire Department uses him immediately on dispatched calls to calm down children and adults who love animals.  Several law enforcement agencies use canine crisis response; however Glendale Fire Department is the first fire department in the nation to embrace this program staying with the mission statement and providing innovative ways to give excellent customer service.  There is no doubt that Lynette and Topaz have had a positive impact in the Glendale community.

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Melissa Maddison loves living in the Town of Queen Creek and appreciates the clean and homey look of the community. It was partly due to those reasons that she applied for the position of Neighborhood Preservation Specialist when she made the decision to return to the workforce after staying at home to raise her three sons. Despite only having worked for the Town for slightly over a month, Melissa already understands the importance of her role in making the community look better.

“I like the neighborhood to look good, the Town to look good,” said Melissa. “I love helping to maintain the Town. It’s a nice place to be, to live, to shop.”

A typical day for Melissa includes taking in calls from residents, looking over complaints that have been filed using the mobile application “QC Connection,” and hopping in a Town truck to look for ordinance and code violations. Fliers advertising garage sales on stop signs and utility poles are often the biggest offenders in neighborhood preservation, and Melissa works face-to-face with residents to keep the community looking sharp.

“We also take care of any graffiti in Town and noise complaints,” said Melissa. “Our job is to help people understand the different ordinances in Town.”

“Having professionals like Melissa enforcing the Town’s regulations is an important piece of keeping Queen Creek a safe and beautiful place to live and work,” said Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney. “Her positive attitude and empathetic nature make her the perfect person for this role and a great representative for our community.”

Drawing from her previous career experience as a sixth grade teacher, Melissa says respectful communication is key to her work with Queen Creek’s residents. Her friendly smile and calm approach when confronting residents about complaints help make her job easier.

“I think if you go up and be nice to people they will generally be nice back,” said Melissa on her customer service philosophy.

As a resident of Queen Creek, Melissa is proud of her community and its history. She believes the most important aspect of her job is to preserve the history and to maintain the niceness of the Town and the community.

“I love being able to see crops and horses on my drives,” said Melissa. “It’s a neat place to come and live. As a neighborhood preservationist, I want to make sure it stays that way and to encourage people to be here, to do their shopping here and to live here.”

To learn more about the QC Connection program, visit QueenCreek.org/QCConnection. To keep up-to-date on all the Town’s activities and programs, follow us at www.facebook.com/QueenCreek, www.Twitter.com/TOQC_official and www.instagram.com/TOQC_official.

Written by :  Jen Snyder

None of us enjoyed getting our homework returned by the teacher tattooed with red ink, but sometimes it was warranted.  This scenario is repeated numerous times in the world of Construction Plan Review, and Jim Dawson is the guy wielding the red pen.

As a Building Plans Examiner, Jim pores over the construction plans of developers and builders to ensure they are designed in accordance with the International Building Code, Fire Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, Energy Conservation Code, National Electric Code, Residential Code, and the Accessibility Design Access Guidelines that developed out of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Builders sometimes take issue with corrections being requested, but Jim’s grasp of the subject matter and reasoned demeanor usually wins out. And sometimes Jim doesn’t have to say a word, like the time a design consultant was upset with several ADA requirements and insisted on meeting personally with Jim. The consultant’s objections evaporated when Jim rolled his wheel chair into the lobby to greet him.

Jim has been paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair since 2001 following a fall he took while on vacation in Canada. With his injury has come limited mobility and a greater reliance on others, especially his wife of 32 years, Tina. Before the accident, Jim was an active outdoorsman and traveled frequently while holding numerous jobs both in the United States and Canada. He has worked with Canada’s Department of Indian and Northern Affairs overseeing the infrastructure, housing and social service needs of numerous Native American communities in northern Alberta, Canada. He later owned his own construction company in his hometown of Kingston.

Meanwhile in Arizona he held jobs with Scottsdale and Gilbert, went into the home inspection business, and even operated a restaurant and bar in Mesa. He joined Chandler seven years ago and says he’s grateful to be working alongside many wonderful coworkers.

When asked about his life philosophy, Jim smiles and says, “I make a conscious mental decision each day to make it the best day I can possibly make it.”

In any city or town, great leadership is essential to providing quality services to residents and creating a plan for the future of a municipality.  Arizona’s cities and towns have great leaders in the visionary mayors and council members who strive to make their communities shine.

A perfect example of great leadership is Surprise Mayor Sharon Wolcott. Having served in office since 2011, she has kept the city’s focus on jobs, education and transportation, all while settling the city’s complex financial past.

