Solid Waste Equipment Operator
City of Peoria

“Anything is possible. You just have to want it and believe in yourself.”

These are the words that Rosie Perez lives by as she serves the City of Peoria.

Born in Tempe and raised in southern Phoenix, Arizona, Rosie Lopez is a hometown girl whose dedication to her city has led to great accomplishments.

Rosie works for the City of Peoria as a solid waste equipment operator. In fact, she’s the only female solid waste equipment operator to work for the city. And she’s the best.

Recently Rosie competed in the “Road-E-O,” an annual event sponsored by the Solid Waste Association of North America. Her incomparable skills and belief in herself led Rosie to compete with the best of Arizona and she placed first in the rear-loading category at the national event. Weeks later, Rosie placed first in the same category for the international competition. The competition included participants from Arizona and the U.S. representing municipal and private waste haulers, landfill equipment operators, and mechanics. The “Road-E-O” promotes professionalism and safety in the field of solid waste management and facilitates a spirit of competition and goodwill.

In a typical day, Rosie does a little of everything and is happy to assist wherever she is needed. Currently she is working in residential areas as side-rail and does front-loading for commercial areas. She also operates a Kubota articulating loader, which collects uncontained loose trash.

“I am the best Kubota operator here,” says Rosie confidently.

And she has the skills – and title of number one – to prove it.

Mayor
City of Holbrook

Mayor Robert “Bobby” E. Tyler served for four years on the Holbrook City Council beginning May, 2011 when he was sworn in as the newest elected member of the city council. He was sworn into his current position as mayor on May 26, 2015.

He has been a part of, and served the community with the Holbrook Volunteer Fire Department, Holbrook Police Program, and has a long history of involvement with the youth of Holbrook; primarily through sports programs to include city and school leagues.

Mayor Tyler was the third of six children born to Don & Johnnie Tyler. He is a third generation Holbrook native who graduated from Holbrook High School in 1977. He drove trucks for the City Street Department and then had a long career with Arizona Public Service Co. at Cholla Power Plant and later worked for Tucson Electric Power in Springerville.

He is a proud father and grandfather, who encourages his children with the words his parents instilled in him; “With hard work and the right attitude, you can accomplish your goals.”

Water Resources Coordinator
Town of Marana

No matter who we are, what continent we live on, or our circumstances, the need for water is one common thread we all share.

Perhaps that’s why Asia Philbin was drawn to the field of water.

Having been the child of a father in the Navy, Asia was born in Naples, Italy and traveled Italy, Spain, France and the UK with her parents as an infant. While her primitive years aren’t ingrained in memory, Asia certainly believes her early-aged treks led to a love of travel she still carries with her.

Following her beginnings in Europe, Asia grew up in northeastern and central Pennsylvania in Scranton and State College. Both of her parents also grew up in Scranton. She went on to attend the University of Miami, Coral Gables in Florida to earn a bachelor’s degree in science, marine science and geology.

For more than a decade, Asia worked with the City of Tucson as a hydrologist. Most recently, she joined the team at the Town of Marana where she works as the Water Resource Coordinator. In her capacity, she deals with water resources, water and wastewater system assets, and energy management. She is also coordinating the design and construction of a facility to recharge the treated effluent from the wastewater treatment plant. The project is helping provide water resources for the growth planned by the town. She believes it is a great opportunity to create a multi-benefit project that incorporates public amenities and natural enhancements for wildlife.

She also believes in bringing water to people throughout the world.

While in graduate school at the University of Arizona, she heard a presentation from the Water for People Committee of Arizona. At the time, she learned, two billion people lacked access to safe drinking water – Asia was inspired to join their volunteer group.

When she began working with the City of Tucson, Asia soon learned that her director and many coworkers also volunteered with Water for People. As public servants whose roles involved bringing safe water and sanitation and human health to their communities, they viewed working with the organization as a natural extension of their day job.

At Tucson Water, she helped form a subcommittee that would focus on events to connect people in the water industry while raising much-needed funding for projects. Their events now include two golf tournaments, the Run for World Water (Phoenix-area), Team Pedal With Purpose at El Tour de Tucson, and a newly added wine tasting.

