Elevate AZ | February 2017

National Bank of ArizonaÂŽ

A new year, a new Arizona economy

Forecast 2017 PLUS

WOMEN IN ACTION

Female founders live the entrepreneurial dream

PEORIA IN PROGRESS

The emerging urban city with a small-town feel

WINTER 2017

16 Women in Action

Female founders live the entrepreneurial dream

DEPARTMENTS 02 @NB|AZ

22 Peoria in Progress

What’s happening at National Bank of Arizona

05 AZ WORKS Making Happy Happen

The emerging urban city with a small-town feel

Phoenix nonprofit helps kids dress for success

28 Forecast 2017

06 FOOD & DRINK The Brewmaster

Experts discuss a new year in Arizona’s economy

Local brewery mashes and hops for the perfect beer

08 ARTS & CULTURE A Novel Idea Long-standing local bookstore sticks to its core content

Peoria has a vibrant public art program, which includes such works as “Aureole” by Gordon Heuther located at Centennial Plaza.

10 TRAILBLAZERS Playing for Keeps Recess program gives kids the tools for success in life

12 AZ NONPROFIT Caring Community Support organization ensures ‘no one faces cancer alone’

14 IN THE SPOTLIGHT At NB|AZ, the power of partnership drives business banking

32 EXPERIENCE AZ A moment in Yuma

MORTGAGE | HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT | CREDIT CARD PERSONAL LINE OF CREDIT | AUTO LOAN HAVE MORE TIME TO FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS. TALK TO A BANKER ABOUT HOW TO SIMPLIFY.

PUBLISHER National Bank of Arizona EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jenavi Kasper, jenavi.kasper@nbarizona.com PROJECT EDITOR Rhonda Hoffman, rhonda.hoffman@nbarizona.com MULTIMEDIA PRODUCER Ali Adib, ali.adib@nbarizona.com

Elevate AZ magazine may contain trademarks or trade names owned by parties who are not affiliated with National Bank of Arizona, Zions Bancorporation, or its affiliates. Use of such marks does not imply any sponsorship by or affiliation with third parties, and National Bank of Arizona does not claim any ownership of or make representations about products and services offered under or associated with such marks. Articles are offered for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax, legal, financial or business advice. Please contact a professional about your specific needs and advice. © 2017 ZB, N.A. All rights reserved.

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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Michelle Jacoby, michelle@pb-jcreative.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Nathan Joseph, nathan@responsecreative.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Chris Adams, cwadams@me.com CONTRIBUTORS Sally J. Clasen, Bruce Farr, Leigh Farr, Debra Gelbart, Jake Poinier PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Lipczynski, mark@marklipczynski.com

NATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA® Corporate Center 6001 N. 24th St. Phoenix, AZ 85016 602-235-6000

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ON THE COVER With the new year comes a new economy for Arizona. Find out what the experts have to say about the state’s economic outlook on page 28.

Photo by Mark Lipczynski

in this issue

FEATURES

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curating local gems

NB|AZ elevates opportunities celebrates regional artists forNB|AZ ASU law students

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On the Move MARY HOLMAN, SVP and Credit Solutions Division Manger, has been promoted to Director of Private Banking. In this new role, Holman will join the Executive Management Team and work to strategically grow the private banking business through enhanced services and credit solutions for high net-worth clients.

“Mary is a highly talented and experienced commercial banker.

She will be very successful in this new role, and I’m pleased to make this announcement,” said Mark Young, president and CEO. “Mary is committed to providing leadership that is focused on the clients and communities we serve, and her extensive credit knowledge and commercial background will help positively influence and shape our wealth management and investment strategies.”

Holman joined NB|AZ in March of 2012 as a VP, Credit Solutions Manager, with more than 25 years of banking experience. Her experience includes leading a local start-up bank to $22 million in 12 months, and starting and growing a national technology training company.

Holman has also served on multiple nonprofit boards in leadership positions, including Risk Management Associations; YWCA of Phoenix; National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence; Easter Seals; and the Arizona Kidney Foundation.

Holman is currently the president of the Women’s Financial Group at NB|AZ, on the advisory board of Gabriel’s Angels, and a member of the Scottsdale Sunrise Rotary.

She is a graduate of Scottsdale Leadership Class 24.

EVENTS

slam dunk ALL EYES WILL BE on the Valley of the Sun in April when the top four NCAA basketball teams compete for the championship title. Final Four weekend will be a celebration of student-athletes, basketball and collegiate spirit, and will feature days of fun and entertainment.

Curtis Hansen, NB|AZ Chief Operating Officer, is on the board of directors for the Phoenix Final Four Local Organizing Committee, a nonprofit organization that works with the NCAA and host institution Arizona State University to host the 2017 Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The committee estimates 100,000 visitors to Arizona for the event.

COMMUNITY

Banking on the Future NB|AZ AND A SCORE of employees, friends, family and volunteers helped usher in 2017 at the 46th annual Fiesta Bowl Parade on New Year’s Eve. As the title sponsor, NB|AZ kicked off the festivities with a colorful float themed “Banking on the Future.” Decorated in vibrant colors, the float highlighted the value of our future leaders and the importance of education, especially in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).

Pamela Keefe, NB|AZ Vice President of Nonprofit Banking, shared the honorary car with Laura Capello, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. This year, big brothers and big sisters rode the float together, illustrating their hard work in each area of STEAM.

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

TEP THROUGH the doors of a National Bank of Arizona (NB|AZ) branch and you are immersed in a gallery showcasing the artwork of celebrated local artists. Paintings, photographs and sculptures reflecting Arizona’s rich landscapes and regional culture beautify each of the bank’s 59 branches throughout the state.

“We’re a national bank, but we’re also a community bank,” says Dennis Calik, Manager of Corporate Properties. “In our branches throughout the state, when we’re remodeling or opening a branch, we work with the branch manager to hand-pick a combination of photos and paintings. Customers really like this.”

Supporting local artists is just one more way NB|AZ demonstrates its commitment to the community it serves.

At the Biltmore branch in Phoenix, customers can enjoy the sweeping landscapes of renowned painter Curt Walters.

Known internationally for his stunning depictions of the Grand Canyon, Walters is well known throughout the Southwest. The branch also features paintings by Charles Pabst, a legendary artist whose vivid western landscapes have been displayed in galleries throughout Arizona for 30 years.

