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THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPECIAL REPORT:
SUN CORRIDOR INC. WOMEN WHO LEAD TRIPLE CROWN WINNER BOB BAFFERT www.BizTucson.com
SUMMER 2015 • $3.99 • DISPLAY UNTIL 08/30/15
BizLETTER
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Summer 2015
Volume 7 No. 2
Publisher & Owner
Steven E. Rosenberg Brent G. Mathis
Creative Director Photo: Steven Meckler
The Arizona Sun Corridor is well positioned for exciting economic growth in the next few decades. This megaregion has the potential to be one of the most dynamic in the United States, inextricably linked to major trade partner Mexico. This is home to emerging growth industries including bioscience, healthcare, natural resources and minerals, aerospace and defense, plus world-class research universities, ready industrial parks, a transportation network and expanding population projections that point to limitless potential. Gabrielle Fimbres and Donna Kreutz provide compelling coverage on this megaregion that extends from Mexico through metropolitan Phoenix and beyond. Our collective assets are impressive indeed. Our special report introduces Sun Corridor Inc. (formerly TREO) and a strategic vision shaped by 57 top executives in the region. The Sun Corridor Inc. economic development team has expanded its geographic horizons to reach from Mexico up through Southern Arizona, including Cochise County, Santa Cruz County, Pima County and Pinal County – the linchpin connector between Phoenix and Tucson. Their task is harnessing the power of the southern swath of the Sun Corridor. Speaking of harnessing the power, world-class trainer and local legend Bob Baffert engineered the first Triple Crown in 37 years, with American Pharoah and jockey Victor Espinoza. Sports writer Steve Rivera tells us all about Baffert’s ascent to horse racing royalty from the University of Arizona’s race track program. Another famous UA grad is Terry J. Lundgren, chairman and CEO of Macy’s who joined other retail giants at this spring’s Global Retailing Conference. Tara Kirkpatrick reports on the wisdom they shared. You’re sure to learn valuable lessons for your business. You’ll also meet Robert Smith, the man who’s overseen the UA’s $2 billion construction boom over the past two decades, including 80 projects, many of which attained the highest LEED Platinum rating for green, sustainable architectural designs.
This issue also focuses on “Women Who Lead,” featuring four remarkable women who are the top executives in the nonprofit, tourism and legal realms. Healthcare in our community is seeing big changes – from Banner–University Medical Center’s $1.2 billion investment and expansion to Tucson Medical Center’s commitment to remain locally owned while forming alliances with the Mayo Clinic and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. David Pittman and Dan Sorenson report. Also in medicine, Susan E. Swanberg introduces us to passionate scientist Dr. Thomas Boyer, who has studied the liver, its diseases and disorders for four decades. Regarding nonprofits, Wells Fargo recently donated $500,000 to seven local organizations doing important work in the community. In other nonprofit news, arts champion Mike Kasser received the Governor’s Arts Award recognizing his outstanding leadership to stabilize Arizona Theatre Company, once on the verge of collapse. On to the profit side of the ledger, it’s summer time and we have a few entrepreneurial ventures that should cool things off. One such enterprise is Isabella’s Ice Cream, owned by the husband and wife team of Dominic and Kristel Johnson. Isabella’s recently hit the big time as their ice cream was approved to go into more than 100 Safeway stores in Arizona. Other cool businesses include Cimarron Circle Construction – famous for pool designs – and the new Hub Ice Cream Factory downtown.
Contributing Editors
Gabrielle Fimbres Donna Kreutz Diane Luber Dave Petruska
Contributing Technology Director
Mike Serres
Contributing Writers
Rhonda Bodfield Larry Copenhaver Mary Minor Davis Gabrielle Fimbres Chuck Graham Tara Kirkpatrick Donna Kreutz Christy Krueger David Pittman Steve Rivera Dan Sorenson Susan E. Swanberg Eric Swedlund Valerie Vinyard Romi Carrell Wittman
Contributing Photographers
Carter Allen Stephanie Epperson Kris Hanning Amy Haskell Natalie Lindberg Brent G. Mathis Steven Meckler Chris Mooney Jon Siegel Tom Spitz Balfour Walker
Member:
Arizona Builders’ Alliance Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce Sun Corridor Inc. Tucson Advertising Federation Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Tucson Metro Chamber Visit Tucson
BizTucson Phone: 520.299.1005 Subscription Information:
www.BizTucson.com subscriptions@BizTucson.com Advertising information:
Steve Rosenberg 520.299.1005 or 520.907-1012 steve@BizTucson.com BizTucson is published quarterly by Rosenberg Media, LLC. ,Tucson, AZ © 2015 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in columns or articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Steven E. Rosenberg Publisher & Owner BizTucson
Please send address changes to: BizTucson, 4729 East Sunrise Drive, #505 Tucson, AZ 85718.
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BizCONTENTS
FEATURES
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COVER STORY: 84
BizECONOMY MEGAREGION: HARNESSING THE POWER OF ARIZONA’S SUN CORRIDOR
DEPARTMENTS
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BizLETTER From the Publisher
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BizAWARDS Mike Kasser Receives Governor’s Arts Award
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BizDOWNTOWN Triple Digit Relief – Ice Cream Factory Opens
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BizCONSTRUCTION Cimarron Builds Cool Pools
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BizHEALTHCARE Building New Healthcare Model
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BizBENEFIT El Rio Vecinos Black Tie Party
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BizHEALTHCARE TMC Expands Medical Expertise
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BizTRIBUTE Don Shropshire – Gentleman & Statesman
BizSPORTS Triple Crown Winning Trainer Bob Baffert
BizRETAIL Retail Giants Connect With Customers
BizTECHNOLOGY Wi-Fi Wave
BizENTREPRENEUR Scoop Dreams – Husband-Wife Hit Big Time
BizMEDICINE Dr. Thomas Boyer Targets Liver Diseases
89 BizSPECIAL REPORT Expanding Economic Horizons Introducing Sun Corridor Inc.
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Maximizing Economic Opportunities Executive Leadership Chairman’s Circle Board of Directors New Companies Move To Region Investors Staff
WOMEN WHO LEAD 60 Tourism – Kimberly Van Amburg 62 Law – Jill Wiley 64 Nonprofit – Teresa Liverzani-Baker 68 Law – Lisa Ann Smith 70
BizCOMMUNITY Wells Fargo Awards $500,000 to Nonprofits
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BizENTREPRENEUR Pillar of Our Community
76 80
BizTOURISM The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Honored
157 160
BizTRIBUTE Kelsey’s Spirit Endures
BizEDUCATION Aviation Program Soars To Success
BizBIOSCIENCE Bioscience Roadmap Update
BizSALES 162 Sales Guru Jeffrey Gitomer BizHONORS 164 I-Squared Innovation Awards BizHR 166 Leadership Lessons From Antarctica BizDEVELOPMENT 168 Aerospace Parkway Project Underway BizCONSTRUCTION 172 $2 Billion UA Building Boom 176 Eighteen Projects in the Region BizAWARDS 184 BBB Torch Awards Honor Three Firms 186 Cornerstone Picks 2015 Dream Team ABOUT THE COVER MEGAREGION: Harnessing The Power of Arizona’s Sun Corridor Creative Design & Direction by Brent G. Mathis www.BizTucson.com
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PHOTO: JON SIEGEL
BizSPORTS
Bob Baffert Triple Crown Winner By Steve Rivera Days before Nogales native and University of Arizona alum Bob Baffert set the horse racing industry ablaze and fans aflutter, he was brought nearly to tears in an interview with ESPN when he spoke about American Pharoah. Deep down, he was more than aware the horse – an equine of a generation and perhaps a lifetime – had him on the threshold of doing what no other horse/trainer had done in 37 years: Win the Triple Crown. It’s the equivalent of horse racing’s lottery. It’s not that Baffert didn’t have chances with Silver Charm 20 BizTucson
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(1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002). All failed. Fast forward – emphasis on fast – to 2015 and Baffert has the elusive and coveted Triple Crown. The horse racing gods have, well, turned Baffert into a horse racing god. Just days after, he told the media the thought of winning the Triple Crown hadn’t sunk in yet but that it “was spiritual and emotional.” “The roar, the roar was insane,” Baffert told the media a day after history was made. “It’s just something that I’ll always remember – the roar of the crowd.”
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Jockey Victor Espinoza (left) and trainer Bob Baffert (center) won the coveted Triple Crown with American Pharoah. Baffert’s wife Jill is at his right and son Bode is in front.
How could he not? There were more than 90,000 fans at Belmont with millions of people cheering all over the United States – especially Tucson and Nogales, where Baffert was born and raised. He said he’s heard from “everybody I ever grew up with.” “We watched from home, and (all of Nogales) knew how exciting it was to be part of the race,” said Alexis Kramer, PR specialist for the Nogales-Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce. “It was an uplift to the community to have a trainer who is widely successful.” The roar also was heard at Rillito Race Track, where more than 800 fans joined for what turned out to be celebration. “It was so much fun, the whole building was shaking when the race was going on,” said Jaye Wells, president of the Rillito Park Foundation. “The clubhouse was as jammed as it’s ever been.” More than $35,000 was wagered, a record day for the park. Many were there to witness horse racing history via Baffert, the white-haired, dark-glasses-wearing man of the moment in the sports world. It’s not like Baffert has been an overnight success. He’s been one of the premier horse trainers – whisperers? – over the last 20 years. He’s won more than 2,500 races since 1991 when he officially switched from training quarter horses to thoroughbreds. Baffert, 62, has won three Eclipse Awards and now 12 Triple Crown races in two decades. Then there’s the prestigious Breeder’s Cup champions he’s trained through the years. All pale to winning the Triple Crown. “It’s super that he did it,” said Karl Watson, a local car dealer and horse owner. “He’s very deserving. If there was ever a guy who could have done it, it was Bobby.” And it happened just three years removed from his near fatal heart attack and the passing of his parents in the last few years. Baffert said he couldn’t help but think his parents – Bill and Ellie – where with him at the Belmont. “I’m very proud of him,” said older brother, Bill. “My parents would be prouder. They realized how difficult it is to win the race. I always thought he would win it. He’s that good and has always been that good of a horseman.” Paul Weitman, a Tucson car dealer and a horse owner, knows firsthand how good Baffert is. Baffert is his trainer and has won millions for the trio Mike Pegram, Watson and Weitman. One horse – Lookin At Lucky – was the toast of the racing world in 2010 when he was the betting favorite in the Derby, but failed to win. Two weeks later, he won the Preakness. “It means everything to him,” Weitman said. “To win the Triple Crown is every trainer’s goal. I know it was Bobby’s goal. When you go after it three times and you don’t get it, it feels like you’re snake-bitten to get that close. But winning continued on page 22 >>> www.BizTucson.com
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BizSPORTS continued from page 21 it is the biggest achievement a trainer can have. It’s like winning a national championship in basketball or college football. It might be even better.” That coming from a man who knows how big and important success in college athletics is. Along with Pegram and Watson, he’s made Arizona athletics noticeable on the track by naming some of his quality horses after Arizona connections. There is Candrea (softball coach Mike Candrea), Da Stoops (former football coach Mike Stoops), Lady Regina (Greg Byrne’s wife) and Midnight Lute (for Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson). Midnight Lute was a two-time Breeder’s Cup sprint champion. Of course, Baffert trained them all. “If he ever got out of the business, I’d get out,” Watson said. “He’s my guy. I’m a fan and I’ve been so lucky with him. Everybody around him has.” It was Bill and Bobby Baffert who invited Weitman to the 1996 Kentucky Derby. Although Baffert’s horse, Cavonnier finished second, Weitman got hooked.
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I always thought he would win it. He’s that good and has always been that good of a horseman. –
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Bill Baffert, Brother of Bob Baffert
“You’ve heard of Derby fever? Well, I caught it,” Weitman said. “When we got back to Tucson I told him ‘get me a horse.’” A few thoroughbreds and millions of dollars in winnings later, Baffert has made the Car Boys – what he calls Watson and Weitman – bigtime horse owners. He’s also brought the UA great exposure. Baffert, on the road to the Triple Crown, often wore his Arizona baseball cap. He’s long been a fan of the Wildcats.
“We are extremely proud of Bob and all his accomplishments,” UA athletic director Greg Byrne said. “He already had an incredible career and now the topper is the Triple Crown. He will go down in history as one of the great University of Arizona alums.” It all started at the UA’s Race Track Industry Program, or RTIP, where Baffert and fellow world-renowned trainer Todd Pletcher are graduates. The program is well respected by many in the industry – yet making news because few know about it. It’s in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The program, with about 700 alums, got plenty of attention in the days leading up to the Belmont. “All the news is great because it gave me a chance to talk about the number of people who have come out of the program,” said Doug Reed, RTIP program coordinator. “They are all over the world in a number of different types of capacities. It’s not just two superstars in Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher.”
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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
I. Michael Kasser President Holualoa Companies At Temple of Music and Art
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BizAWARD
Tucson Business Leader Wins Governor’s Arts Award By Mary Minor Davis I. Michael Kasser, principal and president of Holualoa Companies, believes that “creativity is at the intersection of arts and science.” This spring, Kasser’s commitment to the arts was recognized when he received the 2015 Governor’s Arts Award for his individual contributions to the arts and in particular his work to stave off a permanent shutdown of the Arizona Theatre Company. The Governor’s Arts Awards are presented annually by Arizona Citizens for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Office of the Governor of Arizona to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the Arizona arts community. Kasser was among 65 nominees to be acknowledged for their “substantial and outstanding contributions to arts and culture in Arizona,” according to Arizona Citizens for the Arts. The awards were presented in March by Gov. Doug Ducey. In 2013, the Arizona Theatre Company was on the verge of collapse, the result of a lack of leadership on the part of the previous managing director in addressing a “serious” financial deficit. As a member of the board and an annual contributor to the organization, Kasser said he just couldn’t stand by and watch Arizona’s nationally renowned professional theater close its doors. “The closure would have meant the loss of the highest quality of theater in Arizona,” he said, adding that ATC has premiered many new works and Broadway-bound productions, including this season’s “Five Presidents.” “We’re not some schlock theater,” he said. “ATC is respected around the country. This is something the whole of Arizona should be proud of.” Kasser launched a campaign to raise the $1 million needed to eliminate the 2012-13 deficit and allow the organizawww.BizTucson.com
tion to plan for another season. This year, he is leading another campaign to raise $500,000 by June 30 to meet a match challenge. In doing so, he says the theater will be on a path forward, assuming audiences respond well to ATC’s programming. This summer, the board will begin a national search for a permanent managing director, and the impending retirement of longtime artistic director David Ira Goldstein means a second search will follow for that position. Kasser has long advocated for ATC, but he also supports other arts organizations, including the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Tucson Museum of Art. He credits his parents with exposing him and his sister to the arts at a young age, including opera, museums, theater and classical music. He was born in Hungary to Alexander and Elisabeth Kasser, heroic role models who helped hide and rescue Hungarian Jews otherwise destined to be shipped to Nazi death camps in World War II. They worked with the Swedish Red Cross, renting buildings in Budapest and placing signs on the doors such as “Swedish Research Institute,” then hiding Jews in them. They also were part of a humanitarian effort
2015 Governor’s Arts Awards Winners Artist William Eaton Arts in Education, Individual Margaret Schmidt, Arizona State University Arts in Education, Organization Phoenix Conservatory of Music Business CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company Community West Valley Arts Council’s Gallery 37 Individual Michael Kasser
directed by Raoul Wallenberg, who is credited with saving more than 100,000 Jewish lives. Kasser’s father was arrested and imprisoned but managed to escape. Before the war his father was a successful engineer and his mother was from a well-to-do family. After the war, the family came to North America “dirt poor,” living four years in Mexico City before moving to the United States and settling in New Jersey, just outside of Manhattan. He shared a story about attending a Jascha Heifetz concert at the age of 9 in Mexico City, where he was so moved by the master violinist that he “hung out by the stage door” in the hopes of meeting the artist. “My heart is with the arts,” he said. “It’s a part of my life.” Making the arts part of others’ lives is important to Kasser. At a recent matinee of ATC’s production of “Romeo & Juliet,” he was sitting behind a group of nearly 50 middle and high school students. He said he couldn’t help but notice how much they were enjoying the performance so he talked to them afterward. “They all said how (attending the performance) was such a great experience,” he said. “This opened them up to so much that they’d never experienced before.” Kasser said having a dynamic arts community “puts Arizona in the best light,” helps with economic development, recruitment and retention of a younger workforce, and fosters innovators and creative thinkers for tomorrow. “If all you do is focus on the science and math side, you lose innovation for tomorrow – and that is not a good thing.” Read a fascinating profile of Mike Kasser in the Fall 2011 edition of BizTucson starting on p. 40. www.biztucson.com
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PHOTOS: KRIS HANNING – BIOCOM UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
BizRETAIL
Calvin McDonald President and CEO Sephora Americas
Alli Webb Founder Drybar
Charles Best Founder Donorschoose.org
Terry J. Lundgren Chairman & CEO Macy’s
Retail Giants Connect With Customers Wisdom Flows: Master Mobile, Motivate Your Employees By Tara Kirkpatrick
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Today’s retail customers are constantly changing, incredibly tech-savvy and demanding that companies serve them everywhere at once – in the store, online and now more than ever, on mobile. It wasn’t just the theme of this year’s Global Retailing Conference, headlined by Macy’s CEO and University of Arizona alum Terry J. Lundgren – it was the survival call. “We will stop changing when our customers and consumers stop changing, and I just don’t think that’s in the near future,” Lundgren said as he launched the April event at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa. The annual conference, in its 19th year and organized by the eponymous Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the UA, is an elite gathering of retail giants from multiple industries who want to focus on thought leadership. It’s a coup for Tucson and for retail students, thanks to Lundgren, who was profiled by Barron’s in March as one of the top CEOs in the world. “This is the largest attendance we’ve ever had and it keeps on building every year,” he said of the more than 400 attendees this year. “It’s a great combination of business leaders from our industry and all those companies that touch our industry and support it. I don’t know of any other conference that has the same makeup of the audiences that we have here.” Powered by the consumer with money to spend, the retail industry and the investment in innovation behind it offer a glimpse into a brave new world. Some highlights from this year’s conference on what’s ahead and how any business can take the lead: Stores Have Not Died
“Stores are the new black,” Lundgren said. “If you had asked me five years ago if I had too many stores, I would have had a different answer than I have today.” Stores are definitely not dead, despite predictions. Customers still flock to them to see and touch the merchandise before they buy, he said. They want that experience, even if they buy it on their phone or computer later. “Our preference is always to get them
Commit to All-Line, Mobile First
“There is no offline and online,” said Margo Georgiadis, president of Google Americas. “We have to commit to allline.” Georgiadis’ figures showed U.S. retail stores recorded 39 billion footsteps in November-December 2010 – the “Super Bowl moments for stores,” she said. That figure dropped to 18 billion during the same period in 2014. Yet store revenue jumped from $641 billion in 2010 to $737 billion in 2014. “Those footsteps didn’t go away – they went online,” she said. continued on page 28 >>> www.BizTucson.com
Some secrets to Fox’s success: Creating an experience Fox’s restaurants extol multiple themes – all with modern materials and stylish presentation. “We want to create an experience for people,” he said. “I love design. It’s a personal passion, just like food and hospitality.” Every restaurant concept is distinctly different, he said. “We don’t really build restaurants for the bottom line. We build places where people want to spend their time and money.”
Sam Fox:
A Restaurateur Talks Retail By Tara Kirkpatrick Sam Fox’s “aha” moment came one oppressive summer day in Tucson more than 20 years ago. Then a college student studying real estate finance, Fox was told to go help an executive’s wife during what was supposed to be an internship at a real estate firm. “I went to his house and his wife asked me to change the tire and I was dressed in nice pants and a button-down shirt,” Fox, founder and CEO of Fox Restaurant Concepts, told a rapt audience at the 2015 Global Retailing Conference, where he was a featured speaker. “It took me a long time, but I was able to change the tire.” He left without a thank you, his work clothes ruined.
PHOTO: KRIS HANNING – BIOCOM UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
into the store,” Lundgren said. “The consumer who touches us in multiple ways – when that happens, when the consumer touches us two or three times – the value of that customer is eight times that of one who just touches us once.” With a solid bricks-and-mortar foundation, Macy’s is also becoming one of the nation’s largest Internet companies, ranked eighth behind Netflix, he said. Last year, Fast Company named Macy’s as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Retailers and the company was named 2014 Mobile Retailer of the Year by Mobile Commerce Daily. “I feel better than ever about the combination we have,” Lundgren said. “The customer is changing and our company will do the same. I want to own that customer.” Sarah Quinlan is senior VP and group head of market insights for MasterCard Advisors. She told the audience that credit card data trends prove shopping is still a social event. “People still go out and meet to go to the stores together,” Quinlan said. “I cannot underestimate how experiential our spending is. It is a shopping experience from the moment they begin to learn about your brand.” “Retail is at its most magical in the moments of human connection, when people touch people,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. “People are always going to come into stores. They want the spontaneity that happens when they do come. They want that and they always will. The physical experience is still very powerful.”
Fox knew then that he would not continue – in real estate finance or college or working for someone else. He drove back to the office and quit. “I thought, ‘Now what am I going to do?’ I’m going to work for myself,’ ” he recalled. Fox dropped out of college at age 20, gathered what money he had and opened his first restaurant, Gilligan’s Bar & Grill, in Tucson. A third-generation restaurateur, Fox was warned against going into the family business by his parents, who knew well the struggles to attain culinary success. Yet, the self-made details-driven Fox flourished in an industry rife with failures because of his incredible work ethic and commitment to innovation. Fox Restaurant Concepts now owns 44 chic, conceptual restaurants across seven states and is poised to open 30 more over the next three years, he said. The University of Arizona Eller College of Management recently recognized Fox as its 2015 Executive of the Year. “Our goal is to open one great restaurant at a time,” he told attendees at April’s retail conference. “We never try to get too far ahead of ourselves.
Hiring the right people “Hiring is casting, curating and caring,” Fox said. “It’s about who wants to be here and why do they want to be here.” He personally teaches a “culture of hospitality” course to all his new hires. “Hospitality rules. It’s ‘yes’ is the answer – what’s the question? I truly believe this is what separates us from everyone else.” Forever changing “We’ll never change the need to change,” he said. “How do we keep the old guests and grow the new guests?” Fox’s newest concept, Flower Child, is based solely on the feeling of happiness. “I spent a year thinking about how to go about this. I wanted people to feel happy going there, feel happy paying the bill and eating the food. We built a whole restaurant on this.” Details, details “Success is in the details,” he said. “Each restaurant is unique and different in itself. Each requires the fine tuning of countless unique details that make it special and awe worthy.”
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“
People are the heart and soul of a company. The people bring the values, purpose and mission alive. Invest in your people.
”
Walter Robb Co-CEO Whole Foods Market –
continued from page 27 “Customers are more focused than they’ve ever been,” said Georgiadis. “They go into the store ready to buy. What’s changed is how consumers are going to make their decisions. If you want to win the war on traffic, you have to win before the store. That’s what technology is about.” For example, Walgreens’ mobile customers spend six times more in the store than their retailonly counterparts, she said. Retailers must make it easy for customers to shop everywhere, she said, creating a cohesive brand experience – all-line. They also must be vigilant about keeping pace with their techcentric customers. Georgiadis said she’s surprised how many company leaders don’t watch YouTube videos by their own customers trying out their products. It’s instant market research, she said. Most importantly, retailers must master mobile, the device that customers rely on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For example, Sephora updated its mobile app to enable customers to virtually sample contouring products while in the store, a paint-by-numbers for the face. “These are simply magic moments. Are you providing helpful curated experiences to deliver magic?” 28 BizTucson
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BizRETAIL “Mobile is the way we are innovating,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer. “It is everywhere our customer is. Mobile is what we think first and then we go to everywhere else.” She heralded Macy’s apps that let customers do an image search for an item they want, check out via mobile and do in-store research. Macy’s is also testing an app called Macy’s Go that would let a customer select colors and style of items, which would then be sent to a dressing room. Value, Empower Employees
“The Container Store is built upon putting employees first,” said Kip Tindell, chairman & CEO of the niche organizing store that opened in Tucson in May. “We’ve really built our brand on that. If you hire great people, you get three times the productivity.” Tindell said that people work more than they do anything else in their lives. “Feeling great about yourself at work – we employers can do so much about that – building the employee who gets out of bed and looks forward to coming into work in the morning,” he said. “So much of our sense of self-worth is about what we do at work and how well we do at work. “I feel we have 90 percent productivity at The Container Store. People tend to not like The Container Store – they tend to love it and they get emotional about it.” Alli Webb, founder of Drybar, a premier chain of 42 blow dry salons, emphasized that her stylists are the core of her business. “It’s really about the people. I wanted this environment to feel like a family business. To that end, Drybar’s core values include humility and honesty, having fun, kindness and making a difference in their customers’ lives,” Webb said. “You gotta have fun,” she said. “We work so much. There’s so much to do, but when you are passionate about what you are doing, it doesn’t feel like work.” Robb, of Whole Foods, agreed. “People are the heart and soul of a company,” he said. “The people bring the values, purpose and mission alive. It’s where a company lives. The humanity of a company lives in its team. Invest in your people.”
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BizBRIEFS
Mick Rusing Inducted Into International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Mick Rusing has been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is one of six Tucson attorneys recognized by the prestigious academy, which limits membership to 500 Fellows from the United States. Rusing was evaluated by colleagues and judges in his jurisdiction and was highly recommended as possessing the qualifications and characteristics required of Fellows. A founding partner in the Tucson firm Rusing Lopez & Lizardi, the Stanford Law School graduate heads the litigation section. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tried more than 100 cases in federal and state courts. Rusing also was named Personal Injury Litigation Defense Lawyer of the Year in Tucson by Best Lawyers in America 2015. Biz
Tucson Native Gallego-Lopez Returns Home for Managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Post at Mutual of Omaha Bank Dianne Gallego-Lopez has joined Mutual of Omaha Bank as a community bank manager. She will oversee all operations and business development, with a special emphasis on providing Tucson residents and businesses fullservice banking solutions. A native of Tucson, Gallego-Lopez has nearly 20 years of financial services experience, most recently serving as a financial sales adviser for a bank based 30 BizTucson
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in Birmingham, Ala. She has held various roles in retail banking and wealth management throughout her career. She has obtained Series 7, 6 and 63 licenses and a mortgage loan originator’s license. Biz
Michael Aylmer Joins The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Mike Aylmer is the new director of sales and marketing at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. A graduate of St. John’s University, he joined The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner as a national sales manager, then was promoted to The Ritz-Carlton New York International Sales Office as a regional sales manager. Aylmer was a protégé of Sigi Brauer, one of the founding management team for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. When Brauer become president of Miraval Resort & Spa here in Tucson, Aylmer followed. After that he worked for several iconic KSL Resorts for 15 years before returning to Miraval as VP of sales, then joining The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain.
Biz
Delta Starts 3 Daily LAX Nonstops Dec. 19, Southwest Weekly Houston Flight Returns
Delta Air Lines will introduce nonstop service between Tucson and Los Angeles International Airport with three flights daily starting Dec. 19. The flights will be aboard either Bombardier CRJ700 or CRJ900 aircraft configured for either 65 or 76 seats. Flights from Tucson will depart at 7 a.m., 12:50 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Flights from LAX depart at 9:45 a.m., 4:40 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. Southwest Airlines announced it is resuming its seasonal Saturday-only nonstops to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport from Oct. 31 through Jan. 4, 2016. www.BizTucson.com
Biz
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BizDOWNTOWN
Triple Digit Relief HUB Ice Cream Factory Opens By Rhonda Bodfield Mmmmm. Conjure up an image of blueberry pancakes. If you’re thinking ripe berries in a juicy sauce, smothered in butter and dressed in maple syrup, you’re on the right track. But at the HUB Ice Cream Factory, you won’t find a breakfast version that competes with waffles. Instead, you’ll get a cold, richly creamy, deliciously sticky concoction – and a waffle cone. And that’s if the novelty items like choco-tacos or the Mexican wedding cookies don’t tempt you first. The Factory, which opened graduation weekend at 245 E. Congress St., is a whimsical spinoff of its big sister across the street – the HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery. The downtown eatery found itself with a delightful dilemma – its ice cream was so popular that the lines were causing traffic snafus in the lobby, interrupting the flow of patrons coming to enjoy casual comfort fare such as chicken pot pie, burgers or mac-and-cheese. “When the HUB first opened, I’m not sure anyone anticipated the ice cream was going to take off the way it did – but people loved it so much, it truly became a Tucson staple,” said corporate chef Jack Tate, who may have one of the more enviable jobs in Tucson. He estimates he has eaten more ice cream in the last six weeks than he had in the entirety of his 24-year career in restaurants. With HUB known for its exotic ice cream flavors – saffron olive oil cake, case in point – he has the task of tasting the new concepts by pastry chef Irene Cohen. And then there is the daily sampling to ensure consistency. Quality control is a tough job, but someone has to do it. 32 BizTucson
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Owners of the new enterprise are Scott Stiteler, Rudy Dabdoub, Paul Chellgren, Chris Hodgson and Christina Rosete. “After three years of watching people of all ages walk up and down Congress with a smile and some ice cream from the HUB, the opening of HUB Ice Cream Factory brings an old-fashioned ice cream parlor to the street as another reason to experience our new downtown,” Stiteler said.