Because of help from individuals like Asia, over the past decade, Water for People has helped reduce the number of people without access to safe drinking water. The number is still a staggering 1.8 billion people and the organization is committed to helping four million more gain access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

Working with the Town of Marana for the last 18 months, Asia has come to enjoy the positive work environment the town provides, the coworkers and the multi-benefit projects.

“It’s important to me to enjoy working with people I see every day, and also to be supporting a larger vision for the town and the community,” said Asia.

She certainly has a large vision for the world’s community and is making a lasting impact by helping bring water to the citizens of Marana, Arizona and people around the world.

Management Analyst
City of Sierra Vista

Local governments are home to hard-working employees who care passionately about the field in which they work. They inspire individuals to continue on a path of public service.

Pam Weir is one of those individuals whose passion for service has been an inspiration from a young age and continues to propel her in a public management career.

Having grown up in Scottsdale, Pam developed a passion for public service while attending Chaparral High School. She dreamt of working in government as a way to use privilege to make communities more inclusive and supportive.

Recognizing her dream, she travelled east to Northampton, Massachusetts to earn a bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College. To continue her education in public management and escape the snow, Pam moved back to Arizona to attend Arizona State University for her Master in Public Administration, where she was one of a prestigious few to become a Marvin Andrews Fellow.

Pam once again traded in a life of sunshine for a life of snow when she took a one-year management internship position in Fort Collins, Colorado. The position was a perfect introduction to full-time local government management work and she loved working for such an innovative community.

But as home often does, Arizona called Pam back and she returned to the Grand Canyon State to work for the City of Sierra Vista. While in graduate school, Pam had learned about the city organization when she shadowed the assistant city manager for a day to learn about the city’s response to the 2011 Monument Fire. The management analyst position for the city was exactly what Pam was looking for: an opportunity to gain further experience in the city manager’s office, focusing on budgeting, strategic planning, working with city council and helping operational departments to deliver outstanding services. It was an added bonus that the community offered stunning mountain views, unique community partnerships and an excellent team of professional managers.

Pam’s main role at Sierra Vista is to serve as the city’s budget officer. She manages the process by which all the department directors and city leaders work together to create a balanced proposed budget. Throughout the year, she works with city departments to analyze revenue and spending projections, develop priorities for future budget years, present process updates to the city council, and create the budget book document that is shared with the community once it has been passed. Like many individuals in small-town professional management, Pam wears many hats, as she also works on special projects ranging from community engagement to performance measurement initiatives.

And like many small-town professional managers, Pam realizes the importance of local government. Having wanted to work in public service since high school, her original aspirations led her to the federal level of government. However, after working in Washington, D.C. during college as both a Congressional intern and a policy advocate for a nonprofit agency, she felt that progress was very slow and often frustrating.

“I wanted to have a more direct impact on quality of life and issues of community safety and equity,” said Pam. “Local government management is the perfect place for me to use my skills and bring about tangible change to improve lives.”

Pam also loves the variety of the position, as in just one day she might work with public works, the library and finance. City management requires constant learning and creating new ways of doing things. Cities and towns are also collaborating with one another to share best practices and tackle complex challenges with municipalities from across the country.

“I believe that as communities, we can accomplish more together than separately, and the role of the city manager is to lead many different people and interests together toward the common goal of prosperity,” said Weir

As she continues to live out her passion and make her mark in the field of local government management, Pam will strive to ensure she’s using her skills to make a difference every day.

Fire Chief
City of Phoenix Fire Department

At 16 years old, most teenagers have three things on their minds: fun, friends and finding freedom. What they’re going to do for a living isn’t always at the top of the list. But for Kara Kalkbrenner, it was.

She was a student at Maryvale High School in the 1980s, working at Malcolm’s Department Store selling home furnishings. One day, Mrs. Mallow, one of her regular customers told Kara about her son who was a Phoenix firefighter, who at that time was dating the first female firefighter to work for the City of Phoenix.  She had a sense of Kara’s kind demeanor and caring personality, and suggested that she look into the fire service.