Other acclaimed artists featured at NB|AZ include photographers Chad McBride and Michael Fatali.

Patrons of the NB|AZ Sedona branch can enjoy artist Cynthia Rigden’s signature bronze horse sculpture. Having grown up on an 8,000-acre ranch in Arizona, Rigden captures the essence of western life through her stunning sculptures and portraits.

Several of the pieces are oneof-a-kind works that capture the history and culture of the local region.

“In Page, we have a unique piece that reflects the landscape of the region,” says Calik. “When we acquired that building in 2002, there was a 10-by-8-foot wood carving of the Glen Canyon dam.”

The carving is still on display for customers to enjoy a piece of the region’s history.

For customers and employees, having an opportunity to view artwork in the lobby and sculptures in front of their bank makes the experience even more enjoyable.

“In Williams, we had a manager who grew up in the area so we put up old photographs from the late 1800s and 1900s when Williams was a western town,” says Calik.

“We have people who come into the bank who are not locals and it becomes a unique conversation piece.” Leigh Farr

PROMOTIONS

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making happy happen Phoenix nonprofit helps kids dress for success

Brenda Sperduti, CEO and Executive Director, Assistance League of Phoenix

Assistance League of Phoenix provides clothing and school uniforms to about 8,300 children a year, thanks in large part to an all-volunteer workforce.

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workforce makes it all happen. About 200 members contributed 32,000 hours in volunteer time last year, while community volunteers added another 4,000.

Funding for Assistance League of Phoenix comes from several sources. A year after the organization was founded in 1960, the Thrift Boutique was launched as the main source of income. Today’s shop represents about 30 percent of the budget. Volunteers accept donations from the community, and sort, clean, test and repair everything before putting it out on the store floor.

The second major source of funds is the yearly fundraiser.

The 46th annual Celebration of Caring will be held on Sat., April 1 at the Omni Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Montelucia, featuring a cocktail reception, dinner, and silent and live auctions.

In addition to grants and individual donations, Assistance League of Phoenix also receives Brenda Sperduti funding, event sponsorships Assistance League and volunteer support from a of Phoenix long list of corporate partners.

National Bank of Arizona is the newest to join organizations such as Cox Communications, Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, Legacy Foundation, Sundt Corp., Virginia Piper Trust, Helios, Phoenix Thunderbirds, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Executive Council Charities, and Fry’s.

After nearly six decades, Assistance League of Phoenix continues to touch the hearts of kids and volunteers alike.

“When we ask the kids how they’re going to feel when they go back to school with new clothes, across the board, they say ‘happy,’” says Sperduti. “The same thing happens with the volunteers, when they see the difference they’ve made with a child.” Jake Poinier

“ We’re not just a uniform program.

Every child experiences a person and a community that cares about them.”

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

RENDA SPERDUTI, CEO AND executive director of Assistance League of Phoenix, likes to say the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “makes happy happen.” Case in point, Operation School Bell, the headliner of the nonprofit’s six philanthropic programs supporting children and families in the Valley.

“Operation School Bell provides support for children in K-8 so they can attend school ready to learn,” Sperduti says.

“We provide basic clothing—uniforms, tops, bottoms, socks, shoes, underwear, sweatshirts and belts—enough to last the full week. We also provide a personal hygiene kit and, as a bonus beyond the essentials, each child gets to choose a brand-new book that matches their grade level.”

In partnership with more than 85 Title 1 schools in 14 districts in Phoenix and Glendale, Assistance League of Phoenix dressed about 8,300 children last fiscal year.

In March, Operation School Bell will celebrate its 30th anniversary, providing clothing to its 100,000th child.

“The one-on-one interaction our volunteers have with the children, that’s the sweet spot,” Sperduti says. “We’re not just a uniform program. Every child experiences a person and a community that cares about them.”

Assistance League of Phoenix focuses on making the process fun and exciting. “When the kids visit our building in Sunnyslope, we call it ‘going shopping,’” she continues, adding that children are paired up with a volunteer who helps them get measured and picks out clothing in their school colors, and choose a book.

“It’s transformational,” Sperduti says. “Many of them have always been dressed in hand-me-downs, and this is their first time looking in the mirror wearing something new.”

More than three years ago, the organization converted an old city bus into a mobile dressing station for schools that couldn’t arrange transportation to Sunnyslope. Four days a week during the school year, the bus serves 50 kids a day with four private dressing rooms and a shoe station.

“We’re the only Assistance League in the country that takes its show on the road,” Sperduti says proudly.

Behind the scenes, a nearly 100 percent volunteer

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6 Housed in a former tire warehouse in Phoenix, Helton Brewing Co. has transformed into a tasting room and production facility where about 145 kegs of beer are brewed per week.

“It’s easy to make good beer.

It’s another thing to make it over and over again consistently good.”

Brian Helton | Helton Brewing Co.

The Brewmaster

Local brewery mashes and hops for the perfect beer

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“About six years ago, I realized I had gone too far into my career to turn around. I could continue to work for someone else or start my own brewery,” says Helton, who along the way became a certified cicerone, the craft beer industry’s highest designation.

“Everyone is going to tell you that your beer is good, but as a brewer you need to be able to know how a beer should taste and that your palate knows it’s right,” he says of the sensory training that allows him to interpret the particular notes of a beer and its complexities.

Helton Brewing Co. is housed in a 10,000-square-foot building, a former tire warehouse that has transformed into a tasting room and production facility where Helton brews about three times a week and yields 48 kegs per day.

“What is unique and different as a brewing entrepreneur is

that I do a lot of single-hop series,” he says.

At any given time, six or seven beers—such as IPAs, pilsners, milk stouts and Scotch ales—are in rotation at the Helton taproom.

“Our No. 1 seller is the full flight of 4-ounce samples for $12.

It’s a good price point. Beer shouldn’t cost a lot of money,” says Helton.

His brewery also features guest beers, including an ice amber lager sold in collaboration with Flagstaff-based Mother Road Brewery. And he has joined beverage forces with local brewers Wren House Brewing Company and Helio Basin Brewing Co. as part of the Beermuda Series in which craft beer fans can circle a range of brews by taking a shuttle between the participating breweries.

In addition to selling his product to 50 retail clients, Helton

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

RIAN HELTON IS NOT into beverage gimmicks. So don’t expect a signature pour at his eponymous Helton Brewing Co. located at 21st Street and Indian School Road in Phoenix.