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The most rewarding part of the job is when I look over the counter and see a kid’s face covered in ice cream and a huge smile.
”
– Michael Tye Kitchen Manager HUB Ice Cream Factory
If the Factory’s big sister is industrialhip with a combat-boots-and-lipstick kind of glamour, the new sweet shop is a diva who can rock a retro-modern vibe. It’s like an old-time scoop shop, but pulls in the urban rope motif from the HUB and the fun lighted signage from the bar Playground, the other concept in the trio. HUBsters shouldn’t fret, though. The siblings will play nice. Both will carry the 12 standard flavors of ice cream, such as salted caramel, oatmeal cookie dough and bour-
bon almond brittle that would cause a small riot if removed from the menu. Each will also carry six of the same seasonal flavors. But just to make it interesting, the chefs plan to have six different seasonal combinations at each location. The sweet shop also carries treats that the restaurant doesn’t have, including milkshakes, floats, novelty items and ice cream cakes. HUB makes all of the treats in-house. With the exception of the occasional corporate candy mix-in like M&Ms or Reese’s, HUB makes all of the treats inhouse. That oatmeal cookie dough? It’s theirs. The brownie? It’s theirs too. And don’t be fooled by the Snickers version – it’s their own deconstructed version of the big-name candy bar, with their own honey marshmallow nougat base and ribbons of caramel, chocolate and salted peanuts. The ice cream doesn’t have eggs. That makes it a friendlier option for those with food allergies or vegetarians who still consume dairy, but draw the line at eggs. Along with its sorbets, HUB even offers a vegan option that uses a coconut milk base. There are glutenfree options as well. And for those of you who just like a straight up vanilla cone? Hey, there’s no judgment. Kitchen manager Michael Tye said he appreciates the simple pleasure himself every now and again. So what’s his favorite thing about the new venture? “It’s just fun,” Tye said. “We get to make a product that makes people happy. The most rewarding part of the job is when I look over the counter and see a kid’s face covered in ice cream and a huge smile.”
Biz
www.BizTucson.com
PHOTOS: BRENT G. MATHIS
Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 33
BizTECHNOLOGY
Need for Speed
Wi-Fi Wave
Cox Caters to Techie Tucson Households
Swell of Cox Communications Hotspots Will Mean Surf’s Up All Over Tucson By Jay Gonzales With a growing population of techsavvy millennials becoming an economic force, Cox Communications is putting the Internet at their fingertips throughout Tucson with Wi-Fi hotspots that will be accessible for most cable customers. In April, Cox activated 50 Wi-Fi hotspots in high-traffic areas in downtown Tucson and throughout the city that can be accessed by Cox cable subscribers and customers of other cable Internet providers, putting Tucson on the cutting edge of Internet technology. Subscribers to Cox’s Preferred, Premier and Ultimate Internet packages will have free access to Cox Wi-Fi, via the hotspots, as part of their service. Customers of cable Internet providers who are part of the nationwide collaboration of cable companies called Cable Wi-Fi Alliance, launched in 2013, can also access the Cox Tucson hotspots. That makes the hotspots accessible to local Comcast customers. “By 2020, 50 percent of the Arizona workforce will be millennials, the demographic group currently between the ages of 20 and 35,” said Michael Keith, executive director of the Downtown Tucson Partnership. “This is particularly evident in downtown Tucson where there has been an explosion of small businesses and tech startup companies, completely rewriting the way we do business in our urban center,” Keith said. “The launch of Cox Wi-Fi hotspots in Tucson, and particularly in the heart of our city, reinforces that our downtown is quickly becoming one of the West’s up-and-coming, cutting-edge centers to live, work and play.” But it’s not just downtown getting the Wi-Fi hotspots. Cox has activated hotspots along the Broadway corridor as far east as Craycroft Road, around the perimeter of the University of Arizona, in the Fourth Avenue retail corridor and other areas of town. 34 BizTucson
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Customers who are looking for Wi-Fi access can go to www.cox.com/hotspots and enter their current location to find nearby hotspots. Users can also click on a Wi-Fi icon on the map, or download the Cox Connect app for iPhone and Android devices, and immediately access directions to or from the specific Wi-Fi hotspot address. “The addition of Cox Wi-Fi hotspots in Tucson that now links us to this nationwide network of Internet accessibility is great not only for our residents, but for economic development and tourism,” said Lisa Lovallo, market VP for Cox Communications Southern Arizona. “As customers’ needs and behaviors continue to change over time, especially with the explosive growth of smart phones, tablets and other connected devices, Cox Wi-Fi is a value-added service that allows access to reliable highspeed Internet at home and on the go.” Cox will continue to add more hotspots across Arizona, with a goal of more than 2,500 activated by the end of 2015, the company said. Outside Tucson, Cox customers have free access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network of more than 300,000 Cable Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. The hotspots are strategically located in high-traffic areas such as restaurants, malls, sports arenas, parks and beaches in cities including New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Once a user has logged into other Cox Wi-Fi or Cable Wi-Fi hotspots, his or her wireless device will automatically recognize and log on to other Cox Wi-Fi and Cable Wi-Fi hotspots for up to two years. For more information on participating cable companies, visit the Cox Wi-Fi home page at www.cox.com/wifi.
Biz
By Jay Gonzales The information superhighway just got a little faster – three to five times faster – for Arizona customers of Cox Communications. Two of the company’s Internet packages, Cox High Speed Essential and Cox High Speed Starter, saw speed increases automatically go into effect this spring. The Essential package tripled its speed from 5 megabits per second to 15 megabits per second, while the Starter package increased its speed five-fold, from 1 to 5 megabits per second. Research from the University of Arizona Eller College of Management shows that in 2013, Tucson had the highest percentage of households using computers, tablets and smartphones in the home compared to households throughout Arizona and nationally. Cox knows the increased speeds are being put to good use in the market. The research came to light though the MAP Dashboard – Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona – a data-driven, public resource collaboration between UA, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. “This research reminds us that Southern Arizona Internet users are leading a growing trend of consumers who are staying connected via a variety of devices, making a robust and reliable Internet service imperative,” said Lisa Lovallo, market VP for Cox Communications of Southern Arizona. She said the speed increases are “the result of our investment in our network and commitment to offer access and choice to meet the needs of all our customers. We know this is especially important in today’s world where more and more devices are connected in the home.” Cox offers “a wide array of Internet service packages designed to suit anyone’s needs, from the casual email user to power gamers and households with multiple family members using the Internet simultaneously,” Lovallo said. With speeds as fast as 150 megabits per second, Cox said it is continuing to provide its customers the fastest speeds available in Southern Arizona – an average of six times faster than competitors’ maximum speed.
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PHOTO: COURTESY CIMARRON CIRCLE CONSTRUCTION
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1. & 2. NEXT student housing 3. HSL Properties’ Encantada at Steam Pump 4. Hub At Tucson student housing 5. HSL Properties’ Encantada at Dove Mountain
5 Opposite page from left
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Tim Freeman
VP Construction
Doug Staples President
Rob Staples VP
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PHOTO: DINO TONN PHOTOGRAPHY
BizCONSTRUCTION
Cimarron Builds Cool Pools Beyond the Turquoise Box of Water By Dan Sorenson
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
In the 37 years pool builder Cimarron Circle Construction Company has been around, you can count on your thumbs, and maybe a finger or two, those firms that have survived the recessions and building busts. Thinking outside the traditional rectangular turquoise box of water seems to help. Despite the veteran status, Cimarron President Doug Staples said there’s always something new to learn. And one of the things is to never say never. For instance, Staples said he never thought he’d get into commercial pool building. He thought the “lowest bid thing” on big commercial projects didn’t work out well for the company or the customer. He focused on building award-winning custom residential pools. But over the past few years Cimarron has been doing a lot of commercial work, including some dramatic large pools on those new privately owned student apartment towers that have sprung up around campus and downtown. And there are more commercial pools in the works, said VP Rob Staples, Doug’s son. He mentions upscale HSL Properties residential projects at Dove Mountain and an upcoming Oro Valley complex’s pool design that includes an elevated aqueduct that sends returning filtered water gushing back into the big pool. His dad said the continuing commercial business is based on Cimarron’s reputation for a
couple of tricky but successful jobs on those student buildings, rather than cut-throat low bidding. Without going into detail, he said the reputation came from stepping in to help with problems on out-of-town pool contractor’s work. Cimarron, with 40 employees, is state licensed for residential and commercial pools, landscaping and as a general contractor. “We need that if we go out and do a ramada. You can’t do that with (just) a pool license. Clients like to come to just one company,” Doug Staples said, for everything in the pool environment including outdoor fireplaces and landscaping. Staying competitive, whether in the commercial or residential pool business, means keeping up with the trends in pool design, and what goes in and around the modern pool. Negative edge and vanishing edge pools have been around for a while. But what can be done with them is ever changing. Some of Doug Staples’ favorite examples involve residential pools Cimarron has replaced or redone. He puts photos of beautiful residential pools up on the large monitor in his office on Grant Road. The options are astounding – contemporary pools, dipping pools, geometric and glass-wall pools, natural rock pools, raised pools, waterfalls, water features… Doug Staples recalled one “aha” moment with a client. “There was an existing pool. We tore that pool out. It was 18 inches below (grade). It wasn’t supposed to have glass at the end. But one day after going to SeaWorld, I continued on page 38 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 37
BizCONSTRUCTION continued from page 37 was sitting on the porch with the owner and said, ‘What would happen if we made that glass?’ ” And so it was – to dramatic effect. It’s surprising because disappearing and zero edge effects usually are at the far end of pools, making the pool seem almost invisible, blending in with the landscape – rather than actually exposing the structure at the near end. Dramatic indeed. Some modern pool designs, particularly those integrating water features in a yard’s recreational area, can be hard for customers to envision. That’s why he subscribes to a pricey animated poolimaging program for that reason. Bringing the image of a residential pool up on the monitor, the water shimmers realistically, there are lifelike animated characters in the pool and a man is flipping burgers at a poolside BBQ grill. Even the palm trees blow in the breeze. He changes the color of the pool with his mouse. The Pebble Tec surface that has replaced tile in many modern pools
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comes in a rainbow of colors. The effect of going from the traditional light blue to a dark blue is dramatic. With dozens of colors and shades, there’s no other way to know what it will really look like before a pool is filled. Staples said they start with a two-di-
“
Winter visitors like the smaller ‘spools’ because you can heat them up and not spend a whole lot.
”
– Doug Staples, President Cimarron Circle Construction Company
mensional drawing of the pool and surrounding structures and land features. Then details are added, right down to the shape and color of the pool deck chaise lounges. In the end, the customer can see realistic animated characters around and in the pool. There’s almost
no limit to the amount of detail that can be provided. “You even get an underwater view, different angles. We can even change the angle of the sun for whatever time of year it is.” It’s a powerful tool in a couple of ways. Beyond the obvious sales potential that comes from a lifelike, animated rendering, this detail cuts down on that residential contractors’ nightmare – the change order. Those time-consuming and sometimes expensive changes result when the homeowners don’t realize until the dirt starts flying what something is going to look like, how large or small it’s going to be relative to the surroundings – or they just want something they hadn’t visualized before signing a contract. Among the modern trends are “spools,” between the size of a spa and a pool – 3,000 to 5,000 gallons – that Staples said are particularly popular with winter visitors. “Winter visitors like the smaller ‘spools’ because you can heat them up and not spend a whole lot.”
Biz
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Tucson Care Card Offers Discounts, Supports Nonprofit The presenters of Tucson Fashion Week invite restaurants and retailers to offer discounts through the Tucson Care Card in support of a worthy cause. The cards are sold for $30 each and offer 20 percent discounts on shopping and dining during Tucson Fashion Week Oct. 9 through 18. One hundred percent of the card fees will be donated to the Steven M. Gootter Foundation, a nonprofit that works toward defeating sudden cardiac death. Its namesake, Steven Gootter, was a 42-year-old father of two who died from SCD in February 2005.
BizBRIEF
Tucson Care Card is sponsored by Biz Tucson Magazine and La Encantada. Last year 12 restaurants and 29 merchants participated in the program. Early participants this year include North Italia, Blanco Tacos & Tequila, Wildflower, Zinburger, Sauce Pizza & Wine and WilliamsSonoma. Biz Sign up online at online www.TucsonCareCard.org or call 520-481-9759.
Tucson Fashion Week is a professional platform for emerging designers to showcase their work alongside international designers, local boutiques and national retailers. Events encompass fashion, style, art and celebrity. Founded by designer Elizabeth Albert Tucson and is now presented by creative directors and owners Paula Taylor and Melanie Hebron Sutton. Learn more at www.tucsonfashionweek.com.
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Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 39
BizENTREPRENEUR
Co-owners Isabella’s Ice Cream
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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
Dominic & Kristel Johnson
Scoop Dreams Husband-Wife Owners Hit the Big Time By Valerie Vinyard Your first taste of Isabella’s Ice Cream will persuade you to make it a part of your daily diet. With a base of just four ingredients – cream, milk, eggs and cane sugar – this simple mix yields amazing flavor. “It tastes old-fashioned,” said Marissa Hatton, a 19-year-old Pima Community College art major who started working catering events for Isabella’s when she was 15. “You can taste how natural it is. I still eat it all the time.” Isabella’s Ice Cream, named after owners Kristel and Dominic Johnson’s first daughter, has achieved regional success. More than 100 Safeway stores in Arizona as well as Whole Foods locations in the Southern Pacific region now are carrying pints and minis. The Johnsons recently signed with United Natural Foods, the largest natural food distributor in North America. And in December, the couple parked a Model T truck that doubles as a scoop shop inside Rincon Market. Besides its great taste, Isabella’s Ice Cream is lauded for being all natural and for not using stabilizers and fillers. The couple also buys local foods to use for flavors when they can, including Green Valley pecans and Amado honey. The pair also is very civic-minded and donates ice cream for fundraising events for various schools and Living Streets Alliance. The idea for Isabella’s Ice Cream began in summer 2008 when an ice cream truck drove by their Rancho Sahaurita home. “Dominic said, ‘It would be cool to have an ice cream truck,’ ” Kristel Johnson recalled. www.BizTucson.com
Economy leads to career change
The two University of Arizona graduates had been doing real estate investing, but business was down because of the economy. Dominic, 39, started looking into getting an ice cream truck and liked Model T trucks from the 1920s. He bought his first one for $1,200 from a member of the Model T Club of Southern Arizona. “He brought it back from Nogales,” said Kristel, 37. “It was in metal pieces in the back of his Ford pickup. I said, ‘I thought you were buying a car.’ ” Putting the truck together and converting it to an electric – rather than gas-powered vehicle – took almost a year. With recycled wood paneling, solar modules on the roof and zero emissions, Isabella’s takes its green message to the street each time it goes out. The pair took money out of the college fund for their two daughters – Isabella and Alexandria, now 13 and 9 – to pay for startup costs. “I had tears in my eyes, and I said to Dominic, ‘You’d better make this work,’” Kristel said. Isabella’s first event was selling ice cream at Hot August Nights in Green Valley in 2010. Other catering events soon followed. “It started growing really fast right away,” she said. “You learn to step out
of your comfort zone when you start a business.” Success at catering gigs soon led to a meeting at Maynard’s Market & Kitchen, where the chef placed a “ridiculous order” as a sort of test to see if they could produce. They did, and their flavor, honey lavender, was a hit. Success forces a move
Up to that point, the Johnsons had been using a friend’s kitchen to create their ice cream. They had outgrown it, so they rented a small space in Mercado San Agustín in spring 2011 that housed a kitchen and a walk-in freezer. In addition to catering events, Isabella’s ice cream was available for sale at Rincon Market and the Food Conspiracy Co-op on Fourth Avenue. Business continued to grow. In April 2013, the couple set up a Kickstarter campaign and raised close to $17,000 (they had hoped for $15,000). In August 2013, they moved operations to a 1,500-square-foot warehouse on 17th Street near Park Avenue. “We knew maybe 20 percent of the people who contributed to the campaign,” said Kristel, who is proud that they never have taken out a loan to support their business. “People from all over the world gave. It was amazing; it was so cool.” Darcy Landis, local product coordinator for the Rocky Mountain region of Whole Foods Market, found Isabella’s on Kickstarter and researched the brand before meeting with them. Besides the product, she likes the square cardboard containers that Dominic created and is in the process of patenting – “they’re so nostalgic.” continued on page 42 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 41
BizENTREPRENEUR
continued from page 41 “What’s not to like about them?” she asked. “They make everything fresh – that’s a big difference. It’s really just starting with the quality of the ingredients. I think they make a real commitment to finding flavors that work.” Flavors have run the gamut from the standards to more adventurous – including kale ginger, salted caramel, spicy chocolate and celery sorbet. Their most popular flavors are salted caramel pecan and lavender vanilla. “I look at candles or scents and I think, ‘I can do that flavor,’ ” said Kristel, explaining how she comes up with new combinations. Small business struggles
But it hasn’t all been easy. The couple admitted that they don’t pay themselves very often – most of the money goes back into the business. Dominic, who competed in the pole vault in the 1996, 2000 and 2008 Olympics, said he was surprised how difficult it was to start and run a small business. “I think qualifying for the Olympics is easier than this business,” he said. “There are a lot of things you can’t control.” Interestingly, the Johnsons originally planned to franchise the idea. “We had no intention of making ice cream,” Dominic said. “It’s Maynards’ fault. It just grew from there – now we make everything.” And now, he wouldn’t change anything. “It’s super rewarding, especially to see the brand grow,” said Dominic, who said that Isabella’s now has three Model T trucks, including the one parked at Rincon Market. Rincon Market owner Ron Abbott first started selling Isabella’s pints and minis. At the scoop shop in the front of the market, you can enjoy 15 flavors at $3.50 a scoop, $6 for two. Toppings and waffle cones also are available. “They’re local, and with Dominic’s history with the University of Arizona, it’s a good fit,” Abbott said. “The texture of the ice cream is different. It’s not like a normal ice cream.” Next on the to-do list: Hiring more people to create the ever-growing products and give the Johnsons a bit of a break. Kristel said that will be difficult but necessary. “It’s hard to let go, to trust someone to do my recipes just right,” Kristel said.
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CREW Presents Forum on Development Statewide
BizBRIEF
Women in commercial real estate in Tucson refer to their Phoenix-area peers as “sisters” – a fresh attitude considering the competitive nature often found between the two cities. Members of Commercial Real Estate Women of Tucson realize that sharing knowledge and networking with members of AZCREW, the Phoenix chapter, is a win-win for those north and south of the Pinal County lines. CREW Network, the organization’s national office, was founded in 1989 with the goal of advancing achievements of women in commercial real estate. “Our mission is the same,” said Jeannie Nguyen, immediate past president of the 13-year-old Tucson chapter. On Sept. 11, CREW Tucson will hold a forum focusing on development topics relevant to both cities. AZCREW sisters are invited. The event is also open to the public. Speakers will include Tucson and Phoenix presenters and at least two from out of state. The event is from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with cocktail reception following. Details at www.crewtucson.org. “The morning will start with an open panel and focus on redevelopment of Phoenix and Tucson downtowns,” Nguyen said. CREW Network’s CEO Gail Ayers, will be the keynote speaker during lunch. Ayers oversees the organization’s 67 chapters throughout the United States and the CREW Network Foundation, its philanthropic arm. “Her talk will focus on multigenerational leadership in companies – characteristics and work strategies for Gen Xers, millennials and boomers all working together,” Nguyen said. “In the afternoon we’ll have three additional topics – each about 40 minutes long.” These include transportation, with a concentration on light rail and streetcar; evolution of a project, exploring commercial redevelopment; and space/use repositioning, presented by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini of Albuquerque. The firm’s architects completely repurposed an old office building, taking it from outdated to functional for today’s mixed generations of workers. “Even though it was in Albuquerque, this concept is more global,” Nguyen said. “It’s designed for the future.”
Biz
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From left
Jason Krupp
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
President & CEO Banner–University Medical Group
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Kathy Bollinger Executive VP Banner–University Medicine
Peter S. Fine
President & CEO Banner Health
Tom Dickson
CEO Banner–University Medical Center Tucson and South
BizHEALTHCARE
Building a New Healthcare Model By David Pittman
Every day is now a “Banner” day at two Tucson hospitals affiliated with the University of Arizona formerly known as University Medical Center and Kino Hospital. Banner Health’s $1.2 billion acquisition of the UA Health Network in late February reverses a once dreary financial outlook for the two hospitals, renamed Banner–University Medical Center Tucson and Banner–University Medical Center South, respectively. It also will bring vastly ramped-up resources for medical research to UA. These financial turnarounds were not orchestrated overnight. Complex negotiations involving UA, Banner and the Arizona Board of Regents took 14 months to complete. The money will come from Banner in $40 million annual payments over the next 30 years. Half of that money will go to UA Health Sciences and half to UA Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix. With this purchase, Banner, already the largest hospital group in Arizona, cemented its position as the state’s largest private employer with nearly 45,000 employees. In many respects, UA and Banner now become partners. For instance, UA medical schools in Tucson and Phoenix, along with clinical academic research, and faculty recruitment of physicians will be governed through an Academic Management Council equally repre-
sented by members from Banner and UA. A vast array of other university-affiliated healthcare operations – including Diamond Children’s Medical Center and UA Health Plans – also become part of Banner. Tom Dickson, a seasoned healthcare leader with a record of turning financially struggling hospitals from red
“
We intentionally created a structure that forces us to make decisions that are not in the best interest of either party – but the entire enterprise. –
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Kathy Bollinger, Executive VP Banner-University Medicine
ink to black, is the new CEO of Banner–UMC Tucson and Banner–UMC South. Before coming to Tucson, Dickson served as CEO at three Phoenixarea hospitals, including Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale for the past nine years. Dickson said Banner has already gone through an elaborate planning process and launched a plan of action to turn
the Tucson hospitals around. “We have identified 11 different initiatives we will focus on during the first year,” he said. “Those include patient experience, financial performance, length of stay and other basic foundational strategic initiatives. We have formed teams – faculty and staff working with partners from Banner – examining ways to improve results.” Dickson predicted the talent and tradition of UMC, combined with Banner’s expertise in delivering care, would ultimately provide excellent results. “The organization here has such a depth of talent,” he said. “The faculty, the physicians, the employees, we have an amazing group of core staff here and a great tradition. With Banner’s track record and the talent we have retained from UA Health Network and that exists within the UA, we will enhance patient care and support the training of tomorrow’s physicians.” UA President Ann Weaver Hart predicted the acquisition will lead to a cutting-edge healthcare model that “will reshape academic medicine in the United States.” Ron Shoopman, member of the Arizona Board of Regents and president and CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, agreed. “The integration of the research and academic medicine conducted at the UA into this highly efficient model that continued on page 46 >>>
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BizHEALTHCARE
continued from page 45 Banner has for running hospitals is an opportunity to create something that is unmatched in the nation,” Shoopman said. Banner’s move into the Tucson healthcare marketplace will bring huge benefits to UA and the former UA Health Network. Banner’s $1.2 billion commitment is the largest investment in UA history. It includes a $300 million endowment for the UA Colleges of Medicine in Phoenix and Tucson, dollars to pay off debt and $500 million in capital projects – including an 11-story tower addition at Banner–University Medical Center Tucson. Plans for the tower include 300 private patient rooms, 22 new operating room facilities and a new lobby and entrance. Banner Health recently selected local contractor Sundt Construction and partner DPR Construction to build the tower that will replace the 40-yearold portion of the hospital. Pending zoning approvals, construction is likely to begin in 2016, and the facility would open in 2019. Architects are Shepley Bulfinch of Phoenix and GLHN Architects & Engineers of Tucson. “Banner’s decision to select this joint venture team was based on its combined strengths – Sundt’s innovative approach to technical construction and deep roots in the community, and DPR’s expertise as the nation’s No. 1 healthcare builder,” said Kip Edwards, VP of development and construction for Banner Health. “Once completed, this facility will help Banner Health fulfill its mission in Southern Arizona to improve lives through excellent patient care.” “Banner’s entry into Tucson is huge and will create a great many jobs. This is a genuine economic development milestone for this community,” said Joe Snell, president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc., formerly Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities. “There are not many economic development projects of this magnitude being undertaken in this country right now.” Steve Lynn, former chair of the UAHN board of directors, said the board had to face “some very stark realities.” “The State of Arizona had built the continued on page 48 >>>
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DPR Construction-BizTucson DPR • Sundt-2015 Winter cnvrtd Monday, January 05, 2015 1:28:30 PM
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BizHEALTHCARE
“
With Banner’s track record and the talent we have retained from UA Health Network and that exists within UA, we will enhance patient care and support the training of tomorrow’s physicians.
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– Tom Dickson, CEO Banner–University Medical Center Tucson & Banner–University Medical Center South
continued from page 46 hospital (UMC) in 1973, but other than providing a little bit of money for continuing medical education, the state had not provided any funds for capital improvements since 1984,” he said. “You can’t run a hospital in this day and age with an infrastructure that old. It simply doesn’t work.” Lynn said UAHN initially approached Banner. “As the board was considering long-range plans, things quickly became centered on strategic partnerships and it didn’t take long for us to settle on Banner. We came to Banner because when we looked at its goals and objectives, they were amazingly similar to our own.” Following Banner’s acquisition, Lynn – a longtime community leader and former Tucson Electric Power executive – was named to the Banner board of directors to provide representation from Tucson. “My absolute belief, looking at this from both sides, is that the cultures of Banner, UA and the medical center are similar enough that this will be a success simply because all sides come to medicine with the same goals and objectives – quality care, patient-centered care, care that evolves because of research and compiling statistics on outcomes,” Lynn said. “I believe this marriage is made in heaven and will last well beyond 30 years.” While many hospitals are struggling to survive, Banner is experiencing dramatic growth. In the past year Banner has taken over Casa Grande Regional Medical Center and Arizona Regional Medical Center in Apache Junction, and will soon add Payson Regional Medical Center. Banner Health, headquartered in Phoenix, is among the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the nation, with 28 acute-care hospitals in seven states. Peter Fine, president and CEO of Banner Health, said the healthcare industry is going through turbulent and difficult times primarily because of regulatory and financial pressures. He said these disruptive periods create opportunities for consolidation that Banner is positioned to benefit from. “Healthcare is a relatively low-margin business,” Fine said. “You have to make huge capital and IT investments. For many, continued on page 50 >>> 48 BizTucson
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PHOTO COURTESY DPR CONSTRUCTION
BizHEALTHCARE
continued from page 48 the only way they can afford to do that is to work with somebody else to spread that fixed overhead over a very big base.” The Academic Management Council that oversees medical school faculty, recruitment and clinical research, has six voting members – three appointed by Banner and three by UA. It takes twothirds of members to make decisions or set policy. The council also governs the partnership between Banner and the UA College of Medicine–Phoenix at Banner–University Medical Center Phoenix, formerly Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. The AMC is co-chaired by Dr. Charles Cairns, interim dean of the UA College of Medicine–Tucson and a nationally recognized leader in emergency and critical research, and Kathy Bollinger, executive VP of Banner–University Medicine. “We intentionally created a structure that obligates us to understand the other party’s position and to come to the same conclusions,” Bollinger said. “It’s a high bar. But it forces us to make decisions that are not in the best interest of either party – but the entire enterprise.” Other voting members of the AMC 50 BizTucson
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Proposed 11-story tower addition to Banner–University Medical Center Tucson
“
Banner is committed to providing the vast resources needed to put Tucson on the map as home to one of the premier academic health centers in the country. –
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Dr. Charles Cairns, Interim Dean UA College of Medicine Tucson
are Dr. Alexander Chiu (pronounced Chew), a surgeon who chairs the UA medical school’s otolaryngology department; Gregg Goldman, UA senior VP for business affairs and CFO; Dr. John Hensing, Banner executive VP and chief medical officer; and Dennis Dahlen, Banner senior VP and CFO.