Kara didn’t know that women were just starting to become firefighters. She had plans of following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother who were both nurses. Her mom worked in the emergency room. Kara knew about what doctors and nurses did for critical patients, but wanted to know more about what firefighters did to help save lives before they made it to the hospital.

Within the year, Kara volunteered to be a Phoenix Fire Cadet, learning the ropes at the fire stations. She finished high school and enrolled in fire science classes and eventually got her degree. By the age of 19, she graduated from an intense academy. At the time, there were only 20 female firefighters at the department, and she was one of the youngest. Fast forward more than 30 years later. Not only are there now more than 85 female firefighters in Phoenix, but that young and eager cadet is now the first female fire chief of the sixth largest city in the nation!

“I have been extremely fortunate to have served alongside some of the bravest and most interesting people on the planet.  Firefighters by nature are unique,” said Kara.   “To be given the training and tools to now lead the Phoenix Fire Department is an honor and privilege.”

She isn’t the kind of chief who manages from behind closed doors. At a three alarm hazardous material fire this year in south Phoenix, Kara was quickly on scene providing support with her team of command officers. Some of Kara’s most rewarding work with the department has come from riding in the backseat of a fire truck, responding to fires and helping sick people.

The chief is married to Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Kalkbrenner, who manages the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Phoenix. Not only is he a tremendous support, Kara’s mother and grandmother were there as well, supporting her decision to enter a male-dominated profession.

Kara is one of a handful of women in the nation who manage major metropolitan fire departments. After a national and competitive recruitment, she was sworn in as fire chief in late 2014. She leads a robust organization that operates around the clock, consisting of nearly 2,000 diverse employees, and manages a $306 million budget.

Recently, Kara ran into Mrs. Mallow and thanked her for the talk they had 30 years ago at Malcolm’s. Not only did that ambitious young woman become a firefighter, she became fire chief.

“With the right inspiration, skills and knowledge, you can do anything.”

Streets Supervisor
City of Flagstaff Public Works

When you think about some of the toughest jobs in Arizona’s cities and towns, snow plow driver probably isn’t the first image conjured up within the sunny state. But for Mike Stress and other members of the Flagstaff streets team, they understand that snow has a real presence in our state and it’s up to them to keep the streets free and clear so that residents can get home safely.

A hometown boy, Mike was born and raised in Flagstaff and attended Coconino High School where he showed his strengths on the ball field. Right out of high school, he had the opportunity to try out with the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.

He started with the City of Flagstaff in 1990 as a temporary employee in the parks department where he cleaned sidewalks at night and worked on the softball fields during the day. As he worked his way through the city, Mike has spent time in several departments, including a year in the city cemetery.

Once he transferred into the street operations as a heavy equipment operator, Mike found where he belonged. He worked his way through the ranks before being promoted to a supervisor in 2008.

Mike is responsible for scheduling the work of the Flagstaff streets crew on a daily basis. He also trains employees on various pieces of equipment and is involved with the fleet shop, communicating with mechanics to ensure equipment is ready and working properly when needed.

When Mike’s job really gets interesting is when the snow falls. A typical snow day for the Flagstaff streets crew includes the deployment of 32 pieces of equipment on a big storm. During an event, the crews communicate between two shifts to ensure that all main and critical routes are being attended to, as well as managing all citizen complaints and any issues that may pop up.

Mike recalls a particular incident in 2010 when Flagstaff received five feet of snow in a 48-hour period.

“The snow was so heavy that the streets crew could not keep up with the snow fall amounts,” he says.

Mike was tasked with looking for outside help from private contractors to help plow the routes so the public could get out. They had to help haul off the snow from the downtown as well as all the cul-de-sacs around the Flagstaff area.

In his 25 years with the City of Flagstaff, Mike has shown his capabilities as a streets supervisor. In 2012, he was selected to be a member of the Arizona state incident management team as equipment inspector.

In rain, sleet, snow, hail or sunshine, Mike and the Flagstaff streets team are working to ensure the roadways are safe for travelers.

While Mike enjoys the ability to start a project and oversee it to the end, he truly loves his job because of his capability to contribute to his hometown community of Flagstaff.