What Helton wants to be known for is creating good, quality beer that’s affordable.

“It’s easy to make good beer,” says the brewmaster. “It’s another thing to make it over and over again consistently good. I’m a quality fanatic.”

And Helton, who has a background in environmental science, certainly understands that distinction. He has worked in the brewing industry for most of his adult life, installing equipment and doing setups for other companies. In 2014, he left Rock Bottom Brewery, along with the company’s equipment he bought, to start his own operation.

leverages his equipment by being a contract brewer, a move he views as a sound business strategy.

“I built a brewery for maximum capacity, like a restaurant,” he says.

When the brewery debuted last May, it was a team effort that included family, friends and the brewing community who rallied with a hands-on attitude to help open the doors for his business, according to Helton. And it’s why he likes to return the favor. He hosts sensory tasting and beer pairing classes to teach participants how to develop a taste for craft beer and food enjoyment.

“I’m open to giving advice and helping others in any way I can,” he says of his passion. “I think beer is food.”

Helton credits his wife Lizz for the brewery’s industrial antique look that celebrates repurposing. The high-top tables and bar are made out of salvaged barn and corncrib wood from Indiana.

“We were on a tight budget. Hence the plywood walls,” he jokes of the casual surroundings that pops with bright yellow chairs.

But Helton isn’t overly concerned about the lack of high-end décor—or the absence of TVs in his taproom, where you also can nosh on Belgian waffles, paninis and charcuterie boards with some ingredient nods to local vendors like Schreiner’s Fine Sausage. His goal was to create a gathering place for customers to have conversations and build a sense of camaraderie.

“A brewery should be for the community, a place where you can walk in, have a pint and talk to a friend; help facilitate a connection and meet new people.”

A new beer garden will help Helton cultivate his social beer message. And his growth plan includes the launch of a canning line in the next six months and then a bottling component. In the meantime, Helton just wants to keep making a quality product.

“I don’t expect everyone to walk in and like all my beers,” he says. “If I offer a unique array of styles, you’ll like at least of one them.” Sally J. Clasen

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a novel idea

After four decades in business, Bookmans sticks to its core content

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Bob Oldfather, CEO, Bookmans

Oldfather has capitalized on both factors, creating an environment at Bookmans that caters to the basic human need for social interaction while riding the trends of the moment—all while being customer-centric.

“If customers love Harlequin romances, we’re not here to change their minds,” he says.

Over the years, Bookmans has bought, sold and traded books, music, video games and CDs, as well as musical instruments and sports equipment as part of its entertainment exchange. An online component and store features like Wi-Fi, electric vehicle charging stations, being pet friendly and even a café in one location also have helped enhance the used bookstore experience.

“Change is constant. Most of the things we’ve tried have worked out. We still sell video game cartridges. Things grow organically. We were an Atari computer dealer for a while, too,” says Oldfather. “All businesses have to remain relevant and spend time understanding where they are going.”

While he thinks Bookmans has been a great engine for experiments, what works best for the company is being what it’s always been.

“We’re doubling down on being a bookstore,” says Oldfather, a commitment that includes selling off all of the company’s sports inventory by the end of 2016.

“We’re sticking close to our roots. We’re proud to be a bookseller. A bookstore has a certain energy and cultural significance, a place to find others with similar interests and discover things you didn’t even know you were looking for. And a community that has a bookstore is a better community.” Sally J. Clasen

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

OB OLDFATHER LOVES books…but he’s not in love with them. That emotional distinction is the reason Bookmans, one of the largest used booksellers in the country, has been in business for 40 years.

Oldfather started the first Bookmans location in Tucson four decades ago after paying $1 to his father for Livingston’s Used Books at Broadway and Tucson Boulevard.

At age 25, Oldfather didn’t know anything about books—or retail for that matter—but he promptly changed the name of the store and was officially in the bookselling business.

“The lack of perceived notions of what a bookstore should be served me well,” explains Oldfather, who lives on an orchard farm in Oregon and says his role as CEO is now more philosophical than tactical. “It’s allowed me to make decisions dispassionately.”

Today, Bookmans has 250 employees, operates in six locations throughout Arizona—including Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa and Flagstaff—and is exploring opportunities for store expansion in other states. Oldfather attributes Bookmans longevity to hiring people smarter than himself and an ability to objectively step away from his product line.

While Bookmans has weathered typical growing pains, the nature of the used book industry has made it possible to recover from shifts in the market, according to Oldfather.

“The used model allows us to be a little more flexible than other businesses,” he says.

Like many other brick-and-mortar establishments, Bookmans also has adapted to evolving technology and its effect on flattening access to good and services.”

Oldfather says the changes in the book industry, and in retail in general, have been radical.

“The disruption of the internet means things like books and music are available at a larger level,” he explains. “Amazon, eBay and the like aren’t going away. We like shiny, 3-D objects.

But we also like to be around humans. Look at coffee shops.

They are packed, with everyone using their laptops.”

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g n i y a l P s p e e K r o f

e cycle of th k a e r b to g “We’re tryin ing kids the tools to be poverty by giv unity, and to take that part of a comm us the wrong one.” s right road ver er shav r, k War Chuc ive Directo Chapter t u ona iz E x ec r A ’ orks Playw

tools e h t s d i k m gives or success in life a r g o r p Recess needed f

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saw the change in the kids and how it transferred back into the classroom, and they became huge supporters.”

Playworks teaches social emotional learning skills through play, because that’s when kids are most engaged and ready to listen. Coaches use games to teach students how to talk to each other and teachers, and to resolve conflict using simple tools such as rock-paper-scissors.

“It’s not about funding a recess program—that’s just the place that we’re working to teach kids how to be part of a community,” says Chuck Warshaver, executive director of Playworks’ Arizona chapter.

For Warshaver, the implications carry far beyond the day-to-day. “The big ‘why’ of what we do is about the dropout rate,” he says. “Roughly 50 percent of the kids at Title 1 schools don’t graduate from high school, which equates to a negative economic impact to our state of about $7.6 billion a year. We’re trying to break the cycle of poverty by giving kids the tools to be part of a community, and to take that right road versus the wrong one.”