Dr. Jason Krupp is president and CEO of the newly formed Banner– University Medical Group, which consists of 800 faculty physicians at the UA Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix. Krupp is a non-voting member of the AMC. Before working as chief medical officer at two Banner hospitals in Phoenix, Krupp was chief medical officer at Tucson Medical Center, chief of general medicine at UMC and chief of clinical services for the UA Department of Medicine. He said a big challenge facing Banner–UMC Tucson is reconnecting its faculty, practice and services to the community. “We have amazing specialists,” he said. “We want to make sure patients can access them.” Cairns said the AMC has already approved hiring almost 100 new physician faculty members at Banner–University Medical Center Tucson. “It’s a combination of brand-new positions and others that have been vacant for some time,” he said. “Banner is committed to providing the vast resources needed to put Tucson on the map as home to one of the premier academic health centers in the country.”
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Facts about your liver
BizMEDICINE
• The liver is one of the largest, • In adults, it weighs about 3 pounds
• The liver breaks down toxic substances in the blood
• It can be transplanted • It regenerates itself
Dr. Thomas D. Boyer
Director University of Arizona Liver Research Institute
Scientist, Educator, Clinician Dr. Thomas D. Boyer Targets Liver Diseases By Susan E. Swanberg Galen, a prominent physician, scientist and teacher in ancient Rome, considered the brain to be the seat of reason, the heart the seat of emotion and the liver the seat of passion. Dr. Thomas D. Boyer, a modern-day Galen and director of the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine’s Liver Research Institute, has devoted more than four decades to his passion – studying the liver, its diseases and disorders. Boyer is a vanishing breed. He’s what his friend and colleague, Dr. Steven Goldschmid, associate VP for clinical affairs at the Arizona Health Sciences Center, calls “the three-legged stool,” that rare combination of superb clinician, great scientist and inspiring educator. Boyer, the John Lee Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona, former head of the UA Department of Medicine and board-certified gastroenterologist on the medical staff of Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, graduated with a medical degree from the University of Southern California 52 BizTucson
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in 1969, where he completed his residency in internal medicine. He joined the UA College of Medicine in 2000 when he was appointed director of the Liver Research Institute, professor in the UA Department of Medicine and physician with the UA Medical Center Liver Transplant Program. Boyer has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, and coedited the authoritative work, “Hepatology, A Textbook of Liver Disease,” now in its sixth edition. An intense, modest man with an affinity for crisp blue shirts and harmonizing ties, Boyer doesn’t boast about his impressive achievements. He’d prefer to describe the free, walk-in hepatitis C screening clinic held every Friday at the Liver Research Institute, discuss the causes of healthcare disparities in vulnerable populations or share his story about the medical mystery that sparked his career back when “the (laboratory) bench didn’t even know there was a bedside.”
A passion ignited
Boyer’s fascination with the liver, one of the five organs necessary to sustain life, began in the early 1970s when, as a medical resident at Los Angeles County Hospital, he admitted a young woman with jaundiced skin, bruised and bloodshot eyes – a condition physicians call “raccoon eyes” – abdominal tenderness and vomiting. Boyer diagnosed the patient with hepatic necrosis, an acute toxic injury to the liver and kidney failure. Two days prior to her admission, the young woman had swallowed 60 tablets of acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol. Suspecting that a Tylenol overdose was the cause of the woman’s illness, Boyer looked up acetaminophen in the “Index Medicus,” the premier medical bibliography of the time, and found nothing about acetaminophen toxicity. Boyer presented the case to his mentor, renowned USC professor and liver expert Dr. Telfer “Pete” Reynolds, who suggested that Boyer search for paracewww.BizTucson.com
PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN
most complex organs
tomal, the British name for acetaminophen. Articles in the British Medical Journal and the Lancet confirmed the diagnosis. In 1971, Boyer submitted a case report on the Tylenol overdose to the Journal of the American Medical Association. It was one of the first acetaminophen toxicity reports published in the U.S. According to Boyer, acetaminophen overdose continues to be a public health problem, in spite of now-available treatments and an acetaminophen toxicity warning added years later. Acetaminophen is particularly dangerous for patients who consume alcohol, as liver toxicity can be induced with normal doses of Tylenol in the presence of alcohol. “After that case report, I said, ‘this is really fun,’ having all those people write me for reprints. I thought that was very cool, so I came back, finished my medicine residency, did a liver fellowship, then went up to the University of California San Francisco to gastrointestinal medicine and stayed on as faculty.” One of Boyer’s favorite projects has been the Liver Research Institute, es-
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tablished in the late 1990s with funding from the Arizona Legislature. The institute, an integrated clinical and basic research program, sees patients, conducts research on liver disease and conducts clinical trials of potential cures for hepatitis C. According to Boyer, hepatitis C is a significant cause of liver disease and a major driving force behind liver transplantation in the United States. Statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support Boyer’s contention that baby boomers have the highest risk of contracting hepatitis C – five times the risk of the general population. Boyer hopes that the institute will find new treatments or even cures for liver disease. Under his guidance, the institute has helped discover a genetic mutation that increases the risk of cirrhosis. The future of science
When asked about the future of science in this country, Boyer doesn’t mince words. “I worry about science in the U.S. I don’t know what’s happened, but it’s really taken a turn for the worse, as far as
I’m concerned,” he said. People fear vaccines and genetic manipulations of their food. On one level, Boyer understands their fears, but he’s concerned that people don’t understand the value of science or have the curiosity he had as a child when he brought a heart and lung purchased from a slaughterhouse to school. “I grossed everybody out, but I loved it,” said Boyer. “I think biology is just amazing. It’s just so much fun to be curious.” Medicine is changing, too, according to Boyer. “Healthcare in the U.S. is undergoing a revolution – more hospitals going into larger groups of hospitals.” Young physicians will practice medicine in a different world, a world where many will be hospital employees. Over the years, Boyer financed much of his liver research with a continuous flow of grant money from the National Institutes of Health, funding he gave up after 25 years of research. He misses the laboratory, but has more projects going than most of us would ever contemplate starting. “It’s all great stuff,” Boyer said. “It’s been fun for over 40 years now.”
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PHOTO: TOM SPITZ
BizBENEFIT
Big Bash Benefits Kids El Rio Vecinos’ Black Tie Block Party Returns By Romi Carrell Wittman El Rio Vecinos is at it again. This year the group is planning an even bigger bash than the hugely successful inaugural Black Tie Block Party held last fall. Maira Rodriguez, a student services advanced specialist with Pima Community College, is co-chair of this year’s event She said the Vecinos, which means neighbors in Spanish, are aiming high. “Last year, we sold out a week before the event,” she said. “This year’s event is larger and we have 750 tickets, with a goal of raising $75,000 for El Rio’s Pediatric Dental Program.” The second annual Black Tie Block Partyy will be held Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the historic Scottish Rite Cathedral. Like last year, the event is Tucson formal – that is jeans, bow ties, cocktail dresses, flip flops and everything in between. Rodriguez said her love of “Downton Abbey” helped shape the vision. “It will be elegant, kind of like the parish fair on the show,” she said. “We’ll have old-timey games like a ring toss and music and performers.” She hopes people will dress in styles from the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. 54 BizTucson
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Like last year, artists will be on-site creating original works of art to be auctioned later in the evening. Guests will also have a chance to win a 2015 Ford Mustang, 50th Anniversary Edition, sponsored by The Jim Click Automotive Team. General admission gets you in the door at 7 p.m., but VIP ticket holders can arrive at 6 p.m. and receive valet parking, extra drink tickets and other benefits. “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Teresa Bravo, coordinator of economic development and international projects for Pima County and event co-chair. “My advice to people is to buy your tickets early and wear comfortable shoes!” Food and beverage sponsors include El Charro Café, Elliott’s on Congress, Ermanos Craft Beer & Wine Bar, Johnny Gibson’s Downtown Market, On a Roll Sushi•Bar•Restaurant, Panera Bread, Sir Veza’s Taco Garage and Tavolino Ristorante Italiano. All proceeds go to El Rio’s Pediatric Dental Program. Funds will be used to provide both preventive and emergency dental care for children. “One day I saw a woman and her 10-year-old daughwww.BizTucson.com
“
It’s going to be a lot of fun. My advice to people is to buy your tickets early and wear comfortable shoes.
”
– Teresa Bravo, Co-Chair El Rio Vecinos’ Black Tie Block Party
ter,” said Brenda Goldsmith, executive director of El Rio Health Center Foundation. “The little girl had what looked like two abscessed teeth and was in a lot of pain, but they couldn’t afford treatment.” Goldsmith helped them through El Rio’s emergency fund. El Rio’s preventive program aims to stop problems before they happen. Rodriguez and Bravo have personal ties to El Rio. Rodriguez was a patient after college and later worked at El Rio. Bravo also received treatment at El Rio while she was an undergraduate student. Both are passionate about El Rio and the Vecinos. Bravo was a founding member and Rodriguez has been a member since 2013. Vecinos members – young professionals ages 25 to 39 – share support El Rio and its mission of serving the community’s healthcare needs, regardless of ability to pay. The primary focus is to fundraise and support El Rio Community Health Center. Vecinos are required to attend meetings and to actively participate. They use a point system to track participation. They are passionate and hard working, Goldsmith said. As an executive director, she’s worked with and served on many different boards. “I’ve never seen the connection that I see with this group. I see lifelong friendships being formed.” Founded 45 years ago, the health center serves more than 83,000 people annually, including 33,000 children. El Rio Vecinos was the brainchild of El Rio Foundation Board Member Dan Chambers, who recognized the importance of cultivating the next generation of philanthropic community leaders. Two Vecinos have already “graduated” to the board of the El Rio Foundation. Currently there are 39 active Vecinos. “The idea for the Vecinos was a concept, a vision,” Bravo said. “And now it’s taken hold. It has its own life and it’s getting really fun.” Biz
BLACK TIE BLOCK PARTY BENEFITS EL RIO CHILDREN’S DENTAL PROGRAM Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. Saturday, Sept. 12, 7p.m. $50 general admission $75 VIP admission Buy tickets at www.elrio.org or call 520-205-4947 Sponsorships – Call Jill Rodriguez at 520 870 - 7148
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PHOTO: COURTESY TUCSON MEDICAL CENTER
BizHEALTHCARE
TMC Expands Medical Expertise
Affiliates With Mayo Clinic, Phoenix Children’s Hospital By Dan Sorenson Tucson Medical Center is expanding its resources with two new alliances – contracting with Phoenix Children’s Hospital and joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network – while remaining Tucson’s sole locally owned hospital. “We are collaborating and cooperating with these institutions that are considered the gold standard,” said TMC spokeswoman Kimberly Romo. “The Mayo (relationship) in a nutshell is giving doctors access to the Mayo expertise so they can essentially get a second opinion for their patients without their patients having to go up to Phoenix. We’re trying to keep people here at home, allowing patients to get the best quality care that they can right here in Tucson.” “I think every (physician) has had a tough case where they want a second opinion,” said Dr. Rick Anderson, TMC chief medical officer. “A lot of 56 BizTucson
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this is for those physicians when they want a second opinion. I think it really brings another level of expertise. And there is a certain halo effect. I had surgery at the Mayo Clinic when I lived in Illinois – so I know the feeling.” The Mayo Clinic, founded in Rochester, Minn., in 1889, is known for tackling tough medical cases and for ground-breaking research. It is said to be the first and largest nonprofit medical group practice in the world. It also has facilities in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Jacksonville, Fla. Mayo employs more than 3,800 physicians and scientists and has a related healthcare staff of 50,900. As part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, TMC medical staff will have ready access to Mayo’s broad and deep expertise. But there are no plans to have Mayo staff on site at TMC – or for TMC staffers to become employees of Mayo, Anderson said.
The Phoenix Children’s Hospital alliance actually will involve a physical presence in Tucson, Anderson said. “They won’t be driving down from Phoenix to cover our hospital. They will be physicians that Phoenix Children’s employs – but they will actually be living here in Tucson covering our pediatric in-patients, as well as our pediatric intensive care unit,” he said. TMC for Children’s physical facility includes 44 private medical/surgical patient rooms and 12 private pediatric intensive care rooms. The TMC pediatrics emergency department is considered the busiest in the region, seeing an average of 30,000 kids and admitting 700 patients a year. Phoenix Children’s offers 75 pediatric specialties, including some Anderson said are not available or scarce at TMC or elsewhere in Tucson. Anderson said an example of a gap www.BizTucson.com
in Tucson’s current pediatric specialties would be “a metabolic genetic pediatrician who works with high-risk kids – kids with genetic defects and metabolic disorders. That’s one thing that we don’t have a lot of here. Pediatric neurosurgery is something we struggle with in town. Some of the neurosurgeons do pediatric cases – but some of the highend pediatric surgery leaves town for that,” he said. Another gap area is pediatric endocrinology, which provides treatment for kids with diabetes and other hormonal issues. Anderson said the contract with Phoenix Children’s Hospital does not replace Tucson pediatric specialists – particularly TMC’s long-standing relationship with UA specialists. “We’re asking our community partners to help us identify those areas where we can fill some of those gaps,” Anderson said. “We don’t want to break our partnership with Banner-University Medical Center. We want to keep kids in Tucson. “If there’s a specialist at Banner-University Medical Center that keeps kids in Tucson rather than shipping them up to Phoenix Children’s, we’re going to use those specialists. We still want to continue that relationship and have some of their specialists come over here. Infectious diseases comes over here right now, gastroenterology comes over here. That’s going to continue. We don’t want to disrupt that at all.” Anderson said Phoenix Children’s pediatric hospitalists – hospital-based physicians specializing in the day-today management of care of in-patients – will take over that service at TMC. In recent years TMC has not been in the practice of employing hospitalists, but rather contracting those services. “None of the hospitalists or intensivists will have outpatient practices, it will be solely in-patient,” Anderson said. Anderson said these new alliances will have no effect on the current medical hierarchy or administrative operations of TMC. “We’re bringing expertise while still maintaining control,” he said. Under the leadership of CEO and President Judy Rich, TMC “is really bucking the trend nationally of hospitals like us folding into larger organizations.”
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BizTRIBUTE
Donald Shropshire If Donald Shropshire had a calling card, it was his gentleman’s charm, wrapped in a bow tie, sealed with a handshake and topped with a little Southern flavor. If he had a calling, though, it was providing healthcare for the community. But his love, first and foremost, was his wife, Mary Ruth, an elementary school teacher by training, whom he married in 1950, and his children, Melanie and Devin. Also at the top of the list was Tucson Medical Center, which he led between 1967 until his retirement in 1992 and continued to shape in the ensuing decades as President Emeritus. The pioneering healthcare leader passed away on May 28 at the age of 87. He was the heartbeat of Tucson Medical Center during his tenure – unshakeable in his vision to improve the 58 BizTucson
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health of the Tucson community. “If success is measured by how many lives one has touched, or how many positive changes one makes in the world, then Don was a successful man indeed,” said Judy Rich, TMC President and CEO. “He was a thoughtful man who was not only a visionary leader, helping to move this community hospital into its modern age, but who inspired us all with his civility, passion and dedication.” Always on the forefront of medical technology and improvements, he led the hospital to open the city’s first newborn and pediatric intensive care units and bring Tucson its first MRI and breast-imaging technology. His commitment was acknowledged in 1989, when he accepted one of healthcare’s most prestigious honors, the American Hospital Association Distinguished Service Award.
Aside from historical facts, perhaps his legend lies even in more personal remembrances – such as his walking hospital hallways and remembering the names of the staff he encountered. It didn’t take long for Shropshire to plant deep, deep roots in the community – including medicine, education, business, philanthropy and the arts. In addition to healthcare, he believed that education and the arts were pivotal for the well-being of a community. He served on both the Arizona Board of Regents and on the board of Pima Community College and personally supported students through scholarships at Pima, the University of Arizona and its Medici Circle for the performing artists of tomorrow. Shropshire’s motto was “With all we take from this world, it’s important that we take time to give back.” www.BizTucson.com
PHOTO: COURTESY TUCSON MEDICAL CENTER
Gentleman and Statesman
He was a founding member of the Voluntary Hospitals of America, chairman of the National Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, Arizona Town Hall, Tucson Airport Authority, La Posada at Park Centre and the UA College of Fine Arts dean’s board, as well as president of the Rotary Club of Tucson He served on many boards – the American Hospital Association, Southern Arizona Hospital Council, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Tucson Economic Development Corporation, Tucson Tomorrow, Health Planning Council, Tucson Electric Power/UniSource, Pima County Academic Decathlon, UA College of Management, UA Steele Children’s Research Center, Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, Rincon and Sonoran Institutes, Museum of Northern Arizona, Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona, Medical Education Commission, First Interstate Bank and UA President’s Club. He even served as a Christmas season bell ringer for the Salvation Army. In 1987, the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce named him Man of the Year, citing his “profound commitment” to Tucson. In 1997, the Father’s Day Council Tucson named him “Father of the Year.” Beyond his public involvement, there were some very special personal moments, including his private audience with Pope John II. This consummate gentleman was truly A Man for All Seasons. He is survived by Mary Ruth, his wife of almost 65 years; Devin Shropshire, his son; Melanie David, his daughter, married to Gary; grandchildren Ashley McLain, Carrie and Sean David; great granddaughter, Skyla McLain; and his brother, Kent Shropshire. The family suggests donations in his memory to the TMC Foundation for The Don & Mary Ruth Shropshire Endowment for the TMC Healing Art Program, Medici Fund UA College of Fine Arts, hospice program at Peppi’s House or Scholarship Fund, Pima Community College Foundation. Reprinted with permission from TMC News
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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
WOMEN WHO LEAD
Kimberly Van Amburg CEO Casino Del Sol Resort 60 BizTucson
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BizTOURISM
‘It’s a Big Deal’ Woman in Charge at Sol Casinos By Mary Minor Davis In 2007, Kimberly Van Amburg walked into her first management meeting as the newly appointed assistant attorney general for gaming for the Pascua Yaqui tribe. There were about 40 people in the room – but only two women. “There was me and the executive assistant who was taking the meeting minutes,” she recalled. Seven years later, Amburg is sitting in the CEO chair for Sol Casinos, the first woman in the tribe’s history to do so. As the head of both Casino del Sol Resort and Casino of the Sun, her role is to oversee the strategic direction of the properties. Appointed interim in the job last July, she was offered the position permanently in December 2014. “They didn’t even post the position,” she said. “That shows a tremendous amount of confidence in my ability.” While an exact number is not known, the number of women running tribal gaming enterprises in the country is “very small,” a fact that is not lost on Amburg. “This is a big deal,” she said. Amburg didn’t have aspirations of CEO leadership when she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona. After college, she found the news field wasn’t quite the right fit so she worked in the Tucson hospitality industry for several years. She had always wanted to earn a law degree, which she completed at the UA in 1999. There she met her husband. Soon after she went to work for a law firm, they were expecting their first child. “The lifestyle of an attorney in a big law firm is not family friendly,” she said. “I ended up looking around and a friend recommended me for the assistant attorney general position.” Amburg, now 48 and the mother of two boys, appears relaxed and comfortable behind a modest desk in her office www.BizTucson.com
at Casino del Sol, exuding a quiet confidence that shows no sense of trepidation about the responsibility she has assumed: to generate the maximum amount of revenue that can be returned to the tribal community. Her low-key manner mirrors those of other leaders she respects, including former CEO Wendell Long, whom she considers a mentor. “I admire people who do not do a lot of bouncing up and down and pointing at themselves, people who are just getting things done with a minimal amount of congratulating themselves, but rather give credit to others. Wendell was a good role model and mentor who emulated this,” she said. “Kim is the perfect fit for Sol Casinos, adding great strength to the team,” Long told Indian Country News Network. “She’s a smart woman who knows the business, and her legal training will be an asset in solving the complex challenges of running a major casino. She’ll definitely take things to the next level.” One of her first orders of business was to stabilize the casino enterprises. As the third CEO in as many years, she worked to create a sense of security for the more than 1,300 employees who have seen leadership come and go since 2013. “The understanding that this is what we’re going to have for a while has been positive,” she said. “I’m a known quantity, so the fact that our team members know what to expect with me has been a good thing already. It’s removed a lot of uncertainty from the work environment.” Amburg’s other key focus has been on the gaming operations themselves, with improvements designed to maximize the revenue potential of the properties and provide a greater level of customer service, particularly to the high-limit customers. She says she’s put the “right people in
the right job,” including promoting Paul Feltman from former executive director of finance to CFO, and bringing back Steve Neely as chief marketing officer of the casino resort, a position he held from 2009 to 2012. In addition, she hired a new director of gaming operations, Jack McGinty. “We have a chance to be competitive in a way that other resorts in the area can’t,” she said. “We can offer discounts and packages that others can’t to attract people into the gaming facilities,” reducing dependency on making the revenue off the accommodations. “Although we do make money on the rooms, we don’t have to as other properties do. Those two amenities have given us a great opportunity to be more creative in what we offer our guests.” Looking ahead, Amburg recently launched an employee development and succession plan. Approximately 59 percent of the employee base at Sol Casinos comes from the tribe – which she notes is higher than in other tribal gaming enterprises – but not high enough for her. She’d like to see that number be 60 percent or greater. She recently launched two development programs, one to give tribal supervisors and managers training for the next opportunity that becomes available. That program is being run by Rogelio “Roy” Valencia, director of tribal development. The second Amburg herself is spearheading specifically for managers and directors. It is an 18-month program designed to prepare these individuals for an executive management position. “We have incredible stories of employees who have started out as servers or in other entry jobs and just blossomed through the right management and opportunities. I want to develop more supervisors, managers and leaders for the organization.”
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BizLAW
Legal Dynamo
Tenacity Powers Attorney’s Career By Rhonda Bodfield A couple of facts shed light on the drivers that shape Jill Wiley, who specializes in legal matters involving trusts and estates, including planning and litigation. As managing shareholder of the fullservice law firm Waterfall, Economidis, Caldwell, Hanshaw & Villamana, Wiley said the best compliment she ever received from a professional colleague was that he considered her “tenacious.” And the best advice from a mentor that she practices to this day – you can never be criticized for being too prepared. Wiley didn’t grow up with big dreams of practicing law. There were, however, early signs that she had a proclivity for wrestling with the status quo. As a high school freshman, a friend pointed out that she was constantly challenging the teachers. But it wasn’t until she had served as a certified public accountant for nine years that she realized that it would be a powerful combination to speak both languages of legal terminology and accounting concepts. She went to law school with the intention of developing a tax practice. Over time, her interests gravitated to estate and trust law. “You’re really helping clients work through one of the most difficult decisions of their lives – how they can leave what they have accumulated over their lifetimes to the next generation in the most productive, positive way possible,” she said. Wiley recently won a landmark case before the Arizona Supreme Court that 62 BizTucson
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ultimately determined that a spouse can control the disposition of his or her share of community property. Had she lost, the likely result would have been that a spouse could only dispose of community property with the consent of his or her partner – which would have serious implications, particularly in second marriages when a spouse may want to leave a legacy to a child from a previous marriage, against the wishes of the new spouse. “We have a difficult legal system. If you take a case to the end – if your client doesn’t settle a case – there’s going to be only one party that prevails,” Wiley said. “I typically feel great relief when the court rules in favor of my client.” Wiley is proud of her accomplishments outside the courtroom as well, particularly in her role as managing shareholder of her firm, which was formed in 1969 and now boasts many lawyers – including Wiley – recognized by Best Lawyers In America for 2015. After she took over management eight years ago, it effectively spelled the transfer of management from the three founding partners – Gordon Waterfall, Peter Economidis and Hugh Caldwell, Jr. – to the second generation of leaders. It also meant she was taking over in a difficult economic time when large, over-leveraged law firms throughout the country were tanking. “Some of those previously successful firms failed at a time when our firm was achieving more financial security through the choices I made for the firm,” Wiley said, noting she had coun-
seled the shareholders to avoid debt and reinvest in the firm instead. And she succeeded as a female in an industry still dominated by men, even though Wiley said she’s never felt doors closed to her because of gender. “To be honest, I’m not aware of a single time when a prospective client did not hire me because I’m female – but I know I’m often hired because I am female,” she said. “Women are often the buyers of homes, cars, etc., and when it comes to estate planning, they’re often the buyer of legal services.” Wiley, whose duties have taken her to Asia and Italy, and will take her in the coming months to Peru, serves on the board of directors for Meritas, a global network of 7,000 lawyers in 76 countries and serves as VP of its finance committee. “Being actively engaged in this organization literally opens the door for the clients of my firm to get legal advice across the world with a simple phone call or email,” she said. Long before she ever thought of law, there was perhaps a key moment that foreshadowed her future success. She passed her CPA exam on the first attempt – a credentialing exam considered one of the most challenging in the world. “That was really a significant moment in my career, because I learned if you are disciplined, you can achieve things that many others can’t.”
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PHOTO: AMY HASKELL
WOMEN WHO LEAD
Jill Wiley
Managing Shareholder Waterfall, Economidis, Caldwell, Hanshaw & Villamana Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 63
WOMEN WHO LEAD
Teresa Liverzani-Baker PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
Executive Director Youth On Their Own
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BizLEADERSHIP
Passion for Helping Kids Succeed By Larry Copenhaver Beyond serving as executive director of the nonprofit group Youth On Their Own, Teresa Liverzani-Baker loves playing the piano, reading, exercising, painting and cooking. Even more than that, she loves her husband Greg Baker, her family, and their three dogs and two cats, she said. And she puts a lot of stock in her faith. “I am a very faith-driven person, which is a guiding principle in my life,” she said. That plays into her role as head of Youth On Their Own, often known by its initials, YOTO. The organization supports high school graduation of homeless, abandoned and at-risk kids in grades 6 through 12. “I joined YOTO in 2010 and found a perfect home which has allowed me to combine my passion for helping kids succeed through education by utilizing my past employment experiences and talents,” Liverzani-Baker said. She is a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse grad and former K-12 art educator. She holds a graduate degree in media production and communications. Other formative experiences include marketing and national sales with American Express, Konica/Fotomat Corp., M.C.I. Industries and serving as a buyer for Robinson’s/Associated Dry Goods. She also worked in nonprofit and fundraising management with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Tucson’s St. Augustine High School. Now, YOTO has become her mission. www.BizTucson.com
“I am driven to significantly reduce, if not totally eradicate, the exorbitant high school dropout rate in Arizona,” she said. “I am driven to expand our program statewide, most immediately into Maricopa County that has 30,000 kids in this demographic.” To further her mission, LiverzaniBaker plans for YOTO to open its own retail store this summer. The store will focus on the resale of gently used and new home décor items. For that, the organization purchased a building just south of the YOTO center in the 1600
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Without education, poverty perpetuates poverty. The transformation begins with a high school diploma. –
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Teresa Liverzani-Baker Executive Director Youth On Their Own
block of North Alvernon Way. “This specialty thrift store will offer us some unique opportunities,” she said. “All revenue will benefit our program to help kids stay in school and graduate, and we also will provide paid student internships for qualified YOTO seniors that desire training in retail sales and services.”
It’s all about keeping kids on a path to a solid education, even seeking out high schoolers, and some in junior high students, who disappear from the classroom because they feel their homes have fallen apart and they need to head out on their own. Many have nowhere to go, and they quickly find themselves part of the homeless population. Enter YOTO, which provides some of the tools and support necessary for the students to get back on track and focus on the goal of graduation. More than 140 schools in the area, including those in Marana, Catalina Foothills, Tanque Verde, Vail, Sahuarita, Sells and Tucson school districts, offer the YOTO program. A faculty member at each school site is a volunteer for the program, founded in 1986. The organization counts more than 15,000 students helped since inception, and this year marks 30 years of supporting the growing need. Students in YOTO seek assistance for many reasons. For some, it’s chaos or heartbreak caused by broken homes. For others, it’s a lack of parental guidance or support, or they might be victims of physical, mental, verbal or sexual abuse, said Liverzani-Baker. The focus for the students is day-to-day survival – and that pre-empts a healthy vision of the future. “The troubles these homeless students endure, through no fault of their own, is monumental,” said Rocky Dicontinued on page 66 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 65
PHOTO: BRIANA SCOTT.
