AzBusiness magazine March/April 2016

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MARCH // APRIL 2016

LUKE turns 75

Air Force base drives Arizona’s economy while boosting military Healthcare Leadership Awards

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Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona

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Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International

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Luke Air Force Base TH 75 anniversary

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Table Of Contents 6

Up Front

12

CEO series

A healthy outlook

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14 Technology 16 Marketing 18

Real Estate

20 Banking

24

22 Dining 24

Healthcare Leadership Awards

41

Top 100 Lawyers

59 Minority

Business Leaders

41

65 Hospitality

Sales & Marketing Association International 81

Luke Air Force 75th anniversary ON THE COVER: Brig. Gen. Scott L. Pleus is the commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base. The wing's mission is to train the world's greatest F-35 and F-16 fighter pilots.

PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA

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AB | March - April 2016

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he healthcare and bioscience sectors in Metro Phoenix are projected to grow 31.9 percent over the next 10 years, which dwarfs the projected national average growth of 19.5 percent.

To help position the region as a healthcare investment and research destination, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Healthcare Leadership Council launched a website — greaterphoenixhealth.com — which showcases that innovation and growth within the region and within the healthcare and biosciences industries.

Just as Arizona’s healthcare and bioscience industries have evolved over the past 20 years with the help of TGen and the Flinn Foundation’s Bioscience Roadmap, Az Business magazine’s annual Healthcare Leadership Awards have evolved.

We’ve added categories that we didn’t even think about when we started these awards — legal advocate, medical company and bioscience company of the year. And what has made this transformation most interesting is those categories have proven to be among the most competitive in the judging room.

The Healthcare Leadership Awards committee could have chosen dozens of deserving candidates in every category and still left deserving finalists out of the mix. That just shows how vibrant, innovative and forward-thinking Arizona’s healthcare and bioscience sectors have become.

Arizonans are getting to reap the rewards of the groundbreaking research being done at healthcare facilities and universities throughout the state. That makes us all winners. Enjoy learning about some of Arizona’s best and brightest healthcare leaders in this issue of Az Business.

Michael Gossie Editor in chief michael.gossie@azbigmedia.com

Get the recognition you deserve!

As seen in

in Arizona

2016

2016

2016 2016 Finalists: Healthcare executive

Susan G. Boswell Partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

President and CEO Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Western Regional Medical Center

M

cGuire joined CTCA in 2000 and has more than 13 years of experience in management, leadership, development, sales, marketing, patient and talent acquisition at CTCA. Since becoming CEO in 2014, McGuire has helped the hospital take a more aggressive role in cancer research. “Nothing I have faced in business compares to the challenge our patients face with their cancer diagnoses,” McGuire said. “My role in helping our patients through their cancer journey is to lead our team of extraordinarily talented, skilled and compassionate caregivers.”

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ONLINE STORE azBIGmedia.com | 602.277.6045

Az BIG Media owns the exclusive rights to Top 100 Lawyers, Healthcare Leadership Awards, Ranking Arizona® and is the only provider of official plaques.

SHOUT-OUTS ILoA Awards recognize leadership and innovation

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he Industry Leaders of Arizona (ILoA) Awards recognize the contributions and impact of Arizona based companies on both the economy of Arizona and in the communities they serve. Winners of 2016 ILoA Awards were: Healthcare: Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Robert Meyer, president and CEO; Craig McKnight, executive vice president, finance and CFO Hospitality: PRO EM Party and Event Rentals, Amir Glogau, CEO; Michael Kasen, CFO Logistics/distribution: OnTrac, Rob Humphrey, CEO Retail: DriveTime Automotive, Ray Fidel, CEO; Kurt Wood, CFO Staffing companies: Govig and Associates, Todd Govig, president and CEO Community Impact Award: Jewish Children & Family Services, Michael R. Zent, Ph.D., CEO; Javier R. Favela, CFO Innovation: GlobalTranz Enterprises, Andrew Leto, CEO; Renee Krug, CFO Founder’s Award: Southwest Human Development, Ginger Ward, CEO; Bill McClung, CFO

ACC Awards honor top in-house attorneys

A

z Business recognized the vital role that in-house counsel plays in the success of a business with the Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards. Winners of 2016 ACC Awards were: Nonprofit sector: Maria Morales Spelleri, general counsel and executive vice president, Chicanos Por La Causa Inc. Government, municipal or public sector: Ken Lee, senior director of resource transactions, Salt River Project Intellectual property: Rob Tuttle, vice president, chief intellectual property counsel, ON Semiconductor Up-and-comer: Stacey Kelly, corporate counsel, Empire Southwest, LLC. Private company (medium): Nona Lee, senior vice president and general counsel, Arizona Diamondbacks Private company (large): Mary Alexander, executive vice president and general counsel, DMB Associates, Inc. Public company: Chris Miner, senior vice president and general counsel, Mobile Mini, Inc. In-House Legal Department of the Year: 56th Fighter Wing JAG (Judge Advocate General), Luke Air Force Base General Counsel of the Year: Daniel K. Christensen, global group counsel for IT, privacy and security, Intel Corporation 4

AB | March - April 2016

President and CEO: Michael Atkinson Publisher: Cheryl Green Vice president of operations: Audrey Webb EDITORIAL Editor in chief: Michael Gossie Associate editor: Erin Davis Interns: Kaia Evans | Samantha Pouls | Gianna Tracey Contributing writers: Tom Blanton | Meryl Fishler | Shelby Ray Amanda Ventura | Steven G. Zylstra ART Art director: Mike Mertes Graphic designer: Anita Richey Intern: Michael Bodnar DIGITAL MEDIA Digital editor: Jesse Millard MARKETING/EVENTS Marketing & events manager: Heidi Maxwell Marketing coordinator: Kristina Venegas OFFICE Special projects manager: Sara Fregapane Executive assistant: Mayra Rivera Database solutions manager: Cindy Johnson AZ BUSINESS MAGAZINE Senior account manager: David Harken Account managers: Ann McSherry | Bailey Young AZRE | ARIZONA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Directors of sales: Jeff Craig AZ BUSINESS LEADERS Director of sales: Sheri Brown RANKING ARIZONA Director of sales: Sheri King EXPERIENCE ARIZONA | PLAY BALL Director of sales: Joe Freedman

Az Business magazine is published bi-monthly by AZ BIG Media, 3101 N. Central Ave. Suite 1070, Phoenix, Arizona 85012, (602) 277-6045. The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a SASE. Single copy price $4.95. Bulk rates available. Copyright 2015 by AZ BIG Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from AZ BIG Media.

UP FRONT Where to invest in Arizona?

Here are the top-performing Arizona-based stocks

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he recent bull market was one of the biggest in history, but then U.S. and global markets tumbled, hammering ordinary investors again. Despite the market’s record highs last year, the S&P 500 Index has posted an average annual growth rate of only 1.96 percent since 2000, which was more than cancelled out by the 2.3 percent average annual rate of inflation over that period. The answer might be to keep your investments close to home. A recent

analysis by financial technology company SmartAsset showed Arizona-based stocks performed pretty well for the five-year stretch between 2010 and 2015. Three factors were considered in the analysis: stock price, dividends paid and volatility. Analysts found the risk-adjusted return of the stocks and ranked each of the companies based on this risk-adjusted return to find the best performing stocks across the state. Here is where to put your money:

Kona Grill Inc.

Inventure Foods, Inc. Market cap category: Small cap Headquarters: Scottsdale Average annual return: 48.97% Volatility: 47.14% Stock performance index: 55.68

Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. Market cap category: Small cap Headquarters: Tucson Average annual return: 80.20% Volatility: 100.68% Stock performance index: 48.48

Providence Service Corp.

Market cap category: Small cap Headquarters: Tucson Average annual return: 23.94% Volatility: 44.86% Stock performance index: 40.66

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Western Alliance Bancorporation Market cap category: Mid cap Headquarters: Phoenix Average annual return: 46.59% Volatility: 35.67% Stock performance index: 63.63

TASER

Market cap category: Small cap Headquarters: Phoenix Average annual return: 33.47% Volatility: 34.17% Stock performance index: 53.91

Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

Market cap category: Mid cap Headquarters: Phoenix Average annual return: 11.29% Volatility: 16.44% Stock performance index: 45.19

Knight Transportation Inc. Market cap category: Mid cap Headquarters: Phoenix Average annual return: 12.02% Volatility: 23.52% Stock performance index: 39.98

International Inc. Market cap category: Small cap Headquarters: Scottsdale Average annual return: 38.79% Volatility: 45.39% Stock performance index: 50.20

Mobile Mini, Inc. category: Small cap Headquarters: Phoenix Average annual return: 21.56% Volatility: 36.88% Stock performance index: 42.17

Microchip Technology Inc. Market cap category: Mid cap Headquarters: Chandler Average annual return: 11.92% Volatility: 24.13% Stock performance index: 39.47

Read conference calls in real time.

Now, Deaf and hard of hearing participants can be actively involved in multi-party calls. Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) is free to Arizonans, streaming live text to any Internet-connected computer, tablet or mobile device worldwide.

LEARN MORE ABOUT RELAY CONFERENCE CAPTIONING AT ARIZONARCC.COM

Agency: LAVIDGE • Job: 16-AZRELAY-0031 • Client: AZ Relay Contact: tfritz@lavidge.com Publication: AZ Business Magazine • Size: 3.5” x 4.75” • 4color

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LUKE turns 75 Air Force base drives Arizona’s economy while boosting military

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UP FRONT

The seven deadly sins

of nonprofit board members

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

Kimberly Van Amburg CEO Casino Del Sol Resort casinodelsolresort.com

Background: Van Amburg oversees the strategic direction and operation of Casino Del Sol Resort, Sewailo Golf Club, AVA Amphitheater and Casino Del Sol’s sister property, Casino of the Sun. She works closely with the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council to realize its vision of a vibrant and prosperous future for its members. Van Amburg graduated from the UA College of Law and serves on the board of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

Childhood aspiration: “At a certain point, I knew I wanted to go to law school. I am so glad I followed through with this dream. It turned out to be a fantastic experience.”

Surprising fact: “My husband never proposed to me.”

A

s business leaders rise through the ranks, the increase in prestige comes with an increasing call for them to serve their communities.

“Most business leaders want to give back in some way,” says Matthew H. Mason, an associate at Gallagher & Kennedy. “They feel a sense of duty.”

But what many of them don’t know, Mason says, is that there are risks involved when they join nonprofit boards. The U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, recently ruled that officers and board members were personally liable for the debts of a nonprofit.

“When business leaders are brought onto a nonprofit board, they often take off their business hat and think, ‘I’m here to raise money,’” Mason says. “While that is part of their job, their role is also to manage the nonprofit, just as they manage their own business. When they don’t do that, that’s a big danger.”

To help board members navigate those dangers, Mason and Gallagher & Kennedy Shareholder Robert Erven Brown outlined what they call “The

seven deadly sins of nonprofit board members.” They are: 1. Breach of fiduciary duty because of a private inurement 2. Failing to observe corporate formalities 3. Are not properly indemnified 4. Committing gross negligence 5. Violating the good business judgement rule 6. Failing to properly manage officers 7. Causing deepening insolvency “People go into board service wanting to help, but they don’t realize the liability they take on,” Mason says.

Before joining a nonprofit board, Mason says to ask if there is director and officer liability coverage, look at bylaws and make sure there are proper indemnification sections and make sure the organization is following bylaws.

“The biggest thing is to make sure it’s something you’re passionate about,” Mason says. “If you’re not, you’re not going to pay close attention and that becomes a pitfall for the unwary.”

To read more about the best and brightest business leaders in Arizona, get a copy of the 2016 edition of Az Business Leaders at azbigmedia.com.

PHOTO BY ANITA RICHEY, AZ BIG MEDIA

MATTHEW H. MASON: “It’s important to know who the management of a nonprofit is, where the buck stops and that you’re comfortable enough to challenge the management and ask good questions,” says the Gallagher & Kennedy associate.

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AB | March - April 2016

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UP FRONT

THE UBER EFFECT

Ride-sharing companies impact tourism, transportation industries

Jonathan Frutkin Principal The Frutkin Law Firm frutkinlaw.com

Background: Frutkin has owned a website design business, a software company, a real estate development company and was the developer for a national ice cream chain. As the founder of The Frutkin Law Firm, he has put together legal talent to assist business and individual clients. Frutkin is also CEO of Cricca Funding, LLC , a crowdfunding consultancy and is the author of “Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners.”

Crowdfunding facts: “There is a misperception that fraud is prevalent in crowdfunding. However, because most of the people contributing to crowdfunding campaigns either know the sponsor or someone who does, there has really been no fraud at all.”

Key to success: “The key to being successful as a lawyer is to think like their business executive client. Too many business lawyers think that they are there to simply solve a problem, rather than help their client take advantage of a business opportunity.”

To read more about the best and brightest business leaders in Arizona, get a copy of the 2016 edition of Az Business Leaders at azbigmedia.com.

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AB | March - April 2016

By MERYL FISHLER

U

tilizing technology to exploit a gap in the market, Uber scaled quickly and evolved rapidly from tech startup into a way of life for millions of people in cities across the globe. It has also changed the way tourist visiting those cities get around.

Since the rise of Uber, The W Scottsdale Hotel has seen a 15 percent drop in the number of cars valeted on weekends, a drop in the number of visitors who rent cars and a drop in business for AZ Limo, the house transportation company for the W, according to Mike Aley, an account manager. But Uber and Lyft have had a minimal economic impact on Phoenix-based transportation service provider The Driver Provider, according to CEO and President Jason Kaplan. He attributes this to the fact that 50 percent of his fleet is

made up of larger vehicles, like fullsize passenger vans, mini buses and 57-passenger motorcoaches. Uber doesn’t yet compete in this space.

But that doesn’t mean Uber hasn’t changed the transportation industry. Ride-hailing companies have succeeded by testing government regulations. To make competition fair, lawmakers and regulators should work towards deregulating the taxi industry, said Matthew Feeney, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank.

“If Uber or Lyft started an airline, they certainly would have to comply with FAA standards,” Kaplan said.

“Traditional chauffeur companies simply want the same.”

Read more about this topic at azbigmedia.com.

CEOs

Matchmaker Govig’s leadership helps clients prepare for upcoming crisis for talent

WINNING WAYS: Todd Govig, CEO of Govig & Associates, helped his company earn a 2016 Industry Leaders of Arizona award as the top staffing company.

PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

T

odd Govig spent a year studying biology for the purposes of business.

“It sounds crazy, but once you understand biology, it becomes one more filter to help you understand what is going on in the world,” says Govig, CEO of Govig & Associates, an executive recruitment firm. “CEOs today need to have a broad understanding of a lot of different things, which is different from what our educational system wants to do today.”

Az Business sat down with the 2016 Industry Leaders of Arizona award winner to talk talent.

Az Business: What qualities must an effective CEO have?

Todd Govig: It’s changed because the world is moving much faster. I’m in the process of building the next generation of leaders in my own business, so I’m answering that question for ourselves. One of the most important qualities a CEO needs to have today is the ability to read the world and make assessments about what’s going to happen, but on very small amounts of information.

AB: What is the key to successful executive recruitment?

TG: The biggest success when we make a match isn’t the spec to spec. If you’re hiring a tax accountant, they either know the tax code or they don’t. What we are really doing is making a cultural match. It’s not whether they have the background, it’s whether they fit into the company’s culture. Making that cultural match — which is a people skill — is really what we do.

AB: How has that evolved during your career?

TG: When I was first in the business about 30 years ago, it was warm body, make the match. Today, the expectation is that we know the industry, the history, the background, the inside information.

Part of what companies are hiring us for is to vet through

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information that is difficult to vet through legally because of the questions you can ask or because no one will talk about it. Clients today say, “I need you to know my industry almost as well as I do.” So the expectations have gone way up.

AB: What qualities make you an effective leader?

TG: We have an advantage because we are a family owned business with no intentions of selling and no intentions of going public. We hold to a 100-year strategy and that allows us to lead and manage differently. My strength is that I’m pretty good at 80,000 feet, looking at the world and looking at the future. If I was in an environment where I had to have results next quarter, I’d get fired. But if you’re in a world where you can make a decision and let it come to maturity, that tends to pan out pretty well. My strength is that I’m a visionary and can see trends and say, “How do we adapt to that?”

AB: What is an example of that vision?

TG: GovigU is a college graduate recruitment program we developed for small- and medium-sized businesses to prepare for an impending shortage of talent. Our read of the world is that we are about to go into a war for talent unlike we’ve ever seen in this country. It’s not going to be a war for talent, it’s going to be a crisis for talent. That read is based purely on demographics: there are 70+ million Baby Boomers moving toward retirement and there aren’t enough quality people with experience behind them to replace them. We need to become more consultants to our clients as face the myriad of issues they are going to face. Most small- and medium-sized businesses don’t have a presence on college campuses. It’s a long-term strategy, but we believe GovigU will dramatically expand our clients’ talent pipeline.