Founded in 1995 in Oakland, California, Playworks rolled out as a pilot program in Arizona in 2011 at three schools. This year, the program is in more than 50 schools, serving about 32,000 kids a day from Avondale to Mesa, as well as Yuma. In the process, the model has undergone an important shift.

“Originally, it was one coach for each school,” Warshaver says. “But that’s expensive and difficult to scale. In year four, we opened up 12 schools with one coach spending a week a month with the recess team at each of the four schools.

It’s been incredibly successful—the schools loved it because it was less costly for them, and it was easier for us on the fundraising side.”

To expand to 150 schools by 2020, including Tucson and Flagstaff, requires significant fundraising—and the near-term goal is $1 million. On March 2, Playworks is celebrating its five-year anniversary with a Power Breakfast at Talking Stick Arena.

Five local executives are being honored for their support of the organization, including Valley sports legend Jerry Colangelo, Swift Transportation CEO Jerry Moyes, United Healthcare Community Plan CEO Joe Gaudio, Mobile Mini CEO Erik Olsson, and Deborah Bateman, Vice Chairman National Bank of Arizona.

“I spent an afternoon at Loma Linda, and I was so impressed that I became an advocate and supporter,” Bateman says. “If you get out there on the playground and see how these kids are functioning and leading, you recognize how it’s changing the culture and their lives.”

Jake Poinier

Linda at Loma ix Students School in Phoen fits y ne r be ta n e me th Ele reaping as have been rks since it w wo y . of Pla 2 1 0 in 2 launched

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

INCE LOMA LINDA Elementary School in Phoenix implemented an improvement plan in 2012, student behavior has dramatically changed.

“We saw a significant reduction in suspensions and office referrals in those highly structured areas, but our missing piece was still the playground,” says Dr. Stephanie DeMar, the school’s principal.

Through a colleague, DeMar heard about Playworks, a national nonprofit that uses the recess period to teach skills such as respect, empathy and conflict resolution. When she and several of her staff members witnessed Playworks in action, they knew the Loma Linda School would benefit from this program.

The results have been astonishing.

The school, which was racking up about 400 referrals a year from recess (and had been in the thousands before), had just four in the year after implementing Playworks. But the positive effects didn’t stop there: The program has helped decrease absenteeism from 12 to 16 percent to about 3 percent, and teacher turnover from 45 to 50 percent to 10 to 25 percent. Best of all, the academic rating went from Underperforming to an A+ Excellence Award School.

“Playworks was a transformational shift,” says DeMar. “It helped bring community to the entire campus, not just within individual grade levels and classrooms. The teachers

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12 Diagnosed with breast cancer, Kim Hensley has been attending group meetings at Cancer Support Community, a place, she says, where she can connect with other cancer survivors.

CARING COMMUNITY Cancer support organization works to ensure ‘no one faces cancer alone’

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has grown to more than 50 local sites across North America.

Based in downtown Phoenix, Cancer Support Community Arizona opened its doors in 1998 and has served more than 10,000 participants, says Hallie Rexer, the organization’s marketing coordinator in Phoenix. In 2015 alone, more than 11,000 people attended a program, which are all provided free of charge in a home-like, community setting.

“Cancer Support Community’s mission is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action and sustained by community,” Rexer says. “Together we work so that no one faces cancer alone.”

All programs are facilitated by licensed mental health professionals, Rexer continues, including emotional support groups, networking groups for people with specific types of cancer, educational workshops, exercise activities, stress management sessions, lectures by experts in the field of oncology and social gatherings. These are intended to be presented “with laughter, joy and hope,” she says.

Healthy lifestyle activities include yoga, tai chi, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Zumba, cooking classes and many more. Cancer Support Community’s social connections include seasonal potlucks, a coloring club and a holiday light bus tour.

CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY ARIZONA OPENED ITS DOORS IN 1998 AND HAS SERVED MORE THAN 10,000 PARTICIPANTS “We offer specific programming and activities for children, teens and families,” Rexer says. “New this year, we offer programming in Spanish.”

The Youth and Family Program ensures children, teens and their families, friends and caregivers have access to information, support, and health and wellness resources, Rexer says.

“Through our programming, youth ages 5 to 18 with cancer, or who have a sibling or parent with cancer, can participate in activities that teach age-appropriate information about cancer, coping skills to de-stigmatize the diagnosis, dispel myths, discuss treatment effects and how to be a good friend to someone with cancer, and promote healthy communication

and expression of feelings.”

Programs and services are offered to cancer patients with any diagnosis at any stage, and to their families and friends, Rexer adds. Cancer Support Community also welcomes the larger community to join in special events throughout the year, including an annual Tribute Tree Celebration in December, which honors all those who have been on a cancer journey. “All services are provided through the generosity of individual and private contributions,” says Rexer. “A large amount of donations come through fundraising efforts.”

Hensley appreciates the Community attracts participants from all over the Valley.

“People are willing to drive in because it’s so worth it,” she says. Debra Gelbart

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

IM HENSLEY of Gilbert has found a place where other people truly understand what she’s going through.

Diagnosed with breast cancer and lymphoma, Hensley has been attending support group meetings at Cancer Support Community Arizona since March.

She says although her family and friends have been wonderfully helpful as she manages her condition, it’s been extraordinary to discover a place where she can connect with other cancer survivors.

“When people in my group say they understand my situation, I know they really do,” she explains. “And I also know that something I share might help someone else in the group.”

Cancer Support Community was founded by Harold Benjamin, Ph.D., in Santa Monica, California, in 1982. As a result of the experience with his wife’s breast cancer, and through subsequent years of study on the psychological and social impact of cancer, Dr. Benjamin formulated the Patient Active Concept: the idea that people with cancer who adopt a series of actions, behaviors and attitudes that will improve the quality of their life may enhance the possibility of recovery.

In the past 34 years, the Cancer Support Community Affiliate Network—originally called The Wellness Community—

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taking care of business At NB|AZ, the power of partnership drives business banking

N Brent Cannon, Executive Vice President, Director of Community Banking

ATIONAL BANK OF ARIZONA (NB|AZ ) enjoys helping businesses grow and prosper.

The bank offers a wide array of financial products to give businesses the tools they need to succeed.

“Business owners are the backbone of our community,” says Brent Cannon, Executive Vice President, Director of Community Banking.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have the vibrant economy that we have.”