BizLEADERSHIP
From left – Mike DiChristofano, Teresa Liverzani-Baker, Bryan Foulk, Terry Hlivko, David Martin, Sean Murray and Rocky DiChristofano
Tucson Subaru Supports YOTO By Larry Copenhaver Tucson Subaru, in a program aimed at assisting charitable organizations, recently donated $38,223 to Youth On Their Own, a Tucson-based group that helps homeless students, grades 6 through 12, stay in school and graduate. “Our donation was a joint venture as a retailer on behalf of the Subaru Share the Love, an annual event that Subaru America has done for seven years,” said Rocky DiChristofano who operates Tucson Subaru with his brother Mike. In the past seven years, the national organization has contributed $50 million dollars for charities. Every Subaru dealer in the country participates in the Share the Love event. Nationally, Subaru America donated $15 million just in 2014 to benefit qualified charities of the dealers’ choice from several national charitable groups and more than 600 local organizations, DiChristofano said. “It’s so great to be involved with a corporation like them. They are willing to do something in the local communities,” he said. “Some $250 was set aside for Share the Love for each car sold at a Subaru dealership last year. The troubles these homeless students endure, through no fault of their own, is monumental. It’s important to realize how fortunate we have it and how hard some people have it.” Biz
continued from page 65 Christofano, who runs Tucson Subaru with his brother Mike. Mike serves on the YOTO board. “For example, an eighth-grader was taken to Child Protective Services because the mother was doing drugs. The child found YOTO and expects to graduate from high school and go onto college.” In April, the dealership, through Subaru America, donated $38,223 to Youth On Their Own as part of the parent group’s charity, Sharing the Love. The gift is a welcome infusion of cash, Liverzani-Baker said. Arizona’s high school dropout rate ranks in the top five states nationally. According to a 2014 report from Arizona mayors, more than 18,000 Arizona students dropped out of high school during the 20132014 academic year. For the 2014-15 school year, YOTO nonprofit projected it would help more than 1,500 students stay in school. Of those, 350 seniors were expected to graduate in May. Liverzani-Baker said she sees plenty of evidence that a high school diploma is essential for young people. Most skilled labor occupations, such as journeyman plumbers, journeyman electricians and other such jobs require high school diplomas to be hired; and many fast-food chain restaurants expect employees to have completed high school. “Without education, poverty perpetuates poverty. The transformation begins with a high school diploma,” she said. “At-risk kids, homeless and on their own, don’t leave Tucson to relocate for better homeless opportunities. They remain in Tucson because any fiber or link to support is here – and it is all they know.” This affects the entire community – for without diplomas, there is little opportunity for those students to buck the poverty percentage. In addition, workforce development suffers, jobs are difficult to get without education and the possibility of illegal activity increases. A student participant named Carmen describes YOTO’s value: “Youth On Their Own changed my life completely by helping me improve my grades and attendance. I am so grateful to YOTO, not just because of the economic support – but because of the moral support, too. I hope one day to help other students as YOTO has helped me, because without Youth On Their Own, my life would be much harder.”
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BizLAW
From Clerk to Shareholder
Smith Heads Prominent 24-Attorney Firm By Rhonda Bodfield Moral dilemmas, justice and consequences are concepts a philosopher and a lawyer may grapple with in entirely different ways. Which is why, as a doctoral student in philosophy, Lisa Anne Smith found herself going to law school. She never actually intended to practice. But with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wellesley College, she thought practical legal training would help inform the more theoretical part of her studies as she worked toward her doctorate. Then, at the end of her second year of law school, came a clerkship at DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, a multidisciplinary, full-service firm founded in 1968. She had two unexpected realizations. “I found the work inherently interesting and challenging,” Smith said. “To this day, almost everything I do, I approach it as a puzzle to solve. It’s not only interesting to work it through to a resolution, but it’s very satisfying to have a positive effect on people’s lives by helping them solve real-world problems.” Plus, she found she really liked her colleagues, who were smart and sincere and doing interesting work. Even though Smith ultimately put aside her doctoral ambition, she found the two disciplines complementary. Philosophy may be more abstract, but there’s a lot of “it depends” happening in both, and the need to fully consider a set of facts. “In philosophy at the graduate level, you’re constantly reading something complicated and staking out a position and arguing why another person’s theory is right or wrong,” said Smith, who specializes in education law, em68 BizTucson
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ployment law and civil litigation. “As a lawyer, I take a complicated set of facts and figure out how best to stake out my position. And then in either case, I write about it.” Fast forward two decades and Smith is now the managing shareholder of the 24-attorney firm, coordinating marketing, hiring and policies, as well as providing financial oversight to the firm, which is well-known for its work in natural resources and education law. Among its high-profile cases was the decadeslong desegregation battle in Tucson Unified School District. “We are a local firm that has been around since 1968, so we have been a stable presence in this community for a long time,” Smith said. “The lawyers here are conscientious of the cost effectiveness people want, and can deliver a high-quality legal product – whether it’s a small business that needs a brief consultation, or a big corporation that needs two years of litigation.” Chief among Smith’s values is honesty. “It’s important to me to be honest with myself – and with the people I serve. When you outline the weaknesses in a case, or examine the strengths of the other side, for example, sometimes you have to say things people don’t want to hear. That goes for the managing shareholder role as well as the lawyer role.” Thoughtfulness is another demand she makes of herself, which can be challenging in a time when the immediacy of communication seems to encourage responsiveness 24 hours a day. “You’re really not doing anyone any favors if you don’t find some balance,” said Smith, the mother of three. “I don’t mean just work-life balance, but having the discipline to take a step back and
think before you respond.” Although women are now the majority of law school graduates, it wasn’t that way when Smith graduated. She was fortunate to be mentored at her law firm by two female partners, one specializing in education law and the other a litigator. Smith continues to mentor young female attorneys now. “There are those moments when I look around in a meeting and I’m sitting at a table with six men, most of them older than me. I might notice that fact, but I have never felt that there was any disadvantage in being a female attorney,” Smith said. “I know the women who came before me laid that groundwork.” Smith is quick to highlight what counts as a good day – one in which she’s had serious conversations with clients, but they’ve been able to laugh together at the same time. It’s harder for her to point to her single proudest moment. In a general sense, it’s simply that she likes to win. “Most cases settle. And even if it is a relatively good resolution for everyone concerned, and even if it’s good that a client no longer has to spend any more time and energy fighting with someone, no one is ever 100 percent happy with the outcome in a settlement. So while it’s nice to reach a compromise, as a litigator, it’s fun sometimes to go to trial and just flat-out win.” But even in the midst of celebrating, she keeps in mind her guiding principles – sincerity and humility. “That doesn’t mean you can’t have confidence and exercise assertiveness, but that you employ a little humility to go along with it. That is what I hope for – to work hard and serve clients’ needs but to keep in mind what’s right.” Biz www.BizTucson.com
PHOTO: AMY HASKELL
WOMEN WHO LEAD
Lisa Anne Smith
Managing Shareholder DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy
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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
From left â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jill Malick, Business Banking Manager, John Gibson, Greater Southern Arizona Area President and Pat Nie, Community Affairs Officer, all with Wells Fargo.
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BizCOMMUNITY
Building a Stronger Community Wells Fargo Awards $500,000 to Seven Nonprofits By Larry Copenhaver “Wells Fargo’s NeighborhoodLIFT program has already helped boost homeownership and reduce the inventory of vacant houses. These grants will further help to improve our community by supporting services that build our city up, creating a more promising future for Tucsonans.” The NeighborhoodLIFT program is a collaboration among Wells Fargo Bank, the Wells Fargo Foundation, NeighborWorks America (an independent nonprofit organization) and local nonprofit organizations. The NeighborhoodLIFT program is designed to provide sustainable homeownership initiatives in cities deeply affected by the housing crisis. “Our team members are so passionate about making Tucson a great place to live, work and play – and we feel that
through the NeighborhoodLIFT program, we are able to do that,” Gibson said. Wells Fargo presented grants to the following local nonprofits:
1
Tucson Urban League
$75,000 to support workforce development and other education programs. According to Deborah Embry, president and CEO of the Tucson Urban League, apprenticeship programs will be set up for training for jobs in the construction industry. The program includes job training orchestrated through the League’s housing department that, among other tasks, does home repair and weatherization on homes. Students will get on-the-job continued on page 72 >>> PHOTO: COURTESY WELLS FARGO
In September Wells Fargo & Company provided homeownership training and $4.5 million for home down-payment assistance for 252 low and moderate-income Tucson families. Then in May the company donated $500,000 in grants to seven local nonprofits for community improvement projects. Like the September assistance program, the recent grants were funded through Wells Fargo’s NeighborhoodLIFT program launched in 2012. This second round of giving was aimed at improving neighborhoods, supporting education programs and workforce development, furthering food access, promoting economic growth and addressing homelessness. Since the inception, LIFT programs have created more than 9,400 new homeowners in 34 U.S. communities, said John Gibson, Greater Southern Arizona Area president for Wells Fargo. “Wells Fargo is the leading mortgage lender in Arizona. We are proud to support our communities to help ensure a thriving and healthy community base,” Gibson said. The nonprofits are actively leading efforts to help strengthen neighborhoods “and we are excited to help support their tremendous efforts with the NeighborhoodLIFT program local initiatives funds.” “What this does is makes for a stronger community,” said Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild at a May 20 check distribution ceremony at City Hall. “A city is a collection of neighborhoods, and to keep our city strong and vibrant, we need our neighborhoods to be strong and vibrant.
From left – Deborah Emery, executive director, Tucson Urban League; Michael McDonald, CEO, Southern Arizona Community Food Bank; Joan Lionetti, executive director, Tucson Clean & Beautiful–Trees for Tucson; John Gibson, Greater Southern Arizona Area president, Wells Fargo; Katie Campana, community affairs officer, Wells Fargo; Pat Nie, community development officer, Wells Fargo; Mayor Jonathan Rothschild; Tom Litwicki, CEO, Old Pueblo Community Services; Patti Caldwell, executive director, Our Family Services; Alma Yubeta, development manager, Pima Community College Foundation; W. Mark Clark, president and CEO, Pima Council on Aging
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BizCOMMUNITY
continued from page 71 training in the housing department, pass the Home Builders Institute curriculum, earn wages and receive a certificate for completing training.
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Old Pueblo Community Services
$100,000 for permanent housing for homeless veterans. CEO Tom Litwicki said Old Pueblo Community Services will begin placing homeless veterans in homes “immediately.” He said the organization hopes to end veteran homelessness by the end of the year. “It is a big issue in Tucson. We have twice the homelessness in Tucson as the national average.”
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Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
$25,000 to support nutritional health and food production. CEO Michael McDonald said the food bank plans to revitalize the Las Milpitas Garden and provide food production plots to 80 families. The food bank will furnish water, fertilizer and mulch plus instruction on how to grow food. The food bank expects the garden to yield 7,600 pounds of food, which would cost $23,000 at the market. Also the group is planning community leadership programs geared to gardening, especially youth gardening.
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Pima Council on Aging
$50,000 to support senior housing assistance to help at-risk seniors remain in their homes for as long as possible. W. Mark Clark, president and CEO of Pima Council on Aging, seeks to recruit 15 to 20 ambassadors to connect people who need services.
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Tucson Clean and Beautiful – Trees for Tucson
$50,000 to support neighborhood beautification and promote environmental stewardship. Executive Director Joan Lionetti said the organization plans cleanup projects in targeted low-income areas including South Tucson, a revegetation project on South Fourth Avenue, and cleanup and tree planting in conjunction with neighborhood groups. Also, Tucson Clean and Beautiful will continue working with children to teach them reasons to clean up and vegetate neighborhoods, especially for planting native trees.
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Our Family Services
$100,000 to serve young adults and families who are on the verge of becoming homeless or who have recently become homeless. Executive Director Patti Caldwell said there are two major focuses – help financially to avoid homelessness while providing education classes on money management. Integral to the program is monitoring to make sure participants stay on track. The new money also will be used to leverage other funding for temporary shelter.
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Pima Community College Foundation
$100,000 to support workforce development and education programs. PCC Foundation Development Manager Alma Yubeta said the funds will provide scholarships to qualified students and otherwise assist with college costs.
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BizBRIEFS
Susan Frank
Julie Zorn
National Leadership Program Selects Two from Tucson J Tucson Jewish Community Center’s Susan Frank and Julie Zorn are two of only 22 in the nation selected to participate in a yearlong LEAP leadership training. The Leadership Enrichment and Advancement Program of the Jewish Community Center Association is designed to cultivate leadership skills. Participants were selected for their high potential for advancing in the JCC field. The Tucson J is one of nine JCCs involved in the talent management pilot program. Frank and Zorn participated in the first LEAP Summit in March in Orlando, Fla., prior to JCCs of North America Professional Conference. Frank is the J’s health and wellness director. Zorn is Jewish culture specialist.
Biz
Tuller Trophy Celebrates 60 Years Tuller Trophy & Awards painted its Sixth Avenue sidewalk gold in March to celebrate 60 years in business – a tradition started by founder Morton Tuller. Joining the Tuller family were representatives from University of Arizona, the City of Tucson, Pima County, Tucson Unified School District, local chambers of commerce and longtime customers and friends. The business opened in 1955 and expanded to its Sixth Avenue location in 1966. By 1974 the family opened a second location on 22nd Street. Their client list includes The White House and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In the past 25 years Tuller has donated more than $150,000 to local schools and nonprofits. Biz www.BizTucson.com
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BizENTREPRENEUR
A Pillar in Our Community
Clements Excels in Insurance & Service By Christy Krueger Jack Clements believes that when business goes well, life satisfaction follows. That’s generally rung true for him since founding The Clements Agency 15 years ago – with one major lifechanging exception. Despite that challenge, he has shared his success and satisfaction with his family and his community. Clements graduated in 1972 from University of Notre Dame, where he earned a degree in accounting and played running back on the football team with Joe Theismann. After college he went to work at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), came to Tucson in 1976 and in 2000 started his own insurance agency. His firm offers all lines of insurance – homeowners, auto, life and health, but his main specialty area is in business insurance – “construction, technology, biosciences, property.” The firm has held memberships with Arizona Technology Council, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association and Arizona Builders Alliance, among others. New business, Clements said, comes from cold calling, advertising and networking – and in recent years increasingly through referrals. He credits that, in part, to living in Tucson for so long. “If you do a good job for one person or company, they refer you to another. We grew 20 percent in 2014 over 2013.” As a member of Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association, his company is a designated Trusted Choice Agency. “It’s a pledge of performance to always do the right thing and keep clients’ interests ahead of yours,” Clements said. Clements believes in the importance of ethics in business practices. He recounted a lesson learned from his father, who also worked in the insurance indus74 BizTucson
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try. “He always said, ‘Allow the other person a fair profit,’ meaning know when to stop negotiating, always make a transaction a win-win.” Clements is opposed to the philosophy of winning at all costs. The biggest challenge he faces in running a business is finding qualified employees. He noted that young people today think of insurance only as automobile and home policies. “At the U of A business school, there’s no education on insurance, there’s a lack of awareness. Every business needs insurance.” Earlier this year Clements found a new employee in a somewhat unorthodox way. While waiting to be helped at Best Buy, he observed a customer service representative interacting with customers. He liked her people skills and hired her away. She’s currently studying for her insurance license. Although Clements often feels on top of the world, he has also hit rock bottom. Six years ago his wife, who was then an operating room manager at St. Mary’s Hospital, experienced sudden cardiac arrest. It caused a brain injury requiring her to have full-time home care. “It changed our life,” Clements said, adding that staying positive and healthy is a challenge every day. Fortunately, he has his work and two sons, Sean and Jim. Both were employed out of state by beverage distributors and decided to come home to join the family business. They became partners in the company and now run the Scottsdale office. Papa Clements is also the proud grandfather of four granddaughters. The 4-year-old, he said, is showing signs of becoming an exceptional sales person. Another rewarding part of life for Clements has been volunteering in the community. He’s helped numerous organizations over the years and finds
much satisfaction in doing so. “I’ve met some of the neatest people serving on boards,” he said. “I have known Jack for over 30 years,” said Scott Candrian, founder of Sun Mechanical Contracting. “He has always generously devoted his time to support Tucson. Whether it is the Conquistadores, Centurions, Ronald McDonald House or other worthy causes, Jack has a long history of civic involvement. Jack Clements is a pillar in our community.” After he had been away from Boy Scouts for years, Clements was urged to become involved with a project at the Scouts’ camp on Mount Lemmon. He headed up a successful fundraising campaign that allowed the Scouts to install permanent structures there to replace the canvas tents. As a result, the Eagle Scouts honored him at their dinner last December. “It’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” Clements said. Recipients of his kindness genuinely respect and admire his undying loyalty to their institutions, including Leslie Shultz Crist, president and CEO of San Miguel High School. “Jack advocates for businesses to hire students and he supports the tax credit program,” she said. “Through that he’s helping us change lives on the southside.” Even when it comes to personal interests, Clements has proved himself in leadership roles. Being the big Fighting Irish fan that he is (his office is covered with paraphernalia from his alma mater), Clements reached out to the local Notre Dame Club soon after moving to Tucson. Sensing his passion and managerial skills, the group immediately elected him president. He held the position from 1977 to 1983 and to this day still gets excited about all things Irish.
Biz www.BizTucson.com
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PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
If you do a good job for one person or company, they refer you to another. We grew 20 percent in 2014 over 2013.
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Jack Clements
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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
BizTOURISM
Liam Doyle
GM The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
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Forbes Awards Five Stars
to The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain By Tara Kirkpatrick
It’s a call that comes maybe once in a career if you’re lucky – and Liam Doyle received his in January. That’s when the president of Forbes Travel Guide informed Doyle, GM of the The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, that the luxury resort had just been awarded a Five-Star rating – the only full resort in the Southwest to receive the prestigious honor and one of only 115 hotels worldwide. “I was driving to work and it was just a religious and rare event,” recalled the father of two, who has led the resort since 2011. “I called my wife and then drove to the hotel and told my boss, and then we announced it to the team.” Forbes’ standards are self-described as the most stringent in the industry – with more than 500 criteria checked by professional inspectors who visit global hotels anonymously. “To win it, they come twice,” he said. “They are very smart and we get a full report of their experience. We have no room number, no date, no information that they are there.” To put it in perspective, the only other Arizona resort with a Five-Star rating is The Canyon Suites at the Phoenician – just one portion of that full property. Casino Del Sol Resort has a Four-Star rating. It’s also testament to an ambitious luxury hotel that opened in Marana www.BizTucson.com
during the 2009 recession. “It was the worst time to open a hotel,” said Doyle, who previously managed The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. “The world was upside down. But when you open any business in a recession, it makes you fight very hard for the business that you need. That was a very positive thing for us. In order for us to be successful, we had to be quicker, faster and better.”
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In order for us to be successful, we had to be quicker, faster and better.
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– Liam Doyle, GM The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
Nestled at the foot of the Tortolita Mountains, the The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain is a stunning property with a luxurious spa, miles of hiking trails, family-friendly pools and a water slide, but it also has many unique offerings. Dusty shoes can be left outside the room
for a free shine. An employee will pitch a tent in-room for kids with s’mores and a free stuffed animal. Families can go geocaching and companies can engage employees in a rugged, team-building program in which hotel staff hides all parts of a bike in the desert. The first team to find and assemble the bike wins. Three years ago, the hotel started the Dove Mountain Rangers program, offering guided Sonoran desert hikes, encounters with desert creatures and unique western-themed activities. “Ranger Rick and Ranger Ron are two big personalities,” Doyle said of the onsite rangers. “They are expert hikers who know the trails better than anyone. Guests fall in love with both of these gentlemen.” Staff selection is the secret to the resort’s success. “We select people for their personality, their warmth and genuine care, if they can put the wishes and needs of another human being above their own,” Doyle said. “Then we train them for their roles. We can teach you how to carry a tray, but we can’t teach you how to care. We are very thorough – and 97 percent of the time we are correct in our selection process.” It’s the The Ritz-Carlton way of doing things, rooted in more than 30 years in the luxury hotel business across the globe. Back in the mid-1980s, to encontinued on page 78 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 77
BizTOURISM
The Ritz-Carlton Gold Standard Every Ritz-Carlton employee is expected to carry a folded card that explains the
PHOTOS: COURTESY THE RITZ-CARLTON, DOVE MOUNTAIN
standards of working at the resort. The card is not just a suggestion, it is part of the uniform. A look at some of the card’s contents:
Three Steps of Service 1
A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest’s name.
2
Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest’s needs.
3
Fond farewell. Give a warm goodbye and use the guest’s name.
Motto
We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
Credo
The Ritz-Carlton is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests. 78 BizTucson
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continued from page 77 sure quality people were selected as the hotel chain grew, the management profiled the personalities of the hotel’s best employees to create a model of excellence. “We have followed that to this day and it has served us well,” said Doyle. The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, located in Washington, D.C., even teaches hospitality courses and shares its philosophies. “Anyone can enroll,” he said. “We tell everyone how we do it. We are an open book. But we know that 99 percent of people do not have the desire and follow-through to make that work.” The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain employee orientation is about 21 days – the time it takes to cement a new habit, said Doyle, who leads the training phase. “If you look at significant emotional events in your life – births, deaths, marriages, divorce – we believe that the day you start a new job is a significant, emotional event. So, orientation for us is absolutely critical. “We walk everyone through on how to unlock your heart and bring your personality to life,” he said. “It’s an expectation of mine that you move heaven and earth for our guests.” Doyle said he encourages competition among all his employee teams to earn the most “mentions” online or in written comments and letters. Recently, a guest called the hotel’s engineering office because he had no hot water. When he returned to his room after dinner, the hot water was fixed and he found a handwritten apology note from the repairman. Attached to the note was a chocolate wrench. “The engineering team had researched and bought all these beautiful chocolate wrenches,” said Doyle, who personally congratulated the employee at one of the frequent team meetings. “The guest said no one had ever done anything so simple or impactful. He said he laughed through every bite.” “We want to challenge our team to look at different ways to take care of the wishes and needs of our guests. It’s part of our culture. It’s about knowing that I have the opportunity to do what it takes to make sure the guest is a guest for life.”
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BizEDUCATION
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We are committed to ensuring that our students can compete in the global economy. Pima Community College
Tom Hinman
Aviation Program Manager Pima Community College
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PHOTOS: BRENT G. MATHIS
– Lee Lambert, Chancellor
PCC Aviation Program Soars to Success By Larry Copenhaver More than the lure of speed and high-altitude maneuvering, Pima Community College’s Aviation Technology Program offers adults, ages 18 to 62, training for good jobs around airplanes. Today some 25 percent or more of skilled workers, including those in aviation, are reaching retirement age, said Tom Hinman, aviation program manager for PCC. “The folks with gray hair are cycling out, and aviation schools are not able to supply the demand for skilled workers. The need is substantial. It’s a strong wine for a young person to get into aviation today,” Hinman said as he stood among jetliners, propeller craft and a bevy of aviation-related paraphernalia at 7211 S. Park Ave., on the grounds of Tucson International Airport. “There are many opportunities. Qualified people can choose where they want to work, when they want to work and who they want to work for, at virtually any place in the world.” More than 83 percent of PCC’s aviation graduates already have lined up job interviews or were offered jobs, Hinman said. “That’s a remarkable number.” Data from the Arizona Commerce Authority shows Arizona is home to more than 1,200 aerospace and defense companies – including major players such as Boeing, Bombardier Aerospace, General Dynamics, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences, Raytheon Missile Systems and the hundreds of small and midsize suppliers they support. The industry significantly impacts Arizona’s economy – contributing $15 billion annually to the state’s gross www.BizTucson.com
domestic product and directly or indirectly employing more than 150,000 people. The future looks bright as aviation-related companies succeed in everything from unmanned aircraft systems to missile and space vehicles to commercial aircraft and research into alternative fuels. That was a key factor for a visit to the center by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez in late January. He came to see how PCC is leveraging federal grants, and he wanted learn about ways government, educators and employers can partner to expand opportunities for workers and businesses. In September of 2014, PCC received a $2.5 million grant under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program. “Tucson’s leaders and the public understand the important role of the transportation sector in our region’s current and future economic development,” said PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert. “We are committed to ensuring that our students can compete in the global economy. “PCC, through its aviation technology and other career and technical education programs, is meeting community needs by providing industry-driven education and training that prepares Tucsonans for middle-class jobs – not just in transportation, but in other sectors such as energy and manufacturing.” And Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said, after meeting Perez, that the program is a perfect fit with the city. “Pima’s aviation program touches on all five T’s of Tucson’s economic strengths – technology, trade, transcontinued on page 82 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 81
BizEDUCATION continued from page 81 portation, tourism and teaching. It’s an asset to Pima Community College, the aviation industry and Tucson.” Hinman, who brought remarkable credentials to the PCC program five years ago to merge with a crack staff, said he is committed to effectively use his background from Evergreen International Aviation – which operated out of Pinal Air Park – to foster top performance in instructing students. “At Evergreen, we could not sign a contract unless we could prove that our people were not only authorized with licenses, but they were trained on the platforms they were working on, that they understood the airplanes, and they were competent,” Hinman said. Enrollment increased from about 103 to 136 in March when a new instruction unit began. The maximum authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration is 150 students, a number expected to be reached after a vacant lot next to the center is leased and developed to store some of the clutter, materials and machinery now consuming workspace in the main work area.
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Students pay a tidy sum for the instruction, Hinman said. Many tap financial aid to meet the $13,000 tuition for the 19-month airframe and power plant course. Further qualifications can be earned, such as avionics or structural certification. The inclusive program runs $19,000 and takes 25 months. But the payoff in salary makes the cost look palatable, Hinman said. A licensed A&P likely would start around $40,000 to $50,000 a year. A decade into the profession might fetch a salary in the six figures. What PCC is doing is an economic engine for the local aviation community. PCC’s giant hangar, featuring a 50-ton airliner, is one of the finest classrooms in Arizona, Hinman said. “The training hangar is the same as those used by the industry. So are the tools. The skills sets students are learning at Pima are targeted at the entry level and mid-level needs of the industry,” he said. “We are not just giving students a piece of paper. We are giving them a career. That enables members of the local aviation community to support themselves and prosper.
“We think that this focus we have on the student being the customer, the employer being the customer, and the university being the customer, is what makes us very different than any other aviation school in the country. When folks come in and see this Boeing 727, they say ‘wow,’ and our students say, ‘Let me show you what I can do.’ ” Take it from student Anisha Finch, 23, who plans to finish her A&P in August: “I will be able to do everything except avionics,” she said. “I like airplanes. I like everything about them.” She said she hopes someday to be a pilot. “The last time I flew I was 11, but even then planes fascinated me. Right now I’m part of a team to start the engines to run diagnostic checks.” Student Grant Michael Brunsch, 27, a west Phoenix native, plans to finish his power plant curriculum in August. He’s already completed his structure and airframe training. “Airplanes are cool,” he said. “They’re high speed and everything is functional. Everything about them has a purpose. There is no excess.”
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BizBRIEF
Mark Young
Curtis Hansen
National Bank of Arizona Promotes Two Executives
National Bank of Arizona named Mark Young president and CEO. He also is the newest member of the executive management committee of the bank’s parent Zions Bancorporation. Young takes the reins from Keith Maio who was promoted to chief banking officer for Zions, while remaining board chair of NB|AZ, the state’s largest community bank. He has worked in banking in Arizona since 1982 and joined Zions
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in 1998. He’s served on the executive committee of NB|AZ since 2011. In addition, Curtis Hansen is the new CFO of NB|AZ. He’s served as executive director of wholesale banking since 2010. National Bank of Arizona was founded in Tucson in 1984.