The Prescott Valley Police Department recently recognized exemplary employees who strive to make the Town of Prescott Valley a safe place to live. Take a look at this year’s heroic individuals  who showcase just how many great people are making Arizona cities work!

Civilian of the Year – Geni LeQuesne

Geni LeQuesne is a vital member of the Prescott Valley Police Department.  She handles all aspects of training and travel for employees of the Department, monitors and tracks training reimbursements and scheduling, maintains the Police Department website, manages Administrative Review/Personnel Complaint/and Use of Force records, provides backup for Administrative Staff, in addition to many other additional tasks.  In 2014 alone, Geni arranged and completed over 250 different training/travel requests for Department personnel.

Geni is always pleasant to work with and extremely helpful to everyone.  She has a positive attitude towards both her work and her fellow employees that makes working with her truly a joy.  Geni is always willing to step in and help wherever necessary to accomplish Department tasks, and does so with a smile on her face.

Geni consistently demonstrates a professional and helpful attitude that is noticed by all of those around her.  She is truly a valued member of the Prescott Valley Police Department and very deserving of the Civilian of the Year Award for 2014.

Community Policing Award – James Tobin

Detective James Tobin has been in law enforcement 18.5 years and served with the PVPD Family Violence Unit for 3 years. He has a clear understanding that criminal incidents are a much broader issue that can’t be addressed solely by a single call for service; however Detective Tobin takes every call for service as an opportunity to make a difference for the community he serves. In working closely with other community agencies and law enforcement professionals, Detective Tobin provides leadership and insight to a variety of community policing programs. Detective Tobin is a community steward and frequently participates in programs that help promote community policing, community outreach and education.

Detective Tobin is a leader with the Coordinated Community Response Team, whose mission isto end domestic and sexual violence in Northern Arizona.  He is also part of the Yavapai County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, and has coordinated an intergovernmental study with the Northern Arizona University to study and develop advanced domestic violence threat assessments to further combat domestic violence related issues impacting our community.  Detective Tobin helped facilitate the “Take Back the Night Candle Light Vigil” the community awareness program that honors Domestic Violence homicide victims from Yavapai County, as well as the “Start By Believing” campaign in support of sexual assault victims. He also participates in the “Teen Maze” educational event, Hopefest, Salute to Heroes, and the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy to represent the PVPD Family Violence Unit.  Finally, Detective Tobin has become a community leader on the MATFORCE Coalition to reduce substance abuse in our community.

Over the past 6 years, the number of Domestic Violence incident calls for PVPD has increased by 53%.  Due to community outreach, more careful statistical capture, as well as education in the community that creates a supportive environment in which victims feel safe to report domestic violence, family violence crime has been addressed assertively by our Family Violence Unit. Community policing, community outreach and education have become synonymous with the nationally recognized PVPD Family Violence Unit through the efforts of Detective James Tobin.  On April 21, 2015 the PVPD Family Violence Unit was recognized by the State of Arizona Attorney General’s Office for distinguished service to victims. This award was largely due to the outstanding work of Det. James Tobin and his community policing efforts with the PVPD Family Violence Unit.

Medal of Valor – John VanGundy

On March 09, 2014 at 2:55PM hours, Officer VanGundy and other Prescott Valley Police Officers responded to an in progress domestic violence call at 9420 Magma Drive.  During the call to dispatch, a female caller said her husband fired a weapon inside the house during a domestic argument, and that he had assaulted his father who was also inside the residence.  It was reported that a child was possibly in the home when this occurred.  The female caller reported that her husband, the suspect, was possibly outside of the residence; however his whereabouts were unknown.

Upon arrival, officers set up a perimeter of the residence.  Officer VanGundy was one of the first responders on scene as he was acting as a field training officer for that shift.  Officer VanGundy stationed himself on the south east corner of the residence behind a wall and a tree while waiting for additional officers to respond.  While Officer VanGundy was at his perimeter location, he observed a male subject walk from behind the south side of the residence towards the front of the residence where other officers were arriving.  Officer VanGundy observed that the suspect had a long gun in his hands and challenged the suspect to drop the weapon.  The suspect pointed the long gun in the direction of Officer VanGundy.  Officer VanGundy fired two rounds from his patrol rifle striking the suspect with both rounds.  Officer VanGundy used proper approach tactics to detain the suspect and get him medical attention.  Subsequent investigation indicated the suspect had exited the residence upon police arrival and may have been trying to obtain a position of advantage in ambush of responding Officers.