NB|AZ works with a diverse group of companies and entrepreneurs from every sector including restaurants, contractors and manufacturers. For Cannon, helping a company achieve its goals is all about building a solid partnership.

“A good banking relationship is based on a banker getting to know his or her client,” he

says. “It doesn’t matter the industry or number of employees. We can bank with someone with less than $100,000 in sales up to $10 million.”

NB|AZ offers companies and entrepreneurs a wide variety of short- and long-term solutions.

“As a local relationship bank, it is our goal to assist business owners in achieving their business goals so we offer numerous products and services for them to choose from,” says Cannon.

Products include a multitude of credit options, plus checking and savings accounts with plenty of service enhancements for business owners. The bank helps businesses with cash flow management through online banking and merchant services, including a credit and debit card processing terminal, web-based payment and mobile credit card processing, electronic payments and fraud protection.

To help companies with business real estate financing, NB|AZ offers cash flow financing, a wide variety of loans and business and real estate financing, including leasing services.

The bank’s history of supporting the local community is reflected in its dedication to businesses.

“Being involved with the business owners means being involved from a community standpoint,” says Cannon. “Our employees are out in the community working side by side with many entrepreneurs and their employees to improve our community in building those relationships, not only from a business standpoint but from that volunteer community aspect.”

Cannon says getting to know business owners and entrepreneurs is the key to nurturing their success.

“I’m passionate about what we do for our business banking clientele and I truly believe that our bankers have a passion and a heart for that market segment,” says Cannon. “We care deeply about these individuals and we want them be successful and to grow and it’s exciting when that happens.” Leigh Farr

SMALL BUSINESS BIG REWARDS

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AmaZing Cash® Back and AmaZing Rewards® Points for Business – Cardholder will earn cash back or rewards points on all net purchases. 3% cash back or 3x rewards points is earned on office supplies, wireless telephone services, computer network services, and telecommunications services and equipment. 2% cash back or 2x rewards points is earned on airlines and car rentals when the purchase is made directly with the airline or car rental company. 1% cash back or 1x rewards points is earned on all other. 3%/3x and 2%/2x apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases per calendar year, then 1%/1x applies thereafter. Rewards are not earned on transactional items such as cash advances, balance transfers, returned merchandise, etc. Must have at least $25 earned cash back or 2,500 points in order to redeem. For AmaZing Rewards Points, Purchases must be redeemed within 90 days of purchase date. Account must be in good standing. See the AmaZing Cash Back for Business or AmaZing Rewards for Business Program Terms and Conditions for full details.

A division of ZB, N.A. Member FDIC © 2017 ZB, N.A.

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WOMEN

THE

ACTION STORY / DEBRA GELBART PHOTOGRAPHY / MARK LIPCZYNSKI

Stephanie Vasquez

OWNER, FAIR TRADE CAFÉ

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tephanie Vasquez is a risk-taker in an unexpected way. While working as a middle-school science teacher in the southwest Valley, she took a lifechanging vacation in Costa Rica during her summer break.

“I was a completely ignorant consumer,” she says. “Before, when I ordered a cup of coffee, I never thought about how the beans had been grown in a field. But as I toured a coffee plantation, I realized the connection between consumers, Mother Earth and the pride of the people working there. I knew I wanted to share that with people here in Phoenix.”

Although she knew nothing about the coffee business, Vasquez researched it extensively.

Then one day, an opportunity presented itself to her. While attending a teaching conference, her colleague received a phone call from her daughter, who was looking for someone to take over the nonprofit coffee shop she operated in downtown Phoenix. Vasquez jumped at the chance and in July 2007, she became a coffee shop owner—and had even completed the paperwork to convert it to a for-profit venture.

Determined to “educate, empower and give consumers a truly conscientious option” for

some of what they consume, she slowly began to build her new business at Roosevelt and Central Avenue with the power of the fair trade movement, whose goal is to help producers of food, beverages, crafts and other commodities in developing countries achieve better trading conditions that contribute to sustainability.

Fair Trade Café, “an inclusive community space that showcases local art works and serves organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffees and teas and handmade baked goods purchased locally,” began to attract a lot of customers.

In 2008, with the help of business loans, she opened a second location on Central Avenue just north of Van Buren in a building located in Civic Space Park, a green area on the edge of downtown.

Shortly after that, however, the recession struck. She struggled to stay afloat in “the midst of the tornado that was the economy,” and managed—she believes through sheer will—to keep her two locations going for the next year.

About a year after that, she knew she had to run the business full-time. She quit her teaching job, an agonizing decision.

“There aren’t words to describe how scared I was,” she says. She donated all of her teaching supplies to the school where she taught.

The key to success for Vasquez, a Phoenix native, is helping the community. She believes her involvement with and commitment to the neighborhoods surrounding her stores has helped her business become a half-milliondollar enterprise.

Every week, she donates something from her shops to a different charity. She tries to hire women who have recently been released from prison to give them a second chance. She mentors other women entrepreneurs. And through her actions and the ambience in her shops, she is “creating a culture of community, because I have so much faith in and love for it.”

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

Start-up businesses are always challenging, and they can be especially formidable for women entrepreneurs. Acquiring the capital to establish the venture, implementing a business plan, and responding to changes in the environment to sustain the operation are among a host of steps that must be navigated successfully to ensure long-term growth. But for three Arizona women, starting—and sustaining—a business is what they know and what they do… exceptionally well.

“There aren’t words to describe how scared I was.”

STEPHANIE VASQUEZ FAIR TRADE CAFÉ

IN

Meet three female founders living the entrepreneurial dream

RI

R E K A T SK

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N I S THE B U

U B S S E

R E D IL Kristin Slice

FOUNDER, EMPOWERED LAB COMMUNICATIONS

T

KRISTIN SLICE EMPOWERED LAB COMMUNICATIONS

and educational institutions across the country that want to attract and grow female entrepreneurship,” Slice says. “We work with organizations and leaders to create effective female entrepreneurship and gender programs using the latest innovative research and global best practices.”

Although her clients are organizations that want to help business owners, most of her clients have limited marketing budgets. So Slice’s emphasis is on creating “communication strategies that attract diverse populations of high-growth business owners.”

“Women are the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs in the country,” says Slice.

“Women start businesses at three times the rate of our male counterparts. They pay their employees better, give back to their communities more and provide higher returns for investors.”