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LUKE turns 75 Air Force base drives Arizona’s economy while boosting military

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TECHNOLOGY

Public, private organizations unite in battle against hackers’ onslaught

By TOM BLANTON

S

tate officials said hundreds of thousands of web attacks batter Arizona agencies every day, not to mention attacks on private businesses, adding up to millions of attempted hacks in a given month.

In the face of those threats, public and private organizations in Arizona have joined forces in one of the nation’s first information-sharing alliances to combat criminal hackers and their “increasingly sophisticated” techniques to steal data.

The ensuing battle between “black hat” hackers and “white hat” cyber security officials “reflects the reality that we are in a Cold War,” said Frank Grimmelmann, president and CEO of the Arizona Cyber Threat Response Alliance.

The alliance is Arizona’s “hub for collaborative cyber information sharing … where partners from industry, academia, law enforcement and intelligence come together,” according to its website. State agencies are “invited guests” to the alliance, Grimmelmann said.

Its greatest strength is the anonymity of its member

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organizations, said Owen Zorge, chief information officer and director of Information Technology and Assurance at the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

“The anonymity of the organizations and their ability to quickly share” program vulnerabilities allows rapid “reporting and responding to cyber threats,” Zorge said.

Grimmelmann said the alliance was formed in January 2013 under the leadership of five private organizations, which collaborated with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center.

He said it received no public funding, and still does not. It was one of the nation’s first “Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations” – a term that didn’t exist until this February when President Barack Obama directed the Department of Homeland Security to “strongly encourage the development and formation of Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations.”

The Homeland Security website said the public-

“Trojan programs trick people into believing a program does one thing when it really performs a malicious action on your computer private alliances now “play an invaluable role in the collective cyber security of the United States.”

Arizona cyber security officials said the state’s alliance also plays a crucial role in protecting the private information of citizens.

Mike Lettman, Arizona’s chief information security officer, said Arizona state agencies alone see an average of 8.3 million web attacks each month – and that number excludes the state’s universities and its judicial and legislative branches.

The monthly total includes roughly 3,000 Trojan attempts and 50 SQL injection attacks against the agencies every day, Lettman said.

Trojan programs trick people into believing a program does one thing when it really performs “a malicious action on your computer,” according to a federal report. The report said SQL injections try to “subvert the relationship between a webpage and its supporting database, typically in order to trick the database into executing malicious code.”

Lettman said the number of attacks on Arizona’s agencies might seem high, but other governments in other states “are seeing those same kinds of numbers.”

According to Grimmelmann, Arizona’s public-private alliance protects Arizonans by helping organizations protect their personal information, as well as the state’s critical infrastructure.

“It has two primary objectives,”

Grimmelmann said of the alliance. “To protect critical infrastructure in order to avoid attacks in the first place … or, if a single member is attacked, to avoid attacks on other members.”

The Homeland Security website lists 16 critical infrastructure sectors that, if incapacitated, “would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”

Grimmelmann said Arizona’s alliance has representatives from 14 of the 16 sectors, but declined to give any more details due to operational security concerns.

The critical infrastructure sectors cited by Homeland Security include chemical industries, communications, dams, emergency services, commercial facilities, healthcare and public health, critical manufacturing, and defense industrial base sectors.

Also included are the energy, financial services, food and agriculture, government facilities, information technology, water and wastewater systems, transportation systems, and the nuclear reactors, materials and waste sectors.

Lettman said many attacks target data that could include personal information on Arizonans – which makes combating them more than just a job for cyber security officials.

“It’s our family’s data, it’s our friends’ data” that hackers try to steal, Lettman said. “To us, it’s personal.”

Tech

experts

form Security Canyon

R

ecognized industry leaders in Arizona have announced the launch of Security Canyon, a new cyber security coalition taking on the challenge of finding and attracting highly educated talent to staff the increasing number of cyber security positions in Arizona.

The mission of Security Canyon is to promote economic development in our own backyard by encouraging new cyber security organizations to open offices in Arizona and to entice new graduates to seek employment in Arizona.

Security Canyon is led by a board of directors comprised of cyber security leaders in Arizona, including Ori Eisen of Trusona, Yves Huin of Acteam, Joe Loomis of CyberSponse, Sean Moshir of CellTrust, Jason Pistillo of University of Advancing Technology, Tina Slankas of the City of Phoenix and Kyle Starkey of Early Warning.

“Arizona has potential to be the next hotspot for cyber security talent and enterprise,” said Pistillo, president of University of Advancing Technology, an elite university in Arizona that has spent over 15 years educating the brightest cyber talent in the nation. Pistillo also serves as a member on the board of directors for Security Canyon.

This new coalition, with an eye towards long-term solutions to nurture a vibrant local community of cyber security talent, will turn the greater Phoenix Metro area and Arizona into a hub of cyber talent. The goal of Security Canyon is to foster the local development of the corresponding industries and businesses; Arizona must generate, attract and retain an increasing number of organizations and highly educated talent.

“In our increasingly connected digital world, we have the power to innovate in unprecedented ways,” said Gilbert Mayor John Lewis. “With the advent of new and improved technologies, we must keep pace with safeguarding our critical infrastructure networks.”

AB | March - April 2016

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MARKETING

Branding

the best Marketing experts say businesses can leverage a spot in Ranking Arizona to boost bottom line

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

E

verybody wants to be the best. In business, being the best can boost a company’s bottom line.

Ranking Arizona is a vessel that helps Arizona businesses prove they’re the best. Ranking Arizona, now in its 19th year, is the result of the largest business opinion poll taken in Arizona. More than 1.5 million participants vote to give their recommendations based on the quality of product, service and with whom they would recommend doing business.

“We tally the votes and the Top 10 companies are ranked in more than 200 categories,” says Mike Atkinson, president and CEO of AZ Big Media and creator of Ranking Arizona.

But what happens after a company earns a coveted Top 10 ranking? How can companies leverage their ranking in order to boost business and their bottom line?

“Being listed in Ranking Arizona is a wonderful accomplishment and a great endorsement for your business,” says Kristy Jozwiak, co-founder of Duality Public Relations, which cracked Ranking Arizona’s Top 10 in public relations this year after just two years in business.

“One of the best ways a company can leverage its ranking in Ranking Arizona is to be sure that existing and potential customers know about it. That means

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Andrea Aker

Kristy Jozwiak

celebrating your company’s ranking with your employees and promoting it on your website, at your place of business and on social media channels.”

Jackie Wright, president of Rainmaker Marketing & PR, says there are five ways to boost your business after earning a spot in Ranking Arizona: • Include the Ranking Arizona badge on your website and promotional/sales materials.

• Send out a press release to current, past and potential clients, showcasing your new ranking.

• Promote the ranking, with photos, via your company’s social media feeds.

• Attend the Ranking Arizona party and include those photos on your social media feeds and blog.

• Offer up a special discount or referral program for other companies on the list that could be potential clients or customers.

Jennifer Kaplan, founder of Evolve PR and Marketing, says in a society where perception is

Jennifer Kaplan

Jackie Wright

reality, it’s important for business leaders to realize that awards and recognition can enhance your business and brand.

“Ranking Arizona is one of the most well revered and coveted lists in the Valley,” Kaplan says. “Once you have achieved being on the list, you now have a valuable asset to utilize in marketing your business, a way to share and tout your accomplishments.”

The most important aspect of earning a spot in Ranking Arizona is that helps validate the value of your products and services, according to Andrea Aker, president of Aker Ink. “It shows prospects that you already have a loyal following of customers who will vouch for your good work,” Aker says.

“The recognition should be promoted in marketing communications designed to attract new customers. Think entryway signage, promotional email blasts, mailers and brochures.

The Ranking Arizona logo is a simple and succinct stamp of customer approval.”

REAL ESTATE

More tourists invest in Arizona homeownership

Seasonal visitors are jumping at the opportunity to purchase their winter home

By SHELBY RAY

I

t’s no secret that Arizona is the place to be in the wintertime.

The warm, sunny days coupled with a variety of events around the Valley often entice tourists to call Arizona their home for part of the year. As one of the top “snowbird” states in the nation, when should tourists consider transitioning from renting to becoming a homeowner?

Today’s housing market favors the Arizona homebuyer. In this area, buying a home can be less expensive than renting, interest rates are low and there is little competition when placing a bid.

For many that’s enough to consider making a purchase.

The Federal Reserve recently announced the first increase in interest rates in nine years. However, it’s been predicted that there could be little effect on mortgage Chris Salius rates for the time being.

“The Federal Reserve did raise rates; however it only controls the Federal Funds Rate and the Federal Discount Rate, neither of which controls mortgage rates. The changes made on those rates are digested by the market, which can end up affecting the price of mortgagebacked securities, affecting the end rate to a consumer,” said Nick Vallario, branch manager for Evergreen Home Loans.

“However, the marketplace is pretty Nick Vallario adept at anticipating what the Fed will do and reacts well ahead of any anticipated change. As a result, Fed actions are typically priced into the mortgage market well in advance of the actual announcement.”

It’s unclear whether the market will be in favor of the buyer 18

AB | March - April 2016

or seller over the next couple of years. This uncertainty favors homebuyers that are ready to seize the moment and put an offer on the table.

“I’ve seen the Fed lower the Discount rate and in turn the mortgage rates increased. It’s a global marketplace, and while the Fed is the elephant in the room, it remains one element of the market as a whole,” said Vallario. “Mortgage rates are still incredibly low and no time is better than now. Rates won’t stay low forever.”

Vallario adds that even if someone starts thinking about purchasing a home or wants to walk through an open house, the first thing that person should do is talk to a lender and get prequalified and preapproved for a loan. Knowing the qualified loan amount upfront allows a homebuyer to search with confidence.

While interest rates are currently low, rent prices are at sky-high levels. According to Zillow’s 2016 Housing Market Predictions, this year will bring the highest median rents ever.

However, the question remains whether the Valley will start to see more “For Sale” signs throughout neighborhoods.

“There is a large boom in apartment construction happening throughout the Valley, which will help keep increases lower, but it remains to be seen if there are enough new housing units coming online at a quick enough pace to keep up with all the demand,” said Chris Salius, vice president of Washington Federal Bank.

“Shrinking inventory, especially in the affordable housing price point is keeping that segment of the market selling very fast.”

If the Phoenix housing market grows, then those “For Sale” signs will allow less competition among housing bidders.

Salius adds that another advantage is that the tax code is favorable to homeowners with the ability for many to deduct their mortgage interest and taxes, effectively lowering their overall net housing payment. If you compare this to the projected increased rent prices, then owning a home could be the more affordable option.

BANKING

SECRETS TO SUCCESS Common banking pitfalls for small business owners and how to avoid them

By GIANNA TRACEY

S

mall businesses come and go every day, but what can they do to stay afloat when times get rough?

According to Gallup, it is statistically proven that 50 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years.

Because of that, it’s smart for small business owners to keep their bankers by their side. Bankers are great resources for advice on how to keep your company in the black. Bankers have seen their clients prosper and fail, so they know which actions to take in order to stay away from things that may send a company downhill.

Steven Cervantes, assistant banking center manager and banker at MidFirst Bank, has been working with an array of customers, including small businesses, for 10 years.

When asked about the common pitfalls of small businesses when they first start out in banking, Cervantes said, “a lot of people are not really hands-on with their account.” He said they come in with ideas and open an account, but don’t really understand the banking side of their business.

“Your banker today should be seen as a partner and not just someone that should help you get a loan,” said Sherri Slayton, executive vice president of Alliance Bank. A relationship with the banker is one of the

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essential factors to being a successful business.

“It is important to have a banker that knows you and knows your business,” Slayton said. You want to make sure you have a banker that cares and is interested in leading you to financial success.

“Most of the time when we are opening new accounts, we have a lot of questions to ask, just to kind of understand what their business needs are,” Cervantes said. And according to Cervantes, a lot of new business owners come into his office not understanding those questions.

To help avoid this, Cervantes says it is important to have a business plan because it helps prepare a small business owner for their financial needs now and in the future. It gives business owners a step-by-step strategy on what equipment they will need, how much money they will need to borrow, how much they will need to sell to make a profit, along with all the other components that go into making a successful business.

“It’s always a struggle at first,” Cervantes said. “You have to have a plan. Without a plan, it’s going to be hard to execute. You’re not going to know if you’re making any progress or if you’re staying stagnant. Just be very proactive as to what you’re doing and where you want to go.”

Slayton said another way to help a small business

thrive is to make sure the accounts are secure and that everyone who should have access to the account does because fraud happens all the time.

“Paying attention to fraud and making sure that you have the verification information and the password stuff locked down is very very critical,” Slayton said.

If a small business stays in contact with its banker, it can reap the benefits of possibly having a more financially stable business and the owners can also acquire knowledge to better run their business.

“The first year is a big learning experience, especially if it is your first business,” Cervantes said. So, keep bankers in mind, they can answer many questions a small business may need to know.”

To help educate entrepreneurs, Slayton and Alliance Bank offered a list of common pitfalls of small business banking and how to avoid them:

Pitfall: Not having a relationship with your business banker. It is important to have a banker that knows you and your business to help make the best financial decisions. Your banker is well versed in all of the financing options available to your business and will be the best ally to get you up and running in the most efficient and financially responsible way.

How to avoid it: Whether you’re starting your business, thinking about expanding or just looking for sound advice, your first step should be to make an appointment with your banker. Be prepared to discuss previous financial information, current finances and the goals for your business.

When your banker has all of the details, he or she will be able to point your business in the right direction, connect you with the right people within the bank and advise as necessary on the next steps. By involving your banker in a consulting role, you are given the best financial tools to manage your business.

Pitfall: Not having a business plan or anticipating cash needs for seasonality or growth. A business plan allows you as the owner to prioritize your objectives and plan accordingly for the future.

This plan could include projected growth in revenues, employee needs and necessary cash needs that will impact the business. A business plan also allows the bank to have a perspective on the future plans and cash or capital needs of your business.

How to avoid it: Discuss with your banker the short and long term goals for your business. Look at different scenarios for growth or seasonality and how those scenarios will affect your need for cash. Your banker will be able to give you a better idea of the plans that should be put in place to meet your requirements. You should also talk to your banker about having a back-up plan should there be unexpected changes in your business to ensure the end-goal is still going to be attainable. Bringing your “intellectual capital” and financial capital together

will increase the probability of success and provide sustainable options for your business.

Pitfall: Lack of quality accounting and financial information. As a business owner, you need to be able to track revenue, expenses, inventory and receivables, calculate profitability and generate financial statements, especially if you are applying for a loan. It is important to have access to and utilize qualified accounting or bookkeeping resources not only to help you have appropriate accounting and inventory control, but to maintain the accounts receivable and payable systems that track financial information and produce financial statements. Accurate financial statements are crucial to obtaining a loan and to managing your business.

How to avoid it: Invest in an accounting system or bookkeeping system at your business, or hire a bookkeeper or accounting service to produce periodic financial reporting including profit and loss statements and balance sheets. Secure online banking systems and bill pay systems that integrate with your accounting or bookkeeping systems are critical to seamlessly producing monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements and will assist with tax return preparation.

Pitfall: Internal or external bank account fraud.

As a business owner, you should pay close attention to potential fraud on your bank accounts. By maintaining control on access and security to all accounts and transactions, fraud risk can be minimized.

How to avoid it: There are many options available to limit access to your business accounts. Meet with your banker to insure that you have the latest technology available to prevent unwanted access to your accounts and the appropriate level of approval authorities to generate transactions both within the company and prevent unauthorized access from external hackers. Diligent daily review of all your transactions is critical. Accurate and secure payment systems are crucial to the success of your business and their value cannot be overstated.

Pitfall: Managing the profitability of the business for tax purposes. One attractive income tax strategy is trying to reduce tax liability by reducing the taxable income of the business through various tactics. While this may result in lower tax liabilities in the current period it can also reduce or eliminate reported income which is typically the number used when qualifying for a loan.

How to avoid it: Talk to your accountant and banker when you are considering deferring recognition of income, pre-paying expenses, expensing items that could be capitalized or accelerating depreciation for tax purposes. These strategies should be considered in balance with the need to meet debt service coverage and other loan requirements.

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DINING

Cowboy up Sierra Bonita serves up a perfect blend of Mexican, Native American and cowboy cultures

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

Y

ou know a restaurant is pure Arizona when former Gov. Rose Mofford eats dinner there nearly every day for eight years after in opens.

And while the 93-year-old Arizona icon doesn’t make the daily trek to Sierra Bonita Grill and Catering anymore, she still has the North Central Phoenix restaurant deliver her favorites on a daily basis. And in case you miss Mofford, you still might get a glimpse of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Arizona historian Marshall Trimble, who dine often at Sierra Bonita. It just doesn’t get more Arizona than that, and dining just doesn’t get more Arizona than Sierra Bonita.