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BizECONOMY
‘Arizona Sun Corridor Is the Future’ By Gabrielle Fimbres It was a bright and bountiful vision of our future – a grand corridor of economic prosperity linking resources and human capital from Nogales to Prescott and beyond. It was called the Arizona Sun Corridor. That bold 2008 vision, laid out in part by Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, called for rapid population and economic growth into a megatropolis that would make this region one of the most economically potent in the country. Then the Great Recession unfolded with a vengeance and “thoughts of a distant megapolitan future took a back seat to hanging on until the economic storm had passed,” according to a 2014 update to that report. Now, as economic indicators improve, Arizona economists are again looking toward the Sun Corridor megaregion as the backbone for building prosperity. “The Arizona Sun Corridor is the future,” said George Hammond, research professor and director of the University 84 BizTucson
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of Arizona Eller College of Management Economic and Business Research Center. “Megapolitan regions are where things are going to be happening nationally. Bigger is better,” he said. “The Sun Corridor is a way of thinking that is going to carry us into the future.” The megaregion leverages assets that include transportation and other infrastructure that link to Mexico, strengths in manufacturing and technology, aerospace, bioscience, optics, agriculture and natural resources, higher education institutions, military assets and much more. Power of Regional Thinking
Now is the time to mobilize efforts to build and brand the Sun Corridor and to maximize opportunities with the growing Mexican economy, according the lead authors of “Sun Corridor: A Competitive Mindset,” released last summer by ASU’s Morrison Institute. continued on page 86 >>> www.BizTucson.com
FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH By Donna Kreutz
This report on the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion provides a new perspective on the enormous economic potential that can come from expanding our geographic horizons to encompass the strengths and assets available from Mexico through Maricopa County and beyond. Pivotal indicators include: 1. The Arizona Sun Corridor is the second-fastest growing megaregion among nine considered to be competitors. The corridor’s population is projected to increase 60 percent to 9.1 million residents by 2040. 2. Pinal County, our neighbor to the north, could be called the sleeping giant. Key industries include manufacturing/research and development, transportation and logistics, aerospace and defense. The county has 6,000+ aviation-related jobs. 3. Looking south, Mexico and Arizona have tremendous potential as economic allies. U.S.-Mexico import/export trade reached record-high levels in 2014 – more than $530 billion. The minerals and ores share of exports to Mexico rose from 0.2 percent in 2004 to 26.6 percent in 2014. Mexico also has deep-water ports to receive goods that travel across the border for distribution in the U.S. via road, rail and air.
4. The Phoenix metro area and the Southern Arizona region have similar strengths – including aerospace and aviation, biosciences and personalized medicine, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution, military and defense, renewable energy, transportation and logistics, plus community colleges and research universities that produce an educated workforce and spawn emerging technologies. 5. The University of Arizona, the state’s land-grant institution, has a long history of serving the state’s agriculture, mining, astronomy and optics industries. 6. Infrastructure is crucial and groundwork has been laid by power and cable companies. Maricopa County has 156,000 miles of fiber optics supporting 24/7 data centers. Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties all have developed industrial parks. 7. Quality of life – Arizona’s arts, culture, history and vibe, plus abundant activities indoors and out – is key to attracting industries and retaining a young, skilled workforce.
These pivotal indicators fuel Arizona Sun Corridor’s potential to grow into an economic powerhouse in the 21st century. Added to that are the state’s time-tested attractors: u
Appealing year-round climate, scenic wonders and lack of natural disasters
u
Low cost of living and doing business (40 percent lower than California)
u
Reputation for attracting tourists, many of whom return, eventually seeking jobs or relocating businesses here
The Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion is the focus of economic development organizations including Sun Corridor Inc. (formerly TREO) and Greater Phoenix Economic Council with the goal of attracting and expanding industries that offer highquality high-wage jobs, the foundation of a more prosperous future.
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BizECONOMY continued from page 84 The report said: u “Given
the fragility of Arizona’s economic turnaround and the pressure of extraordinary competitive threats, the Sun Corridor must capitalize on the power of regional thinking, branding and action, and unlock the potential of Mexico’s burgeoning economy.
u
“The competition is fierce, fast and aggressive. Mexico isn’t waiting. Texas and Nevada and Southern California aren’t waiting.
u “To
participate in a regional, national and global economy, we need to acknowledge that the business of our lives transcends lines on a map. We need to look beyond the neat compartments that have been artificially created for the sake of political convenience.”
So just what is the Sun Corridor and how will it bring prosperity to the state? The Sun Corridor has been defined
as spanning six counties – Santa Cruz, Cochise, Pima, Pinal, Maricopa and Yavapai – with a strong connection to Mexico. It does not have fixed boundaries, however. Different boundaries may be employed for different purposes and objectives. As a megaregion, the Sun Corridor can leverage the combined assets of all communities. Eight out of 10 Arizonans – or about 5.7 million people – call this corridor home. Tremendous Growth Opportunity
The concept of megapolitans, or megaregions, as economic and population powerhouses was first explored about a decade ago. They most commonly share: u
Environmental systems and topography
u Infrastructure
systems
u Economic
linkages
u Settlement
and land use patterns
u Culture
and history
Bigger Is Better
Projected population growth among Sun Corridor’s megapolitan competitors Megapolitan Area
2010
2040
Percent Change
Las Vegas
2.4 million
4 million
71.1%
Sun Corridor (Arizona)
5.7 million
9.2 million
60%
Dallas-Fort Worth
4.7 million
11.1 million
49.5%
Front Range (Denver)
4 million
6.1 million
49.3%
Houston
6.7 million
10 million
48.8%
Willamette (Portland)
3.5 million
5 million
47.4%
Atlanta
7.8 million
11.5 million
47.2%
Puget Sound (Seattle)
4.5 million
6.3 million
40.5%
Southern California
22.5 million
30.1 million
34%
Source: “Megapolitan America” and Arizona State University Morrison Institute for Public Policy
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Arizona’s Sun Corridor quickly emerged as one of 10 megapolitans in the nation with tremendous opportunity for growth. According to the Morrison Institute, population in the Sun Corridor is expected to grow by 60 percent between 2010 and 2040 to 9.1 million. Among megapolitan areas considered to be the Sun Corridor’s competition, only Las Vegas is expected to have a faster rate of population growth over the next 25 years. UA’s Hammond forecasts that in the next nine years the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan statistical areas will grow to 6.5 million – with the important linchpin of Pinal County and its business and infrastructure assets among them. That growth benefits us all, Hammond said. He said larger metropolitan areas are more successful in attracting highly educated workers and investment in growing innovative industries. “Big cities are more and more becoming key to economic growth,” Hammond said. “The larger, denser cities have done better over the last 30 years – particularly as human capital has become such an important driver of growth,” he said. “Bigger is better for a lot of reasons. The larger metropolitan areas create a large internal market. There are a lot of people to sell things to, and that’s attractive. It means there is a lot of opportunity. “And big, diversified labor markets are attractive both to people and to firms,” he said. “People like this because if your firm or industry starts to go downhill, there are lots of other firms and industries in that same labor market. You can switch horses and transition your skills into a different industry or a different firm within the same industry.” Businesses benefit as well. “What they like to have is lots of individuals with a broad mix of skills. If one of their key employees leaves they can pick up another employee with a similar skill set without having to import them from the other side of the region or country, which is costly.” Healthy growth and a vibrant business relationship with Mexico are keys www.BizTucson.com
to our economic future, Hammond said. “There are firms, goods and labor in Mexico that are very valuable. The degree to which we can link with those firms will improve our overall competitive position. It makes the firms located in the U.S. more competitive to the extent that they can draw on really efficient, effective suppliers in Mexico.” Mexico’s thriving domestic market is a boon to Arizona firms that export an array of goods, Hammond said.
Did you know? • •
Increased Trade With Mexico
Last year Arizona exported $8.6 billion worth of goods to Mexico, according to the Eller College Economic and Business Research Center’s recently launched website, Arizona-Mexico Economic Indicators (azmex.eller.arizona. edu). This represents a 22 percent increase from the previous year – one of the highest export growth rates in the U.S. – which is garnering national attention, according to the website. Overall, U.S.-Mexico trade flows reached record-high levels in 2014 at more than $530 billion, representing exports plus imports. Forty-one percent of Arizona’s merchandise exports go to Mexico, dwarfing Arizona’s other top export partners, which include Asia at 25 percent, Europe at 18 percent and Canada at 10 percent, according to Eller. Export growth to Mexico has shifted in recent years from computer and electronic products and electrical equipment and appliances – which previously were Arizona’s long-standing top exports to Mexico – to minerals and ores. The value of exported minerals and ores between Arizona and Mexico was $2.3 billion in 2014, according to Arizona-Mexico Economic Indicators – compared to $1.2 billion for computer and electronic products and $1 billion for electrical equipment and appliances. The minerals and ores share of total exports to Mexico rose from 0.2 percent in 2004 to 26.6 percent in 2014. Export of gas to Mexico also increased, growing from a 0.1 percent share in 2004 to 7.6 percent of total exports last year. Together, exports of minerals, ores and gas accounted for 34.2 percent of the total dollar value of Arizona’s exwww.BizTucson.com
Arizona’s Sun Corridor population is expected to grow by 60 percent by 2040, to 9.1 million Among megapolitan areas considered to be the Sun Corridor’s competition, only Las Vegas is expected to have a faster rate of population growth
•
1.5 million people in the Sun Corridor live in less than 200 square miles
•
While the Sun Corridor comprises about 15 percent of the state’s total area, it is home to 84 percent of the population
•
90 percent of Arizona’s economic activity exists in the Sun Corridor
•
4,000+ business firms operate across the Sun Corridor with locations in both metro Phoenix and metro Tucson
•
More than 37,000 passenger vehicles travel between Phoenix and Tucson daily
•
As many as 200,000 people commute at least occasionally between Phoenix and Tucson
•
Last year Arizona exported $8.6 billion worth of goods to Mexico
Sources: Arizona State University, University of Arizona, America 2050
ports to Mexico in 2014, according to Arizona-Mexico Economic Indicators. Arizona’s Top Foreign Market
Mexico has long been Arizona’s top foreign market. This latest increase suggests that Arizona businesses are increasingly taking advantage of the proximity to Mexico’s markets and its growing economy. “The relationship with Mexico is a
real opportunity for the state of Arizona,” Hammond said. “Building that relationship, strengthening it, making sure we have the infrastructure that will support that trade, making sure we invest in human capital on both sides of the border to improve our competitiveness are all very important.” He believes people “forgot that Mexico is such an important trading partner for the nation. I think people are coming back to that realization, and that’s a good thing.” He sees significant potential for cross-border growth, particularly in the manufacturing of electronic components and aerospace and transportation equipment. Hammond said while bigger is better, the Sun Corridor must be smart about how we grow. Invest in Education, Infrastructure
“The big things that will be key going forward, in my opinion, are education and infrastructure. We must invest in education and make sure we have infrastructure at the border and around the state to support the economic growth.” In 1940, Arizona ranked fourth in the nation in share of residents with bachelor’s degrees or better. Today the state ranks 30th in the nation, Hammond said. That drop could cost us a bright future. “Over the past 30 years it has become clear companies are targeting highly educated people,” Hammond said. “Firms are looking to locate in megapolitan areas that have a lot of highly educated people because that is where the employment growth is going to be. The regions that have those highly educated people are going to have a much easier time attracting firms.” He said the Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona – or MAP – dashboard provides hard data as to what needs to improve to support economic growth. The innovative website (mapazdashboard.arizona.edu) is a collaboration of Eller, Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and other partners. Transportation infrastructure, water, sewer, power, broadband, healthcare continued on page 88 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 87
BizECONOMY
continued from page 87 and “all the stuff that matters to companies and people” are all crucial. “This is our future and we have to plan well,” Hammond said. ASU President Michael Crow has shared the vision of the Sun Corridor with regional business and community leaders over the past several years. “The Sun Corridor illustrates the vast potential for diversifying and accelerating our state’s economy,” Crow said. “Investing in regional economic cooperation efforts, such as the Sun Corridor, establishes an economic base and helps build a skilled workforce. It also has a ripple effect. “All regions are interconnected by trade, infrastructure and movement of goods. What is good for the Sun Corridor is good for all of Arizona.” He also said the importance of Mexico as a neighbor cannot be overestimated. “Mexico is one of our largest trading partners, and its growing economic power and strength make it more important than ever,” Crow said. “We
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need to maximize our strong trade relations with our neighbor so that we share in that growth.” ASU’s Morrison Institute helped lead the way with its 2008 report – one of the first efforts to brand the urban heart of Arizona. Its 2014 update was prepared by principal authors Grady Gammage Jr. and Dan Hunting. Their policy recommendations include: u Aggressive
Mexico
u Improved
pursuit of trade with
freeway infrastructure
u Introduction
of passenger rail between Phoenix and Tucson
u Increased
international flights from Sky Harbor International Airport
The report raises concerns about issues that could mitigate the success of the Sun Corridor, including a lack of a global profile, limited water resources, a need for more coordinated leadership and improved public systems and spaces.
And while thoughts that Phoenix and Tucson might one day merge have long been the topic of cocktail party conversations, that is a common misunderstanding of the Sun Corridor concept. The corridor along Interstate 10 between the two cities will see increased development, but a continuous uninterrupted swath of development will never happen because of protected land, according to the report. An economic merging of the two cities and surrounding counties, however, could make the region competitive on the national and global stage. “By thinking of the Sun Corridor as a unit, urban Arizona becomes more important than the individual cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Prescott Valley or Sierra Vista,” the report said. “The Sun Corridor becomes an entity which can be compared to other great urban concentrations. It becomes a brand to use when competing at the global level.”
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SPECIAL REPORT 2015
THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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New Model
Competi
Maximizing Southern Arizona’s Economic Opportunities By Gabrielle Fimbres Southern Arizona is harnessing the power of Arizona’s Sun Corridor – a megaregion of potentially limitless economic growth – to create opportunity and prosperity. Leading the effort in the central and southern swath of the corridor is Sun Corridor Inc., which recently changed its name from Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities or TREO. Sun Corridor Inc. is bringing together the major players in the megaregion across Southern Arizona, including key employers, public sector partners, higher education and nonprofits. The organization has expanded its geographic horizons to extend from Mexico to northern Pinal County. This rebranding and sharpened focus builds on the collective strengths of a united binational region, said Joe Snell, president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc. “We are much more powerful with unity of voice as we rep94 BizTucson
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resent Arizona to companies looking for a prosperous region for their growth and expansion,” said Snell, who has led economic development efforts throughout the organization’s 10year history. “We have to sell them on the Southern Arizona market. Sometimes Tucson wins, sometimes Pinal County wins – but we all win with a unified effort.” TREO/Sun Corridor Inc. recently completed one of its most successful years, supporting the relocation or expansion of 16 companies, with an economic impact of nearly $2.6 billion. Among them, HomeGoods announced a new distribution center that initially will employ 400. Comcast announced a new customer support center to be staffed by 1,125 customer service representatives and managers. The Sun Corridor concept to make the most of regional aswww.BizTucson.com
BizECONOMY
for Global
tive Edge sets in combination with the proximity and strength of Mexico as a trading partner was first identified in about 2007. Snell and Sun Corridor Inc.’s leadership believe the economic development organization’s new approach will benefit Southern Arizona by: u u
u
u u u
Promoting the megaregion as a gateway for near-shore products and movement of goods Developing a stronger binational position with Arizona’s largest trading partner, leveraging Mexico’s economic growth Creating greater synergy to compete in a new global economy post-recession Enhancing influence at state and federal levels, representing a greater geographic region Leveraging a larger talent pool Combining resources and expertise to address complex economic trends
Denny Minano, board chair of Sun Corridor Inc., is a retired General Motors executive and current consultant in environcontinued on page 96 >>> www.BizTucson.com
“
We are not just competing against California and Texas, we are competing against Taiwan and central Europe in this global economy – and this move makes us stronger competitors. – Guy Gunther, Immediate Past Chair, TREO Board Member, Sun Corrridor Inc.
”
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BizECONOMY
TREO
(Now Sun Corridor Inc.) Performance 2005–2015 Total New Jobs Supported* 27,553 Capital Investment
$1.07 billion
Total Economic Impact
$7.9 billion
Successful Projects
106 companies
* Direct and Indirect
One Year
July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 Total New Jobs Supported* 5,001 Direct New Jobs
3,983
Capital Investment
$157 million
Total Economic Impact
$2.58 billion
Successful Projects
16 companies
* Direct and Indirect Source: Sun Corridor Inc.
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continued from page 95 mental, energy, governance and transportation infrastructure strategies. He said this broader regional focus of Sun Corridor Inc. makes Arizona more marketable. “Our core, Tucson, is good, and Pima County is very strong,” Minano said. “When you add other counties, it allows us to present the very best of Southern Arizona and gives the area more power to collaborate with Phoenix.” The timing was right for the change in name and focus, especially as economic development in Mexico is starting to soar, Minano said. “Sonora has an economic development plan focusing on auto and aerospace and they have achieved that,” Minano said. “Their success is important to our success. Their moving forward in that area is a strong indication that we can have success not just at the border but deep into Mexico.” The region’s proximity to Mexico – with its opportunities in manufacturing, Port of Guaymas and transportation of goods – makes the entire region more attractive internationally, said Guy Gunther, immediate past chair of TREO and VP of operations for CenturyLink in Arizona. “We are not just competing against California and Texas, we are competing against Taiwan and central Europe in this global economy – and this move makes us stronger competitors,” Gunther said. “We are improving our product.” Key to the region’s success are its counties and communities, including Cochise County, Santa Cruz County, Pima County and Pinal County, which serves as a linchpin between Phoenix and Tucson. In November 2014, Pinal County Supervisor Anthony Smith joined forces with TREO, embracing the Sun Corridor concept of economic development. He now serves as a member of Sun Corridor Inc.’s Chairman’s Circle. “I recognized in the next few decades most of Arizona’s growth will be in the Sun Corridor and I believe the Sun Corridor will be characterized by higher-than-average population growth,” Smith said. “We have certainly experienced that in Pinal County.” Pinal County’s population has doubled in the past decade, and Smith is on a mission to build economic development in his county, so residents don’t have to travel to Tucson or Phoenix for work. Currently, half of Pinal County’s working population travels out of the county for jobs, he said. “Pinal County is geographically located in the heart of the Sun Corridor, and I believe it is important that we be proactive and work with the economic development organizations to leverage our collective interests,” Smith said. “The fit with Sun Corridor Inc. seemed like an absolutely natural one.” As mayor of Maricopa for four years, Smith said he worked closely on economic development efforts in Phoenix with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “I’m thrilled that Tucson, Pima County and Southern Arizona have a similar organization with the potential for a lot of high achievement in the future,” Smith said. Among the assets Pinal County brings to the Sun Corridor are a population of 402,000 and workforce of 154,018. Also key are its manufacturing, mining, agriculture, continued on page 98 >>> www.BizTucson.com
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BizECONOMY
continued from page 96 healthcare and aerospace & defense assets. Key Sun Corridor infrastructure strengths provided by Pinal County are: u u
u u u u
Access to major California markets via Interstate 10 and Interstate 8, as well as access to Mexico via Interstate 19 Union Pacific Railroad’s double-tracked main line from the ports of Los Angeles to the East Coast, the railroad’s short line at Picacho servicing Phoenix, and the Copper Basin Railway servicing eastern Pinal County copper mines Seven major rail-served industrial parks Four major electric companies Access to major airports A large regional workforce
“Arizona is a day’s drive to many of the major markets, including the international markets, which minimizes any business interruptions and increases people’s quality of life,” Smith said. “I think these kinds of factors make communities within the Sun Corridor a very attractive place to grow a business.” Smith hopes the collaboration will draw aerospace & defense jobs and other high-tech industries to the region. “I think that is the way of the future for us.” Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson said regional partners bring assets that make Southern Arizona highly attractive to companies nationally and internationally. She sees the new name and focus of Sun Corridor Inc. as beneficial to the economy and the region, signaling a new era for the region’s economic development.
“
All of our counties and cities share the same last name, we have the same asset base and the same challenges – but collectively we are speaking together as a big, binational population center.
”
“Economic development does not stop at the jurisdictional boundaries – it’s about the region – and this branding lets people know we are serious about 21st century economic development,” Bronson said. Partnerships with Mexico are key. “Mexico’s economy is taking off and that can only aid our efforts,” she said. Snell said the evolution from TREO to Sun Corridor Inc. is a natural one, as Arizona’s Sun Corridor builds in strength and momentum. “We worked with Eloy to create a foreign trade zone and it occurred to us that we are really not Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities anymore. We are really much more than that,” Snell said. “We were almost limiting our opportunities through our name.” He said the organization, founded in 2005, has embraced the Sun Corridor concept since 2007. “We are going to do some of the things TREO did as well as add several new initiatives – but in an expanded footprint,” Snell said. “We are going to continue to work to increase the prosperity of Southern Arizonans, and we are going to do that through job recruitment and job expansion. But those jobs might go to Cochise County just as easily as they would to Pima County.” The organization will continue to use its updated Economic Blueprint as a roadmap to prosperity – focusing on bolstering infrastructure, education and training, a healthy community and a positive business climate to draw key high-wage industries to the region. “All of our counties and cities share the same last name, we have the same asset base and the same challenges – but collectively we are speaking together as a big, binational population center,” Snell said. “It just makes good business sense.”
Biz
TREO Company Successes FY14-15 by Industry TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS
6% EDUCATION
TECHNICAL CENTER
6%
6%
BIOSCIENCE & HEALTHCARE
44%
AEROSPACE & DEFENSE
25%
CUSTOMER SERVICE
13%
– Joe Snell, President & CEO, Sun Corridor Inc.
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Source: Sun Corridor Inc.
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. LEADERSHIP
Denny Minano Board Chair By Gabrielle Fimbres
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
Denny Minano has studied infrastructure and crossborder trade strategies for much of his career – and he’s bringing his knowledge to Sun Corridor Inc. as board chair. Before making his home in Tucson, Minano spent 32 years at General Motors in Michigan, concluding his GM career as VP of public policy and chief environmental officer. He has worked as a consultant around the nation on infrastructure and binational business expansion issues. The work of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities over the past decade is helping to solidify the success of the Southern Arizona region now and in the future, Minano said. “This region is important strategically for the U.S. and for North America. In this time of great change and companies repositioning themselves, I believe Sun Corridor Inc. will have a place at the larger table of companies making decisions, because we are thinking beyond the next two or three years, we are taking those steps and making success a reality,” Minano said. Minano, who chaired the infrastructure committee for TREO’s Blueprint Update in 2013, said the organization’s transition to Sun Corridor Inc. “is the next natural business step of how we want to operate.” “Sun Corridor Inc. is the necessary step for our 102 BizTucson
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region in creating a global competitive edge,” he said. “One of the great assets of our region is the geography – our proximity to California, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico, which now everyone recognizes as a potential booming economy.” At the core of the region’s success is infrastructure, Minano said. “When you look at infrastructure, you think of transportation, you think of mobility and as a business person, I look at it as speed to market and access to market. That doesn’t happen overnight.” Minano said more and more, businesses are seeing borders as merely lines on a map and not a barrier. With the correct infrastructure in place – including Interstate 11, which, if approved, would connect Las Vegas to Phoenix, Tucson and Nogales – the region can become an economic powerhouse, he said. Members of TREO rallied to show support for extending the proposed I-11 south of Phoenix, and their voices were heard. “It was critical for us to show how Southern Arizona, Tucson and this region work together. I am hoping companies in our pipeline will accelerate their decision to say, ‘I want to be part of Tucson, Southern Arizona and all that makes up the Sun Corridor.’ ”
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David Hutchens Vice Chair By Gabrielle Fimbres
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Arizona’s Sun Corridor – where economic development is poised to expand from the Mexican border north through Central Arizona – covers much of the territory of energy services provided by Tucson Electric Power and its sister company, UniSource Energy Services, or UES. Shoring up resources along that corridor makes sense to David Hutchens, president and CEO of TEP, UES and parent company UNS Energy Corporation. “Geographically, if you look back to the old days, where rivers came together is where you would see big metro areas develop – and now it’s where highways and infrastructure come together,” Hutchens said. Among the critical infrastructure required to grow the region is energy infrastructure – which is one reason TEP and UNS, with 2,000 employees statewide, is committed to growing economic development through Sun Corridor Inc., benefiting companies, employees and all Arizonans. Hutchens is in line to serve as chair of Sun Corridor Inc. starting in 2016. He said the organization’s new expanded focus provides greater critical mass with a more unified front. “Instead of having a handful of small counties now you have a powerful region that gives us a better competitive advantage 104 BizTucson
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and critical mass,” he said. “We want to focus on being a critical corridor between Mexico and Phoenix. That is a huge growth opportunity.” This unity “provides a bigger product menu” for companies considering moving to or expanding in the region. “When you have the bigger umbrella, you suddenly have a bigger workforce, more infrastructure and a bigger set of offerings,” Hutchens said. As Mexico grows to become a mighty economic partner, that infrastructure is crucial. “When you look at trade between Mexico and the rest of the U.S., we have a great corridor. It comes right up Interstate 19, right to 1-10, and you can take I-10 to Texas and the eastern markets, or you can go west on I-10 and I-8 to California. With a little luck in the future, you can take (the proposed) I-11 straight to Las Vegas. Look at where all of those come together – they all come through Tucson. We have a lot of potential for new businesses.” growth Well-planned benefits all, Hutchens said. “Good education, good jobs – in the end that means we grow but we grow in the right way – with high-wage jobs that improve quality of life.”
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Guy Gunther Immediate Past Chair By Gabrielle Fimbres
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
The United States has weathered an economic reset – one that hit the Tucson region particularly hard. But economic development efforts by TREO – now Sun Corridor Inc. – coupled with a focused vision for the future, have poised the region for prosperity, said Guy Gunther, who recently completed a two-year term as chairman. He said the economic development organization is now more regionally focused as Sun Corridor Inc. Gunther is VP of operations for CenturyLink in Arizona, which employs 3,100 statewide. “It’s not just about Tucson, it’s not just about Southern Arizona. It’s about the Sun Corridor. If you look at all that Pima County, Pinal County, Cochise County, Santa Cruz County and northern Mexico have to offer, this is truly a regional opportunity,” he said. The work of TREO and its partners over the past two years helped draw new business, aided existing businesses in expansion and redefined priorities that will make the southern region of the Sun Corridor an economic success, Gunther said. “In 2007, through the Economic Blueprint, TREO identified key industries that would leverage Tucson’s assets – those industries being transportation & logistics, aerospace & defense, biosciences and 106 BizTucson
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alternative energy & natural resources,” he said. “Those four sectors would allow us to build on the strengths of this region.” TREO was proactive in updating the Blueprint in 2013 to re-examine and focus priorities. Sixteen new and expanded companies in FY 2014-15 are a testament to that redefined focus, Gunther said. “Two years ago we realized because of this economic reset, it wasn’t just about going after jobs in targeted industries. We needed to look at the drivers that would get us to the next level – a talented workforce, a healthy community, solid infrastructure and a good business environment,” Gunther said. Harnessing the power of all counties in the southern end of the megaregion, linking strongly with Mexico and strengthening partnerships will take the region to that next level, Gunther said. “I believe we have an unprecedented amount of collaboration in our region – thanks to city leaders, county leaders, big industries that employ a lot of people in the private sector, the nonprofit sector and educational institutions,” he said. “Two years ago that collaboration wasn’t there. TREO – now Sun Corridor Inc. – is a significant driver for connecting the dots among all regional partners.”
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Greg White Secretary/Treasurer By Gabrielle Fimbres
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
As VP and CFO of Southern Arizona’s largest private employer – Raytheon Missile Systems – Greg White knows the importance of a highly skilled, educated workforce. “As people retire, the United States’ workforce is going to stabilize and even decline,” White said. “It’s very important that people look at the big picture and support education.” Education is a critical factor in building economic development in the region, a cause that is vital to companies like Raytheon, with about 9,600 employees locally. “Economic development is important for Raytheon because the more vibrant the economy, the more opportunities there are for people to come to the area and come to Raytheon,” White said. Raytheon has long supported the efforts of TREO, and the change in name and focus bodes well for the future of the region, he said. “We are all parts of a whole and we have different strengths that will benefit new business here,” White said of Sun Corridor Inc.’s regional approach. “The fact that we have so many defense installations in Arizona is very important in bringing the aerospace & defense businesses here. The wide-open spaces we 108 BizTucson
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have are crucial for some of the missions – and without the strengths of Pinal County and other surrounding counties, we wouldn’t be in such an advantageous position.” White said TREO’s efforts during lean economic times are coming to fruition. “Even with the economy down for such an extended period, that is when Joe Snell and his team have been working hardest. We are starting to see the benefit come back to the community. It hasn’t been a slowdown for TREO and now Sun Corridor Inc. It has been a speedup. We are starting to hit the ground running.” White said partnership and collaboration is the foundation for prosperity. “Sun Corridor Inc. is so important because you are not choosing between Tucson or Pinal County, you are choosing the collective assets of Southern Arizona,” White said. “To have economic development, you have to have all of the factors – an educated workforce, a pleasant place to live, schools where people want their children educated, businesses with vibrant growth and opportunity. You have to put that all together to make it fertile for real economic development.”