As an extension of her company, Slice also has launched Empowered PhXX, a community collaborative of women business owners, women business owner groups, and resources that serve women business owners. She is committed to the economic development of women business owners in Phoenix.

“We are proud to work with our many community partners, including the Maricopa Small Business Development Center, to continue the movement forward,” says the Phoenix native.

“I love Phoenix,” she continues.

“Entrepreneurs deserve the best resources and support we have to offer. We have to continue to evolve, look to other ecosystems for best practices, base our strategies on research and push for greater innovation.”

E M THE G A

R E G N A CH Jenny Poon

FOUNDER, CO+HOOTS

A

love of innovation is what drives Jenny Poon, founder of CO+HOOTS, Phoenix’s first and soon to be largest co-working space. It’s what makes her a gamechanger.

In 2009, during the depths of the recession, Poon established eeko studio, a boutique graphic design agency. She felt a need for more of a collaborative community to further her own skills and bounce ideas off of other professionals, so a year later, CO+HOOTS was born. “[At the time,] I was thinking CO+HOOTS would be just a shared work space,” she says.

“I also genuinely thought I was the first person to think about this very innovative idea of co-working. Little did I know this was actually one of the fastest-growing movements in the

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

he community of women entrepreneurs inspires Kristin Slice, founder of Phoenixbased Empowered Lab Communications, to be a business builder.

Early in her career as an expert in organizational communications and as a marketer, Slice recognized the positive impact women business owners had on improving local communities. In 2010, she launched her first business, Three Dog Marketing, with business partner Nancy Sanders. Shortly after, the two were recruited by the Maricopa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to help business owners implement marketing and sales strategies to create new jobs and capital.

Working at both Three Dog Marketing and the Maricopa SBDC, Slice began to “carve a unique niche working with women business owners and combining strategic communication with economic development.”

In the last several years, she says, “a growing body of research has shown that in order to effectively attract and grow female entrepreneurs in local communities, different tools are required.”

Three years ago, Slice became the grant manager responsible for executing what’s known as the Wells Fargo Lift Grant through the Maricopa Small Business Development Center. Focusing on women business owners and leveraging relationships in the community, she and her team delivered close to 1,250 hours of direct one-on-one counseling with small business owners that resulted in in 91 new jobs, 45 new businesses, more than $2 million in increased sales and $500,000 in capital invested in less than two years.

“We exceeded all original goals of cost, schedule and performance,” she says.

That success led to the establishment of Empowered Lab Communications in 2013.

“Today, most of our work is with business incubators, economic development agencies

“Women start businesses at three times the rate of our male counterparts. They pay their employees better, give back to their communities more and provide higher returns for investors.”

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ELIMINATE THE UNCERTAINTY OF RENTING. “You have people to challenge you and resources to get you through challenges.”

JENNY POON CO+HOOTS

world and had been around eight years prior to my ‘creating’ it.”

Quickly, CO+HOOTS became a modernday think tank, where innovation grew and businesses thrived.

“We saw a 98 percent success rate of businesses making it past the volatile first 18 months of being in business,” a period in a startup’s life with an 80 percent failure rate, says Poon, who has been a journalist, a graphic designer and an art director as well as a business owner.

“I’ve also spent some time overseas teaching English and have a love for teaching and sharing wisdom,” says Poon, whose family values education. “They came to the U.S. from Vietnam with nothing, but they knew the only way to change the future is through education.

I’m the first woman in my family to graduate from a university.”

Poon attributes the CO+HOOTS 98 percent success rate among her clients to a simple concept: “You have people to challenge you and resources to get you through challenges.”

According to Poon, businesses fail because they don’t get to their roadblocks fast enough, therefore not allowing enough time to devise a plan and overcome the hurdles ahead. The

faster they can see the hurdles, the faster they can fail and try again.

“Often, when working alone, you only have yourself to bounce ideas off of and that can lead to tunnel vision,” she says.

“But at CO+HOOTS,” she points out, “when those hurdles arise—you have the wrong audience, you aren’t differentiating, revenue model is all wrong—you can reach out to the community of brilliant minds who can all help you get to the solution.”

Every team member in the space, she explains, is focused on helping others succeed.

“We believe if one of us succeeds, we all do.

Also, we’ve got a good amount of weirdness and personality to our space,” Poon says with a smile.

For Poon, any entrepreneur—no matter their age, gender, race, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status—has a safe place at CO+HOOTS to launch, fail and scale their dreams.

“Basically, we are your modern-day small business resource center,” she says. “We provide educational events, a community of knowledge workers, and a culture that is based on generosity to fuel a community that’s hell-bent on creating great businesses in Phoenix.”

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22

PEORIA IN PROGRESS Can a contemporary urban city still feel like a small town?

S T O RY

B R U C E

P H O T O G R A P H Y

M A R K

L I P C Z Y N S K I

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat and Scott Whyte, Economic Development Services Director

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City of Peoria

Peoria’s rapid growth can be attributed to the Peoria Sports Complex, home to spring training baseball, and P83, a mixed-use project that offers entertainment, retail, restaurants and office space.

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City of Peoria

hese days, one of the questions city planners and developers ask themselves is if it’s still possible for a community to be coaxed into becoming a large, prosperous city while retaining the small-town principles, values and character that defined it when it was first founded.

Downtown Peoria offers a creative glimpse into the past through public art displays and murals, including “Homage to Peoria’s Past,” created by artist Emanual Martinez assisted by Peoria High School students.

The answer to that question resides, quite happily, in Peoria, Arizona.

The city of around 150,000 residents was settled in the 1880s by a handful of homesteading families that had moved to the outskirts of Phoenix from Peoria, Illinois—the very same place that became the subject of a popular catchphrase to measure the chances of success for vaudeville shows with the question: “Will it play in Peoria?”

But, for generations, very little actually played in Peoria, as the sleepy Phoenix suburb slowly and unassumingly grew from a farming community into a modest municipality. After all, Peoria wasn’t even incorporated as a city until 1954, 80 or so years after its original settlement. (Remarkably, its population was then a mere 1,900 residents.)

Even well into the 1980s, Peoria remained

a quiet, low-profile appendage of Phoenix, 13 miles to its southwest. Back then, one could take a leisurely drive from Phoenix, along historic old Grand Avenue, and eventually reach Peoria’s city center, where the ambiance was decidedly quieter and more peaceful compared with Phoenix’s then booming growth.