The restaurant itself pays homage to the Sierra Bonita Ranch, founded in 1872 and one of the oldest cattle ranches in the United States. The restaurant’s walls and corners are adorned with dozens of Western paintings, photographs and sculptures, each connected to the ranching lifestyle and each depicting Arizona and the three prime groups that helped build the West — Mexicans, Native Americans and cowboys.

“The thing about the items we place in the restaurant is that each piece has a story,” said Sierra Bonita Grill and Catering owner Nate Hopper. “It was important to me to have stories about why we have a saddle in the corner or why a picture is on the wall. It gives the restaurant some personality and the stories help keep us close to those cowboy and Southwest roots that help shape the restaurant.”

But the real story behind Sierra Bonita Grill and Catering and the reason Arizona’s most famous daughters and sons keep coming back is the food. It’s ironic that Hopper, a native of Upstate New York who now wears cowboy boots to work, has been able to take a Southwestern menu and put new and

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inventive twists on those menu items to create something new and delicious. And he has done so brilliantly. The result are nothing short of a stampede of flavors.

While Hopper changes the menu seasonally, there are some constants. The best-selling buttermilk chicken and the smoked red chile pork roast are always on the menu. There’s a reason for that: The buttermilk chicken, served with mashed sweet potatoes, is as comforting as a grandmother’s hug and as delicious as any dish in Phoenix. Other favorites include Hopper’s poppers, four jalapeños served with a blend of four cheeses; Albondigas, homemade meatball soup and corn tortilla; the Southwestern Cobb salad, with house greens, grilled carne asada, bacon, sliced egg, tomato, cucumber, avocado, salsa fresca and jalapeño jack cheese; and the pork osso buco, with green chile and cheddar mashed, roasted baby carrots, cipollini onions, zucchini and Hatch green chile sauce. But the truth is you could throw a dart at Sierra Bonita’s menu and always end up with deliciousness.

The food is as well thought out and rich as Sierra Bonita’s history.

Don’t forget to check out Sierra Bonita’s special rooms in the basement that are perfect for special occasions or business meetings. You’re sure to leave Sierra Bonita with a new story to tell, a new lesson that was learned and a belly that will be forever grateful. Yippee ki-yay.

Sierra Bonita Grill and Catering 6933 N. 7th St., Phoenix, AZ 85014 602-264-0700 sierrabonitagrill.com

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“It works for helping shape up my expansion plans.”

—Zoey Van Jones, Owner of Zoey Van Jones Brow Studio

Every day, small business owners across the country work hard to make their entrepreneurial visions a reality. For Zoey Van Jones of Zoey Van Jones Brow Studio,* that meant making sure her expansion plans worked as hard as she did. Helping business owners like Zoey is why we created Wells Fargo Works. It’s our commitment to small businesses everywhere. By delivering a wide range of products, resources, and guidance, we help businesses take the next step toward their goals. Welcome to Wells Fargo Works. Let’s make it work for you.

*Wells Fargo awarded Zoey Van Jones $25,000 to help with her expansion plans. © 2015 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. (1249335_14850)

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Healthcare Leadership

Awards

Technology is on the rise in healthcare and bioscience and Arizona benefits

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Fifty years ago, Dr. Robert Flinn,

a leading Arizona cardiologist, and wife Irene Flinn, a caring philanthropist, demonstrated their foresight and generosity when they created the Flinn Foundation. Today, they would no doubt both be very proud of the Foundation’s efforts to help move Arizona’s economy forward.

For many years, I’ve served on the Flinn Foundation’s Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee and helped shape the current Roadmap, the state’s long-term strategy to advance our bioscience sector.

The Roadmap was Steven G. Zylstra initially launched Technology as a 10-year plan in 2002, followed by a comprehensive study by Battelle, the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization.

The study concluded that Arizona had many of the essential elements needed to become a national leader in the area of the biosciences, but needed to strengthen its medical research base and build up a critical mass of bioscience firms and jobs.

The Steering Committee concluded that all of our objectives had essentially been met in the first decade, with the exception of addressing the demand for risk capital.

Since the Roadmap was first rolled out, the biosciences and healthcare industries have undergone long overdue changes, including the rapid rise of technology. Many reasons have been cited for the slow start to the sector’s adoption of new technology, including the fact that payments to doctors and hospitals are based on the fee-for-service model.

That means technologies that reduce costs or the

number of patient visits actually cost providers money, disincentivizing their use.

In 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began offering incentives to healthcare providers who demonstrated “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs). This was a catalyst for the stimulation of the adoption of health information technology.

Today, technology is playing a front and center role in helping shape the future of healthcare with profound implications for both the healthcare industry and the patients it serves. Technology gives caregivers unprecedented opportunities to engage patients and provide excellent care, anywhere.

Telehealth, remote biometric monitoring and technology-assisted health coaching are powerful tools that can help patients learn to manage diet, exercise habits and medication routines.

The era of personalized medicine comes about as technology has given doctors the ability to track an incredible amount of information about our health — right down to sequencing of our genome, the individual makeup of every person. Of course, that requires massive amounts of computing. Even Watson, IBM’s supercomputer, is jumping in to help. Watson has spent a great deal of time learning oncology and medicine, and has done analysis on the variations of the full human genome.

As the availability of information continues to rise, we’ll also continue see a rise in the critical mass of healthcare-related companies based in Arizona such as Theranos, Yulex, SynCardia Systems, Telost Biopharmaceutical and Orion Health to name just a few. Support of the Flinn Foundation’s Roadmap, which was updated in April 2014, will not only strengthen and diversify our economy, but enhance the health outcomes of the people of Arizona, both young and old.

Steven G. Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

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2016 Finalists: Bioscience company

Medtronic

T

he Medtronic Tempe Campus was was named Large Company Innovator of the Year at the 2015 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) Awards. Medtronic’s Tempe Campus is known for its world-class microelectronics manufacturing that produces components for implantable medical devices from cardiac pacemakers to deep brain stimulators that address movement disorders. Since Medtronic began Arizona operations in 1973, the work done in the Valley of the Sun has been part of a proud tradition of saving lives and alleviating pain. Medtronic engineers and scientists have developed the world’s smallest pacemaker in Tempe.

TGen

W

hile it’s already a global leader in genomics research, TGen’s annual economic impact on Arizona has risen eight-fold over eight years, according to an independent report. The report shows that TGen produces a total annual economic impact — including commercial activities — of $174 million; returns $8.7 million in annual tax revenues to the state’s general fund, exceeding its historic 2:1 return on investment; provides a rate of return in the form of direct economic impact of $46.50 for every $1 invested by the state; and is creating more than 1,400 jobs.

VisionGate

V

isionGate’s first commercial product, LuCED, is a noninvasive test to aid physicians in the early detection of lung cancer utilizing sputum. To help its mission, VisionGate acquired exclusive rights to a patent owned by the University of Colorado to use the drug Iloprost for the prevention of lung cancer, an evolution that takes VisionGate from purely diagnostics to a diagnostic and therapeutics company. Combining VisionGate’s LuCED test with UC’s drug Iloprost has the potential to make great changes in lung cancer therapy with early detection and prevention of the disease, researchers said.

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2016 Finalists: Community impact

Randy Christensen, MD Phoenix Children’s Hospital

D

r. Christensen is the founder of the Crews’n Healthmobile, a mobile clinic that has brought medical care to thousands of children and adolescents living in poverty on the streets of Arizona since the fall of 2000. Over the past 15 years, the program has grown to include three mobile units, hosts 26 weekly clinics and employs 32 people, including two full-time doctors, four part-time physicians and Dr. Christensen. His team also provides holistic medical care and has several case managers and another team that screens kids for hearing, vision and developmental delays.

Chris Powell

Personal trainer and host “Extreme Weight Loss”

P

owell entered the national spotlight in 2008 when he transformed a “650-Pound Virgin” in a TLC documentary.

Since then, the ASU graduate and Phoenix resident has become a transformation specialist on ABC’s highly rated documentary style series “Extreme Weight Loss.” Powell travels the country using his innovative techniques, education and expertise to guide extremely overweight individuals as they shed hundreds of pounds. He is also a best-selling author whose books provides motivation, nutrition, exercise programs and tips to help people lose weight and get healthy.

Lana Whitehead President | SWIMKids USA

I

n 1971, Whitehead began her crusade for water safety by teaching her own infant son to swim. She then developed a curriculum for the YMCA and opened her own swim school in 1973. Since then, she and her staff have taught more than 100,000 children to be safer in the water with Whitehead’s effective curriculum. For Movement Activates Learning in 2014, Whitehead gathered research that shows a connection between a child’s learning and his level of physical activity, which she developed into a course for the International Swim Instructors Association.

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“dream more,

If your actIons InspIre others to

do more and become more,

you are a

leader .”

—John Quincy AdAms

114954-15

Congratulations to this year’s Health Care Leadership Awards Finalists. You bring excellence to the Valley’s health care system and your leadership inspires us all.

2016 Finalists: Healthcare executive

Michele Finney Market CEO | Abrazo Health Network

F

inney oversees six acute care hospitals, two free-standing emergency centers and a physicians group. Abrazo has nearly 5,000 employees, about 2,100 affiliated physicians and 550 volunteers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Finney takes pride in Abrazo hospitals’ designations including: Accredited Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center, Joint Commission Top Performers on Key Quality Measures, American Stroke Association Get With the Guidelines Gold Plus and Gold Performance Achievement Award for Stroke, Midas + Platinum Quality Top Performing Hospitals and Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Award.

Matt McGuire

President and CEO Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Western Regional Medical Center

M

cGuire joined CTCA in 2000 and has more than 13 years of experience in management, leadership, development, sales, marketing, patient and talent acquisition at CTCA. Since becoming CEO in 2014, McGuire has helped the hospital take a more aggressive role in cancer research. “Nothing I have faced in business compares to the challenge our patients face with their cancer diagnoses,” McGuire said. “My role in helping our patients through their cancer journey is to lead our team of extraordinarily talented, skilled and compassionate caregivers.”

Patty White

President and CEO St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center

W

hite leads a team of almost 5,000 physicians, clinical staff and volunteers dedicated to providing patient care. Since beginning her healthcare career as a cardiovascular nurse 30 years ago, White has built a reputation as a servant leader dedicated to improving the patient experience and health in the community. “It is a challenging time to be in healthcare,” White said. “The adoption of healthcare reform, the economic downturn and state budget cuts have required a need for innovation and optimism to maintain our goal of providing the best medical care possible.”

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Clinical trials.

Advancing research.

Saving lives.

All in a lifetime of work.

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Phoenix, we’re fortunate to be working with two of the most dynamic individuals in the industry.

Leading the team is President and CEO, Matt McGuire. His personal dedication to advancing cancer treatment options is immeasurable.

Dr. Glen Weiss is a well-published cancer researcher whose innovative clinical trials have led to countless breakthroughs and new treatment options.

Along with Dr. Weiss and Mr. McGuire, CTCA® is proud to serve its patients with an entire staff of cancer specialists. All focused on just one thing... fighting cancer.

Every stage. Every day.

Congratulations on being named finalists among this year’s Healthcare Leaders.

cancercenter.com ©2016 Rising Tide

2016 Finalists: Insurance provider

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

E

very year, BCBSAZ supports hundreds of charities and organizations and encourages employees to be active participants in their communities.

Nourishing Arizona, launched in 2015 by BCBSAZ, shines a light on two significant health challenges this state faces – Arizonans who struggle to eat three meals, and those who are making choices that lead to obesity and other health complications. By raising awareness, supporting new and ongoing community programs, Nourishing Arizona looks to have a long-term effect on chronic health conditions and improve overall wellness for Arizonans.

Delta Dental of Arizona

I

n 2015, Delta Dental of Arizona earned its certification as a Center of Excellence by BenchmarkPortal. The Center of Excellence recognition is one of the most prestigious awards in the customer service and support industry and highlights Delta Dental’s commitment to improve lives by promoting optimal oral health. Also in 2015, Delta Dental announced DeltaVision® administered by Avēsis as a complement to its dental offerings.

DeltaVision plans are noteworthy for their flexible plan allowances, copayments and benefit frequency options. In addition, DeltaVision plans provide a generous allowance for vision care services and materials.

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona

U

nitedHealthcare is expanding consumers’ access to affordable healthcare through its virtual physician visit benefit coverage for commercial members, which gives consumers more choices in obtaining care. UnitedHealthcare’s new virtual visit network enables people to access quality, cost-effective healthcare via mobile phone, tablet or computer 24 hours a day.

Consumers can save time and money compared with other brickand-mortar models of care. UnitedHealthcare’s myHealthcare Cost Estimator tool is also available to more than 1.8 million Arizonans, giving consumers an integrated online and mobile service that brings a retail shopping experience to healthcare.

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Legal advocate

Richard Mallery Partner | Snell & Wilmer

M

allery has been named to The Best Lawyers In America® for Real Estate Law every year since 2005, but his biggest impact might be in bioscience. As the founding pro-bono chairman and CEO of the International Genomics Consortium (IGC), Mallery was the driving force bringing the IGC and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to Phoenix.

Mallery was also a founding member of the Flinn Foundation’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, on which he has served since 2004. In addition, he was the founding chair of the Molecular Profiling Institute.

Roger N. Morris, RPh Partner | Quarles & Brady

M

orris began his career as a pharmacist before turning to the practice of health law, where he has put that rare combination of professional experiences to effective use for the benefit of both pharmacies and institutional heathcare providers, as well as for healthcare businesses of all types, pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and individual healthcare professionals. Morris and the team he has built are major players in this arena — they represent numerous pharmacy providers in the country, working every day in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Andrew L. Plattner Member | Sherman & Howard

P

lattner earned his master’s in public health from Tulane University in 1994 before earning his law degree and health law certificate from DePaul University College of Law in 1998.

Plattner advises physicians, group practices, medical clinics and ambulatory surgical centers on corporate and business transactions, on the impact of Medicare regulations, Stark Law and the Anti-kickback Statute, and on the practice of medicine in Arizona and nationally. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and a member of the Arizona Association of Health Care Attorneys.

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2016 Finalists: Medical center

Banner University Medical Center Phoenix

B

UMCP, which is recognized nationally for geriatrics, nephrology, diabetes/endocrinology and urology services, broke ground on a $160 million emergency department at the former Banner Good Samaritan Hospital. The project is part of a $400 million 16-story patient tower that is being planned on the Phoenix campus, which will make it the tallest hospital in Arizona and eliminate all semi-private rooms. BUMCP was also one of two Banner hospitals to be included on a list of America’s 100 best hospitals.

Tucson Medical Center

L

ast year, 84,058 patients visited Tucson Medical Center’s emergency room, the hospital had a total of 31,990 admissions and its physicians performed 9,356 inpatient and 12,492 outpatient surgeries. The healthcare facility, which has 584 beds, is also a teaching hospital. TMC was recognized as one of the best hospitals for 2015-16 in knee replacement by U.S. News & World Report.

TMC’s four-story Orthopaedic and Surgical Tower includes 10 state-of-the-art orthopaedic operating rooms that can accommodate both inpatient and outpatient surgeries, and a dedicated 40-bed orthopaedic unit with all private rooms.

HonorHealth Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center

T

he center is one of the original Dream Team sites for cancer research by Stand Up to Cancer, making it the only one in the Southwest participating as a collaborator in the $18 million SU2C pancreatic cancer Dream Team grant. Researchers at HonorHealth have been conducting clinical trials of new treatments designed to cut off the fuel supply of nutrients that feed pancreatic cancer cell growth. In 2013, the FDA approved the combination of Abraxane and Gemcitibine to treat advanced pancreatic cancer after HonorHealth researchers led a successful clinical trial. This is now the standard of care.

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APRIL 7, 2016 | 6:00 – 8:00pm

THE CAMBY/AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION HOTEL

Lifetime Achievement Honoree

Dr. Ted Diethrich Arizona Heart Foundation

Az Business magazine is proud to host the 9th Annual Healthcare Leadership Awards on April 7, 2016. We’ll honor the individuals and organizations that have made strides in helping Arizonans receive better healthcare.

Purchase Tickets: azBIGmedia.com or call 602-277-6045 AB | March - April 2016

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2016 Finalists: Medical company

One Medical Group

O

ne Medical Group focuses on building the physicianpatient relationship and improving the average doctor’s office visit. By employing technology upgrades and a mantra of complete and transparent access to doctors, the company intends to remove the bureaucratic hindrances that have hampered the healthcare industry and challenges the notion that delivering high quality, accessible healthcare is either unachievable or prohibitively expensive. For employers, One Medical has become a premium perk – sort of like a gym membership – for employees. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed on as One Medical’s first enterprise customer in Arizona.