Officer VanGundy’s decisive and effective response to this situation resulted in the elimination of potential further harm to three victims in the residence as well as multiple responding Police personnel and civilians in the area.  It should be noted the residence in question is across the street from the George Anderson Park.

Officer VanGundy handled himself as a true professional from start to the end of the call.  We would like to fully commend Officer VanGundy for his ability to handle himself in this type of serious incident in such a professional manner.  This type of behavior is deserving of a Medal of Valor.

Officer of the Year 1 – Brad Penner

Officer Brad Penner has provided over 20 years of dedicated service as a police officer in Arizona.  With his years of service, he possesses vast experience and knowledge to draw from and is always willing to share his knowledge to assist fellow officers. Officer Penner is truly selfless and always gives freely of his time to help and mentor others.

Officer Penner displays compassion, kindness and genuine empathy for the citizens he encounters each day. He has a special talent for defusing and de-escalating tense situations with confrontational subjects in a calm, patient and practical manner.

With his many years of excellent service, Officer Penner shows no signs of slowing down.  In 2014 Officer Penner responded to 765 calls for service, investigated 29 traffic crashes, issued 528 traffic citations and warnings and made 86 arrests. His unrivaled work ethic is just one of the many ways in which Officer Penner provides an excellent example for other officers to follow.

Officer Penner is a role model in the community and within the Prescott Valley Police Department; he is the embodiment of what a law enforcement professional should be.

Officer Brad Penner is very deserving to be named as the 2014 Prescott Valley Police Department “Officer of the Year.”

Officer of the Year 2 – Jennifer Watson

In just over two years at the Prescott Valley Police Department, Officer Jennifer Watson has distinguished herself as a hardworking, dedicated and highly productive patrol Officer.

In 2014 Officer Watson responded to 318 calls for service, issued 230 traffic warnings, issued 65 traffic citations and made 98 arrests. She works tirelessly to help crime victims and provide excellent service to the community. She is always willing to assist fellow officers and brings a positive and enthusiastic energy to every task and assignment.

In addition to her outstanding work on patrol, Officer Watson has taken on numerous additional responsibilities throughout 2014, including working with a multi-agency task force to target sexual predators. She is a member of the Family Violence Unit adjunct team, is a member of the Yavapai County Coordinated Community Response Domestic Violence Task Force, and was a valued contributor at the Take Back the Night candlelight vigil, Teen Maze and Shop-With-a-Cop. Officer Watson also volunteers her time to assist as a Big Sister for Yavapai County Big Brothers-Big Sisters.

In 2014 Officer Watson received numerous letters of appreciation from community members and numerous commendations from supervisors, detectives and peers who have recognized the quality and professionalism of her work.

Officer Jennifer Watson is a tremendous asset to the citizens of Prescott Valley and is very deserving to be recognized as the 2014 Prescott Valley Police Department “Officer of the Year.”

Rookie of the Year – Ryan Spriggs

Officer Ryan Spriggs joined the Prescott Valley Police Department in August 2013 and was accepted into NARTA class 35. He joined the department as a reserve police recruit and attended the academy for the first several months as an unpaid reserve. Officer Spriggs knew he wanted to be a police officer and felt becoming a reserve would help him in his quest to reach his goal.  Several months into the academy, he accepted the offer to become a full time employee.  Officer Spriggs graduated the academy in December of 2013 as a well-respected recruit, and was also chosen as the NARTA class Treasurer.

During field training, Spriggs showed how much of a dedicated employee he is.  Throughout his field training, he worked very hard to excel and learn what it takes to be a solo police officer. During many of Officer Spriggs’ shifts, he worked very long hours to complete his cases.  Officer Spriggs has been known to dedicate over 17 hours to complete a single in-depth case.  He progressed along through training at a solid rate and finished his required training and became a solo police officer.