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Joe Snell President & CEO
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
By Gabrielle Fimbres
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Joe Snell led the Tucson region through a decade of economic turmoil, navigating the swells of challenge and opportunity. As the Great Recession eroded segments of the local economy, Snell and TREO – now Sun Corridor Inc. – worked toward the future, strategizing a roadmap that could help lead the region out of recession, Snell said. “We have the key ingredients to be an economic juggernaut. We just have to have the right recipe, which is what we have been working toward,” Snell said. That recipe includes bringing together all major players across the southern segment of Arizona’s Sun Corridor south of Maricopa County down into Mexico. “My goal is to have a comprehensive and strategic plan that ties all of Southern Arizona and northern Mexico together in a binational effort,” Snell said. He said the area’s proximity to the border and strong collective assets provide exceptional possibilities. Still needed is stronger infrastructure investment, continued coordination between business, government and nonprofits, and improved worker skills. “We can’t step over a dollar bill to pick up a nickel in our thinking,” Snell said. “We have got to con-
tinue to invest in ourselves – and to me the best investments are people – specifically investing in workforce and infrastructure.” Snell said Sun Corridor Inc.’s role is to serve as a transformational organization, not a transactional one. “Small communities can get caught up in the transactions, and we must be transformational in our thinking. “Our goal is to advance prosperity. Working together on this is the Sun Corridor Inc. board of 57 of the smartest people in the state, including members from Phoenix,” he said. Work by members of Sun Corridor Inc. – in collaboration with other regional partners – has resulted in recent business developments. “Things have picked up,” Snell said, pointing to 16 companies that either expanded or moved into the region in FY 2014-15. “We had our best year since 2007.” Snell said the transition to Sun Corridor Inc. is a move toward capitalizing on the assets of the region. “I am proud of TREO’s accomplishments over the past 10 years and I am looking forward to a sustainable future with the smartest people at the table,” Snell said. “I think that the future is bright for Sun Corridor Inc.”
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Kathy Bollinger Executive VP Banner-University Medicine
“On behalf of Banner-University Medicine, I’d like to thank the Tucson business community for such a warm welcome to Southern Arizona. We are thrilled to be here and become part of Tucson’s unique marketplace. With our partners at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Banner sees endless possibilities for academic medicine, for our patients and for this city. Our many investments here reflect our confidence in Tucson.”
800+ faculty physicians, dozens of clinics and three hospitals – Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, Banner-University Medical Center South and Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix 6,400+ employees in Tucson Largest private employer in the state $500 million over the next five years in new and remodeled healthcare facilities in Tucson in addition to millions to the UA for physician recruitment, program enhancement and medical research Groundbreaking late 2015 on an 11-story hospital tower on the campus of Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, pending zoning and other approvals
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Banner–University Medicine
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Sharon Bronson Chair Pima County Board of Supervisors
PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
“Improving our regional economy is job No. 1 for me and for Pima County. We are working to protect our largest employers, we are developing a workforce for the future and we are creating opportunities for existing business expansion and new business attraction.” Pima County Spearheading a regional effort to make the Tucson International Airport area a major logistical, manufacturing and employment hub
Improved development permit-processing system to have the shortest processing time in the region Supports small business growth and development through Small Business Commission, with a Business Resource One-Stop Center in development Hosting a tourism and economic development office in Hermosillo, Sonora, in collaboration with Visit Tucson and the City of Tucson
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Aiding employers in finding skilled workers through Pima County One-Stop Career Centers and helping veterans find employment through Kino Veterans’ Workforce Center
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Jim Click President
“I can’t stress enough how important continued economic development is to keep Tucson the healthy, prosperous city that my family and I have grown to love since arriving here in 1971. Sure, we have a lot of wonderful attributes – beautiful scenery, great weather, a world-class university – but we need strong economic growth that supports higher wages, with clean industry, to encourage people and corporations to come here and prosper together.” Jim Click Automotive Team 1971 – A small Tucson dealership at 22nd Street and Wilmot Road is bought by Jim Click and turned into what is now Southern Arizona’s largest dealership 1,000 employees at dealerships in Tucson and Sahuarita/Green Valley
PHOTOS COURTESY JIM CLICK AUTOMOTIVE TEAM
Jim Click Automotive Team
1 out of 3 vehicles sold in Tucson is from a Jim Click dealership Brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mazda, Hyundai, Nissan, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Kia – plus 1,000 used vehicles Community giving is a long-held company value, with major support to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, the Beacon Group, San Miguel High School, The University of Arizona, Linkages, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona and more. Jim Click’s sponsorship of the Millions for Tucson car raffle has raised nearly $3 million for local charities.
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Michael Crow President Arizona State University
“Regional economic development takes place in the context of a global knowledge economy, so it is essential to foster perpetual and ubiquitous innovation. ASU and other universities provide the critical components of that innovation. We produce graduates who are critical thinkers in every field. Each has some level of competence critical to our economic competitiveness.
Arizona State University Research enterprise has more than tripled from 2002 to 2014 to more than $425 million Graduation rate has nearly doubled since 2002 Third in the nation – tied with Princeton University – in producing Fulbright Scholars $163 million in investor funding in the past three years for companies started by ASU discoveries 207,000 ASU graduates work in Arizona, earning $11.4 billion and contributing $819 million in state revenue
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“We also generate creativity – ideas and ‘stuff.’ Every day I encounter new technologies, new ideas, new perspectives, new insights. The ultimate goal of economic development is to better the life of the community and its people, so at ASU we measure our research by the impact that we have on the public good. The question we ask is – did we better the outcome for the communities where we operate in a measurable way?”
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Ann Weaver Hart President
“As Arizona’s land-grant university, The University of Arizona is proud to be an engine of economic development for our state. From educating students in high-demand fields to innovating technologies that help power the state’s 21st century economy, the UA is focused on improving the prospects and enhancing the lives of all Arizonans. With $8.3 billion in annual economic impact, success in that mission is a vital source of economic well-being. We are absolutely committed to continuing the university’s impact and I am so pleased to see the growth of vital partnerships here in Tucson and Southern Arizona that leverage the UA’s strengths for the good of our entire community.” The University of Arizona Total economic impact $8.3 billion, with an impact of $6.5 billion locally Jobs More than 12,000 Ranks 16th in the world for graduates’ employability among U.S. public universities Enrolls more than 42,000 students Attracts more than $580 million in research investment Alumni 70,000 in Pima County, 125,000 statewide
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The University of Arizona
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Lee Lambert Chancellor & CEO Pima Community College
“Workforce quality is a key factor in the development of individual businesses and Tucson’s ability to provide high- and middle-skilled jobs for its residents. Educators should have as a common goal producing college- or career-ready adults. Achieving that goal includes both preparing students for industry-specific careers and giving them so-called soft skills in communication, critical thinking and digital literacy. Increasingly, economic success in a globalized world also will depend on cross-cultural leadership skills, fluency in multiple languages, respect for other peoples’ perspectives and ability to work collaboratively.”
$2.2 billion economic impact in Pima County $551.2 million in higher tax receipts collected by state and local government over PCC students’ working lives Elite Aviation Technology program one of the few in the U.S. providing hands-on training on commercial and regional jets, thanks to donations of two Boeing 727s by FedEx Zero long-term debt, having paid the last long-term obligations in 2014 $2.5 million federal grant won in 2014 to train trade-affected workers, veterans and other underemployed adults for careers in high-demand fields
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PHOTOS COURTESY PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Pima Community College
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Marc Lebowitz CEO Tucson Association of Realtors/MLS
“We believe that sustainable homeownership creates strong communities and healthy families. A key component in building healthy communities is an expanding job base. On average, two jobs are added to a community from every home sold. A community needs a diversified employee base and a variety of housing options to thrive. The resulting increase to our tax base supports essential infrastructure needs. Housing has long been the ‘engine of recovery,’ but is starved without a strong economy that results from steady job growth. Tucson’s economic recovery will continue to accelerate so long as our leaders focus on solid economic policy fundamentals.” Tucson Association of Realtors/MLS 4,800 Southern Arizona real estate professionals’ interests represented Promotes a positive regulatory climate, defends private property rights and elevates the professionalism and public perception of members Established 1921 Sponsors Tucson Association of Realtors Shootout, presented by Fort Lowell Soccer Club
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Lisa Lovallo Market VP, Southern Arizona Cox Communications
“Cox is committed to investing in advanced technologies that are essential for a healthy economy and vibrant community. As our community grows, there are more opportunities for service providers like Cox to expand as a strong employer in Southern Arizona, allowing us to enhance our support of the communities in which we serve.”
Third largest private for-profit employer in Arizona, paying wages and benefits 45 percent higher than the state average Millions of dollars in new telecommunications infrastructure investment, resulting in 50 Wi-Fi hot spots in the community and the fastest and most reliable broadband product to residential and commercial businesses $2 million+ in cash and in-kind services donated to local nonprofits in 2014 Nearly 3,500 hours of employee community service in 2014
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Cox Communications
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Fletcher McCusker CEO Sinfonía HealthCare Corp
Sinfonía HealthCare Corp and its related divisions 7.5 million patients receive services from Sinfonía HealthCare, launched January 2013 Assurance HealthCare provides home-based medical services Assurance Health & Wellness integrates traditional medical care with behavioral health SinfoníaRx medication-management company provides healthcare solutions for health plans, patients and caregivers Sinfonía Family Services provides evidenceinformed comprehensive services to children, adults and families
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“Like any business, a city’s prosperity improves with growth. Population growth for Tucson, creating new jobs and creating a desirable and livable city should be important to every business leader – in fact, every resident. I travel often and people always say ‘Tucson – must be hard to run an international company from there?’ I would like to change that conversation.”
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Judy Patrick Board Director
“TREO (now Sun Corridor Inc.) played an integral role in the creation of a blueprint to guide our area’s economic development and influence the factors that give our region a competitive edge. This not only helped us identify Southern Arizona’s driving industries and growth opportunities, but garnered national recognition as a best practice for community and economic development. Since then, we’ve seen a steady stream of successes. Perhaps the most important benefit of the blueprint is the mindset it manifested. Economic development isn’t just about Tucson, it’s about the Sun Corridor – meaning all of Southern Arizona’s assets regardless of county. Our link to Mexico and our complementary infrastructure are unifying the region like never before and resulting in increased jobs and business growth. Those outcomes are the very things that fuel companies like CopperPoint Mutual because, as local business expands, so does the need for affordable workers compensation insurance and workplace safety services.” CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company A- Excellent XIII with a “stable outlook” rating from A.M. Best Premier provider of workers compensation insurance in Arizona 15,600+ policyholders and their employees insured by subsidiary companies in 2014 $77.5 million paid in lost wages to injured workers and their families in 2014 and another $120 million to medical providers 5,500 employee volunteer hours with 100 nonprofit organizations throughout Arizona
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CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company
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PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN
Robert D. Ramirez President & CEO
“Vantage West has 60 years of history in Southern Arizona. We are committed to economic development because it stimulates regional growth, creates jobs and builds stronger communities. As a local business, our success is fueled by a strong and thriving economy, which provides more opportunities for Vantage West members and community partners to reap the benefits of all that Tucson has to offer. Regional economic development strengthens businesses like Vantage West, which in turn, affords us the ability to reinvest in the community by way of support for local charitable and civic organizations.” Vantage West Credit Union $1.5 billion financial institution, with 135,000 traditional and business members Largest credit union in Southern Arizona Named among the nation’s top 200 healthiest credit unions by DepositAccounts.com Five-star rating by Bauer Financial Recognized among the top 10 best credit unions to work for by Best Companies Group and the Credit Union Journal
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Vantage West Credit Union
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Judy Rich President & CEO TMC HealthCare
“Operating within a vibrant business environment helps us to recruit and retain top-notch employees – and to develop new services and collaborations to benefit our community.
TMC HealthCare Southern Arizona’s largest hospital, licensed at 600+ beds with 30,000 admissions, 120,000 outpatient visits and nearly 6,000 births annually Tucson Medical Center is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a national network of organizations committed to better serving patients and families through collaboration. Members have access to Mayo Clinic knowledge and expertise to give patients additional peace of mind when making healthcare decisions, while allowing them to stay close to home. 70th birthday celebrated, commemorating the first patient admission on Nov. 9, 1944 ‘Paperless’ since introducing its comprehensive electronic medical record in 2010, and recognized as a ‘Most Wired’ hospital Children’s Miracle Network’s sole Southern Arizona representative, with a relationship that dates back to 1986
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Our goal is to provide the very best care possible to our patients, dedicated to serving the needs of this region while remaining a locally governed, independent community hospital.”
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Anthony Smith Chair Pinal County Board of Supervisors
“Besides expanding and diversifying our tax base, Pinal County’s continued focus on quality economic development ensures that our residents will have an enhanced quality of life with great housing opportunities, high-wage jobs with employee benefits, better and safer roads, healthy outdoor activities and the needed funding for social programs that benefit our elderly, indigent or those with marginal means of support.” Pinal County Population 402,000 Workforce 154,018, including an estimated 6,000+ in aviation-related jobs
Key industries Manufacturing/research and development, transportation and logistics, aerospace and defense, natural/renewable resources, health services Communities include Florence, Casa Grande, Maricopa, Apache Junction, Eloy, Coolidge, Superior, Kearny, Mammoth, Red Rock, SaddleBrooke, Gold Canyon, San Tan Valley, Arizona City, San Manuel, Oracle, Hidden Valley and Stanfield
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Area 5,374 square miles
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Kevin Stockton CEO Northwest Medical Center
“As a healthcare provider committed to delivering the depth and breadth of services needed by our community, we are reliant on a vibrant, economically strong Tucson. We prefer to hire staff and physicians from Tucson, but when we need to recruit from across the country Tucson has to be able to compete as one of the best places to live and work. Offering a diverse mix of employers for partners/ spouses of the people we’re recruiting is also essential, among other things, to attract top talent to our organization. A robust economic development program in our city ultimately results in an employer base that can have a positive impact on every facet of life in Tucson.”
Includes Northwest Medical Center, Oro Valley Hospital, Northwest Allied Physicians, Desert Cardiology and the Heart Center of Southern Arizona 2,500+ Tucsonans employed, and with support from Sun Corridor Inc., Shared Services Center Tucson, an affiliate of Northwest Medical Center and Oro Valley Hospital, is creating 200 new jobs 170,000+ patients treated in Northwest Healthcare emergency rooms and urgent care facilities in 2014 29 physicians recruited to Tucson from other parts of the country, 2013-14 $7.3 million in sales and property taxes paid, 2014
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Northwest Healthcare
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE
Sandra Watson President & CEO
“Our work to strengthen the state’s business environment is ultimately about creating sustainable opportunity for all Arizonans. Through collaborative economic development efforts with state, regional and local partners, as well as the business and academic communities, Arizona is creating an ideal place to live, work and do business. The alignment of strategic assets and resources among partners is bolstering our competitiveness in the global market, spurring economic growth, and continues to support innovative job creators that are hiring Arizona’s talent throughout the state.” Arizona Commerce Authority Leads state economic development efforts, promoting Arizona’s assets and competitive advantages to businesses in the global marketplace Overseen by a public-private sector board chaired by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Recruits innovative out-of-state companies to expand operations in Arizona, helps companies already in the state to grow, and partners with entrepreneurs to create new businesses and jobs Worked with companies to announce 52,000+ new jobs in the past 3½ years
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Arizona Commerce Authority
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PHOTOS: JOSE BELTRAN AND CHRIS MOONEY
FINANCE
Marc Fleischman President BeachFleischman One of Arizona’s largest locallyowned CPA firms, headquartered in Tucson A “Top 200” largest CPA firm in the U.S. Serving 6,000+ private enterprises, nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Mexico
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Adriana Kong Romero Senior VP Tucson Market President Bank of America 25 Tucson financial centers $38.3 million in new loans to Tucson small businesses in 2014 $309,551 in grants and matching gifts to local nonprofits in 2014
Duane Froeschle President Alliance Bank of Arizona Founded 2003 11 offices in Greater Phoenix, Tucson, Sedona and Flagstaff Division of Western Alliance Bank, with $10 billion in assets
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FINANCE
Frances Merryman
PHOTOS: CHRIS MOONEY
VP, Wealth Strategies Group The Northern Trust Company Northern Trust Wealth Management ranked among top 10 U.S. wealth managers $233 billion in Wealth Management Assets Named Best Private Bank in the U.S. by Financial Times Group six consecutive years
David Smallhouse Managing Director Miramar Ventures Real estate, private equity and venture capital investments Active investor in angel and early-stage ventures, many with close ties to The University of Arizona and Desert Angels of Southern Arizona
www.BizTucson.com
Frances Merryman VP Wealth Strategies Group The Northern Trust Company
Xavier Manrique Senior VP Arizona Regional Commercial Banking Office Wells Fargo Bank
Northern Trust Wealth Management ranked among top 10 U.S. wealth managers
No. 1 commercial bank agribusiness lender and No. 1 in total commercial real estate originations in the U.S.
$233 billion in wealth management assets Named Best Private Bank in the U.S. by Financial Times Group six consecutive years
$500,000 to Tucson nonprofits in 2015 $4.5 million to help Tucson area families achieve homeownership
Mark Mistler CEO, Southern Arizona BBVA Compass (Not Pictured)
Company ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. banks, with 672 branches 17 Southern Arizona branches Benefits Southern Arizona charitable organizations through employee volunteerism and financial contributions
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PHOTOS: JOSE BELTRAN AND CHRIS MOONEY
H E A LT H C A R E / N O N P R O F I T
Matt Wandoloski VP of Corporate Strategy and Analytics Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Founded 1939 1.4 million customers Offices in Tucson, Phoenix, Chandler and Flagstaff 1,400 employees statewide
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Tom Dickson CEO Banner–University Medical Center Tucson and Banner–University Medical Center South Banner–UMC Tucson 4,090 employees 22,301 inpatient admissions, 2014 Banner–UMC South 992 employees 8,026 inpatient admissions, 2014
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Tony Penn President & CEO United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona
Nancy Johnson Interim CEO El Rio Community Health Center
Clint Mabie President & CEO Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Building a better community by uniting people, ideas and resources
Founded 1970 by neighborhood activists and The University of Arizona
Connects individuals, families and businesses to causes they care about
Working to bring a collective impact strategy to Southern Arizona to address poverty 80+ years in Tucson
Serves 1,000 people a day 54 percent live below the federal poverty level
$150+ million granted to the community by the foundation and its family of donors since 1980
www.BizTucson.com
SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
I N N O VAT I O N
Frances Merryman VP, Wealth Strategies Group The Northern Trust Company
PHOTOS: CHRIS MOONEY
Northern Trust Wealth Management ranked among top 10 U.S. wealth managers $233 billion in Wealth Management Assets Named Best Private Bank in the U.S. by Financial Times Group six consecutive years
Jacqueline Bucher VP, Marketing and Corporate Communications Roche Tissue Diagnostics and Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a Member of the Roche Group A world leader and innovator of tissue-based cancer diagnostic solutions Manufactures 220+ cancer tests with related instruments in Southern Arizona, touching the lives of 11 million cancer patients each year in 90+ countries www.BizTucson.com
Dr. Ray Woosley Founder and President AZCERT Nonprofit medical research and education organization launched to foster safe use of medicines Developed and maintains the internationally respected Web-based CredibleMeds program with 35,000 registered members and 1,000 visitors daily from more than 135 countries
Steven G. Zylstra President & CEO Arizona Technology Council Established 2002 Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier trade association for science & technology companies Events, resources & educational forums to grow Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology industry
Steve Eggen Strategic Consulting Aerospace & Defense Industry
Mara Aspinall President & CEO ProNeurogen, UA technology for the prevention of Retired CFO, Raytheon inflammation-based Missile Systems dementia A&D industry for President & CEO, 38 years, serving in Rencarex, targeted executive positions antibody drug for with General Dynamics, kidney cancer Hughes Aircraft Executive Chairman, Company and Raytheon GenePeeks, gene sequencing meets computational genomics for pre-conception testing to eliminate Summer 2015 > > > recessive BizTucson 145 disease
INFRASTRUCTURE/REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT
Michael Hammond President & CEO Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services Founded 1985 Leading independently owned, full-service commercial real estate company Licensed in Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico
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Omar Mireles Executive VP HSL Properties Founded 1975 Owns and operates 41 apartment communities in Arizona, with 32 in the Tucson metro area, representing 10,000+ units and 8 million square feet Owns and operates hotels and resorts, including Oro Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hilton El Conquistador Resort
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Walter Richter Public Affairs Administrator Southwest Gas
Bill Kelley CFO Diamond Ventures
Founded 1931 in California
Privately held company specializing in real estate development and private equity investments
Investor-owned utility 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of Arizona, Nevada and California
Founded 1988
2 million+ square feet of developed industrial, office and retail projects 20,000+ acres of developed and planned residential projects
Ed Hadley President Southwest USA Walton Development & Management (USA) Part of Walton Group of Companies, a multinational real estate investment & development group 97,000 acres of land under administration Assets over $4.1 billion
www.BizTucson.com
H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N
PHOTOS: JOSE BELTRAN AND CHRIS MOONEY
SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Teri Lucie Thompson Senior VP for University Relations & Chief Marketing Officer The University of Arizona $860 million total payroll
Gregg Johnson Campus Director University of Phoenix Founded 1976 to cater to working adults seeking higher education
$587 million annual research expenditures
Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest private university
Ranked 19th among public universities for research and development in science and engineering
Degree programs offered at 100+ locations, including Tucson, and online
$8.3 billion economic impact www.BizTucson.com
14,000 alumni in Southern Arizona
Kelle Maslyn Director Community Relations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tucson ASU Office of University Affairs Arizona State University 83,301 enrollment 11,000 FTE $981 million total payroll $2.7 billion in labor income and nearly $4.3 billion in gross product overall economic impact to Arizona
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PHOTOS: JOSE BELTRAN AND CHRIS MOONEY
LEGAL, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION
Kevin Burnett Senior VP & CFO Sundt Companies Headquartered in Tucson since 1929 100 percent employee owned with revenues of about $1 billion Won more Associated General Contractors Build America awards than any other U.S. contractor
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Robert Lamb COO GLHN Architects & Engineers Established 1963 Employee-owned, offering services in architecture and mechanical, electrical, civil and technology engineering 75+ employees
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Lawrence M. Hecker Managing Member Hecker PLLC Of counsel, Sun Corridor Inc. 41 years practicing law in Tucson Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, 1993-2015
Garry Brav President & CEO BFL Construction Founded 1973 Ranked among Tucsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top 10 commercial contractors $60 million annual revenues 40 FTE
Keri Lazarus Silvyn Partner/Owner Lazarus, Silvyn & Bangs Land use law firm that helps communities and developers grow responsibly across Arizona Lawyers in the firm practicing zoning, planning and land use law in Arizona for 40 years www.BizTucson.com
SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bonnie Allin President & CEO Tucson Airport Authority Established 1948 Operates Tucson International Airport and Ryan Airfield Supports 35,000 jobs and houses more than 100 tenants Six airlines serve TIA with non-stop service to 16 destinations
www.BizTucson.com
T R A N S P O R TAT I O N
Steve Lace Past President Tucson New Car Dealers Association
Farhad Moghimi Executive Director Pima Association of Governments/ Regional Transportation Authority
VP Royal Automotive Group & Lexus of Tucson
Coordinates regional planning efforts to enhance mobility, sustainability, livability and economic vitality of the region
Tucson New Car Dealers Association established 1947 Organized by dealers to offer support for economic development and transportation initiatives Collectively employed 2,700+, produced $750+ million in revenue and collected $60+ million in sales tax revenue, 2014
Programs federal, state, regional and local funding for all regional transportation investments Manages the locally funded RTA and its 20-year, $2.1 billion regional transportation plan Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 149
SUN CORRIDOR INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
P U B L I C PA R T N E R S
Satish Hiremath, DDS Mayor Town of Oro Valley
Jonathan Rothschild Mayor City of Tucson
Ed Honea Mayor Town of Marana
36 square miles
$69,425 median household income
520,116 population
126 square miles
$71,950 median household income
Population rose nearly 700 percent 2000-2010
236 square miles
334 FTE
125 FTE
41,627 population
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Duane Blumberg Mayor Town of Sahuarita 27,777 population
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Incorporated 1877 $46,706 median family income
42,000 population $71,000 median household income 328 FTE
Patrick Call Chair Cochise County Board of Supervisors 6,219 square miles, including Fort Huachuca 127,448 population $45,755 median family income 8,740 total business firms
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www.BizTucson.com
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SUN CORRIDOR INC.
New and Expanding Businesses in Tucson and Southern Arizona FY 2014 -15 APAC Customer Services
APAC Customer Services serves as a leading provider in customer care outsourcing solutions with global BPO services. The company is expected to hire 657 employees.
Arizona Optical Systems
Arizona Optical Systems is a leading manufacturer of precision optical systems for the aerospace and astronomical communities. The company is expected to hire 40 employees.
Cenpatico Integrated Care
Cenpatico will take over as the Regional Behavioral Health Authority overseeing the public system’s mental healthcare for adults and children in Southern Arizona. The company is expected to add 250 jobs.
Centene
Centene is a leading multiline healthcare enterprise providing programs and services to government-sponsored healthcare recipients. The company is expected to hire 100 employees.
Comcast
Comcast plans to open a new customer support center this fall. The 100,000 square-foot facility will be staffed by 1,125 customer service representatives and managers. With the addition of the call center, Comcast will have more than 1,250 employees in Tucson. Comcast plans for at least 15 percent of the new positions at the customer support center to be filled by military reservists, veterans and their spouses or domestic partners.
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The CORE Institute
Hydronalix
Don Zavis & Associates
LCMS Solutions
The CORE Institute is Arizona’s largest orthopedic and neurology practice. The CORE Institute will service the region at the new 50-bed, fullservice acute-care facility in Green Valley. The company is expected to hire 25 new employees.
Don Zavis & Associates provides training through individual or corporate coaching. The company is expected to hire 12 new employees.
Garmin
Garmin is a leading worldwide provider of navigation for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness markets. The company is expected to hire 138 new employees.
GEICO Insurance
GEICO serves more than 13 million auto policies nationwide with more than 22 million vehicles, and offers a wide range of other insurance products, including identity theft protection, homeowners insurance and life insurance. The company is expected to hire 230 employees.
HomeGoods
National home furnishings retailer HomeGoods purchased 100 acres of undeveloped property near Tucson International Airport and plans to build an 800,000-square-foot distribution center on the site to help service the company’s growing network of stores in the Southwest and Western parts of the U.S. The company plans to hire at least 400 people initially, with employment expected to grow to 900 workers over the long term.
Hydronalix is a new technology company that focuses on concepts for maritime robotics. The company engineers and designs devices for littoral and brown-water operations, and plans to add 80 employees to its headquarter operations.
LCMS Solutions is a CLIA-certified reference laboratory that provides comprehensive toxicology and clinical testing services. The company is expected to hire 31 new employees.
Northwest Medical Center
Northwest Medical Center will open the first freestanding emergency department in Tucson, and expects to hire 26 employees.
Santé of Tucson
Santé is a senior housing and postacute healthcare company that is expected to hire 150 employees.
TP3 Global
TP3 Global, headquartered in London, is a manufacturer of cold-chain and temperature-controlled thermal pallet covers. The company is expected to hire 32 employees.