The CORE Institute

A

decade ago, founding physicians Dr. David J. Jacofsky, Dr. John A. Brown and Dr. Mark D. Campbell combined their expertise to offer Valley residents best-in-class orthopedic care. Since then, The CORE Institute has delivered orthopedic care to hundreds of thousands of patients in Arizona and around the world. In 2011, The CORE Institute and Banner Health created the Banner CORE Center for Orthopedics. Since then, Banner CORE Center for Orthopedics has expanded from one Banner facility to five locations, including Banner’s largest facility, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.

WebPT

I

n 2008, Heidi Jannenga teamed up with her husband, Brad, an experienced software developer, to launch WebPT, a webbased EMR and comprehensive practice management service designed specifically for physical therapists. Their idea grew out of recognizing the need for a more sophisticated industry-specific EMR platform. Within three years, their web-based idea grew into the leading physical therapy software on the market. Since launching WebPT, Heidi has leveraged her access to a rapidly growing audience — more than 50,000 rehab professionals in more than 8,000 clinics — to bring attention to the issues most important to the PT industry.

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2016 Finalists: Physician

Amalia De Comas, MD Orthopedic oncology specialist The CORE Institute

D

r. De Comas’ commitment to medicine goes beyond the patients she treats. Dr. De Comas is the chief clinical instructor for the Banner Good Samaritan residency program for orthopaedic oncology. Her desire to help residents led her to help obtain a grant for the residents travel to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for a lecture series in musculoskeletal oncology, which De Comas attends yearly as a speaker. She also lectures nationally to discuss surgical implications of radiation for soft tissue sarcomas.

Richard Heuser, MD, FACC, FACP, FESC, FSCAI

Chief of cardiology St. Luke’s Medical Center and Phoenix Heart Center

H

euser is an internationally recognized cardiologist, inventor, educator and author, and is one of the early pioneers of the angioplasty procedure. A diplomat of the American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases and American Board of Interventional Cardiology, he has more than 30 years of private practice, medical administration and clinical teaching experience. With nearly 30 patents granted or pending for different catheters, stents and other medical devices, Dr. Heuser has served as principal investigator to research the safety and/or effectiveness of more than 100 medical devices and more than 70 pharmaceutical products.

Richard B. Towbin, MD,

FAAP, FACR, FSIR, FSAR Chief of pediatric radiology Phoenix Children’s Hospital

D

r. Towbin has led many innovative initiatives within the pediatric radiology department at PCH, including Image Gently, a collaborative program with Philips Corporation that maximizes the quality of diagnostic imaging while using the least amount of radiation dosage by tailoring the imaging studies to the patient’s size. This reduced doses by as much as 70 percent for some studies. Recently, he spearheaded a program developing the potential of 3D imaging and printing, which helped PCH become a national leader in this area.

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2016 Finalists: Researcher

Eric Reiman, MD CEO | Banner Research

I

n addition to being CEO of Banner Research, the umbrella organization for all research at Banner Health, Reiman is executive director of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute. He is also the clinical director of the Neurogenomics Division at TGen and director of the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, the nation’s leading model of statewide collaboration in Alzheimer’s disease research. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to brain imaging research, the behavioral neurosciences, and the presymptomatic study of Alzheimer’s disease. He has developed a strategy to find demonstrably effective treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease as quickly as possible.

Keith Stewart, MD Mayo Clinic Scottsdale

D

r. Stewart conducts translational research in multiple myeloma, including basic and clinical research to identify novel targets for therapy in multiple myeloma. Recently, Dr. Stewart focused on the use of high-throughput druggable genome RNAi screening in the presence or absence of therapeutic agents. This work will lead to the identification of targets that, when suppressed, sensitize myeloma cells to the effects of chemotherapy. Most recently, they have also begun whole-genome sequencing of myeloma cells in patients who have become resistant to chemotherapy drugs in an attempt to identify mechanisms of resistance.

Glen J. Weiss, MD

Director of clinical research and medical oncologist Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Western Regional Medical Center

W

eiss and CTCA investigators have been actively researching the impact of immunotherapy, a topic prominently highlighted at the annual conferences of both the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. Weiss recently launched Phase II of the NivoPlus clinical trial, which combines the immunotherapeutic agent nivolumab with chemotherapy drugs irinotecan and capecitabine and targets colorectal cancer with K-ras mutation and pancreatic cancer. “There is growing evidence that the use of immunotherapies like those in our NivoPlus clinical trials could enhance the ability to fight cancers,” Weiss said.

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AB | March - April 2016

HonorHope At HonorHealth’s Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, we take cancer personally. Your care team works alongside scientific researchers to create a highly personalized, targeted, cancer treatment plan just for you.

It’s all part of our plan to make healthy personal.

Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network are now HonorHealth.

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Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Edward B. Diethrich H

e is widely known as “Ted Terrific,” a name that fits the man.

Dr. Edward B. Diethrich is an internationally esteemed cardiovascular surgeon who is regarded as a pioneer in noninvasive cardiovascular disease diagnosis and innovative surgical and minimally invasive treatment modalities.

Dr. Diethrich is also the recipient of the Healthcare Leadership Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award. And what a life is has been.

The maverick innovator boasts a long list of firsts: • First live worldwide telecast of open heart surgery • First heart/lung transplantation in Arizona • Inventor of the sternal saw, a major technological innovation and one of the most important tools used today in open heart surgery • Establishment of the nation’s first outpatient cardiac catheterization laboratory, now a worldwide standard of care • Creation of an international journal on endovascular therapy that has the highest readership in the world “My mother was a nurse,” Dr. Diethrich says. “I was working in the operating room with her when I was 15. By the time I got to the University of Michigan, I knew more about the operating room than anyone on campus.”

In 1971, Dr. Diethrich founded the Arizona Heart Institute, the nation’s first freestanding outpatient clinic devoted solely to the prevention, detection and treatment of heart and blood vessel diseases. As medical director and chief of cardiovascular surgery and former president of the institute’s nonprofit Arizona Heart Foundation, Dr. Diethrich drew on his foresight and pioneering spirit to lead both AHI and its research foundation to levels of prominence in the global medical community.

In addition to his roles at AHI, Dr. Diethrich served as medical director and chief of cardiovascular and endovascular surgery at Arizona

40

AB | March - April 2016

Heart Hospital, where he regularly performed stateof-the-art endovascular procedures using the very latest in intraluminal devices, many of which he helped design and test. His Translational Research Center on the AHH campus houses facilities for researchers to develop and test new minimally invasive technologies and gene/cell therapies.

A leader in the development of minimally invasive vascular procedures, Dr. Diethrich was an early adopter of ceiling-mounted radiographic equipment that made endovascular interventions possible.

Despite state-of-the-art radiation protection, his decades of exposure to minute amounts of radiation led to a brain tumor. Working in conjunction with the Organization for Occupational Radiation Safety in Interventional Fluoroscopy, Dr. Diethrich was the model for a documentary on the ill effects that radiation can have on the human body.

Dr. Diethrich chronicles his work and the impact on radiation on his health in his recently completed book, “SLED: The Serendipitous Life of Edward Diethrich,” which he hopes will help change the way doctors are trained and protected.

“I was born with a gene that keeps coming up,” Dr. Diethrich says. “I’m different.

I’m not better and not worse than anyone else. But I am always looking for another idea or a better way of doing things.”

in Arizona

E

ach year, Az Business magazine’s editorial team — in collaboration with industry experts — chooses the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona from a pool of more than 1,000 of the most talented and successful attorneys from throughout the state. Selections are based on each lawyer’s professional success, impact on his or her law firm, impact on the communities she/he serves and impact on the legal profession.

Do you know an attorney who should be considered for the 2017 list? Email Editor in Chief Michael Gossie at michael.gossie@azbigmedia.com.

AB | March - April 2016

41

Andrew Abraham

Shareholder | Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. bcattorneys.com

Practice areas: Real estate, business and corporate law, commercial litigation

Shawn K. Aiken

Shareholder | Aiken Schenk Hawkins & Ricciardi P.C. ashrlaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, mediation, arbitration

Hilary L. Barnes

Member | Allen Maguire & Barnes PLC ambazlaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy litigation

Timothy J. Berg

Director | Fennemore Craig, P.C. fclaw.com

Practice areas: Civil appeals, public law, public utilities regulation

Steven N. Berger

Shareholder | Engelman Berger PC eblawyers.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy/debt, litigation, appeals, mediation

Maureen Beyers

Partner | Osborn Maledon, P.A. omlaw.com

Practice areas: Complex commercial litigation, arbitration

Gary L. Birnbaum

Member | Dickinson Wright PLLC dickinson-wright.com

Practice areas: ADR, appellate, condemnation and land use, construction litigation

Brian H. Blaney

Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Corporate and securities, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, global securities

Susan G. Boswell

Partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy and business reorganization 42

AB | March - April 2016

Floyd P. Bienstock Partner Steptoe & Johnson LLP steptoe.com

Practice areas: Litigation, insurance, employment/labor Background: Bienstock is an experienced trial lawyer with a practice focusing on litigating insurance coverage and bad faith matters, including class actions, as well as complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts in Arizona and throughout the United States. He has been recognized in Chambers USA, The Legal 500, Southwest Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers of America, which named him “Lawyer of the Year” in Phoenix insurance law.

Toughest challenge: “The biggest challenge I faced in developing a robust commercial litigation practice was to find types of complex commercial cases that recurred so that I would have a regular flow of cases from clients, rather than one every several years.

I successfully defended an insurance company in a wrongful termination age discrimination case, won, and asked for an opportunity to handle the company’s insurance bad faith litigation. That led to a 20-plus year run specializing in bad faith litigation.”

Advice: “When you litigate complex cases, do not turn over every rock you encounter.

Figure out first which rocks matter and go after them.”

David Brnilovich

Member | Jennings Strouss jsslaw.com

Practice areas: Real estate, commercial litigation, construction and Registrar of Contractors issues

James E. Brophy, III

Managing shareholder | Ryley Carlock & Applewhite rcalaw.com

Practice areas: Business transactions, legal compliance for for-profit and nonprofit businesses

Robert J. Bruno

Shareholder and director | Sanders & Parks P.C. sandersparks.com

Practice areas: Complex civil litigation, construction litigation, professional liability defense, products liability

Robin E. Burgess

Shareholder, officer and director | Sanders & Parks P.C. sandersparks.com

Practice areas: Healthcare, medical malpractice, product liability, professional liability, municipal liability

Rebecca Lynne Burnham Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Real estate, retail, sports facilities and entertainment venues, land development

Robert M. Charles, Jr.

Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP lrrlaw.com

Practice areas: Business bankruptcy, commercial lawsuits, business transactions

George C. Chen Partner | Bryan Cave bryancave.com

Practice areas: Intellectual property, litigation, licensing, counseling, patent, trademark, copyright, cybersquatting

Joseph T. Clees

Shareholder | Ogletree Deakins ogletreedeakins.com

Practice areas: Labor relations, employment law, litigation

John R. Clemency

Shareholder | Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A. gknet.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, business law and transactions 44

AB | March - April 2016

Edwin C. Bull President and shareholder Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. bcattorneys.com

Practice areas: Land use and zoning, real estate development, real estate finance.

Background: Bull is the senior member among the firm’s zoning and real estate attorneys. Certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona, his practice involves the full range of real estate entitlements, including zoning, general plan amendments, specific area plan approvals and amendments, interpretations, variances, use permits, subdivision and site plan approvals, annexation, development agreements, construction permits, development impact fees, real estate transactions, right-of-way abandonments and other developmentrelated matters. He was named the 2014 Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” Phoenix in Land Use and Zoning Law. Toughest challenge: “Balancing business and professional demands, family and self are neverending challenges and opportunities. Effective delegation and passion for family, our clients and our firm keep me energized.”

Advice: “Follow your passion, work hard, treat others as you want to be treated and always remember that practicing law is both a profession and a business.”

Congratulations to Our Phoenix Partners Recognized in the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona by AZ Business Magazine

Peter Culp Environmental Law

Local Connections. Global Influence.

44 Offices in 21 Countries squirepattonboggs.com

Lawrence Rosenfeld Labor & Employment Law

Squire Patton Boggs 1 E. Washington St., Suite 2700 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 +1 602 528 4000

Peter Culp

Partner | Squire Patton Boggs squirepattonboggs.com

Practice areas: Water and natural resources, environmental, federal Indian law

John E. Cummerford

Co-managing shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Intellectual property, technology, media, telecommunications

Barbara J. Dawson

Partner | Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. swlaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, international law, tax

Kimberly A. Demarchi

Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP fclaw.com

Practice areas: Civil appeals, litigation of complex matters

William M. Demlong

Senior member | The Cavanagh Law Firm cavanaghlaw.com

Practice areas: Insurance coverage, bad faith litigation, construction defect litigation, ERISA litigation, NASD litigation

John E. DeWulf

Partner | Coppersmith Brockelman PLC cblawyers.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, trade secrets, real estate, securities, intellectual property

John Alan Doran

Member | Sherman & Howard L.L.C. shermanhoward.com

Practice areas: Labor and employment, litigation, trials, appeals

Paul F. Eckstein

Partner | Perkins Coie LLP perkinscoie.com

Practice areas: Litigation, appellate, antitrust and unfair competition litigation, political law

Booker T. Evans

Partner | Ballard Spahr LLP ballardspahr.com

Practice areas: White collar crime, commercial litigation 46

AB | March - April 2016

Karen Dickinson Shareholder Polsinelli polsinelli.com

Practice areas: Intellectual property, trademark and copyright, startup ventures, healthcare technology Background: As an international business and technology attorney who negotiates multimillion-dollar global deals, Dickinson utilizes her past experience as a supply management executive at a Fortune 100 company and her own experience as an entrepreneur.

Toughest challenge: “Helping a large Chinese client purchase a majority interest in a New York Stock Exchange-listed company. Crosscultural and structuring issues arising from two dissimilar systems were the most challenging part of the transaction. Understanding both countries’ business practices and legal systems and thinking creatively helped close the deal.

The transaction was chosen as one of the 2014 Deals of the Year by the China Business Law Journal.”

Key to success: “To be a negotiator — especially a cross-cultural one — you must have a passion for learning about other people’s cultures, preferences, traditions and world views. Combining that knowledge with an ability to deeply listen provides me with information that helps me negotiate better deals for my clients. Curiosity, deep listening, creativity, and a global perspective — these have been the keys to my success.”

Nicole France Stanton

Managing partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Professional malpractice, litigation, dispute resolution, higher education, appellate

Leah S. Freed

Office managing shareholder | Ogletree, Deakins ogletreedeakins.com

Practice areas: Employment law, litigation, healthcare, defense contracting industry

Susan M. Freeman

Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP lrrlaw.com

Practice areas: Appeals, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, distressed real estate acquisition and management

Garrick L. Gallagher

Owner and director | Sanders & Parks P.C. sandersandparks.com

Practice areas: Complex civil litigation, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, insurance coverage litigation

Grady Gammage, Jr.

Member | Gammage & Burnham gblaw.com

Practice areas: Elections, government and public affairs, real estate, zoning and land use

Karen Gaylord

Partner | Jennings, Haug & Cunningham jhc-law.com

Practice areas: Environmental and natural resources, Indian law

Greg Gillis

Founding shareholder | Nussbaum Gillis & Dinner, P.C. ngdlaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial collection, construction, real estate, bankruptcy litigation

Amy J. Gittler

Shareholder | Jackson Lewis P.C. jacksonlewis.com

Practice areas: Labor and preventive practices, general employment litigation, non-competes, wage and hour

Stacey F. Gottlieb

Of counsel | Cohen Kennedy Dowd & Quigley, P.C. ckdqlaw.com

Practice areas: Complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense 48

AB | March - April 2016

Yale F. Goldberg Partner Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold frgalaw.com

Practice areas: Tax controversy, tax litigation, employment tax controversy Background: Goldberg has a national reputation for successfully representing businesses and individuals in tax controversies in state and federal tax courts, trial courts and courts of appeal. He began his career as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Goldberg is a Certified Specialist in Tax Law (Arizona Board of Legal Specialization) and was selected as Lawyer of the Year (Tax Law, Phoenix) for 2015 by The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he is consistently ranked by his peers among Arizona’s top attorneys. He has been a Super Lawyers honoree since 2007 (including a 2011 ranking among “Arizona’s Top 50 Lawyers”) and listed in Best Lawyers for more than 20 years.

Toughest challenge: “Leaving a large firm a number of years ago and starting a new firm with two very committed and consummate professionals.

We just celebrated our 25th anniversary.”

Advice: “Choose your colleagues carefully. If you do the right thing, they will be like a second family.”