SMALL TOWN IN A BIG CITY Like Whyte, Cathy Carlat is another Peoria resident who has become a major agent of the city’s transformation. Carlat, the city’s current mayor, was elected to office in 2014, following a decade or so on its city council. She brought to the city’s top job a remarkable enthusiasm and a vision for urban development she experienced when, in the 1980s, she lived in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas.

“I saw in Plano how such a small community could go from essentially a bedroom community, to one where children could envision a future for themselves that included gainful employment, and where they could have high aspirations for themselves.”

Carlat explains how she saw Plano evolve to gain an economic, civic and cultural identity of its own—separate from Dallas’s.

“It was just an incredible transformation that I had a front-row seat to watch,” she says.

Carlat carried that lesson with her when she and her family returned to Arizona in 2001, moved to Peoria and decided to roll up her sleeves and get involved in the city’s development.

In the nearly two years she’s been in office, Mayor Carlat has been a force for moving her city forward, but in such a way that it doesn’t forsake the identity and charm of its early years.

“Even though we’re a relatively large city now, we maintain these amazing small-town characteristics—slow-paced neighborhoods where people know one another and can walk to a neighborhood store or walk their dog at night. We have principles and values that are worth keeping.”

On the other hand, the Mayor is fully given to advancing the city’s economic fortunes.

“I want to be sure Peoria has a future that has employment corridors in it, places where

“ I want to be sure Peoria has a future that has employment corridors in it, places where our children can say, ‘I want to work there when I finish my education.’”

CATHY CARLAT MAYOR OF PEORIA

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

SPORTING GROWTH Over the years, Peoria added some manufacturing and industry to its agricultural profile, and gained further traction with the advent of railroad and highway development. From the 1970s on, a small sports complex that served as the minor league training facility for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team proved effective in bolstering the city’s tourism dollars and tax revenues.

In 1990, using the sports stadium as a springboard of sorts, the city saw its way to proposing, designing and building what today is one of the country’s most notable spring training facilities serving two major league baseball teams—the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. Named the Peoria Sports Complex (PSC), the impressive compound of stadiums, practice fields, retail stores, restaurants and boutiques has evolved into a year-round-use facility, and a major pillar of Peoria’s enterprising new identity.

Today, no one who visits the city could help but notice a palpable buzz in the air. Peoria is in the midst of a substantial transformation, a re-invention of sorts. The historic Old Town downtown is being revitalized, small businesses are vying for space and being readied to open and all around the city, major new construction is conspicuously underway.

One of the hundreds of city leaders and staffers behind the current growth is Scott Whyte, Peoria’s Economic Development Services Director. It’s his job to implement the

city-council approved Economic Development Implementation Strategy, otherwise known as EDIS, and the scope of the job, by any measure, is huge. On Whyte’s docket are the initiatives— pillars as he refers to them—of business attraction, retention and expansion; real-estate development; workforce development; and aid to small businesses.

Among the economic development initiatives Whyte sees as most promising for the city’s growth a project called P83, which could best be described as the city’s entertainment district.

“It includes our PSC sports complex, a whole host of restaurants and retail shops, Class-B office buildings…it’s kind of like our employment, entertainment and restaurant retail area,” he explains. “We’re working right now with the Plaza Companies as master developers on a 17-acre parcel that is adjacent to the PSC. What we’re looking to do is to develop it into a mixed-use project that includes true, Class-A office space, a hotel with supporting retail and a restaurant. We see this project as our best shot for attracting the advanced industries that we’re seeking.”

Additionally, Whyte says, the city has yet another exclusive agreement with the Plaza Companies to develop a 14-acre parcel off of Loop 101 and Peoria Avenue that is earmarked to become a corporate business park.

“A lot of our efforts are focused on real estate development to add to the city’s inventory of suitable commercial office space and, equally important, workforce development,” he continues. “This will help ensure the city has a sizeable pool of qualified workers to fill the jobs the new industries will make available.”

Perhaps the culmination of Peoria’s climb into prosperity occurred in 2008, when Money Magazine listed the city as one of the “top 100 places to live” in the U.S.

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Chris Lucidi, who opened his small batch distillery business in a historic fire station in downtown Peoria, says he is committed to fostering business growth in the city.

our children can say, ‘I want to work there when I finish my education. I want to come back and raise my family in Peoria.’”

“ We’ve always had good communication and cooperation with the city on what we’ve wanted to do and on giving us direction.”

CHRIS LUCIDI LUCIDI DI STILLING COMPANY

DISTILLING VALUES Among the many businesspeople taking advantage of some of the opportunities Mayor Carlat, Scott Whyte and other Peoria city managers are helping to make possible, Chris Lucidi stands out.

Not long ago, Lucidi was scouting around Arizona, seeking a location for his Lucidi Distilling Company and its attached tasting room. For a lot of reasons, Lucidi says he liked what he saw in downtown Peoria—called “Historic Old Town”—and so he purchased the 1920s-vintage, Historic Fire Station No. 1 and converted it into its current incarnation as a distillery.

As Lucidi explains, since he opened his doors in February of last year, he and his 11 employees have been busy crafting (and in some cases importing) 22 batch flavors of vodka and moonshine, along with gins, whiskeys, bourbons, agave spirits, rums, bitters and other miscellaneous specialty spirits.

Even though he’s been in business only a short time, Lucidi says his commitment to

growing his business in Peoria (where he also lives) is a solid one. He’s purchased the two lots adjacent to his distillery building, has his eye on four additional lots, and is planning to design and build a restaurant on the premises. His confidence in these plans stems in part from the supportive, fluid relationship he’s had with the Mayor and the city’s elected officials.

“We’ve always had good communication and cooperation with the city on what we’ve wanted to do and on giving us direction,” Lucidi says.

Lucidi is bullish on his plans for Old Town and, by extension, the city at large.

“What Old Town Peoria needs is a draw, and that will be our ‘phase II’ after we develop the restaurant, something that actually brings people into Old Town and shows them what’s possible and what it can be,” he says, mentioning an entire host of cultural and commercial activities that Old Town can offer. “We’re talking a music venue, concerts, weddings, car shows…things that will help the Old Town area become more of a destination than just an aging city center.”