Watermark Hacienda Tucson
The Hacienda will be an innovative senior living community and a medical office complex. The company is expected to hire 192 employees. Source: Sun Corridor Inc.
www.BizTucson.com
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SUN CORRIDOR INC. INVESTORS
Sun Corridor Inc. Investors Aerotek
Cox Communications
Randstad
Alliance Bank of Arizona
Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services
Raytheon Missile Systems
Arizona Commerce Authority
Diamond Ventures
Arizona State University
El Rio Community Health Center
AZCERT
Freeport-McMoRan
Bank of America
GLHN Architects & Engineers
BBVA Compass Bank
Hecker PLLC
BeachFleischman
Hilton El Conquistador Resort
BFL Construction
HSL Properties
BizTucson
The Jim Click Automotive Team
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Lazarus, Silvyn & Bangs Miramar Ventures
Business Development Finance Corporation
Chase Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Tucson Association of Realtors/MLS TMC HealthCare The University of Arizona The University of Phoenix UNS Energy, Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services Vantage West Credit Union
Venture West
Northwest Healthcare
CenturyLink
The Temp Connection
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a Member of the Roche Group
The Northern Trust Company
CBRE
The Sundt Companies Tucson Airport Authority
GEICO
Banner-University Medicine
Southwest Gas Corporation Suddath Relocation Systems
DPR Construction
Arizona Technology Council
Sinfonía HealthCare Corp
Nova Home Loans
Walton Development & Management (USA)
Pima Association of Governments
Wells Fargo
Pima Community College
Wist Office Products
Pima County
CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company
Effective Aug. 1
Sun Corridor Inc. will be located at 1985 E. River Road, Suite 101 Tucson, Ariz., 85718 Office 520-243-1900 Toll Free 866-600-0331 www.suncorridorinc.com info@suncorridorinc.com 154 BizTucson
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PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
SUN CORRIDOR INC. STAFF
From left
David Welsh, Executive VP Melody Brooks, Executive Assistant Michael Guymon, Economic Development Director Joe Snell, President & CEO Daniela Gallagher, VP of Economic Development Laura Shaw, Senior VP of Marketing Cathy Casper, CFO Not pictured â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jerah Yassine, Project Manager www.BizTucson.com
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PHOTO: STEPH E PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO: NATALIE LINDBERG
BizTRIBUTE
Clockwise from left – Max, Michael, Maya and Kelsey Luria
Kelsey Luria
Kelsey’s Spirit Endures By Gabrielle Fimbres She traveled the world, exploring New York City, San Francisco, Australia, Israel and Poland – where she took part in the March of the Living, journeying from Auschwitz to Birkenau in a silent tribute to Holocaust victims. She organized fundraisers as a young girl, and spent much of her childhood growing up at her family’s restaurant, Café Terra Cotta. In high school, her two passions were journalism and working as a student athletic trainer at Catalina Foothills High School. Kelsey was headed for the University of Arizona this fall, where she intended to pursue her passions for athletic training and journalism. Tragically, Kelsey’s dreams for her life ahead died with her on April 18, six days after her 18th birthday. She passed away from complications from acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, an aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer that is exceptionally rare in teens. Diagnosed with AML five months prior, Kelsey battled cancer with grace, dignity and strength. She continues to inspire. Her legacy www.BizTucson.com
lives on through the Bald Beauties Project that Kelsey created in the midst of her own treatment. The primary focus of the Bald Beauties Project is to raise funds to provide a professional photographer and makeup artist for cancer patients who have lost their hair, and create kits for newly diagnosed teenagers with items necessary to endure the lengthy and difficult treatment in and out of the hospital. The organization also aims to raise funds for pediatric AML research. “Had Kelsey survived, she would have given back and been involved in these efforts for the rest of her life,” said her dad, Michael Luria, executive director of Children’s Museum Tucson. “She wanted to make a difference – and she would have made a difference,” said her mom, Maya Luria, community relations coordinator for the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona. Kelsey’s vision for the Bald Beauties Project was born of her own experience losing her beautiful, long blond locks. As clumps of hair started to fall out, a nurse urged her to take control and helped shave her head.
“She didn’t want to look in the mirror, and she wore a scarf,” Michael said. Later that evening, Michael and Maya linked arms on each side of Kelsey and the three went together into the bathroom at Banner Children’s-Diamond Children’s Medical Center, and took off the scarf together. No longer able to deny or conceal the physical reality of her cancer diagnosis, Kelsey wept at the sight of her bald head. Then local photographer and friend Stephanie Epperson offered to do a professional photo shoot with Kelsey. On her first visit home between treatments in December, Kelsey got the fullon model experience, with a makeup artist, wardrobe changes and dramatic poses. “Kelsey just loved it,” Maya said. “It lifted her spirits, empowered her and gave her confidence to go forward.” She later had a senior portrait shoot with photographer Natalie Lindberg, and had an equally impactful experience. continued on page 158 >>> Summer 2015
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BizTRIBUTE continued from page 157 Kelsey wanted the same for other teens going through cancer treatment. “It has done so much for me, I want to do it for others,” she told her parents. That’s how Bald Beauties Project was born. Kelsey also dreamed of creating comfort packs for teens with cancer, including a luxurious blanket, pillow, eye mask and other items. She really hoped to make a difference through fundraising for research. “Research money isn’t going to AML – and there are no drug trials in Arizona. I feel totally gypped,” Kelsey told BizTucson in December. These priorities helped keep Kelsey fighting. The Lurias knew from the first day the fight would be mighty. By April her liver was failing and she was airlifted to the UCLA Mattel’s Children Hospital, for a possible liver transplant. But her liver healed itself, the Lurias said, and she returned to Tucson on her 18th birthday. Back at Diamond Children’s, Kelsey was surprised with a party from her beloved medical team. As word of the cel-
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ebration spread on social media, members of the UA Wildcat football team, who visited Kelsey throughout her journey, hustled over to join in the party. But the next crisis was upon them. The drugs that killed the cancer also destroyed her heart. With no viable options remaining, Kelsey decided it was time to go home. She spent her final days surrounded by her parents, 14-year-old brother, Max, and other beloved family and friends. It was there, in an early morning conversation the day before she died, that Kelsey encouraged her parents to keep her memory alive by helping other children, particularly teens, with cancer. She also urged them to take care of themselves. She made her mom promise to get pedicures and her Dad to go to happy hour with the guys every month. Kelsey’s impact is widely felt, starting with Dr. Neha Bhasin, her pediatric oncologist at Diamond Children’s. “Kelsey made a big impact on my life as a physician,” Bhasin said. “She taught me how children with cancer are way stronger than their oncologists and everyone around them. Whenever her
parents or I gave bad news to Kelsey, she was the more mature one in the conversation. She took every obstacle with maturity and made informed decisions throughout her treatment. “Kelsey made me realize that life is very unpredictable and that every positive thing in our lives should be celebrated with a red velvet cake. She made me laugh and she made me cry and I am lucky I met this extremely strong woman.” Among the 750 who attended her memorial service at the Tucson Jewish Community Center were her UA athlete buddies, members of the Tucson Police Department SWAT team and her principals from Sunrise Elementary School, Orange Grove Middle School and Catalina Foothills High. While they miss their daughter terribly, the Lurias are proud of her many accomplishments. “We are very grateful for the life she had,” Maya said. To make a donation to Kelsey’s Bald Beauties Project, go to baldbeautiesproject.org.
Biz
www.BizTucson.com
BizBRIEFS
Sean P. Murray Joins Commerce Bank of Arizona
Longtime Tucsonan Sean P. Murray is now senior VP and commercial loan officer at Commerce Bank of Arizona. Murray was previously a VP and senior business relationship manager at Wells Fargo. He has more than 16 years of experience in commercial lending and has lived in Tucson for 35 years. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a graduate of the University of Arizona Eller College as well as the Pacific Coast Banking School. Murray serves on the boards of the Business Development Finance Corporation, Youth On Their Own and the Nonprofit Loan Fund of Tucson and Southern Arizona, and is a member of The Centurions. The community bank has offices in Scottsdale, Tucson, Green Valley and Tubac. Biz
Long Realty CEO Koberlein Named One of 100 Most Influential Execs Real Estate Executive Magazine has named Long Realty CEO Rosey Koberlein as one of the 100 most influential real estate executives. The magazine conducted a comprehensive analysis of the leading real estate companies in the United States to come up with the list. Koberlein oversees strategic planning and leadership for all of Long Companies, including brokerage, mortgage, title and insurance. She has served in branch and senior management positions within the company since 1991. She serves on the board of directors of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and the YWCA. Biz www.BizTucson.com
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BizBIOSCIENCE
Bioscience Roadmap Update Funding a Critical Issue for Research and Education By Dan Sorenson Hold the regulation – but keep that federal research and grant money coming. That was the message from keynote speaker Congresswoman Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and the plea most often repeated to her by those listening and speaking out at the Flinn Foundation’s latest Arizona Bioscience Roadmap update for Southern Arizona. McSally told the group that she understood regulation “could take the oxygen out of the room,” stifling the innovation that would drive an even more vibrant local bioscience sector. She said the new Congress was sympathetic to that, and suggested that it could be of help in reining in overzealous regulating agencies. But she didn’t offer much hope for wholesale tax relief. The former Air Force fighter pilot said she understood the importance of federal funding to research and development in the biosciences. “We need to make sure that we have appropriate streams of dollars invested in the National Institutes of Health and other research streams of money, grants and opportunities – because that is so critical for us to be able to have R&D investment happening,” McSally said. “When we start cutting back just out of expediency, just to solve budget problems, it has such a long-term negative implication.” 160 BizTucson
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The luncheon and panel discussion held in April came amidst fresh headlines about the Arizona governor’s and legislature’s budget cuts for the state’s universities. The speakers’ remarks about Southern Arizona’s assets in furthering the bioscience sector, particularly the importance of higher education, was politically charged. The event was grounded in facts from a new study on the state of Southern Arizona’s workforce and indicators related to the development of the bioscience industry in Arizona. Ron Shoopman, vice chair of the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap steering committee, cited statistics on the Tucson area compiled in the study of 12 Western U.S. metropolitan areas by the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. The findings are published under the title MAP – Making Action Possible for Southern Arizona – www. mapazdashboard.arizona.edu. The study was sponsored by the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the UA. Shoopman is a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, president and CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and a former wing commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 162nd Fighter Wing. Tucson and Pima County ranked
from the middle to upper third in four of six education-related categories in the UA study:
•
Its highest rating was for having 47 percent of college students majoring in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math).
• Nearly
•
30 percent of the adult population ages 25 and older has a four-year degree, or better, placing it in the middle third of the areas studied. Standardized math scores put area students in the middle third.
• Arizona’s
75 percent high school graduation rate was also seen as something of an asset, ranking sixth in the Western states’ metropolitan areas.
At the other end of the spectrum, the study showed:
• With
only 37 percent of Tucsonarea 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-kindergarten, Tucson and Pima County were near the bottom of the areas studied.
• The Tucson area ranked dead last in median annual pay for secondary school teachers at $37,000 a year, nearly $5,000 behind Phoenix, its nearest competitor.
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The fresh subject of cuts to the UA’s state funding was the elephant in the room until audience member Steve Lynn, a longtime Tucson business executive and member of the SALC board of directors, spoke up. “On the one hand,” Lynn said, “I agree that one thing the government can do is get out of the way. On the other hand one thing government could do – and should do – in the state of Arizona is recognize that the university system is the engine for economic and bioscience development and support it appropriately.” This was met by a round of applause. “When the state takes money away from the university, two things happen. One, the university has to go out and raise money on its own to cover its expenses just to operate. And secondly, it balances its budget on the backs of students who then can’t afford to matriculate at the university. “At this point it’s more than $400 million in terms of cuts that the universities have suffered in the last few years. But we simply don’t care, apparently,
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“
We need to make sure that we have appropriate streams of dollars invested in the National Institutes of Health and other research streams of money, grants and opportunities – because that is so critical for us to be able to have R&D investment happening. –
”
Congresswoman Martha McSally
because there’s no outrage. What is it we could do as a group?” Lynn said he had told the governor that “if you’re in a budget situation where you’re in a deficit, the first thing you ought to do is stop digging. Stop
giving away more resources – so that you can spend them on things that are important. How do we get that going and is this a group that can begin doing that?” Panelist Fletcher McCusker, CEO of Sinfonia HealthCare Corp, defused the tension with a humorous comment. “You stepped in it now,” he said to Lynn, drawing big laughs from the crowd. “We turn out more STEM graduates than every other city in the region,” McCusker said. “So I tend not to spend a lot of time over the things I can’t control, like Gov. Ducey’s budget. But I can certainly spend a lot of time encouraging that student population to look at Tucson as a site they might select when they indeed graduate. “As long as our enrollment rate remains high and we continue to produce these kinds of kids, I think we need to focus collectively on keeping them from going to Austin or San Diego or Portland. I think we’ve made great strides in terms of attracting the millennials to stay in Tucson.” Biz
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BizSALES
Is It a Sales Plan or a State of Mind That Needs Support? By Jeffrey Gitomer
All salespeople are given a plan, a quota or some kind of numbers to achieve as a major part of their job requirement. The key word is part. The plan or the quota is a small part of the achievement process. How the company and leader support the salesperson’s effort is another part – the major part. The tools, the training and the encouragement to achieve will determine the salesperson’s ultimate belief, effort and outcome – aka results. Sales leaders will always make value judgments on their salespeople’s ability to produce numbers, but rarely will they step up to bat and self-evaluate their own effort to support and encourage their sales staff. Sales leaders are quick to judge the capability of their salespeople strictly by the numbers. They get reports to keep accountability high. They get reports to check on activity. They get reports to check the numbers. Classic Example: If the number each salesperson is to achieve requires cold calling as a major part of the sales function, more than 50 percent will not make the grade. They will become discouraged by a 95 percent or more rejection rate, be unhappy, feel pressure, most likely lie on their sales report and ultimately quit or be fired. Sales Reality: Most salespeople resent that they are held accountable for certain numbers that don’t have anything to do with actually making sales. In addition, most resent that their sales training is focused on the product rather than selling skills. Bigger Sales Reality: Sales is not numbers, it’s a rhythm. Any kind of sales requires you to get into a rhythm, and that rhythm must be consistent. It’s not the song, it’s the backbeat. Backbeat provides the glue to music. Bass and drums, not lead guitar or vocals. Consistent beat, not a one-minute solo. Biggest Sales Reality: For salespeople to feel “in the groove” and get the sales rhythm, there has to be leadership support, and there has to be leadership encouragement. Leadership has to change the word accountability to responsibility. The salesperson is responsible for himself or herself, responsible for the outcome and responsible to the boss and the company for productivity. Once salespeople become responsible, they are automatically accountable to everyone without ever saying the word accountable. But the boss and the company also have their own responsibility to support that salesperson 100 percent. Here are the 7.5 responsibilities that sales leadership has to sales staffers for them to make their numbers happen without ever saying the word “accountability:”
1. Impeccable company, product and service reputation.
This is foundational and fundamental to a salesperson’s belief system – and a prospective customer’s belief sys-
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tem. Belief fuels enthusiasm. Note well: Reputation arrives way before salespeople arrive.
2. Social media attraction. Active participation in social
media is no longer an option – it’s an imperative. And active participation, including one-on-one communications with customers, creates attraction. Attraction is also known as leads.
3. On-demand, Web-based sales and personal development training. Salespeople need information and answers to make sales. The right training will help the salesperson and encourage the salesperson. If the staffer can access sales information on a mobile device while waiting in the lobby for a sales appointment, that staffer will gain a new self-confidence that will help him or her make the sale. (Go to www.gitomerVT.com to see an example.)
4. An easy-to-implement philosophical approach to the
sale. There must be an approach and a strategy to the sale that salespeople are comfortable with, and will employ during the selling process. One that takes the emotion of the selling process and converts it to a customer buying process.
5. The ability to differentiate from the competition. Sales-
people need a value proposition, value-based statements and value-based questions to genuinely engage any customer or prospect. And the customer must perceive that value as value.
6. Genuine, real-world, hands-on leadership encouragement. Salespeople want to feel the love and the support of leadership, not the pressure. Senior-level executives and sales leaders must be out on sales calls as often as possible. This way they discover the real world – the real world of making sales that will help them when they make the next sales plan.
7. A generous comp plan. When the comp plan changes, make sure the compensation goes up. Salespeople need a monetary carrot to perform at their highest level.
7.5 Internal harmony. Whatever your internal process is,
there must be a harmony between sales, accounting, shipping and any internal administration that deals directly with salespeople and/or customers.
I’ve just given you the tip of the sales performance iceberg. Most of the iceberg is not visible if the salesperson is fighting market conditions, customers and competition to gain a competitive and profitable edge. Non-secret formula for sales success: Give salespeople encouragement and support – and they will give you sales. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of 12 best-selling books including “The Sales Bible,” “The Little Red Book of Selling” and “21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling.” His books are available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2015 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704.333-1112
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1) Victor Hruby 2) Eugene Gerner
UA Honors Innovators
3) Yi-Chang Chiu 4) Linda Powers 5) From left: Ann Weaver Hart Jason Dewland Cindy Elliott Sandra Kramer Karen Williams Jennifer Martin Sherry Hoskinson Jen Watson John Jackson Sr.
By Larry Copenhaver The University of Arizona’s prestigious I-Squared Awards were given to faculty and staff members and two people outside of the UA in April. “The purpose is to celebrate accomplishments of individuals and demonstrate specific technologies and how individuals are pursuing those technologies to direct them into the market place,” said David Allen, UA VP of Tech Launch Arizona, the group responsible for UA’s intellectual property, proof of concept and technology licensing. TLA works directly with companies to commercialize UA technologies and facilitate industry-sponsored research. By transforming UA discoveries into intellectual property, inventions and technology, UA researchers and the business community forge an alliance to enhance the impact of the university’s research, innovation and technology park assets. “Commercialization is a process. It starts in the laboratory with inventions and continues on through Tech Launch, which secures and protects the invention, typically through patents, and then understanding the technology as it relates to a market opportunity,” Allen said. “If the technology relates to a good opportunity, then we have an asset. If it doesn’t, we have interesting science. “Technology innovation is undeniably a driving force for business growth, wealth creation and social well-being.”
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6) Joel Cuello 7) David Hutchens 8) Oliver Davis 6 For Chemistry
Victor Hruby, regents’ professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Science. The Hruby Peptide Group invented a peptide that helps humans produce photo-protective melanin as a natural prevention against skin cancers, and worked with TLA to license the technology to Teleost Biopharmaceutical of Boulder, Colo. For Biomedicine
Eugene Gerner, professor emeritus of cellular and molecular medicine in the College of Medicine, recognized for his creation of Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals, a Tucson-based company with two therapeutic products in Phase 3 clinical testing and one in Phase 2. For Information Technology
Yi-Chang Chiu, associate professor of civil engineering, worked with TLA to patent his technology. He founded startup company Metropia in Tucson to market his technology for a mobile
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app that encourages commuters to change driving habits to improve traffic. The patent was granted in November 2014, at which point the company licensed the technology. For Engineering
Linda Powers, professor and Thomas R. Brown Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recognized for her work on developing and commercializing unique handheld sensor technologies for detecting and identifying microbes. For Agriculture & Life Sciences
Joel Cuello, in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, honored for his innovative ways of growing algae for sustainable biofuel production. For Campus Collaboration The University
Libraries Business Intelligence Team was recognized for its partnership in providing research and business intelligence to support TLA in helping direct development of new UA
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technologies and startups. Team members included Jason Dewland, Cindy Elliott, Sandra Kramer and Jennifer Martin. Two categories recognized contributions from outside the UA: For Industry & Corporate Partnership David Hutchens, presi-
dent & CEO of Tucson Electric Power and UA alumnus. The company is a committed partner in the development of the UA Tech Parks Solar Zone, transforming it into a nationally recognized resource for development, testing and evaluation of grid-integrated solar technologies.
For Ecosystem Impact
UA alumnus Oliver Davis, of May, Potenza, Baran & Gillespie in Phoenix, worked to open pathways and relationships in Tucson and Phoenix for UA-born technologies. The award recognizes Davis as a committed TLA community leader.
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BizHR
“Antarctic” Mike Pierce
By Christy Krueger Imagine being stranded in Antarctica on a boat frozen into the ice and breaking apart during winter’s total darkness. The real-life team of explorers who survived this dire situation in 1914 is the inspiration for “Antarctic” Mike Pierce’s presentation “Leading at 90 Below Zero.” Pierce will speak Sept. 8 to members of Society for Human Resource Management of Greater Tucson and the general business community. He uses the story of the Antarctic explorers, who were led through unimaginable challenges, as a metaphor for how to lead your business team. “It’s all about finding, engaging and keeping the best people,” Pierce said. He started his motivational speaking company in 2008 after a 20-year career as a headhunter. “I was a people thief,” he said. “I was in business to help companies find people. Now I teach companies how to keep people.” Retaining employees depends on a leader knowing his people. That’s how Ernest Shackleton kept his explorers alive in 1914. “Teams that went into the 166 BizTucson
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worst conditions in the world are the same as what all leaders do – they take them to places nobody’s gone before.” While Pierce has read much about Antarctica’s history, he personally battled its elements in a way very few have – running a marathon and a 100-kilometer race there in 2006. “I learned
LEADING AT 90 BELOW ZERO BY “ANTARCTIC” MIKE PIERCE SHRM-GT’S 2015 NATIONAL SPEAKER PRESENTATION Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa, 245 E. Ina Road Tuesday, Sept. 8 2 to 5 p.m. $35 for SHRM-GT members $50 for non-members Three or more from same company receive member pricing Register at www.shrmgt.org or call 520-299-6787 For info on the speaker visit www.antarcticmike.com
about how I prepared and trained has an application to the real world.” One key is helping leaders identify what drives each employee and how to tie that in with the company’s goals, Pierce said. His favorite example is that of a construction crew leader in Ohio who significantly changed his life after hearing Pierce talk. “He started having more success with his job – and it saved his marriage.” Pierce provides action items that attendees can implement immediately, said Trish Kordas, SHRM-GT president. She invited him to speak at the organization’s annual national speaker presentation for the business community. She previously heard his presentation to Tucson Federal Credit Union employees. “He provides professional development. He’ll teach things that can be taken back to the office and applied every day,” she said. “He makes you think in a different way to lead. If you connect with people, they will follow you into the fire.”
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF GREATER TUCSON
Leadership Lessons From Antarctica
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Hughes Access Rd - To Be Abandoned AFP44 Buffer for Existing Facilities
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1. U.S. Sen. John McCain 2. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and McCain 3. Aerospace Parkway Groundbreaking 4. Pima County AFP44 Buffer for Future Facilities Supervisor Ray Carroll, Congresswoman Martha McSally, McCain and Pima County Supervisor Ram贸n Valadez 5. Taylor W. Lawrence, President of Raytheon Missile Systems 6. Valadez 7. Ted Maxwell, VP of Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry with Rothschild
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Aerospace Parkway Hughes Access Rd - Relocation
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Hughes Access Relocation Hughes AccessRoad Road Relocation Parcel Ownership
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Though the Aerospace Parkway on Tucson’s far southside will be only 4½ miles long when completed, high-ranking city, county, state and federal political and government officials all rejoiced at its recent groundbreaking. That’s because the parkway is viewed by those leaders as simply the opening salvo in a transformational economic development vision they hope will bring increased aerospace, defense and manufacturing operations to the area and build upon existing transportation and logistics advantages to make Tucson a regional hub for national and international trade. U.S. Sen. John McCain, Congresswoman Martha McSally, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Pima County Supervisors Sharon Bronson, Ramón Valadez and Ray Carroll all praised the parkway as the beginning of what could become a wave of high-tech manufacturing development on the city’s southside. “Today is a great day for Tucson and a great day for economic development in Southern Arizona,” said Ducey at the March 31 groundbreaking ceremony. “This is the beginning of the road to Pima County’s economic recovery,” said Bronson, who chairs the Board of Supervisors. Construction of the parkway is on a fast track and is expected to be open to traffic in December. Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said that ambitious schedule will be met “because this is a new road and there is not a car on it. You just have to connect the two ends. The contractor is in heaven.” That contractor is The Ashton Company. The county has already committed $6.6 million provided by the Regional Transportation Authority to the project. The parkway will initially be two lanes, but will eventually be upgraded to four. The parkway was first proposed by Huckelberry to replace Hughes Access Road to create a larger buffer area surrounding Raytheon Missile Systems’ airport campus. In 2010, Raytheon chose to build a new manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Ala., rather than in Tucson in part because of the lack of adequate buffer space here. Raytheon is Southern Arizona’s largest private employer. The realignment provided by the parkway also creates room for construction of a second runway at Tucson International Airport, enables expansion for the Air National Guard’s 162nd continued on page 170 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 169
BizDEVELOPMENT continued from page 169 Fighter Wing at TIA, and provides the ability to begin planning and installing needed infrastructure improvements (such as electricity, gas, water and fiber-optic cable access) for a future Aerospace, Defense and Technology Research and Business Park along the new parkway. “We have reached the point where we want to grow even further,” said Taylor W. Lawrence, president of Raytheon Missile Systems, at the parkway’s groundbreaking. “That is about having the right infrastructure and the right connectivity.” Lawrence said Raytheon “is proud to be a part of Tucson and Southern Arizona” and is very pleased with efforts to make future Raytheon expansion in Tucson possible. McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW who serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and McSally, a former Air Force colonel who was the first woman in U.S. history to fly in combat and the first to
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command a fighter squadron, each emphasized the critical importance of Raytheon to both the national defense and the Arizona economy. “Raytheon is wonderful for Southern Arizona and for America,” McCain said. “I know firsthand the advantages Raytheon brings to the fight,” McSally said. “Raytheon is an integral part of the U.S. defense system and our local economy.” However, the long-range economic development plans for the area around the airport region have grown well beyond a parkway to enable expansion at Raytheon and create a military/defense/high-tech business and research park. The parkway is also viewed as a first step in creating a transportation and trade hub dubbed the Sonoran Corridor. The leading architect of the Sonoran Corridor plan is Huckelberry. In his remarks, Rothschild commended Huckelberry and the county Board of Supervisors, conceding the Sonoran Corridor “is really their vision.”
The corridor – which when fully completed would include a four-lane, controlled-access highway – would connect Interstate 10 at Rita Road near the UA Tech Park with Interstate 19 somewhere north of Pima Mine Road. The 16-mile highway would pass through undeveloped land south of TIA, link up with Aerospace Parkway and allow for creation of a southern entrance to TIA. In addition, the corridor runs near rail lines going both east and west and north and south. “We have many key logistical components – surface transportation, air transportation, rail transportation and the Port of Tucson – coming together in a very contained area that is largely undeveloped,” Huckelberry said. “It is a location that splits between two large population markets, California and Texas, and is connected by rail and by I-19 to Mexico.” Port of Tucson/Century Park Research is a full-service inland port, rail yard and intermodal facility owned by Alan Levin that is located adjacent to Union Pacific rail lines and I-10. Huck-
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elberry said a proposal to build new track linking the Nogales rail line to the Port of Tucson by running it along the Aerospace Parkway and the northern portion of the Sonoran Corridor could increase the efficiency of freight travel from Mexico and allow traditional rail passenger service from downtown Tucson to TIA and the aerospace/defense park. Huckelberry said Tucson’s connection to Mexico could prove very important in attracting increased U.S. aerospace and defense contractors “because there is a very high concentration of suppliers in Sonora, Mexico, making component parts and supporting systems for high-tech industrial usage in the United States.” The first phases of the Sonoran Corridor could be funded through $30 million included in the upcoming county bond proposal, approved by the Board of Supervisors in April. Because of the national highway and international trade implications contained in the Sonoran Corridor plan, Huckelberry said efforts will be under-
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taken to obtain federal money for the project. “I’ve had conversations with Senator McCain and there is a clear
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We have many key logistical components – surface transportation, air transportation, rail transportation and the Port of Tucson – coming together in a very contained area that is largely undeveloped.