Carolyn J. Johnsen Member Dickinson Wright PLLC dickinsonwright.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors’ rights; commercial transactions; lender litigation and bankruptcy; mergers and acquisitions Background: Johnsen is a partner in the 400-person national law firm of Dickinson Wright. Her practice focuses on business restructurings and creating complex plans, strategies and structures for multi-million dollar companies in multiple industries. She serves on the Smithsonian Libraries Board in Washington D.C. and cochairs the national alumnae of the Direct Women Board Institute dedicated to advancing women to serve on corporate boards.

Toughest challenge: “Overcoming my own stereotypes of gender to realize there is only one game and the best person can prevail regardless of gender. I did not want to be the best woman, I wanted to be the best, period.”

Key to success: “I am fearless about trying. I never quit. I believe in the utmost integrity, fairness and respect to all. I credit my success to the people who surround and support me and they also know that despite my hard work and 3:00 a.m. e-mails, I have never missed a party.”

Alisa J. Gray

Shareholder | Tiffany & Bosco P.A. tblaw.com

Practice areas: Probate and trust litigation, estate administration, elder law, mediation

Phillip Guttilla

Shareholder | Polsinelli polsinelli.com

Practice areas: Mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and capital formation, hedge fund and private equity fund formation

Diane M. Haller

Partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Real estate, complex transactions, land development deals, portfolio transactions

Angela K. Hallier

Founding partner | Hallier & Lawrence hallierlaw.com

Practice areas: Family law, divorce, legal separation

Larry Hammond

Partner | Osborn Maledon PA omlaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, criminal defense, internal and governmental investigations

Michael J. Holden

Managing member | Holden Willits PLC holdenwillits.com

Practice areas: Construction law, commercial litigation

Steve Hulsman

Partner | Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP lrrlaw.com

Practice areas: Class action, personal injury, wrongful death, insurance litigation, product liability

Timothy R. Hyland

Senior member | The Cavanagh Law Firm cavanaghlaw.com

Practice areas: Appellate, insurance coverage, bad faith litigation

Geoffrey Kercsmar

Founder | Kercsmar & Feltus, PLLC kflawaz.com

Practice areas: Complex litigation, business contracts, technology contracts, business torts, intellectual property, trademarks AB | March - April 2016

49

Jay S. Kramer

Director | Fennemore Craig, P.C. fclaw.com

Practice areas: Real estate transactions and finance, loan workouts, infrastructure financing, development and sale

Hope E. Leibsohn

Member | Sherman & Howard shermanhoward.com

Practice areas: Estate and tax planning, including customized family legacy planning

John F. Lomax, Jr.

Partner | Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. swlaw.com

Practice areas: Defense of labor and employment matters, litigation, healthcare

D. Kim Lough

Partner | Jennings Haug & Cunningham jhc-law.com

Practice areas: Litigation, construction and development, real estate, employment and labor

Patrick J. McGroder, III

Shareholder | Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A. gknet.com

Practice areas: Plaintiff’s personal injury and wrongful death, professional liability

John A. Micheaels

Partner | Beale Micheaels Slack & Shughart, PC beale-micheaels.com

Practice areas: Medical negligence, general tort liability, professional liability, insurance bad faith

Edward F. Novak

Shareholder | Polsinelli PC polsinelli.com

Practice areas: Antitrust, healthcare, commercial litigation, government investigations and compliance, internal investigations

Randy Nussbaum

Founding partner | Nussbaum Gillis & Dinner ngdlaw.com

Practice areas: Complex bankruptcy law, real estate, construction, contract law

Shawn Oller

Office managing shareholder | Littler Mendelson littler.com

Practice areas: Employment litigation, employment and labor, arbitration, mediation 50

AB | March - April 2016

John Maston O’Neal Partner Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Real estate litigation, litigation and dispute resolution, financial institutions litigation Background: O’Neal is an advocate for his clients both inside and outside the court room. His practice includes corporate and commercial matters, including contract disputes, defense and assertion of claims related to officers and directors, shareholder and LLC member disputes, commercial torts, non-solicitation and non-compete agreements, creditor claims and insurance claims. He was named a Southwest Super Lawyers Top 50 Attorney in 2015.

Toughest challenge: “You quickly learn that you will have setbacks and you don’t always win. That adversity is not easy to cope with.

You personally invest in your client’s case, and you never really forget such disappointments.

The fellowship and advice of colleagues and mentors is invaluable for moving forward.”

Key to success: “In the 17 years I have been with Quarles & Brady, I have had the pleasure of working alongside some of the most talented attorneys and genuinely good people. I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn from them, from my original mentors to my contemporaries.”

AB | March - April 2016

51

Pamela Overton Risoleo

Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Litigation, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare litigation

Scott I. Palumbo

Founding partner | Palumbo Wolfe & Palumbo, P.C palumbowolfe.com

Practice areas: Personal injury, medical negligence, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death

Rodolfo Parga, Jr.

Shareholder | Ryley Carlock & Applewhite rcalaw.com

Practice areas: Litigation, restrictive covenants and trade secrets, labor and employment, corporate and securities

Martha C. Patrick

Shareholder | Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. bcattorneys.com

Practice areas: Taxation, state and local tax controversy, litigation

Steven D. Pidgeon

Co-managing partner |DLA Piper dlapiper.com

Practice areas: Corporate, finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, emerging growth, venture capital

Steven Plitt

Senior member | The Cavanagh Law cavanaghlaw.com

Practice areas: Appellate, employment law, insurance coverage, bad faith litigation

Stephanie Quincy

Partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Employment litigation, class action and multi-plaintiff lawsuits, covenants not to compete, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, defamation

Cathy L. Reece

Director | Fennemore Craig, P.C fclaw.com

Practice areas: Financial restructuring, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights

Cynthia A. Ricketts

Co-founding partner | Sacks Ricketts & Case LLP sacksrickettscase.com/

Practice areas: Complex consumer and employment class action defense, commercial litigation 52

AB | March - April 2016

Brian M. Mueller Member Sherman & Howard shermanhoward.com

Practice areas: Litigation, trials and appeals; real estate; estate and tax planning Background: Mueller has more that 30 years of experience handling litigation matters for a variety of clients ranging from individuals and small businesses to multi-million dollar corporations throughout Arizona and the United States. In addition, Mueller has extensive experience representing various Arizona municipalities, and has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Maricopa County Superior Court for 10 years.

He has been named a “Top Arizona Attorney” and “Southwest Super Lawyer” for the last three years.

Toughest challenge: “Knowing what to keep and what to let go.

Events in a dispute can take place over years, and involve thousands of documents. A jury or judge can’t easily digest all of that.

An attorney has to be able to remain focused on the facts that resonate with a jury, without getting bogged down in all the additional issues.

Quickly explaining the case to someone who knows nothing about it helps develop that focus.”

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53

Kristen Rosati

Partner | Coppersmith Brockelman cblawyers.com

Practice areas: Healthcare, health information privacy and security, Big Data, clinical research

Lawrence J. Rosenfeld Partner | Squire Patton Boggs LLP squiresanders.com

Practice areas: Labor and employment, healthcare

Paul J. Roshka, Jr. Shareholder | Polsinelli polsinelli.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, federal and state securities laws

James W. Ryan

Managing partner | Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold frgalaw.com

Practice areas: Estate planning, tax planning, business formation and M&A transactions, trust administration, ADR

Thomas J. Salerno

Partner | Stinson Leonard Street LLP stinson.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy, creditors’ rights

Winn L. Sammons

Shareholder and director | Sanders & Parks P.C. sandersparks.com

Practice areas: ADR, mediations, arbitrations, conflict coaching, group-think facilitation, peacemaking

Tod F. Schleier

Member | Schleier Law Offices, PC schleierlaw.com

Practice areas: Employment disputes, mediations, arbitrations

Ted A. Schmidt

Managing partner | Kinerk, Schmidt & Sethi, PLLC kbsds.com

Practice areas: Products liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, federal tort claims, bad faith, governmental liability

Leon Silver

Office co-managing partner | Gordon & Rees gordonrees.com

Practice areas: Commercial litigation, privacy and data security, retail and hospitality 54

AB | March - April 2016

David B. Rosenbaum Partner Osborn Maledon omlaw.com

Practice areas: Complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, securities fraud class actions, employment controversies Background: Rosenbaum handles complex commercial litigation, representing public companies in numerous securities fraud class actions and in a wide range of other litigation matters. He recently chaired the Arizona Supreme Court’s task force creating Arizona’s new business court. He was named Best Lawyer’s Phoenix “Lawyer of the Year” in 2014 for securities litigation and in 2011 for “bet-the-company” litigation. He received the 2015 State Bar Special Merit Award.

Toughest challenge: “The same challenge that all litigators face: maintaining a courteous and professional approach with opposing counsel in disputes that are often bitter and personal between the clients. Patience and objectivity can prevail over emotions, and the results are better both for the client and the profession.”

Advice: “Care about your community. Get involved, because you can make a difference. Always be direct and honest with your clients, with opposing counsel, and the court.

Return calls promptly. And have fun in the process.”

John Alan Doran Winner 2016 Arizona’s Top 100 Lawyers Employment/Labor Relations 602.240.3032 Hope E. Leibsohn Winner 2016 Arizona’s Top 100 Lawyers Estate Planning 480.624.2734 Brian M. Mueller Winner 2016 Arizona’s Top 100 Lawyers Litigation, Trials and Appeals 480.624.2716

AB | March - April 2016

55

J. Russell Skelton

Partner | Jones, Skelton & Hochuli jshfirm.com

Practice areas: Medical malpractice and nursing home defense, workers’ compensation defense

Wendi A. Sorensen

Shareholder | Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. bcattorneys.com

Practice areas: Personal injury and wrongful death

Sheryl A. Sweeney

Shareholder | Ryley Carlock & Applewhite rcalaw.com

Practice areas: Energy law, water law, environmental law, electric utility law, special taxing districts

Michael E. Tiffany

Shareholder | Tiffany & Bosco tblaw.com

Practice areas: Commercial transactions, primarily in strategic planning, business solutions, real estate and finance

Geoffrey Trachtenberg

Partner | Levenbaum Trachtenberg, PLC ltinjurylaw.com

Practice areas: Personal injury, litigation and appeals, particularly related to motorcycle injury and wrongful death cases

Andrew B. Turk

Senior counsel | Clark Hill clarkhill.com

Practice areas: Healthcare, medical malpractice, elder abuse litigation

Jeffrey H. Verbin

Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Financial services, real estate, sports and entertainment

Debora L. Verdier

Partner | Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP manningllp.com

Practice areas: Employment law, professional liability

E. Jeffrey Walsh

Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Business litigation and trials, real estate litigation, construction litigation 56

AB | March - April 2016

Lesa J. Storey

Founding member Maguire Pearce & Storey, PLLC azlandandwater.com Practice areas: Real estate development, formation of community facilities districts, infrastructure matters Background: Storey focuses on real estate development, primarily in connection with the acquisition, entitlement (including pre-annexation and development agreements), financing (including community facilities districts), development, use and disposition of mixed-use development, commercial and industrial development, master-planned communities, golf course development, and data centers.

Professional accomplishments include being named Real Estate Lawyer of the Year for Arizona (Best Lawyers), and being selected as a national finalist for Real Estate Lawyer of the Year (Chambers USA).

Toughest challenge: “Surviving the real estate recession of 2007-2008.

That challenge was overcome in the same way that I deal with everyday challenges in my practice: By using creative problemsolving, by working hard and by trusting in my clients and my own ability.”

Key to success: “Empathy, which produces the ability to listen and understand a client’s business and the dynamics of a deal, and the ability to creatively solve problems to produce a result that works for all parties.”

AB | March - April 2016

57

Paul M. Weiser

Shareholder | Buchalter Nemer buchalter.com

Practice areas: Real estate purchases and sales, receiverships

Nancy L. White

Partner | Steptoe & Johnson LLP steptoe.com

Practice areas: Business and financial restructuring, distressed commercial mortgages and real estate, mergers and acquisitions

Quinn P. Williams

Shareholder | Greenberg Traurig, LLP gtlaw.com

Practice areas: Private and public equity and debt financings; mergers, acquisitions and recapitalization; technology licensing and joint venture transactions

Mark G. Worischeck

Managing shareholder | Sanders & Parks P.C. sandersandparks.com

Practice areas: Complex civil litigation, primarily in the areas of insurance, aviation, employment law, construction litigation, personal injury and product liability

Lawrence Wilk

Shareholder | Jaburg Wilk jaburgwilk.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy, creditor’s rights, workouts, financial fraud, real estate, foreclosure

Donald Wilson, Jr.

Shareholder | Broening Oberg Woods & Wilson PC bowwlaw.com

Practice areas: Professional liability, appellate, personal injury

Lori L. Winkelman

Partner | Quarles & Brady LLP quarles.com

Practice areas: Bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, jet fuel consortiums, banking and financial institutions

Doug Zimmerman

Partner | Davis Miles McGuire Gardner davismiles.com

Practice areas: Arbitration and mediation, civil litigation, commercial litigation, condemnation and eminent domain

Kurt M. Zitzer

Partner | Meagher & Geer, P.L.L.P. meagher.com

Practice areas: Insurance coverage, commercial litigation, professional liability 58

AB | March - April 2016

Rebecca A. Winterscheidt Partner Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. swlaw.com

Practice areas: Employment law, immigration law Background: Winterscheidt has been practicing law with Snell & Wilmer since 1983. She is currently the co-chair of the firm’s labor and employment and immigration practice groups. Although she has tried cases in state and federal court, she is best known for developing strong relationships with her clients who turn to her for day-to-day employment advice to keep them out of the courthouse. She has been repeatedly recognized in the Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers, Southwest Super Lawyers and Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona.

She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Toughest challenge: “My greatest professional challenge has been recognizing and having to deal with people who do not adhere to the same professional and/ or personal principles that I do.

You never really overcome that challenge, but rather learn how to better handle those issues and recognize that you don’t have to compromise to still have a successful career.”

Key to success: “I always try to be the type of lawyer I’d want to hire: honest, fair, a careful listener and someone who has good practical sense. I am also lucky to really like what I do, and to have been supported the last 33 years by my husband and by a firm that lets me develop new areas of expertise that keep my practice exciting and fun.”

Most Influential

The Minority Business Leaders of 2016 Meet the men and women who are changing the face of Arizona business

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

H

ere’s a reason that Arizona businesses might want to embrace Latinos: Hispanics now make up more than 30 percent of the state’s population, while non-Hispanic whites have dropped to 56 percent of the population, according to Arizona’s latest census numbers.

Now, consider this, nearly 45 percent of Arizonans under age 5 are Hispanic, outnumbering the 39 percent on non-Hispanic white whites who are less than 5 years old.

As our state’s minority population moves toward majority status, it’s important to note that some of the state’s most innovative and dynamic business leaders just happen to be minorities … for now. While the future looks promising and more inclusive, there is still work to do. A Minority Business Enterprise

Report commissioned by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Phoenix MBDA Business Center showed a significant number of minority-owned businesses in Arizona have had problems earning the trust of their customers, suppliers, peers and lenders and need help from the business community to help break down misconceptions and stigmas.

The men and women profiled over the next several pages are changing many of those perceptions. Hopefully, stories like this – the Most Influential Minority Business Leaders in Arizona of 2016 – will become obsolete in our lifetimes and we will see these men and women strictly for who they are: amazing business leaders that are changing the face of Arizona.

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top minority business leaders Tina Diggs changes course of lives

By GIANNA TRACEY

T

ina Diggs leads her career with love, passion for others and strong dedication to her work.

“Loving others incorporates respect, care, commitment, partnership, reciprocity and energy,” Diggs said.

Her passion lies with education and the interactions she has with students. Since 2014, Diggs has been the executive campus director of Carrington College in Tucson. She said taking the role has allowed her “to continue leading on an administrative level, while building relationships with students on an everyday basis.”

To get to her current position, Diggs has taken many different steps in her career path. And, being a minority never ceased her dedication to being and doing more.

“Being a minority in this industry has given me the drive to make a difference and be adaptable to different situations,” Diggs said.

She started out as a counselor for runaway youth and worked at a drug and alcohol treatment facility. She began to notice her passion for education as she shifted to career counseling and being a psychology instructor.

“Although I didn’t begin my career in education, I have always seen myself as an educator,” Diggs said.

She is attracted to education because, “you have the ability to change one’s thinking,” Diggs said.

“If you can influence a student’s thinking, you can change their behavior and in turn change their family and their community.”

The “sweet spot” for Diggs is seeing the development and progress her students make as they pursue their education at Carrington.

“If a leader can inspire those around them, they can make a world of difference,” Diggs said.

COMMUNITY LEADER: Dr. Tina Diggs is executive director of Carrington College.

PROVIDED IMAGE

David Adame President and CEO Chicanos Por La Causa

Nishant Anand, MD Chief medical officer Banner Health Network

Nicole Davis Member Baskin Richards

Adam leads CPLC,which provides political and economic empowerment to people to learn the skills and develop the resources necessary to become selfsufficient, offering a hand-up rather than a hand-out. CPLC’S areas of focus are economic development, education, health and human services and housing.