As Lucidi says, “When it comes right down to it, Peoria—and specifically Old Town—is something I care deeply about.”

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28

Experts weigh in on how Arizona’s economy will fare this year

Forecast P H OTO G R A P H S by M a r k L i p c z y n s k i

W h at w i l l 2 0 1 7 h o l d

for the Arizona economy? What can investors and business developers anticipate in the months ahead? For educated answers to those questions, Elevate AZ sat down with Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for RSM, an audit, tax and consulting services firm for the global middle market. Bruseulas’s background in economics and finance is extensive.

In addition to working in those fields in the Phoenix metropolitan area for the past two decades, he has worked in several capacities for banks and hedge funds, and also at Bloomberg LP, where he was a senior economic advisor.

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

I n t e r v i e w b y B r u c e Fa r r

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30 Elevate AZ [EAZ]: Recently,

ARIZONA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

NEW JOBS

81,000 EMPLOYMENT

3% GAIN

POPULATION

1.6% GAIN

UNEMPLOYMENT

4.8% (AS OF DECEMBER 2016)

SINGLE FAMILY HOME PERMITS

GAIN

SOURCE: W.P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Joe Brusuelas [JB]: I do.

When you look at the demographics and the diversification of the Arizona economy, away from an overreliance on residential investment, and you look at some of the innovations [happening in] Scottsdale with respect to life sciences, and [Mayo Clinic] and the ‘silicon desert,’ we are poised to perform ahead of the national economy over the next generation.

EAZ: The Center also said the economy isn’t going to grow as fast as it did before the Great Recession of ’08 and thereafter. Do you agree with that, as well?

EAZ: What industries do you

Joe Brusuelas, RSM

think will have the greatest impact across the state’s economy next year? Which of them will have a positive effect and which will not?

EAZ: What other factors will influence Arizona’s economy in the short term? For instance, the glut of baby boomers retiring has to be a factor, but what other evidence or examples do you see out there?

JB: Tech and life sciences will

have the higher rates of growth, although they’re smaller than residential investment. Those industries are likely to be the emerging stars, not just next year, but over the next decade.

As far as ones that will slow, commercial real estate development will somewhat, which is late in the cycle. Anyone who takes a look at what’s occurred along Central Avenue—well, it’s stunning. It’s really reshaping the entire face of Phoenix and not just in how it looks, but also in the way the economy operates.

Of course, real estate works in fits and starts, and, as I said, we’re late in the cycle, so I would expect that growth to slow, although still reflect some respectable growth.

JB: Sure. We had a profound,

depression-like shock that has impacted the overall economy. In fact, when you take a step back and look at the U.S. economy, we’re likely to have slower rates of growth—probably one and a half to two percent—in the near to medium term, compared to the three to three and a half percent we saw on average between 1945 and 2005. That will also impact Arizona, albeit, to a lesser extent

“Tech and life sciences will have the higher rates of growth.

Those industries are likely to be the emerging stars, not just next year, but over the next decade.”

EAZ: Do you think that answers the questions of trends in business, as well?

JB: Well, we’re late in the business

cycle; we’re eight years into the expansion and we’re seeing some late business cycle dynamics, even given the fact that business itself still remains slow—running between one and a half to two percent. In 2017, resulting from the new president and a new Congress, it could cause the economy to dip into a mild recession.

JB: It’s funny you mentioned

QUICK TAKES

A strong labor force, good quality of life, and relatively low-cost structure will drive Arizona’s growth in 2017.

Arizona will continue to be a top-10 state for job creation and population increases.

The national business cycle is the greatest risk for Arizona’s economy.

SOURCE: W.P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

that because we have a barbell demographic challenge occurring.

On one side, we have 10,000 baby boomers retiring today, but we also have an emerging demographic of millennials. There’s 99,000 of them and right behind them are 60 million members of what we’ll call Gen Z. And they’re all competing interests for scarce resources. The sheer numbers of new people, that emerging majority demographic coming into the system, will demand changes that aren’t necessarily aligned with the boomers, going back to new housing.

EAZ: So what will that mean in terms of brick-and-mortar impact?

JB: Well, Phoenix, for example,

is likely to see quite a bit more development in the out years—say over the next 5 to 10—of highdensity, mixed-use retail. You can already see it. A group of people that I call the “millennial hipsters” have altered the face of downtown Phoenix. They’re responsible for new art galleries, restaurants, bars…which I find totally appealing! It’s what’s creating the growth, and supporting housing prices and redevelopment in some of the older neighborhoods that

need investment. That’s how you get that organic growth. It’s the competition for scarcer resources and policy preferences, especially in Phoenix and Tucson, that will drive growth. The fact is, Arizona is about to undergo a profound change, just from the sheer numbers of young people who will overwhelm the retirees.

EAZ: Arizona was, for many decades, a booming magnet for new business startups and relocations. We’re clearly in a much different environment today, but do you think in 2017, the state—and especially its urban areas—can still be characterized as being business friendly?

JB: Yes, simply because the cost

of living is lower, comparatively, to the states around it. To use a simple, descriptive term: it’s affordable. And, along with that, the regulatory framework favors the startup of small- to mediumsize enterprises.

As we transform the state from a red state to a purple or even blue state, it’s going to be important those characteristics don’t change because they underscore the inherent vitality of areas like the Phoenix metroplex and even the greater overall Arizona economy.

ARIZONA RANKINGS

6TH

IN PRIVATE JOB CREATION (YEAR-TO-DATE 2016)

1ST

IN INFORMATION INDUSTRY JOB CREATION (2009 TO 2015)

AMONG THE

TOP 5

STATES FOR DOMESTIC IN-MIGRATION SOURCE: W.P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

15%

the Eller Economic and Business Research Center made this forecast: “Arizona’s economy is well-positioned to outpace the U.S. during the next 30 years, and the outlook calls for the state, and the Phoenix and Tucson metro statistical areas, to grow faster than the nation across most major macroeconomic aggregates.” Do you agree with this assessment?

because of the diversification of our economy. It’s moving rapidly toward a high-tech economy.

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Yuma, AZ

Nestled on the banks of the Colorado River, the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, which received the Governor’s Arizona Preservation Award in 2009, has been a major factor in the city’s economic development and growth. Find out more about this resurging city in the next issue of Elevate AZ.

PHOTO Mark Lipczynski

Winter 2017 | ElevateAZ.com

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