Once assigned to a full time squad on the graveyard shift, Officer Spriggs became very proactive by making traffic stops, field contacts, going on as many calls as possible and learning as much as he could in his first year.  During his first year, he wrote 155 reports, issued 266 citation and warnings and made 61 arrests.  He also took it upon himself to complete several SARA projects which directly impacted the community in a positive way. Officer Spriggs continuously makes an effort to attend trainings to help further his career.  He has shown to have a very positive attitude and is an asset to not only the Prescott Valley Police Department, but the Town of Prescott Valley as well.

When asked, fellow officers said that Officer Spriggs has shown his willingness and motivation to learn this difficult, yet rewarding career.  Officer Spriggs constantly steps up when both challenges and opportunities present themselves, and always involves himself in conversations among the squad as they pertain to our line of work.  Officer Spriggs, in his first year of service has shown to be an officer of great quality and character.  He has shown his ability to not only be a leader, but also a well-respected teammate.  Officer Ryan Spriggs deserves and has shown to have earned the award of Prescott Valley Police Rookie of the Year.

Unit of the Year – Patrol 

In 2014, the Patrol Section of the Town of Prescott Valley Police Department was comprised of 2 Lieutenants, 6 Sergeants, 6 corporals and 31 officers. Last year, the Patrol Division responded to over 23,000 calls for service, made more than 2,000 arrests, and wrote over 7,100 documented reports along with an additional 4,400 supplemental reports. Additionally the officers responded to over 600 accidents, wrote over 3,100 citations, issued over 4,900 warnings and more than 1,600 repair orders for minor equipment violations.

2014 was a challenging year for Patrol, with multiple retirements and turnover of officers, along with numerous injuries.  The Patrol Section worked efficiently, responding to both major and minor crimes and accidents in a timely manner. While the community continued to grow, the number of officers remained constant. The Patrol Division truly overcame and learned to do more with less, while providing a high level of service to the community.

The patrol officers of our department work 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  Each day our officers encounter agitated, aggressive criminals and have to take action to protect the community and maintain law and order. Our officers interact with community members in need of help, and deal with major and minor issues, always solving the problem. Our officers ensure the Town of Prescott Valley remains safe and as a result, our community is thankful that they have such a dedicated and professional group of officers upholding the laws of the state and country.

Volunteer of the Year – Bob Jensen

Robert Jensen, or K-Bob as all of us know him, has been a volunteer with our agency since 2007. K-Bob was nominated by his Police Department family as the 2014 Volunteer of the year, for his work as a Patrol VIP. You will most likely never see K-Bob without his ball cap on, a Pepsi in his hand, and a smile on his face! He always has a good sense of humor and a positive demeanor. K-Bob has always stressed that he does this job because he wants to help, not for the recognition.

K-Bob is quick to help in any area he can, and always finds tasks that need to be completed, with little or no direction. He was instrumental in transporting vehicles to Phoenix during the redesign of the patrol vehicles and also assisted in getting additional drivers to assist. K-Bob has never wavered in his enthusiasm to the agency and does his job with the utmost dedication and consistency.

K-Bob has been a vital part in the upkeep, maintenance and design of the Mobile Command Post. He is the main driver and operator of the Mobile Command Post, in which he takes a great deal of pride. K-Bob is always reliable for anything from a midnight call-out to assist Patrol with a critical incident or a chili cook-off at a local church.

K-Bob gave 976 hours in 2014 as a volunteer, the most of all VIPs. This averages out to over 80 hours a month that he is donating for the greater good of our agency and community. K-Bob is a great example of the benefit and necessity of having the VIP Unit within our agency. Having VIPs like K-Bob make not only the daily operations of the Police Department run smoother, but he completes beneficial tasks that would otherwise go undone.  Thank you for your enthusiasm, commitment and ongoing dedication to our agency.

The  City of Cottonwood Police and Fire Departments personnel comprising the “Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee” presented a check for $10,030.00 to the 100 Club of Arizona on May 13. The 100 Club of Arizona is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to the families of police officers and firefighters who are killed or injured in the line of duty, provides financial assistance to public safety agencies who need help purchasing safety equipment, provides the children and spouses of public safety personnel with scholarships for college and provides other financial help to public safety agencies.

The Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee raised these funds through the 3rd Annual Fallen Heroes Golf Tournament at Verde Santa Fe Golf Course held on Saturday, April 25, 2015. This year’s event was a huge success and participants not only played a round of golf, they also participated in a gun raffle, a general raffle with great prizes and a live auction with autographed items from all Arizona professional sports teams.

The tournament and auctions raised $9,454.00. After the event, Cottonwood City Manager, Doug Bartosh, donated $546.00 to make it an even $10,000.00, which the highest amount raised in the history of this event.

The Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee would like to recognize all the businesses and organizations who donated products and/or money to help make this event such a great success.

– Tournament Sponsors – City of Cottonwood, Canyon Distributing (Coors Light), Pawn Palace, Law Enforcement Creations, Larry Green Chevrolet and Laserlyte.

– Verde Santa Fe Golf Course – Provided the golf course, raffle items, lunch and a great service.

– Donation of the gun for the gun raffle – Pawn Palace and Law Enforcement Creations

– Hole Sponsors – Signs 928 (also donated all needed signs), Cage Free Grooming, Old Town Frame Company, Trophies Unlimited, Laserlyte, Law Enforcement Creations, Pawn Palace, Joe Mulcaire Construction, Bedrock Landscape and Materials, Canyon Distributing, The Embroidery Shop, Yellow Pages.

– Donation items – Laserlyte, Law Enforcement Creations, Red Rock Dental, Funhavers, Canyon Distributing, Arizona Diamondbacks, Out of Africa Wildlife Park, Black Cow Café, Vinnies Pizza, Scottsdale Gun Club, Tan-Tastics Tanning Salon, Old Town Frame Company, Canine Country Club, Doug Bartosh, Sedona-Verde Valley Firefighter Charities, Money in the Mail.

– Live Auction Items – Phoenix Coyotes, Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals and Kurt Warner’s First Things First Foundation.

The members and organizers of the Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee include:

Kevin Murie, Cottonwood Police Department
Josh Fradette, Cottonwood Police Department
Gareth Braxton, Cottonwood Police Department
Jim Iacovacci, Cottonwood Police Department (Volunteer)
Brandon Wacker, Cottonwood Fire Department
Steve Trautman, Cottonwood Fire Department
Melissa Stearley, Accounting

For further information please contact the Cottonwood Fire Department at 928-634-2741

The City of Goodyear is lacing up its hiking boots and strapping on its bike helmet for a few new exciting projects!

Goodyear Pump Bike Track 

Goodyear’s Foothills Community Park is now home to a brand new pump track!   Opened just two weeks ago, the small track promotes fitness, wellness and cycling.

A pump track is a small track, built using a small piece of land, and is a looping trail system of dirt berms and “rollers,” smooth dirt mounds for pumping, designed for bicycling without the rider pedaling.

A pump track that promotes fitness and wellness and cycling will be dedicated on Saturday, April 25 at 8:30 a.m. at Foothills Community Park, 12795 S. Estrella Parkway.

It was constructed over a five-month period with the help of 100 volunteers who donated about 2,500 hours, in addition to 200 staff hours.

The small track, built using as little as 10 feet by 30 feet of land, and is a looping trail system of dirt berms and “rollers” (smooth dirt mounds for pumping) designed for bicycling without the rider pedaling. The name “pump track” comes from the pumping motion used by the rider’s upper and lower body as they ride around the track.

Goodyear REI Distribution Center 

Seattle-based REI, a leading outdoor retailer, has announced it will open a 400,000-square-foot distribution center creating more than 100 new jobs in the West Valley – becoming the third tenant along the newly-opened Loop 303 in Goodyear.

REI offers its members and customers outdoor gear and apparel for activities such as for hiking, biking and camping. The company is expected to break ground on the facility covering 34 acres near Loop 303 and Camelback Road in May and open in early 2016. REI has been one of a few select companies recognized on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” since the recognition began in 1998.

The addition of REI to Goodyear continues to solidify not only Goodyear’s, but the West Valley’s presence as a major player in online fulfillment centers that provide high-quality goods to consumers and retailers throughout the western United States.