Anand, formerly senior medical director for Banner, was named chief medical officer in June 2015. Anand is an accomplished physician leader at Banner Health, and is board-certified in emergency medicine. Anand is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Davis has a track record for counseling senior executives in spearheading operational improvements and developing multi-level strategic partnerships. She was deputy general counsel for former Gov. Janet Napolitano, has been a director for the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce since 2012, and a member of Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton’s African American Leadership Roundtable since 2013.

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top minority business leaders Nicholle Harris is used to breaking barriers

N

icholle Harris is used to breaking barriers.

She is the first person in her family to graduate from college. When she was 8 years old, she told her mother she was going to be a lawyers after watching “LA Law.” Now, Harris has seriously moved the needle in Phoenix for AfricanAmerican female attorneys.

In January, Harris was named a partner at Gust Rosenfeld PLC, which puts the Phoenix native in rarified air. Nationally, only .64% of African-American women lawyers are partners in their law firms. In Phoenix, that number shrinks to less than a quarter of a percentage point.

“During our 95-year history, Gust Rosenfeld distinguished itself by seeking out the most highly skilled attorneys who share a commitment to our clients, the community and Arizona,” said Tom Chauncey, a member of

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

the executive committee of the firm. “Nicholle Harris exemplifies this tradition of dedication to the law and outstanding service.”

Harris joined Gust Rosenfeld in 2012 after serving as assistant attorney general with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Her focus includes municipal law in matters relating to the operations of Arizona cities and towns. She represents clients in negotiating real property transactions, leases, contracts, and intergovernmental agreements, and has special expertise in procurement law, code enforcement, and public records. She also serves on the firm’s Diversity Committee.

But Harris’ road to success wasn’t easy. She was raised is a in a single-parent, low-income, African-American household in the West Valley, got her business degree from the University of Arizona and worked for an advertising agency before going back to law school.

“Even though my mom and dad weren’t college graduates, they always told me I could do anything, they pushed me and they wanted better for me,” Harris said. “So they directed me in that path and I had great mentors and counselors. There was never any doubt in my mind that I would go to college and become a lawyer.”

BREAKING BARRIERS: Nicholle Harris serves on Gust Rosenfeld’s diversity and recruiting committees.

SHAVON ROSE, AZ BIG MEDIA

Nicolle S. Hood General counsel Camelback Partners Group

Leonardo Loo Partner Quarles & Brady

Amin Meredia CEO Sprouts

Hood is the general counsel of Camelback Partners Group, a private equity group which owns several medium sized businesses in the Southwest, including more than 50 Dunkin Donut restaurants in Phoenix, Las Vegas, California and Colorado. She has served on the board of Native American Connections since 2007.

Loo is chair of Quarles’ Business Law Practice Group. He also chairs the board of directors for Chicanos Por La Causa, is on the boards for the Arizona Asian American Bar Association and Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce and serves as general counsel for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Since being named CEO in 2015, Meredia has helped lead Sprouts to earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates. He serves as the steward of one of the largest natural and organic retailers in the country and champion to the company’s passion: to inspire, educate and empower every person to eat healthier and live a better life.

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top minority business leaders Jenny Poon helps others thrive

By SAMANTHA POULS

J

enny Poon has utilized her understanding of the struggles that accompany being an entrepreneur to create a thriving support system known as CO+HOOTS. “The hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is the lonely part of it,” said Poon, founder of CO+HOOTS. “A lot of the time, people walk alone and don’t have a support system to cheer them up if they fail.”

Poon founded CO+HOOTS in 2010 with the idea of creating an environment where people with small business ideas could come to collaborate and gain support. CO+HOOTS is home to graphic designers, architects, website developers and many others.

“We’re more than a space,” said Poon. “We’re a group of like minded people who are hell-bent on positively impacting our community through businesses, and are focused on improving the startup and entrepreneurial community in Phoenix.”

While Poon said her employees hold a high level of respect for her, she recognizes that every one is human.

“It’s important to feel comfortable being you,” said Poon. “We’re bringing people into our family, and we want them to be amongst people who can be themselves. We want to work with people we can trust.”

As a startup company, Poon is still experimenting with the best ways to find suitable fits for her company. In order to create a comfortable environment, potential employees must undergo a personality test and are asked about their weirdness meter.

“I want an environment where people feel comfortable and there’s a mentality where people can be pushed to try new things,” said Poon.

SEED TO GROW: Jenny Poon is founder and CEO of CO+HOOTS. PROVIDED IMAGE

Sethuraman Panchanathan Senior vice president of knowledge enterprise development | Arizona State University Panchanathan is responsible for advancing research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development at ASU. Panchanathan was the founding director of the School of Computing and Informatics and was instrumental in founding the Biomedical Informatics Department at ASU. Panchanathan’s research interests include ubiquitous computing environments for enhancing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

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Juan Salgado Executive director Phoenix IDA

Lonnie Williams Partner Stinson Leonard Street LLP

In 2015, Salgado earned the Council of Development Finance Agencies’ Excellence Award for Leadership. Under Salgado, the Phoenix IDA has more than doubled its fund balance and increased revenue by $2 million annually for the last three years. Since January 2009, the Phoenix IDA has issued over $1.5 billion in bonds for education, waste management, multifamily housing, healthcare, and manufacturing projects.

Williams, a graduate of Yale, is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America. Fellowship is extended by invitation only to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.

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HSMAI ARIZON CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The Arizona Chapter of HSMAI’s board of directors, which was photographed at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, includes, back row from left: Wendy Johnson, SuperShuttle/ExecuCar; Oscar Mastrantuono, Phoenix Suns; Stephanie aLiegeois, Café Bon Appetit at the

Musical Instrument Museum (MIM); Erik Dorr, GCommerce Solutions; Aime Brewbaker, Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon Ride Company; Zachary Singh, Susan G. Komen Central and Northern Arizona; and Kelly Murphy, CMP, CHME, Phoenix Convention Center and Venues. Front row, from left: Joanne Winter, executive director; Suzanne Hagberg, The Desert Belle; Rochelle Barton, TopGolf Gilbert. Not pictured: Michelle Huebner, CMP, WeKoPa Resort & Conference Center.

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LEADING THE CHARGE: Kelly Murphy, CHME, CMP, is a marketing specialist, social media manager and content developer for the Phoenix Convention Center & Venues. Murphy is the current president of the Arizona Chapter of the the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) PHOTO BY MIKE MERTES, AZ BIG MEDIA

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Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International 2016

Murphy’s New president of the Arizona Chapter of HSMAI says education is the key to using digital to grow the industry

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

A

rizona was quite a change from the cold New England winters Kelly Murphy experienced growing up. But one thing wasn’t lost in Murphy’s move west: her ability to succeed at whatever she tried, including the hospitality indistry.

“I took a job as an administrative assistant at a small airport hotel in Tempe and soon after was promoted to sales manager,” Murphy said. “I was brand new to hotel sales, so my market was a typical newbie mix of SMERF (social, military, education, religious and fraternal groups), entertainment and sports. Every day brought a new challenge and I got hooked on the fast pace, the diversity of my clients and the hospitality community.”

Now a marketing specialist for the Phoenix Convention Center & Venues, Murphy is also president of the 250-member Arizona Chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Established in 1968, the Arizona Chapter is the second largest chapter in the U.S. and was honored as the 2011 International “Chapter of the Year.”

Az Business met with Murphy to talk about her industry and where she hopes to guide the Arizona Chapter of HSMAI. Az Business: How has your membership in HSMAI impacted you professionally?

Kelly Murphy: Joining HSMAI was one of the best decisions I made early in my hospitality career. It has been an invaluable resource for education, mentorship, lead generation and networking. I was new in town, so it also exposed me to venues, areas around the Valley and activities that I’m not sure I would have been exposed to if I hadn’t joined the association.

AB: How has the presence of mega events — the 2015 Super Bowl, the 2016 College Football Championship Game — impacted the hospitality industry in Arizona?

KM: We are so lucky to have Arizona in the international spotlight during these mega events.

Last year, Super Bowl XLIX was a huge draw to the Valley and was covered by an estimated 5,000 media outlets. The Arizona Organizing Committee recently reported that the 2015 College Football Playoff had an estimated 200,000 visitors in the downtown Phoenix footprint, not including events at the Glendale stadium and around town. These mega events create demand for hotel rooms, dining options, shopping and special events in and around our great state. We are looking forward to seeing what the NCAA Men’s Final Four will bring in 2017.

AB: What trends do you see emerging in the industry?

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HSMAI 2016 KM: I see a trend toward digital marketing taking a greater role in strategic marketing plans. There are so many opportunities for online visibility and engagement through mobile optimized email campaigns, digital display advertising, content engagement, search engine optimization (SEO) and low cost, highly targeted social media opportunities, just to name a few. Digital is a constantly

of those challenges for its members?

KM: One of our chapter’s goals is to provide excellent education programs that both inform and engage our participants. Our topics are relative to current industry trends and best practices for adapting and thriving in the ever-changing and competitive hospitality industry. We hope that everyone walks away from our monthly education programs having learned practical tools that can be immediately applied in their workplaces. We have members that are both seasoned professionals and members that are new to the industry. It’s important to us that we balance our programs so that they are relevant to all of our hospitality and supplier members.

AB: What sets the hospitality industry in Arizona apart from anywhere else in the world?

KM: In just over an hour, you can drive from Phoenix to the Red Rocks of Sedona and continue through the beautiful pines of Northern Arizona on your way to the Grand Canyon. In the Greater Phoenix Valley, you can run, bike and hike on over 40,000 desert and mountain parks and preserves, take in a round of golf, go boating on our lakes or sit back and enjoy a sunset that is so vibrant and beautiful it could take your breath away.

AB: As president of HSMAI, what goals have you set for this year?

KM: At our leadership retreat in late 2015, I shared with the team that I would like our focus in 2016 to be planning relevant and informative education programs, membership growth and community outreach with our charity of the year. Follow through is key to achieving these goals, so I am fortunate to have such a dedicated and hardworking leadership team.

“...I see a trend toward digital marketing taking a greater role...” changing medium, so it’s important to invest in opportunities that fit your business model and use the massive amounts of analytics that are available to measure conversions, user experience and return on investment.

AB: What challenges does the hospitality industry face?

KM: The August 2015 STR Report projected growth in both hotel occupancy and RevPAR in 2016. Simply put, the business will be there. The challenge falls with gaining market share and adapting to consumer needs. Consumers have more choices than ever and their demands are on the rise, so strong revenue management strategies, creative targeted marketing campaigns and customer service that rivals your competition will be some of the keys to success in 2016.

AB: How does HSMAI alleviate some 70

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About HSMAI What it is: The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is a global organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry.

With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines, as well as connecting its members with customers. The Arizona Chapter was established in 1968 and is the second largest chapter in the U.S. Information: hsmai-az.org

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The tech effect How can the hospitality industry translate mobile technology into satisfied customers and increased profits?

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By KAIA EVANS

ofile r P r e b

Mem

Aimee Brewbaker Director of sales Rainbow Ryders Strength of HSMAI: “I feel confident in saying our chapter’s greatest strength in this area is its membership. Spanning through the greater Phoenix area, they are our biggest advocates and our leadership works diligently to reinforce the ‘team’ aspect in this chapter. It takes a village and ours is only growing.”

Impact of HSMAI: “Being around the leading industry professionals not only connects me with decision makers in their field, but also motivates my drive for professional success in my career. I have connected with individuals and been presented opportunities that otherwise would not have been exposed to without my HSMAI membership.”

HSMAI highlight: “The people I have met and the relationships I have built. I was new to Arizona when I started my membership just two years ago and from the first meeting I attended to now, everyone is just as welcoming and encouraging. I’ve found my hospitality family in HSAMI.”

T

oday’s ubiquity of mobile devices has revolutionized the way consumers make their decisions. According to an October 2015 Pew Research study, 68 percent of Americans have smartphones and 48 percent have tablets.

Consumers are increasingly using these devices to plan trips, make reservations and read and write reviews. Therefore, the development of an effective mobile strategy is crucial to success in the hospitality industry, experts say.

Gone are the days of thumbing through travel guides, spending hours researching the ideal hotels, activities and restaurants before a business or personal trip. Today’s travelers are using websites and mobile applications for fast decision making.

Valley hospitality businesses are already implementing mobile strategies to better reach their target audiences. The Glendale Convention and Visitors Bureau, for example, has embraced numerous mobile tools to promote the West Valley region, Lorraine Zomok according to Lorraine Zomok, president and CEO of Visit Glendale.

“Utilizing mobile to drive the bureau’s messaging has tremendously widened our scope to reach untapped markets with a new voice in real time,” she says. “The emergence of mobile tools has provided us the opportunity to market to large global audiences with a quick turnaround time for unique creative campaigns, niche messaging and event-based outreach.”

Zomok says the Glendale CVB utilizes multiple social media platforms — such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and blogs — to drive the bureau’s tourism messaging.

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HSMAI 2016 Aside from establishing a presence on the fundamental social media platforms, the Glendale CVB has also employed additional mobile marketing strategies, such as social media contests.

Social media contests can help businesses increase their online following and can also provide the opportunity to interact with fans and gain content for future campaigns.

From Twitter hashtag contests to Instagram photo contests, there are many opportunities for creative marketing through social media, experts agree.

Zomok also added that the Glendale CVB plans to increase their site prospecting and retargeting efforts in 2016.

Site prospecting and retargeting are both forms of online advertising. Site prospecting targets potential consumers who have not yet

visited a specific website.

Retargeting, on the other hand, targets potential consumers who have already visited a website — which is achieved by employing “cookie” files that store information about user activity — and then displays advertisements on other websites to users that have shown some engagement with the original website.

With this increase in mobile activity also comes a wealth of data about consumer behavior. Mobile analytics can be a vital instrument in up-selling, pricing optimization and measuring the success of marketing campaigns, experts say.

Additionally, social media can be used to encourage two-way communication with consumers to better

les

Profi r e b m Me

Lynn Casebere Director of catering The Clubhouse at Tonto Verde Strength of HSMAI: “HSMAI brings people in the hospitality industry together with a wide range of educational programs and networking activities. As the most award-winning chapter in this international organization, we have also won awards from affiliated organizations for innovation, community outreach and on-going special events.

These awards recognize not only the association but its members and promote the industry.”

Impact of HSMAI: “Because of my involvement with HSMAI, I have met many people in the hospitality industry that I would never have known otherwise. My leadership experiences and the opportunity to take advantage of its educational programs have given me more confidence and helped me grow personally and professionally.”

HSMAI highlight: “Being recognized by my peers when I received the award for the 2015 Hospitality Sales & Marketing Professional of the Year was an honor. This was my last year on the HSMAI-Arizona Chapter board of directors as immediate past president and capped off 10 years of various leadership roles.”

Sukki Jahnke Global account manager Hotels for Hope Strength of HSMAI: “The membership is its strength. Those within the Arizona Chapter of HSMAI are constantly looking to improve the processes in how we promote the properties, activities and destinations within the state and region. We accomplish that goal through finding best practices in education, networking and promotion within our organization.”

Impact of HSMAI: “HSMAI has increased both my knowledge and my profession network in the Phoenix hospitality market. My involvement has been rewarding on both a professional and personal level in the two short years I’ve lived in Phoenix.”

HSMAI highlight: “My highlight has to be the recent award ceremony where my committee was recognized as the best of the year. We worked very hard to set and then reach our goals and went beyond our own expectations.”

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HSMAI 2016 les

Profi r e b m Me

Lily Mockerman CHRM, CRME, CHIA

President and CEO Total Customized Revenue Management Strength of HSMAI: “The Arizona chapter of HSMAI has done a fantastic job of uniting professionals across the state, beyond just Metro Phoenix. Promoting cross memberships with other tourism organizations has helped the industry work together more cohesively.”

Impact of HSMAI: “I was originally introduced to HSMAI through a college organization at Johnson & Wales University.

Over the years I have been with HSMAI, their dedication to networking and lifelong learning has kept me current and relevant in my field.”

HSMAI highlight: “I look forward every year to attending the Revenue Optimization Conference and learning cutting-edge techniques and ideas to move my business forward. I look forward to bringing my knowledge back to my chapter each year and helping local chapters further embrace revenue management learning as well.”

Tiffany Vuk Director of regional marketing Best Western International

understand their needs.

Zomok also emphasizes the importance of using social media to open up communication.

“The bureau works closely with members and partners to bring their voice(s) to the conversation through guest blogs, social messaging, a mobile app featuring a customer loyalty program and push messaging,” she says.