During her time in office, Mayor Wolcott has helped Surprise develop a budget surplus and create more than 1,000 jobs for residents. These new jobs have created stability for residents while producing more than one million square feet of new manufacturing, family entertainment and shopping to enhance community life.

Mayor Wolcott has also helped rally the community to fix Bell and Grand Avenue, a major regional transportation issue.

She has put extensive work into fighting to save Luke Air Force Base and put the City of Surprise at the table to discuss Interstate-11 planning. She has also helped unite the West Valley on youth, economic development and education issues.

Mayor Wolcott is just one of many great leaders in our state who make Arizona cities work.

As the City Manager of Goodyear, Brian Dalke is always thinking about how to make the city better into the future. His forward-thinking attitude has been the guiding aspect for recently adopting a new city strategic plan and implementing a city-wide performance measure program.

He is also focused on the city’s residents, working with city employees to ensure that they are satisfied with the work their city is doing. He works closely with the Human Resources Department to develop an employee appraisal tool that is aligned to core customer service values. He has also started an initiative for Priority Based Budgeting, which will help facilitate meaningful communication between Council and staff about resources and their city initiatives.

Before becoming City Manager, Brian spent twenty years working for the city, learning the culture of Goodyear. He joined as an Economic Development Director, leading the small city as it made its mark in the West Valley. In his role there, he helped charge on many development agreements and projects that still continue to sustain the city.

His role in development continued as Deputy City Manager, where he oversaw key projects like the Estrella Falls Regional Mall agreement, which is slotted to bring a 1.2 million square-foot regional shopping center to the West Valley in 2016. In addition, the was instrumental in the development of the Goodyear Ballpark and Recreational Development Complex, which serves as a year-round economic engine for the community, and a venue for many events for the community to enjoy.

Brian likes to say that in Goodyear, they are in the “forever business,” and his guidance is ensuring Goodyear will be prosperous for many years to come. He is one of the many reasons Arizona Cities Work!

On October 26^th the City of Coolidge, Arizona celebrated Make a Difference Day and Arizona Cities and Towns Week with three different service projects directed by the Coolidge Rotary Club.

These projects aimed at beautifying the city included: applying landscaping to the area next to Arizona Boulevard in front of the Hohokam RV Park, cleaning up and landscaping around the sign that welcomes people to Coolidge and cleaning up the property of Boulevard Bob’s auto shop on Arizona and Kensworthy.

Rick Miller, a Rotarian and director of the city’s growth management department was in charge of the service project. In addition, volunteers included people from Coolidge High School, Imagine Prep and many others from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Taking pride in our municipalities the main theme for Arizona Cities and Towns week.  Miller States, “when people come into town, you don’t want them to see graffiti, you don’t want them to see trash, you don’t want them to see junk cars…

You want them to come into town and say that there is a community of people here who care, and it shows.”

Arizona Cities and Towns Week is set aside each year to provide citizens with important information about the services and programs provided by their city/town.

Thank you City of Coolidge for participating in Arizona Cities and Towns week!

George Royer is a  key member of the Oro Valley Police Department as the Director of Volunteer Patrol for the department’s Citizen Volunteer Assistants Program.

George works every Friday at the front desk. He patrols weekly, and is part of the rotation for fingerprinting duty at the main station, and works special events including traffic control. Since 2003 George has donated over 5,594 hours of service to the department.

George has the “good guy” syndrome.  He is the person who knows everyone’s name and is always greeting every volunteer that comes in with a smile and hand shake.  He works hard to make the program a success by keeping an upbeat outlook, and being a “can do” type of role model for everyone involved in the program.

George is an even-tempered, helpful person with a positive attitude and a willingness to serve the Town of Oro Valley.  George is an upbeat guy who speaks so highly of others in the volunteer program and rarely receives credit for what he has done.

Many times, a resident’s main interaction with their city or town will involve making a  telephone call or taking a trip to a city facility to pay a bill. In the City of Prescott, there are five women who make sure this is always a pleasant experience for their residents.

The City of Prescott’s Utility Billing Crew is made up of four employees and a supervisor. Becky, Denise, Janne, Kim and Patty make themselves available all day, every day, to explain the services Prescott offers. They help residents set up accounts, let them know what can be done if there is a billing problem and explain how to look for water leaks.

Citizens who may be grumpy about their bills are welcomed with the kind, patient and compassionate voices on the other end of the phone. The Utility Billing Crew helps them through their problems; even offering staff to help find solutions to water overuse issues and leak detection. A smile can be heard in their voices, as well as seen on each of their faces daily.