KaBOOM! recently announced its Playful City USA honorees: communities that are leaders in “playability,” the commitment to providing balanced and active play to children.

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. 241 cities nationwide have been recognized this year, 14 of which are in Arizona.

Playful City USA honorees include major cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago. In Arizona, these honorees include cities and towns across the state. They range from nine-time honorees like Chandler, Gilbert, and Tucson, to first-time recipients like Avondale, Florence, and Queen Creek.

Tempe is once again recognized by KaBOOM! as a Playful City USA for its commitment to keeping kids active through accessible playspaces and youth sports programs.

These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to transform their communities to become more playable by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community. Listed below are the Arizona cities that were given the “playful” title and the number of years they have won:

Avondale: 1

Buckeye: 4

Casa Grande: 7

Chandler: 9

Coolidge: 8

Florence: 1

Fountain Hills: 5

Gilbert: 9

Mesa: 7

Oro Valley: 5

Prescott Valley: 2

Queen Creek: 1

Tempe: 7

Tucson: 9

Playful City USA Honorees in Arizona: 

To see the full list of the 241 communities named 2015 Playful City USA honorees, or for more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style, as the shoppers rush home with their treasures…” 

It’s the holiday season and that can only mean one thing – shopping season is in full swing. If you’ve got that one final gift to purchase or are just getting started on your shopping spree, Arizona’s cities and towns have a few tips and tricks to help make this season successful!

When you’re picking out presents for loved ones, keep your community in mind!  When you shop at local retailers, you keep $73 in the community for every $100 spent. That’s $50 more kept in the local economy than when you shop at a non-locally owned business (According to Local First AZ).

Many cities and towns in Arizona are celebrating their local businesses through a variety of campaigns. Town of Oro Valley and the Town of Queen Creek are encouraging residents to shop local.  Oro Valley local shoppers can submit receipts to be entered into a raffle and consumers  in Queen Creek can win prizes for shopping local by Instramming or Tweeting their retail excursion and using the hashtag #ShopQC.

In addition to keeping your dollars in the local economy, it’s also important to keep safe during this holiday shopping season.

The City of Goodyear reminds everyone of a few quick tips to maintain your safety while wandering the stores:

• Lock car doors and roll up windows
• Park in well lighted areas at night
• Do not leave valuables in your vehicle
• Lock home doors and windows at night or when leaving
• Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings, walk with a sense of purpose
• Carry your purse firmly and close to your body or better yet leave it at home and only carry what you need in your pocket – such as a small amount of money, keys, and maybe one credit card.
• Have your car or house key in your hand as you approach the door.
• Follow your “gut instinct.” Don’t put yourself in an uncomfortable situation
• Use the buddy system, especially if out at night
• Use well lit and well-traveled streets and walkways

Happy Holidays!

Southern Arizona’s premier, competition-level facility includes a giant water slide, a splash pad for children, a 25-yard recreation pool, classrooms for birthday parties, community meetings and CPR classes, and other family-friendly amenities.

With family changing facilities, heated pools, and an aquatic facility that’s open all year, what more could you ask for in a water recreational facility?

Oro Valley Aquatic Center is a proud partner of:

USA Swimming

Arizona Swimmiing

US Masters

Arizona Masters

USA Synchro

Tucson Synchro

SAAA

The Town of Gilbert celebrates its 2014 Playful City USA status. Gilbert is one of four cities in AZ to receive the award eight consecutive times.

KaBOOM! recently announced its Playful City USA honorees: communities that are leaders in “playability,” the commitment to providing balanced and active play to children.

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. 212 cities nationwide have been recognized this year, 12 of which are in Arizona.

Playful City USA honorees include major cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago. In Arizona, these honorees include cities and towns across the state. They range from eight-time honorees like Chandler, Gilbert, Tucson and Yuma, to first-time recipient Prescott Valley.

Tempe is once again recognized by KaBOOM! as a Playful City USA community for its commitment to keeping kids active through accessible playspaces and youth sports programs.

These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to transform their communities to become more playable by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community.

Playful City USA Honorees in Arizona: 

Buckeye
Casa Grande
Chandler
Coolidge
Gilbert
Maricopa
Mesa
Oro Valley
Prescott Valley
Tempe
Tucson
Yuma

To see the full list of the 212 communities named 2014 Playful City USA honorees, or for more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

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.