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What does all this mean for the tourism industry? Experts say hospitality businesses can capitalize on the mobile movement by developing applications and websites that are mobile-friendly, using analytics to evaluate consumer behavior and establishing a proactive social media strategy to drive messaging and monitor user-generated content.

Strength of HSMAI: “I am especially proud to be part of the Arizona Chapter as the members have always been so supportive and there to help with industry related needs whether it’s through charitable organized functions, the Annual Chinese Auction event or the monthly networking learning luncheons.”

Impact of HSMAI: “HSMAI is a comprehensive network of Industry professionals. I frequently refer to HSMAI’s industry related training offerings to keep abreast of current industry business trends: most recently obtaining the Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer certification.”

HSMAI highlight: “HSMAI is a solid industry player. I know that I can count on HSMAI’s network of resources to help me stay relevant and informed.”

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GUN As Luke Air Force Base turns 75, its commander reflects on its impact on the past and future

By MICHAEL GOSSIE

B

rig. Gen. Scott L. Pleus looks like he could win a marathon or a UFC championship on a whim and on the same day.

“There’s a reason fighter pilots all look the same,” Pleus says. “We are all about the same height. We are all about the same size. It’s because each of us are hand-picked to do what we do and what we do takes a level of fitness and physicality that produces the best fighter pilots.”

Pleus commands the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, which is celebrating its 75th year of training the world’s most elite fighter pilots.

Pleus is leading Luke as it transitions to become the sole pilot training center for the F-35, the Air Force’s newest multi-role aircraft.

Pleus, who took over as commander at Luke in June 2014, sat down with Az Business to talk about what it’s like to fly a $110 million

F-35 and how he views Luke’s impact on Arizona.

Az Business: Luke will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. What is Luke’s greatest impact?

Brig. Gen. Scott L. Pleus: You have to start at the

beginning. Luke Field started in 1941 and we’ve produced 58,000-plus fighter pilots for the United States Air Force since we started. When we started, there wasn’t much to the West Valley.

There was just a little field out here with some airplanes flying around. Over the years, as the base has grown, the region has grown with it.

AB: What separates Luke from other Air Force bases?

SP: The interesting thing about Luke Air Force Base is the community support we have. It’s really second to none.

I’ve been to a lot of Air Force bases in my career — 26 years and 15 different bases — and our community here really takes care of the airmen in a

1945: During World War II, Luke Field was the largest fighter training base in the Army Air Forces, graduating more than 12,000 fighter pilots and earning the nickname, “Home of the Fighter Pilot.”

1918: During an 18-day period in which he flew only eight days, 2nd Lt. Frank Luke, Jr., a Phoenix native, destroys 18 enemy aircraft, becoming the first aviator awarded the Medal of Honor 84

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1941: In March, Del Webb Construction Company breaks ground on Litchfield Park Air Base. In June, the base is renamed Luke Field for 2nd Lt Frank Luke, Jr.

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO

SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS: Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, places on the helmet during his first F-35 sortie flight at Luke Air Force Base on March 18, 2015.

1951:

1957:

In response to need for fighter aircrews generated by Korean Conflict, Luke is removed from the inactive list and designated as Luke Air Force Base, part of the Air Training Command (ATC) under the reorganized United States Air Force.

Luke AFB joins the supersonic age when the F-100 Super Sabre is assigned to the installation.

1953: The 3600th Air Demonstration Team is officially established at Luke and is known as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. The squadron operated F-84G Thunderjets, as the aircraft had to be able to show how good training made a typical aircraft easy to handle.

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY way I haven’t seen other bases do. I think it has to do with the fact that we are such a big Air Force base and so many of our airmen live in the surrounding West Valley communities. I think that’s why the relationship has grown over the years.

As far as Luke’s impact on the Air Force, since the 1990s, Luke Air Force Base has produced 95 percent of the F-16 fighter pilots for the entire United States Air Force. Now, we are about to start producing 100 percent of the F-35 pilots for the United States Air Force.

AB: How does that community support impact you?

SP: It makes my job super easy because when people come here, they know this Air Force base is supported by the community. When spouses and children are coming, they know the schools are great. The support networks are great. The housing is wonderful. The weather is the best on the planet.

So it takes away all those additional stress factors when someone is moving into a new location. The reputation of Luke Air Force Base as being family friendly is well known throughout the Air Force.

AB: Why has Arizona been such an effective location for Luke Air Force Base?

SP: When they first thought of the idea of putting an Air Force base in Arizona, they looked at the weather patterns and got that right. The other thing we have that other places in the country don’t have is the unbelievable air space. We have the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, which is located south of the base about 80 miles away on the United StatesMexican border. It is roughly the size of New Jersey.

It’s a national treasure to have that big of a piece of air space to train in. We also have three additional

air space or military operating areas that we use on a day-to-day basis that allows us to be as big of a base as we are without impacting any of the civilian flying that happens in the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

AB: How has Luke had to grow and evolve over the last few years to provide training for F-35 pilots and maintainers?

SP: From an infrastructure standpoint, we had to make some modifications, but very few. The runway complex was already suited for F-35 operations.

All of our ramp space where we park the airplanes was already fit for F-35s. The main things we’ve had to do were upgrades to our communications infrastructure to make sure we have the right kind of Internet connectivity so the airplane can talk with the computers because it is an electronic airplane. The other thing we’ve done is build a couple new facilities, mostly for the training aspect. We have a new academic training center we finished in 2015 and that houses 12 new F-35 simulators and all the academic rooms required. That’s probably the biggest change we’ve had to do to the base.

AB: You flew the base’s first F-35 student flight about a year ago. How have you been able to get F-35 training up to speed so rapidly?

SP: It really started a few years ago with a couple Wing commanders before me. They put the dominoes in place to make sure we were going to be ready for our first student training sortie. It goes back to making sure we had the simulators ready to go, the new academic training center ready to go, the right pilots with the right skill set and our jets arriving on

1964: Luke continues its tradition of providing fighter training for allied nations when an F-104 program for German air force pilots and an F-5 program for pilots from other nations begins.

1958:

1971:

The base was transferred from Air Training Command to Tactical Air Command.

The base receives the F-4C Phantom II and assumes its role as the main provider of fighter pilots for Tactical Air Command and fighter forces worldwide.

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

time. It was just a natural maturation process at that point. The airmen that are the engine behind making sure the mission gets done have worked extremely hard to make sure that all those key pieces fell into place so we were ready to do that very first training sortie. We hit the ground running and have continued to build on that as we get closer to our max capacity when we will have 144 F-35s here.

AB: How big a win was it for Luke to land F-35 training?

SP: Bringing the F-35 here became a natural choice. When you combine the weather, the air space, the little need for infrastructure changes, it became a very obvious choice. For 25 years, Luke Air Force Base was training just F-16 pilots. As we transition from F-16s to F-35s, it’s a natural progression to make Luke the premiere F-35 training base for the entire United States Air Force.

AB: How have you been able to so effectively

balance F-35 training and F-16 training?

SP: We have two squadrons of F-16 trainers that are located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico that still work for me at Luke Air Force Base. We have two more squadrons here at Luke that continue to do F-16 training. From that standpoint, nothing really changed except we moved some airplanes to another location. The way we do training has been tried and true and we’ve been doing it for a long time, so changing a location didn’t really make a difference to us as to how we continued to funnel pilots through, get them trained and get them ready for combat.

AB: What’s the biggest difference between flying an F-16 and an F-35?

SP: The easiest way to explain it is they are both fighter aircraft. They are both high performance. The difference is in whether you can see them on the radar. An F-16 can be seen by enemy radar very easily.

1987: The reserve function at Luke changes when the 302nd Special Operations Squadron deactivates its helicopter function and the 944th Tactical Fighter Group is activated to fly the F-16C/D.

1974:

1982:

1991:

The first of the “Superfighters,” the F-15 Eagle, is assigned to the base.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon comes to Luke and fighter pilots begin training in the new F-16 aircraft Feb. 2,1983.

A decision to make Luke AFB the service’s primary F-16 training base leads to the reassignment of the F-15 and four years later, in 1995, the F-15E is reassigned.

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Even though they look about the same size, the radar is not going to see the F-35. Nobody knows it’s there.

That’s the low observable, stealth capabilities of the F-35. The second difference is in the F-16, I had a lot of different sensors onboard the aircraft, a targeting pod, a radar. All of those things are presented to me as a pilot as separate displays. All of these things had to be brought together in my own mind to create a three-dimensional picture of what the world was.

In the F-35, everything is presented to you in one screen. When you combine that with the avionics of

the helmet, you have a 360-degree view of the world all the time. It provides information to you as the pilot that allows you can make simple decisions as to whether or not that is a target you want to engage or not. That is the true definition between fourthgeneration legacy fighters — F-16s, F-15s, A-10s, F-18s — and a fifth-generation fighter — the F-35.

AB: Luke is becoming the world’s premier F-35 training base. How do you balance and manage training pilots from all over the world?

SP: We’ve been training people from all over the world

1994: After 24 years at Luke, the 58th Fighter Wing is replaced when the 56th Fighter Wing, one of the most highly decorated units in USAF history, is reassigned from scheduled-to-close MacDill AFB, Florida, to Luke AFB.

1994: The first female fighter pilot in USAF history, 1st Lt Jeannie M. Flynn, completes F-15E basic course with the 555th Fighter Squadron.

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1996: President Bill Clinton visits Luke, the first presidential visitor since President Gerald Ford visited the base in 1974.

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Learn how quickly you can earn your degree (855) 428-7693 | gcu.edu/lukeafb Grand Canyon University is a proud participant in the Post-9/11 Yellow Ribbon Program Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. (800-621-7440; http://hlcommission.org/) For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website at www.gcu.edu/disclosures. Please note, not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities. Program availability is contingent on student enrollment. 16MIL0026

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY at Luke Air Force Base almost since we started in 1941.

We’ve trained all nationalities of fighter pilots through the years. It’s really not a big deal for us to continue that tradition. The community support has always been here for our international partners as well. When I talk about about relieving stressors for people who are moving to Phoenix that are from the United States, imagine if you’re coming in from another country. The reputation of Luke Air Force Base is well known throughout the entire fighter community. International pilots are treated just like our American counterparts.

AB: Luke’s training program is expected to grow rapidly through 2024. In what areas do you expect to see that rapid growth?

SP: What we have done up until this point is focus primarily on training instructors that will stay at Luke Air Force Base. We have been accepting American pilots and international pilots in lots of different types of fighter airplanes, so their previous background was A-10, F-16, F-15, F-15E, F-18 and so there was a lot of varied background and they’re all coming here. Up until (this month), they have been staying here. We haven’t really been producing pilots for the Air Force operational units. Starting this month, we will start producing pilots for Hill Air Force Base. It’s a transition from a more transient student population. They’re going to come here, move here, live for for three or four years and then stay as instructor pilots. That’s the biggest change I see.

AB: How has Luke’s growth and evolution impacted the growth and prosperity of the surrounding communities?

2000 Luke produces its 50,000th fighter training graduate since 1941 as 1st Lt. Joshua G. Padgett completes the basic course with the 62d Fighter Squadron.

SP: As the base has continued to grow, so has the West Valley. As Luke expanded its mission, you also started to see more jobs and housing move into the West Valley. The City of Phoenix found that Luke Air Force Base has a $2.2 billion annual economic impact, so you cannot argue with the fact that we are a huge part of the economy.

AB: What do you see as Luke’s strengths?

SP: Families like to come here. I think the weather plays a big role in that. From a mission standpoint, access to the amazing air space we have makes Luke an absolute jewel. From the bigger perspective, Luke has always been on the cutting edge of training the latest and greatest fighter pilots. Bringing the F-35s here gives the base that much more ability to prove itself as always being forward thinking and always training the best and the brightest.

AB: What aspect of leading Luke gives you the most pride?

SP: My youngest son was born while I was a young lieutenant at Luke Air Force Base early in my career.

To come back as the commander is a dream come true. That is the easiest way to describe it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have the opportunity to be a commander and come back to Phoenix. But the thing that gives me the most pride is the 5,500 people that come to work each and every day to produce the sound of freedom. Every single person at this base understands how important their individual contribution is to producing F-35 and F-16 sorties so we can train those fighter pilots. The pride and professionalism that each and every one of them displays is truly inspiring to watch.

2001: Terrorist attacks in New York and Washington result in the highest level of force protection at Luke, launching 27 combat air patrol missions over Phoenix.

2011 It is announced that the F-35 Lightning II will replace the F-16 as the primary training aircraft at Luke. On July 16, 2013, the Air Force announces that Luke AFB will house a total of 144 F-35A Lightning IIs. 92

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2015: Luke Air Force Base ushers in a new era as it officially changes its mission to include training for F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF LUKE AIR FORCE BASE. Desert Diamond West Valley salutes our neighbors at Luke Air Force Base. And as our way of saying thank you for serving our country with pride and honor, we’re introducing the Tribute Card, the Rewards Card for active duty, retired, and veteran members of the U.S. military. Exclusive benefits include 10 dollars in Free Play on the 1st and 15th of each month and invitations to special events.

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*See the Rewards Center for details. Must be 21. Desert Diamond West Valley Rewards Card necessary to participate. Management has the right to alter/cancel without notice.

Please play responsibly. An Enterprise of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

Luke AFB facts and figures The base Located west of Phoenix, Luke Air Force Base is home to the 56th Fighter Wing, the largest fighter wing in the world and the Air Force’s only active-duty F-16 training wing. As part of Air Education and Training Command, and home to 23 squadrons with both F-35A Lightning II aircraft and F-16s, the 56th graduates more than 400 F-16 pilots and 300 air control professionals annually. The wing is also responsible for three additional squadrons under the 54th Fighter Group located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, where F-16 training will move as Luke AFB transitions to become the sole pilot training center for the F-35A, the Air Force’s newest multi-role aircraft.

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Additionally, the 56th Fighter Wing oversees the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field and is steward of the Barry M. Goldwater Range, a military training range spanning more than 1.7 million acres of Sonoran desert.

Critical mission elements • Ability to land and take off in either direction at Luke Air Force Base • Ability to access Barry M. Goldwater Range • Flying practice instrument approaches at Aux 1 • Ability for “touch and goes” at Gila Bend Aux Field • Access to and from Gladden/Bagdad Military • Access to statewide military training routes

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

STACI MILLER, U.S. AIR FORCE

FLYING HIGH: The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform a flyover during opening ceremonies for the Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Members of the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard also performed during the national anthem.

Barry M. Goldwater range

Called a “national treasure” by military expert the range offers highly flexible joint service training, realistic combat replications and air-to-air and air-to-ground training. The range offers 57,000 cubic miles of airspace — roughly the size of New Jersey.

Luke senior leadership

Brig. Gen. Scott L. Pleus is the 56th Fighter Wing commander at Luke Air Force Base. Gen. Pleus commissioned in 1989 through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He is a command pilot with more than 2,300 hours. Pleus previously commanded Luke’s 63rd Fighter Squadron, the 611th Air and Space Operations Center, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; and the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. Prior to his current assignment, he was the executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff at the Pentagon.

• Colonel David Shoemaker, 56th Fighter Wing Vice Commander • Colonel William C. Bailey, 56th Operations Group Commander • Colonel Ricky L. Ainsworth, 56th Maintenance Group Commander • Colonel James K. Kossler. 56th Mission Support Group Commander • Colonel Maureen A. Charles, 56th Medical Group Commander

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• Colonel Jeffrey R. Jenssen, 54th Fighter Group Commander • Chief Master Sergeant John M. Mazza, 56th Fighter Wing Command Chief

In 2015, Luke Air Force Base: • • • • • • •

Graduated 425 pilots Produced 317 crew chiefs Graduated 81 intelligence specialists Flew 16,493 F-16 sorties and 193 F-35 sorties Flew more than 21,579 F-16 and 287 F-35 flying hours Deployed 323 Airmen Volunteered 100,000 hours in community

Luke’s economic impact • • • • • •

Direct: $653 million Indirect: $1.1 billion Induced: $333 million Total economic impact in Arizona: $2.17 billion LUKE’S LATEST NEWS Luke’s next Air Show is Apr. 2-3, 2016. Luke’s F-35s and F-16s will be featured.

• The F-35 program took its first step forward integrating partner nations with the arrival of the first Australian F-35 Dec. 18, 2014, at Luke. Almost a year later, the next big international step for the program came when two Italian pilots completed their first flight in an F-35 on Nov. 5.

• Luke will be home to 144 F-35As.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Luke Air Force Base earned the 2015 Hero Award

Be like Luke Air Force Base and save lives!

The Hero Award is United Blood Services’ Highest Honor for Volunteer Blood Drive Coordinators

Thank you for all that you do to save lives in Arizona through blood drives.

United Blood Services would like to partner with you to hold blood drives at your workplace or where you meet.

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PR@bloodsystems.org 480-675-5631

When it Comes to Water, Our FoCus is Clear.