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– Chuck Huckelberry Administrator, Pima County
understanding that this has national significance,” Huckelberry said. Huckelberry placed the entire cost of highway improvements contained in
the Sonoran Corridor plan at around $600 million. He said construction of the new rail line and utility investments necessary to create the aerospace and defense research center would likely push total cost to about $1 billion. “But that billion dollars may result in taxable values of multiple billions of dollars,” he said. “The primary objective of the county is to create jobs and increase the tax base.” Many Southern Arizona business leaders are supportive not only of the Aerospace Parkway, but high-tech research and defense recruitment and the entire package of Sonoran Corridor infrastructure improvements. “You can never do too much for Raytheon, your largest private employer,” said Ron Shoopman, president and CEO of Southern Arizona Leadership Council and a former Air Force brigadier general. “There is also great potential for economic growth by increasing our already highly successful aerospace and defense sector, much of which is already concentrated around the airport.” Biz
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Robert Smith
VP for Business Affairs University of Arizona
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$2 Billion UA Building Boom
PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS
By David Pittman
www.BizTucson.com
The numbers tell the story – over the past 21 years the University of Arizona invested $2 billion to design and build about 80 different projects. Robert Smith is the man who’s overseen that unprecedented campus growth and expansion. Remarkably, every one of those projects was completed within budget and without any major claims or litigation. Yet Smith’s exemplary record of accomplishment at the university goes far beyond that. His is a beautiful legacy of design excellence and construction quality that permeates the entire UA campus. You might conclude the university was lucky to have come across this guy. But to hear Smith tell it, he’s the fortunate one. “I think I have the best job in Tucson,” he said. “To be able to work with so many brilliant people, to interact with students and see them grow, to work in architecture on so many different kinds of projects and watch a beautifully designed building take shape that further transforms the campus – I feel great about what we do.” Smith graduated from the UA in 1976 with a degree in architecture and became a founding partner in the Stichler Design Group, a San Diego architectural firm that grew to 50 employees in eight years. Smith later led a $500 million medical building program at the University of California, San Diego, where he oversaw development of a major new hospital campus. He returned to Tucson and his alma mater in 1994 as director of facilities,
design and construction. In 2010, he became the interim senior VP for business affairs in charge of finance and operations. Once a new senior VP and CFO was hired in 2011, Smith took on his current role as VP for business affairs. He’s in charge of campus operations, facilities, risk management, parking, transportation, planning, design, construction and the development of the new downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The campus operations pieces of UA controlled by Smith include about 550 employees. Southern Arizona general contractors who have worked with Smith praise him as a gifted, creative and dependable straight shooter with high ethical standards they can count on. “Bob Smith is a very intelligent, diligent, honorable and truthful person,” said Brad Lloyd, VP of Lloyd Construction Company. “He says what he means and he means what he says. He is a major reason the university building program has achieved such great success.” Kurt Wadlington, project director at Sundt, described Smith as a “sophisticated professional” who develops “a strong collaborative team” on every project. “He always strives for design excellence and construction quality. He has definitely elevated the building program at UA.” Wadlington said Smith is “amazingly flexible and resourceful” in adapting to unexpected construction challenges and tightened construction budgets. “Construction and design can sometimes be very complicated, particularly continued on page 174 >>> Summer 2015 > > > BizTucson 173
BizCONSTRUCTION continued from page 173 when you’re working on projects as large as those often done at the UA. But despite all the challenges involved, Bob Smith has reacted and adapted to oversee successful project after successful project. He never settles for anything less than his resources will allow. In his quest for building excellence, he has left a huge legacy.” Lloyd and Wadlington credit Smith for his insistence that local construction firms be used at UA to the highest extent possible. “Bob has not only done an amazing job in shaping the university campus, but he has also been a strong and consistent force in making sure local architects, engineers, contractors and enterprises were involved in building those projects,” Lloyd said. Smith said there are many excellent architects and contractors in Tucson and Southern Arizona with great knowledge of building needs in the Sonoran Desert. While construction of high-tech lab and research facilities sometimes requires hiring non-local specialty firms, Smith said about 75 percent of all subcontractors used on UA projects are local businesses and the percentage of the local workforce employed on each project is even higher. A fourth-generation Tucsonan, Smith, 61, is from a true pioneer family. His great grandfather was a farmer and rancher who led a wagon train from east Texas to Tucson in the late 1800s. “I grew up in a blue-collar family,” Smith said. “All my uncles and my dad were in construction. My dad was an electrician. I learned a great deal from him and my family about the value of hard work, ethics and loyalty. I was the first person from my family to go to college.” During his distinguished career at UA, the school has become a national leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship. UA has the greatest solar power installation capacity of any university in the nation and the most buildings in Arizona to achieve LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The university is also a leader in restoring and preserving treasured historic buildings, such as Old Main, the first 174 BizTucson
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building on campus, and Herring Hall, a landmark structure built in 1903. Under Smith’s guidance, UA successfully pioneered and refined new alternative project delivery methods that are now common today.
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Bob Smith always strives for design excellence and construction quality. In his quest for building excellence, Bob has left a huge legacy. –
Kurt Wadlington Project Director Sundt
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For instance, the UA Student Union was the first public project in Arizona to use the “design-build” project delivery system. UA has since successfully used design-build and construction-management-at-risk project methods to construct some 50 buildings. Smith also worked with construction industry leaders to develop and promote a new state procurement code implemented around the turn of the 21st century. He said those new rules have dramatically improved how buildings can be constructed. “A lot of states are still burdened with the requirement of doing hard-bid, low-bid work – which forces the hiring of the low bidders regardless of whether they’re best qualified to do the work,” said Smith. “Then, if you come in over budget on the bids, you have to redesign and rebid. You can’t fast-track projects because everything has to be done one step at a time.
“Under the new procurement laws, you can use alternative approaches that allow you to select the best team members (general contractor) based on qualifications, rather than just the low bid that day. Then they go out and low bid all the subcontracted work through prequalified subcontractors – which makes sure you have qualified people on the project, meeting our goal of providing the most cost-effective construction work possible. “It also permits construction to begin before all the design is done because the contractor is working with you throughout the design process, giving you input on the cost and the phasing. The result is the contractor, architect and owner work together as a team, rather than having a more adversarial relationship, which was prevalent before the changes.” UA has received about 80 architectural, interior, landscape, sustainability and construction excellence awards, including: u The first Southern Arizona recipient
of a National American Institute of Architects Award for the Meinel Optical Sciences Building – plus 15 statewide AIA design excellence awards u Three “Dream Team Owner of the
Year Awards” from the Cornerstone Building Foundation u Two “Arizona’s Greatest All-Time Ar-
chitectural Achievement” awards for the Optical Sciences building and the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre
Smith has received individual awards for design innovation, advancing the building industry and lifetime achievement from the Alliance for Construction Excellence, the American Society of Cost Estimators, the Alliance of Construction Trades and the Tucson Construction Industry’s Good Scout Committee. “We don’t design and build buildings for the purpose of getting awards – but we appreciate it when it happens,” Smith said.
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Bold Sustainable Design By David Pittman
RENDERINGS: COURTESY GLJN/RICHÄRD + BAUER
The University of Arizona’s new Environment & Natural Resources Phase 2 building “is one of the most exciting project’s ever built” on campus. That’s the opinion of Robert Smith, who’s overseen the UA building program for more than two decades. The $75 million project exemplifies the school’s longtime commitment to environmental sustainability. Slated for completion in June, the building combines innovative technologies and passive, natural processes designed to exceed LEED Platinum Certification standards of the U.S. Green Building Council. The design of ENR2 evokes images of a Sonoran Desert slot canyon. The 150,000-square-foot building achieves this look and feel within a large outdoor www.BizTucson.com
courtyard that serves as both the center and an entrance to the five-story structure. Forms are defined by the contrast of light and dark, capturing the sequence between the stone and sand base, stone-like walls, trees and landscaping, plant-covered balconies and terraces, copper-colored steel panels and the open sky. Located on Sixth Street east of Park Avenue, ENR2 is directly east of the first ENR building. It is oriented on an east-west axis, allowing the building to take advantage of natural light along its north façade, while the building’s south is shaded glass that diffuses direct sunlight and reduces heat. The east and west sides of the building are protected from direct sun exposure by vertical metal shade panels. The general contractor is Hensel Phelps Construction.
The design team includes GLHN Architects & Engineers, Richard + Bauer design architects and Turner Structural Engineering. ENR2’s sustainability highlights include: u Rainwater harvesting systems that will allow rain to cascade from green rooftops into the central courtyard, where it will be stored in a 52,000-gallon underground tank. Harvested rainwater will provide half the project’s irrigation needs and give life to water features in the courtyard when sufficient rainwater is available. u Radiant cooling, which requires less energy than conventional fan-powered air conditioning. This is achieved by chilled beams and sails that use circulated cooled
water to absorb heat, lessening the burden on the HVAC system by about 20 percent. u Space hibernation, which is the conservation of energy use in unoccupied spaces, will be used, primarily in strategically placed areas at the perimeters of the building. All private offices have individual controls to minimize the amount of electric lighting used during daytime hours. u Natural ventilation is created through the use of solar chimneys that will draw cooled air through the building in warm months and warm air during cool months. Additionally, air in the central courtyard will be cooled during hot weather by misters and natural transpiration from plant life.
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Project: AC Hotel by Marriott Location: 151 E. Broadway Blvd. Owner: 5 North 5th Hotel Contractor: Lloyd Construction Company Architect: FORS Architecture & Interiors/Swaim Associates Broker: None Completion Date: 2017 Construction Cost: Estimated $23 million Project Description: A 136-room, 8-story hotel in downtown Tucson, which also includes 5,000 square feet of commercial retail space
Bioscience Research Laboratories Project: Location: Cherry Avenue between Helen and Mabel streets University of Arizona Owner: Contractor: DPR Construction Architect: ZGF Architects in association with BWS Architects/ Wheat Design Group/Holben Martin & White/AEI/ Jacobs Consultancy None Broker: Completion Date: Spring 2017 Construction Cost: Estimated $60 million Project Description: This 120,000-square-foot, 3-story facility is designed for collaborative interdisciplinary translational research in the health sciences
Project: Location: Owner:
Brother John’s Beer, Bourbon & BBQ 1801 N. Stone Ave. Property – April Worden/Business – John and David Aldecoa Contractor: Epstein Construction. Architect: Seaver-Franks Architects/ Design: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects James P. Robertson Jr. Broker: Completion Date: July 2015 Construction Cost: Estimated $700,000 Project Description: The former Wildcat House is being remodeled to create a new restaurant concept combining slow-smoked BBQ with a bourbon bar and a 3,000-square-foot outdoor beer garden.
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Project: Latitude Engineering – Phase I Building Addition Location: 744 S. Euclid Ave. Owner: Jason Douglas Contractor: G2 Contracting Architect: Warren Architecture Broker: None Completion Date: Undetermined Construction Cost: Undisclosed Project Description: The 3,623-square-foot addition includes 1,560 square feet of new production area and 2,063 square feet of offices
Project: Chuze Fitness Plaza Location: Ajo Way and I-19 Owner: Ajo I-19 Developers/Larsen Baker Contractor: TBD Architect: Architectural Design Group Broker: Larsen Baker Completion Date: January 2016 Construction Cost: Estimated $2.8 million Project Description: Chuze Fitness will open its fourth Tucson location with this state-of-the-art 16,000-square-foot health club
Project: Dick’s Sporting Goods Location: 6301 E. Broadway Blvd. Owner: BP Wilmot Plaza Contractor: Barker Morrissey Contracting Architect: Herschman Architects Broker: Bourn Advisory Services Completion Date: Fall 2015 Construction Cost: Estimated $5 million Project Description: A 50,000-square-foot ground-up masonry building with steel joists and deck; part of $30 million redevelopment of Wilmot Plaza
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Project: New retail addition to Circle Plaza Shopping Center Location: Broadway Boulevard and Kolb Road Owner: Circle Plaza Associates/Larsen Baker Contractor: Division II Construction Architect: Architectural Design Group Completion Date: February 2016 Construction Cost: Estimated $1.4 million Project Description: The former Play It Again Sports building will be transformed into a new 5,200-square-foot restaurant/retail building
Project: The Offices at La Paloma Location: 3300 E. Sunrise Drive Sunrise Campbell Investors/Larsen Baker Owner: Contractor: Lloyd Construction Company Architect: Architectural Design Group Larsen Baker Broker: Completion Date: Summer 2015 Construction Cost: Estimated $3 million Project Description: This is a redevelopment of the 83,000-square-foot former MDA building for multiple new office users
Project: Riverfront Village Phase III Location: First Avenue and Wetmore Road Owner: First Avenue Associates/Larsen Baker Contractor: Division II Construction Architect: Architectural Design Group Larsen Baker Broker: Completion Date: November 2015 Construction Cost: Estimated $1.475 million Project Description: A multitenant redevelopment of an 11,300-square-foot former Golden Corral restaurant
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Project: Riverside Plaza Location: Cortaro Road and Silverbell Road Owner: Affiliate of Diamond Ventures Contractor: TBD Architect: SBBL Architecture & Planning Broker: DVI Realty Completion Date: Estimated 2017 Construction Cost: Estimated $10 million Project Description: This development will be anchored by Leman Academy of Excellence, a new charter school, and five pads in the center remain available for sale
Project: Skyline Esplanade Phase II Location: Northwest corner Skyline Drive and Pima Canyon Road Owner: DAZ6-Skyline 2 Contractor: Canyon Building and Design Architect: Gansline and Associates Broker: DESCO Southwest Completion Date: June 2015 Construction Cost: N/A Project Description: Second phase of a medical and professional office center located in the Catalina foothills
Project: Ventana Medical Systems Location: 10739 N. Tangerine Farms Road, Marana Tangerine Building One/Cottonwood Properties Owner: Contractor: Barker Morrissey Contracting Architect: GDA Architects Bill DiVito Broker: Completion Date: September 2015 Construction Cost: Undisclosed Project Description: Undisclosed
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Project: Environmental & Natural Resources, Phase 2 Location: University of Arizona – Sixth Street east of Park Avenue Owner: University of Arizona Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Company Architect: GLHN Architects & Engineers/Richärd+Bauer/Turner Structural Engineering/McGann & Associates with Colwell Shelor Broker: None Completion Date: June 2015 Construction Cost: Estimated $50 million Project Description: ENR2 reflects UA’s long-term effort to promote scientific collaboration and interdisciplinary research, specifically in its environmental programs
Project: Houghton Town Center, Phase I Location: Houghton Road and Old Vail Road Affiliate of Diamond Ventures Inc. Owner: Contractor: Borderland Construction/McManus Construction/ Division II Construction Architect: SBBL Architecture & Planning NAI Horizon/DVI Realty Broker: Completion Date: Estimated 2017 Construction Cost: $75 million Project Description: This Walmart-anchored center is under construction and will be serving southeast Tucson, including Rita Ranch, Vail and Corona de Tucson
Project: Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort Expansion Location: 5501 N. Hacienda del Sol Road Owners: Tom Firth, Jeff Timan, Rick Fink, Mike McGrath, Mike Stilb Contractor: W.E. O’Neil and Chestnut Construction Architect: Eglin+Bresler Architects Broker: N/A Completion Date: Guest Rooms Sept 1, 2015 Banquet Hall Feb. 15, 2016 Construction Cost: N/A Financed By: Bank of Tucson Project Description: 32 additional sleeping rooms, swimming pool, outdoor bar, Terraza expanded, banquet hall for 200, front drive, valet station, upgraded technology infrastructure, parking 180 BizTucson
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Project: Salvation Army Hospitality House Location: 1002 N. Main Ave. Owner: The Salvation Army Tucson Contractor: Lloyd Construction Inc. Architect: Swaim Associates Architects Completion Date: March 2015 Construction Cost: $7.5 million Project Description: The shelter provides emergency and transitional housing to those in need, offering life-skills guidance, transportation, medical assistance and employment services
Project: Tucson Convention Center Renovation Location: Tucson, Arizona City of Tucson/Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Owner: Facilities District Contractor: Concord General Contracting Architect: Swaim Associates Architects Completion Date: December 2014 Construction Cost: Estimated $6.7 million Project Description: TCC underwent a major renovation with new lighting and sound systems, scoreboard, seats, restrooms, entries and concessions to create a contemporary venue and enhanced customer experience
Project: Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Museum Oro Valley Location: 11015 N. Oracle Road, Suite 101 Owner: Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Museum Tucson Contractor: Chestnut Building & Design Architect: Benjamin Vogel Architect Exhibit Designer: Nicomia Custom Design + Fabrication Broker: N/A Completion Date: May 1, 2015 Construction Cost: $600,000 Project Description: This is the first satellite location for the museum, which offers arts, literacy and other early learning experiences for children up to 5 years old
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Howard Stewart President AGM Container Controls
Jack Nicolosi, President Jack Nicolosi Jr., VP & Field Supervisior Nicolosi Moving & Storage
Jim Underhill, President Underhill Financial Advisors
PHOTO: MARTHA LOCHERT
BizAWARDS
BBB Torch Awards Honor Three Firms By David Pittman A trio of Tucson businesses – Underhill Financial Advisors, AGM Container Controls and Nicolosi Moving & Storage – received 2015 Torch Awards from the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona. They were selected from 88 nominated business organizations of all sizes in Pima, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties. Underhill Financial Advisors received the BBB Ethics Award, given for trustworthiness and consistently exhibiting honorable business practices. It is the BBB’s oldest and most prestigious prize. Core services provided by Underhill Financial Advisors include estate and legacy planning, savings and cash flow management, insurance and risk management, investment planning and analysis, and business and retirement planning. “Winning the BBB Torch Award for 182 BizTucson
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ethics was a tremendous honor for me and our employees,” said Jim Underhill, a certified financial planner who heads the business. “The ethics award is particularly important for firms in the financial industry. Clients place their trust and confidence in advisors to manage their wealth and act in their best interest at all times.” Underhill Financial Advisors, in business for 18 years, serves more than 400 clients in 25 states. Underhill is ranked in the top 3 percent of Voya Financial Advisors registered representatives nationwide in securities production. In addition to six employees in Underhill’s Tucson office, Underhill supervises six other financial advisors in Arizona, Utah and California. “Our goal is to develop lifelong relationships with each client,” Underhill said. “The foundation for this is to make sure we always place the client’s inter-
ests first and do the right thing – which is the cornerstone of business ethics.” Other finalists for the Ethics Award were AFLAC-Janell Frank Agent and Pathfinder Strategies. AGM Container Controls received the Good Neighbor Award, which recognizes a company that has shown a commitment to making Southern Arizona a better place through community service. Since 1970, AGM Container Controls has been a leader in the design and fabrication of environmental control hardware for the military, defense, aerospace, industrial and container markets. The company’s hardware protects missiles, munitions, electro-optics, electronics and other military and industrial equipment from the harmful effects of humidity, pressure, dust, shock and vibration during storage, shipment and use. www.BizTucson.com
AGM, with 107 full-time employees, is a major supporter of the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. In each of the last three years, AGM and its employees have raised more than $50,000 for United Way. For the past 16 years AGM achieved United Way’s “gold-level” giving standards. Howard Stewart, president of AGM Controls, serves as vice chair of the local board and has headed efforts to solicit major donors. AGM and its employees also have contributed to other nonprofits, including the American Red Cross, San Miguel High School, Toys for Tots, Higher Ground, Angel Charity for Children, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American Heart Association and Community Food Bank. Stewart said he and his employees were “grateful beyond words” for the recognition by the BBB. “Community service not only helps us enrich our community outside the company, it also increases the camaraderie among employees and heightens employee morale, both inside and outside of work.” Other finalists for the BBB Good
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Neighbor Award were Quality Restoration and Agility Spine and Sports Physical Therapy. The BBB Customer Excellence Award went to Nicolosi Moving & Storage. The award recognizes businesses that have an outstanding customer service program and a history of exceeding customers’ expectations. “It’s an honor for our company to win this award and after 26 years in business it’s extremely gratifying to receive it,” said Jack Nicolosi, president of Nicolosi Moving & Storage. Founded in 1989, the full-service moving company is a family business. Nicolosi’s wife, Nancy, is in charge of marketing. His son, Jack Jr., is VP and field supervisor. The company has overseen more than 10,000 moves. Nicolosi said his company stresses the importance of customer service to all 15 of its employees. “Our people not only work quickly and efficiently, but also very carefully. Some furniture items are considered family heirlooms or antiques and need to be handled with care. People care about their possessions – and that’s why
they hire us.” When it comes to scheduling moves, Nicolosi said his business always keeps the customer’s needs in mind. “Some elderly clients or families cannot endure 12-hour days. Therefore, we schedule extra men or additional days that meet our customer’s priorities. If they want it done in one day, we may be out 14 to 16 hours. This is so our customer can sleep in their own beds at their new home.” The company not only has an A+ rating with the BBB, but also has earned a Super Service Award on Angie’s List three years in a row. Other finalists for the BBB Customer Excellence Award were Sunshine Experts and Al Coronado Plumbing. The Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 65 million consumers rely on BBB Reliability and Wise Giving reports to identify trustworthy businesses and charities across North America.
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BizAWARDS
Cornerstone Awards Picks 2015 Dream Team
Robin Shambach Frank Slingerland
By Christy Krueger
years.” Dunn said criteria for the awards are “outstanding business or people, quality of their work and warranties, and community service work.” CBF Charities was created as the organization’s philanthropic arm to raise money for scholarships. “One reason the scholarship program exists is to encourage and support the younger generation to get involved in the industry – as engineers, architects, construction, etc.,” Dunn said. “Last year we gave two electrical apprenticeship scholarships to become journeymen. We usually give college scholarships, but we wanted to do trade training, too.” The annual CBF BIG – Building Industry Golf – Tournament is also an important fundraising event for the organization. This year’s BIG will take place at El Conquistador Country Club on Oct. 23. “Hensel Phelps continues to be the title sponsor,” said Cathy Wagner, assistant executive director of the foundation. More information can be found at www.cbf-tucson.org.
Partner organizations are: • American Institute of Architects Southern Arizona Chapter • Arizona Builders Alliance Southern Division • American Council of Engineering Companies • National Association of Women in Construction • Construction Specifications Institute • Society for Design Administration
Jerry Wyatt Community Service Award Shirley’s Plan Service encompasses a weekly construction industry publication and a professional plan room that provides construction documents for subcontractors. It also offers expertise in bluelines, building reports and blueprint copying. Shirley’s Plan Service received professional service recognitions from the foundation in 1996, 2003 and 2007. This year Shirley Dail is honored with the Jerry Wyatt Community Service Award, named for one of the local construction industry’s bestknown members, who passed away in 2010. Dail, as well as all past recipients of this award, was chosen for her efforts to improve the Tucson community and its local commercial construction industry as Wyatt did.
Shirley Dail
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Architect of the Year BWS Architects Robin Shambach and Frank Slingerland
This studio-based design practice places an emphasis on unique projects that reflect the Sonoran Desert. Its designers understand that architecture is an art form that can inspire and delight, while also considering the importance of budget, scheduling and functional requirements. Their design process allows them to manipulate form, space and light to produce quality energy-efficient designs.
David Tyrrell Clement “Mik” Mikulich Design Consultant of the Year Adams and Associates Engineers David Tyrrell and Clement “Mik” Mikulich
Adams and Associates is a local mechanical engineering firm that designs HVAC, plumbing and fire protection systems and provides whole-building commissioning, energy audits and energy modeling. The company has a vast amount of experience with public and private clients on both large and small projects – in new construction, building modifications/renovations and tenant improvements.
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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CORNERSTONE BUILDING FOUNDATION
The Cornerstone Building Foundation recognizes the best of the building community through its annual awards banquet, this year naming its 21st dream team. Recognition is given in eight categories – ranging from Architect of the Year to Subcontractor of the Year, in addition to the prestigious Jerry Wyatt Community Service Award. Companies, individuals and seven building-related trade associations serving the Southern Arizona construction industry make up the foundation. Membership allows these professionals to network with others in related fields and to discuss common issues, said Tom Dunn, Arizona Builders Alliance, one of CBF’s partner organizations. Each year since its founding in 1994 by Robert Hershberger, CBF recognizes the best of the building community through its awards banquet, held in March at J.W. Marriott Starr Pass Resort. The event was sponsored by Southwest Gas Corporation for the 21st year and included a silent auction with proceeds going into the foundation’s scholarship fund. “Each trade association presented a basket with items to auction,” said Dunn. Dan Cavanagh, who formerly held Dunn’s position as director of Southern Arizona, Builders Alliance, took the stage as the evening’s emcee. Four months prior to the CBF awards dinner, Dunn began collecting nomination forms at the Tucson office. “Then the selection committee, made up of three people from each group who can’t be eligible, select finalists and vote on winners,” Dunn said. “Past winners aren’t eligible again for three
Winners of 2015 Cornerstone Foundation Awards
Brian Barker Large General Contractor of the Year Barker Morrissey Contracting Brian Barker, Wendy Barker, Kevin Morrissey and Cindy Morrissey
To qualify, nominees must hold a B-1 contracting license in Arizona and be recognized for projects in excess of $2 million. Barker Morrissey Contracting, led by experienced project managers, executes all phases of a project – from pre-construction services through the building stages. The firm won Small General Contractor of the Year in 2006 and 2011.
Bryan Eto and Dave Iaconis Professional Service Company of the Year BeachFleischman Bruce Beach, Marc Fleischman, Dave Iaconis, David Cohen, Phil Taylor, Richard Bratt and Kevin Donovan
Construction is a major practice area for BeachFleischman, one of Arizona’s largest locally owned public accounting firms. It offers accounting, tax and consulting services to 400-plus construction clients in the state, including general contractors, heavy civil construction companies and specialty subcontractors. The firm’s 24 shareholders are actively involved with more than a dozen construction-related trade organizations.
Mike Epstein Small General Contractor of the Year Epstein Construction Mike Epstein
Nominees in this category must hold an Arizona B-1 contracting license and generally handle projects under $2 million. Epstein Construction was selected for this award because of its solid reputation for delivering superior quality projects completed on time and within budget. It provides pre-construction services, design-build projects, new construction and tenant improvements. The company specializes in retail, industrial and healthcare markets across the state.
Chris Stoltz Supplier of the Year CalPortland Chris Stoltz
CalPortland is a construction materials supplier of cement, ready-mix, asphalt and aggregate to the Phoenix and Southern Arizona markets. The company is known for its quality products and service.
Jim Kazal and Paul Gregg Subcontractor of the Year Kazal Fire Protection Debbie Kazal, Jim Kazal and Paul Gregg
Kazal Fire Protection works throughout the Southwest, but its principals make Tucson their home and they consider their local clients and construction industry associates to be some of the most admirable and professional people they’ve worked with anywhere. This is the second time Kazal has won this award, receiving the distinction in 2004.
Mike Smejkal and Eric Roudebush Owner of the Year Tucson Airport Authority Bonnie Allin, Dick Gruentzel and Danette Bewley This quasi-government corporation
was created by the legislature in 1948 and functions as a nonprofit organization. TAA operates Ryan Airfield, west of the city, and Tucson International Airport, which contributes $3.2 billion annually to the region’s economy according to a 2013 University of Arizona study. TAA receives no local tax dollars.
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BizTRIBUTE
John Rafferty Led With Kindness
Photo: www.balfourwalker.com
By Larry Copenhaver
John Rafferty steered Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson on a path to financial success, a challenge in recent times. Yet he might be better known for his devotion to family and kindness toward others. Friends and family are remembering Rafferty, the president of Stewart Title, a company he served for four decades. He passed away May 19 after a brief battle with melanoma. Rafferty always was quick to say his family was his priority and in 2012 he was named Tucson Father of the Year by the Father’s Day Council Tucson. Despite a busy schedule, Rafferty was able to attend his children’s sporting events such as football games and wrestling matches, and he was there to support his daughter when she served as a bat girl at University of Arizona baseball games and later as a member of the pompon line. And he set aside time for camping and church activities on weekends, he said in a BizTucson interview about his Father of the Year honor. He had three children and seven grandchildren. Of course, most fatherly behavior was at home where he spread the love around, overlapping what his professional friends called kindness, instructional events and most of all, a deep respect for others. What is the Rafferty legacy? All of the above, his colleagues say. “You can just look at how he treated everybody,” said Mike Dalton, senior VP of marketing for Stewart Title and a Rafferty hire. “It didn’t matter who you were – you were treated the same. “He just had the same respect for everyone he met – no matter your status. When you come to work and know you are 186 BizTucson
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going to get that amount of respect, it’s pretty empowering. It was just who he was. For instance, at a restaurant, John would always ask a server’s name then address him or her by name – ‘thank you Bob or thank you Michael or thank you Loran’ – to whomever was serving. “The kindness and high expectation he offered are what made him a wonderful person to work for. John could bring out the best in anybody. That attitude always paid off in the end, even though that end was not necessarily the motive.” That attitude was not lost on others, said Brent Davis, executive secretary of the networking group Rafferty belonged to called VIP Breakfast Club. “John was an extremely upbeat and positive person. There was not anything he wouldn’t do to help you. He helped me with some issues a couple of times, and he just did it with a smile on his face.” A statement issued by Stewart Title employees said, “To have each and every one of our (professional) family members pull together and work hard speaks volumes in the lessons we have learned from John. We are not just employees – we are family.” Rafferty was born in New Jersey in 1936 and spent four years in the Marines. He moved the family to Arizona in 1962 to help control asthma and bronchitis in his oldest son. The family lived in Silverbell, Arizona He worked as an accountant for ASARCO and attended night classes at UA. He became controller at Stewart Title in 1974, where he remained, though he served as CEO of the company from 1981 to 2004 in Phoenix. “When John came back to Tucson, he had already had a very successful career,” Dalton said. “He was not in Tucson just to run a company. He came back to build a legacy.”
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