Every day we keep you connected to the things that matter – like clean water for homes and businesses in the West Valley. At EPCOR Water, being a water and wastewater utility is more than providing a service. Your community is our home, too, and taking care of our water resources is serious business.

Learn more about water in the West Valley and Arizona by visiting epcor.com.

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The G-force is with the West Valley

By AMANDA VENTURA

A

t any given time, a Glendale or Goodyear resident may be able to look out their window and see fighter jets fly over their yard. Now, the West Valley is opening that window to the world. “(Luke) is a window to the world,” says Joe LaRue, executive vice president of Sun Health. “Every year, hundreds of folks cycle through Luke working, training and learning.”

Luke Air Force Base is located seven miles from Glendale’s business district.

However,

when you’re in an F-35 Lightning II that can go 1,200 miles per hour those lines blur fast.

Luke has been training humans to harness the power of steel birds in the West Valley since 1941, when the base opened during World War II. It has since hosted thousands of pilots, as LaRue said, from all over the world, in what has become the largest fighter pilot training base in the Air Force. Luke’s pilot training mission’s bread and butter is the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, which is 1.8 million acres (that’s nearly the size of New Jersey).

Luke may be host of the most influential Air Force bases in the world, but its wingspan stretches beyond its gates to the cities of the West Valley.

It’s estimated by Maguire Company that Luke has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $2 billion.

Luke’s annual economic impact Direct: $653 million Indirect: $1.1 billion Induced: $333 million Total: $2.17 billion Source: Maguire Company)

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY Community impact However, to economic developers in the West Valley, its influence is priceless.

Ten years ago, the Fighter Country Foundation was formed to support Luke Air Force Base’s military families. Five years ago, West Valley Partners and Fighter Country Partnership launched the Luke Forward campaign to bring the F-35 fighter pilot training program to the base.

The 13 cities of the West Valley came together with a common goal.

“That probably is the most profound result of (Luke),” says Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord. “It made those 13 cities become cooperative and collaborative. They all had the same goal, direction. I don’t know what could have replaced that to bring the cities together.”

The camaraderie model developed over Luke is translating into other obstacles for the West Valley.

“The way the cities and private sector are able to come together to support Luke, they use that model to support other things like water issues,” says Michelle Lawrie, economic development director for Goodyear and former CEO and President of WESTMARC. “I’m a big believer in regionalism. A lot of those problems won’t be solved by cities themselves, and using that model to apply that relationship to other issues, we call it ‘cooper-tition.’”

The West Valley cities work closely with Luke and communication flows freely at quarterly breakfasts.

“It’s the rallying point that the West Valley has in terms of civic pride,” Lawrie says. “It’s a neutral area where all the cities can get together and support Luke…It’s in everything we do. Everything we work toward in terms of what we’re trying to leverage in the West Valley.”

Regional gem Even though the base is technically within Glendale’s city limits, no one thinks about that, says Lawrie. “It’s just ‘the West Valley,’ it transcends those boundaries.”

“The West Valley’s DNA is imprinted with the Luke mission,” says Bill Sheldon, interim president and CEO of WESTMARC. “Many of the cities would not have enjoyed the economic contributions and stability the base has brought as well as the galvanizing effect the shared mission brings.”

He credits much of this to former Glendale mayor Elaine Scruggs.

“Elaine Scruggs was very instrumental in rallying support and awareness around Luke and Luke Forward,” he says. “Many of us who might have remained on the sidelines wrote strong letters of support and helped get the word out through co-workers and other organizations we belong to. Mayor Scruggs certainly deserves high praise for her foresight and dauntless campaigning on this issue.”

If there’s one point the West Valley’s partnerships illustrate, it’s that it takes a village to make a village.

Something people outside of the West Valley don’t understand

Michelle Lawrie

Georgia Lord

Bill Sheldon

Jeff Teestel

about Luke, Lord says, is that it’s a small city.

The base population is estimated to be 8,000 military and Department of Defense civilian employees as well as 6,700 family members. Add in the 70,000 retired military members living in the metropolitan area — and the 4,900 more who come down during “snow-bird” season — and you’re looking at an estimated support base for 85,000 to 133,000.

“The activity of the base and its current and retired employees have brought sustainable economic impact to the West Valley for decades,” says Sheldon. “This stability helped put in place the ability for communities of the West Valley to grow into some of the largest cities in the state of Arizona.”

Economic engine To put those numbers in perspective, the top employers in the West Valley, according to Maricopa Association of Governments, are Walmart (3,329 employees), Banner Health (2,876 employees) and Peoria Unified School District (2,265 employees).

“Luke is able to spur development,” says Lawrie, who points to Prime Solutions Group — an aerospace and defense consulting contractor and, more relatively, a spinoff for former Lockheed Martin employees who are making livings despite the sequestration. The company has grown from five to 17 people since receiving two grants in the last three years.

Luke Air Force Base Airshow When: April 2-3 These: Seventy-five Years of Air Power Highlights: The airshow will feature the Air Force’s popular precision flying team, the Thunderbirds and ground displays of the base’s primary fighter jets, the new stealth F-35 Lightning II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which is the type of plane flown by the Thunderbirds.

Information: luke.af.mil 100

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Joe LaRue

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“Lockheed Martin left a foundation to build upon,” Marvin said in a press release about his Air Force grant awarded in July. “Now we have the opportunity to extend the heritage at the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport from sensor integration to new horizons of Sensor Networks of Sensors. Lockheed has been very helpful and supported PSG as an industry sponsor on the recent innovative research award from the Air Force.”

Goodyear hosts 93 percent of the high-noise contour areas around the Southern Departure Corridor, where Luke pilots fly.

Though many residents will tell you the noise doesn’t bother them, Goodyear was aggressive about its approach to buffering the area surrounding this portion of the base in order to keep development from encroaching.

“I think we’ve done very well with the planning and zoning,” Lord says. The city purchased Duncan Farms, a working farm that hosted popular tours on the land over which pilots were flying, to begin taking care of the noise problem.

“We were taking away an area people enjoyed having, but they hung with us and knew the importance of this.”

The nearby Westgate Entertainment District alleviates some of that pressure.

“A day doesn’t go by that we don’t see numerous service men and women from Luke eating at, shopping and going to the movies at Westgate,” says Jeff Teetsel, development manager at Westgate. “As the most convenient and significant entertainment destination near Luke, Westgate embraces its role as a place for military members and their families to unwind and have a good time.”

Roots deepening Luke and Westgate have recently become more intertwined with the base’s decision to build a 3,050-square-foot recruitment center that will open this year.

“That will strengthen the tie and traffic between Luke and Westgate,” he adds.

Those jobs, brought to the region by Luke, are paramount to the areas future, says LaRue. “The West Valley lacks jobs, jobs that pay and jobs that need folks with leading-edge technology, education and training,” he says. “LAFB employs thousands who live, work and play in the West Valley. Some of those folks choose to remain in the Phoenix area, others move on and then return in future years because of the positive time spent in the area. Luke is a great way for folks to get to know Arizona and decide that it is the place for them. Many of the folks that decide to stay and return are highly educated and 102

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trained and improve the overall demographic characteristics of our region.”

Even if Luke hadn’t existed, Lord says the West Valley would have still grown albeit slowly.

“The nature of where we are west of Phoenix with the housing market, the job market and the land, we have a great advantage out here,” she says. “We have the most land mass yet to be developed.

As Phoenix grows, it’s natural that people are going to go east or west. West has more land opportunity. It would have developed.”

With a massive canvas to fill with development, Luke is no longer alone.

“The West Valley communities are becoming even more purposeful in their engagement with Luke and are better positioned to utilize the tremendous talent produced by the base for private sector growth and employment opportunities,” Sheldon says.

As it has been for the last 75 years, the sky’s the limit for the West Valley. All you have to do is open the window.

Luke Air Force Base facts • The 4,200-acre Luke Air Force Base opened in 1941, approximately 20 miles west of Phoenix. In 1995, the city of Glendale annexed Luke AFB as part of its efforts to manage compatible growth around the base.

• Luke AFB is home to the Air Force’s 56th Fighter Wing, the largest fighter wing in the world. The 56th Fighter Wing garrison oversees seven fighter squadrons — The Gamblers, Top Dogs, Spikes, Emerald Knights, Wild Ducks, Top Hats and Black Widows.

• As the only active-duty F-16 training wing in the Air Force, Luke AFB trains more than 50 percent of the Air Force’s fighter pilots and 95 percent of its F-16 pilots.

• The base population includes approximately 8,000 active-duty military personnel and Department of Defense civilian employees and 6,700 family members.

With about 70,000 retired military members living in the metropolitan area (which increases to 119,000 military retirees during snow-bird season), Luke serves a total population approximately 85,000 people. Luke’s total population served increases to more than 133,000 during the winter months.

• The majority of Luke’s personnel live off-base in surrounding West Valley cities.

• Luke airmen receive some of the most comprehensive and realistic training available in the Air Force, including more than 265 hours of classroom training, 55 hours of flight simulator and 80 hours of flight time.

THE CITY OF SURPRISE IS PROUD TO HAVE YOU FLYING OUR SKIES.

surpriseaz.gov

Congratulations Luke Air Force Base

on your 75th Anniversary.

WESTMARC is proud to honor Luke Air Force Base for its history and prowess in our national defense. Luke is the most powerful asset of the West Valley with an economic impact of $2.17 billion annually and a strong community of active and retired military and their families.

The Board of Directors of WESTMARC is proud to introduce the new President and CEO, Sintra Hoffman 14100 N. 83rd Avenue Suite 150 | Peoria, AZ 85381 | ph: (623) 435-0431 | fx: (623) 435-0485 | westmarc.org

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Arizona’s destination for news, information and innovation

AZBIGMEDIA.COM

PEOPLE TO KNOW

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602.277.6045 | azBIGmedia.com 104

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

Sky’s the limit

West Valley leaders look for ways to further enhance relationship with Luke AFB

L

uke Air Force Base sits on thousands of acres in the West Valley. It brings more than $2 billion in economic impact to Arizona every year. And it’s a point of pride among the U.S. military as well as a respected fighter pilot training base for our allies around the world.

It is what has turned the largely agricultural Wild West of Arizona into a tech hub for aerospace and defense contractors.

“Without Luke, the West Valley may have remained largely agricultural for much longer,” says Bill Sheldon, the interim CEO and president

of WESTMARC. “It remains an attractor of businesses from tech to retail because of the direct impact of Luke’s employees and families and the extended impact of the businesses that grew up to serve the growing community.”

Most city officials and economic developers in the region will tell you Luke and the West Valley are synonymous.

“They grew together,” says Michelle Lawrie, economic development director for Goodyear and former CEO and president of WESTMARC. “This wasn’t the chicken and the egg. Over time, they’ve grown together. It’s been a real AB | March - April 2016

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Life after the military ENERGIZING VETERANS: Building on a

JAMES HENSLEY, U.S. AIR FORCE

HIGH NOTE: Airmen gather around the stage awaiting the arrival of Fall Out Boy and Charli XCX for the VH1 concert at Luke Air Force Base in 2015. Nick Lachey hosted the concert, which was held to show support for the troops.

partnership. I can’t imagine the West Valley without Luke Air Force Base.”

The base trains hundreds of pilots a year. While it’s bustling with the roar of “supersonic” F-35s, city officials are looking decades in the future of how to continue to support Luke.

“It never stops; Luke has to be present in the communities continuously,” says Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord. “They’re never going to be disconnected.

I went with (then-Gov. Jan Brewer) and (then-Glendale Mayor) Elaine Scruggs (to Washington D.C.), when we were trying to get the F-35s here. (The Air Force generals) were astounded. There wasn’t another base in the U.S. that had support like Luke has had.

It has broken all records …

21,000 residents supported it and more than a thousand attended public hearings.”

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The future, though, isn’t lost on Lord.

“The military has a turnover,” she says. “The big promotion right now, when these vets are ready to get out, is let’s give them an opportunity to go to school or in the job market. They’re welltrained and disciplined. That will continually grow as the Air Force makes big changes in the warfare and how many will be in the service.”

Lord explains that a lot of former military members go to the police force and fire departments in the West Valley.

“If they haven’t bought a house already, they will,” she adds.

“People don’t realize what a part of the community it is,” Lawrie says. “They may think it’s segmented away. I think people don’t realize how connected it is to decisions being made on the city and regional level.”

long tradition of support for veterans, Salt River Project has expanded its efforts to recruit, hire and retain veteran employees. SRP is expanding its current policy to provide full pay for up to two years for employees called to active duty.

In addition, SRP launched a new webpage — srpnet.com/militaryjobs — that will provide a job skills translator that will make it easier for veterans to learn how their education and experience in the military qualifies them for specific SRP jobs. The goal of the initiative is to effectively utilize the available pool of veteran and military candidates to benefit SRP’s workforce and retain them once they are hired.

SHOW OF FORCE: Rep. Mark A. Cardenas,

a Democrat representing Legislative District 19, which covers southwest Phoenix and parts of Goodyear, has filed a bill in the State Legislature that reserves millions of dollars in state procurement contracts for local businesses owned by military veterans. Cardenas said the bill, if passed, would require the Arizona Department of Administration to set aside $180 million in state contracts for local, veteran-owned businesses. Extra revenue from state contracts would allow veteran business owners to hire more of their own, Rep. Cardenas said, helping ease unemployment and homelessness among military veterans.

TASTE OF SUCCESS: Arizona Culinary

Institute is one of a handful of colleges in Arizona which is a certified Arizona Veteran Supportive Campus. Its instructors and staff undergo training twice a year with the Arizona Coalition for Military Families. This program focuses on understanding the unique needs of veterans, appreciating the culture of the military giving veterans the tools necessary to succeed after service.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense recognized Chef Christopher Wolf and Arizona Culinary Institute for its efforts.

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LUKE AIR FORCE BASE PLANES

F-16 Fighting Falcon MISSION: The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-tosurface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, highperformance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.

FEATURES: In an air combat role, the F-16’s maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-tosurface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during nonvisual bombing conditions.

BACKGROUND: The F-16A, a single-seat model, first flew in December 1976. The first operational F-16A

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was delivered in January 1979 to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The F-16B, a two-seat model, has tandem cockpits that are about the same size as the one in the A model. Its bubble canopy extends to cover the second cockpit. To make room for the second cockpit, the forward fuselage fuel tank and avionics growth space were reduced. During training, the forward cockpit is used by a student pilot with an instructor pilot in the rear cockpit.

IN COMBAT: U.S. Air Force F-16 multirole fighters were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm, where more sorties were flown than with any other aircraft. These fighters were used to attack airfields, military production facilities, Scud missiles sites and a variety of other targets.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the F-16 has been a major component of the combat forces committed to the war on terrorism flying thousands of sorties in support of operations Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense), Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom.

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F-35A Lightning II MISSION: The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force’s latest fifth-generation fighter. It will replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt II’s, which have been the primary fighter aircraft for more than 20 years, and bring with it an enhanced capability to survive in the advanced threat environment in which it was designed to operate. With its aerodynamic performance and advanced integrated avionics, the F-35A will provide next-generation stealth, enhanced situational awareness and reduced vulnerability for the United States and allied nations.

FEATURES: The conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A gives the U.S. Air Force and allies the power to dominate the skies – anytime, anywhere.

The F-35A is an agile, versatile, high-performance, 9g capable multirole fighter that combines stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness. The F-35A’s advanced sensor package is designed to gather, fuse and distribute more information than any fighter in history, giving operators a decisive advantage over all adversaries. Its processing power, open architecture, sophisticated sensors, information fusion and flexible communication links make the F-35 an indispensable tool in future homeland defense, Joint and Coalition irregular warfare and major combat operations.

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TECHNOLOGY: The F-35’s helmet mounted display system is the most advanced system of its kind. All the intelligence and targeting information an F-35 pilot needs to complete the mission is displayed on the helmet’s visor. The F-35’s electronic sensors include the Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS). This system provides pilots with situational awareness in a sphere around the aircraft for enhanced missile warning, aircraft warning, and day/night pilot vision. Additionally, the aircraft is equipped with the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS). The internally mounted EOTS provides extended range detection and precision targeting against ground targets, plus long range detection of air-to-air threats.

BACKGROUND: The F-35 is designed to replace aging fighter inventories including U.S. Air Force F-16s and A-10s, U.S. Navy F/A-18s, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18s, and U.K. Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers. With stealth and a host of next-generation technologies, the F-35 will be far and away the world’s most advanced multi-role fighter. There exists an aging fleet of tactical aircraft worldwide. The F-35 is intended to solve that problem.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Since 1941, we've warmly welcomed the men and

women of Luke Air Force Base who proudly served our country. We've celebrated the everyday and your Big Day right here at The Wigwam. As we look back, we look forward to sharing many more moments with you.

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