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BUSINESS
TheMesaTribune.com
THE MESA TRIBUNE | SEPTEMBER 12, 2021
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Mesa business helps folks climb to new heights BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor
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rock climber for 28 years, Joe Czerwinski turned his passion into a business. He opened Focus Climbing Center near Dobson and Broadway roads, Mesa, in 2013 – years after a friend had told him about a rockclimbing facility in Tempe. “I got into climbing in general by hiking Camelback Mountain every week with a friend,” explained Czerwinski. “My friend asked, ‘I wonder if there’s a company that takes you outside and does this?’ I said, ‘I don’t think that sounds very safe.’ That’s how I left it.” The following week, Czerwinski’s friend told him about an indoor rock-climbing facility in Tempe. “‘It’s totally safe. It’s a great place to meet girls,’” Czerwinski recalled. “I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Oddly enough, I ended up meeting my future girlfriend
and wife at that facility.” Czerwinski and his wife have been married for almost 21 years. Making a business out of his hobby seemed only logical. “Climbing is an instinctual sport,” Czerwinski said. “Every person has tried to climb. We’ve all have climbed out of our cribs, up the counters towards the cookie jar, on the couch.” At Focus Climbing, he said, “We offer a variety of accommodating angles, all types for kids, adults, all shapes and sizes. The youngest one who has scaled the full height walls in our gym at 28 feet was 18 months old.” “What sets us apart is we don’t have any top ropes,” said Czerwinski. “When I was growing up as a climber, a lot of these other gyms I went to in Phoenix had a lot of top ropes with their main style of climbing of vertical walls at full height.
Joe Czerwinski has been climbing for nearly three decades and decided to
��� CLIMBING ���� 25 turn his passion into a Mesa business in 2013. (Special to the Tribune)
EVP hosting gubernatorial hopefuls this month TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
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he East Valley’s leading organization of businesses and community leaders is hosting a roundtable discussion by Democratic and Republican candidates for governor. Candidates will share their views on building on the momentum of the state’s robust economy at a Sept. 30 luncheon hosted by the PHX East Valley Partnership. Among the participants will be Republicans Steve Gaynor, Kari Lake, Kar-
rin Taylor Robson, Matt Salmon and Kimberly Yee, along with Democrats Katie Hobbs, Aaron Lieberman and Marco Lopez. Topics of discussion will include continued jobs growth, bolstering small businesses and creating a fertile environment for entrepreneurs, along with expanding the talent pipeline and balancing development with quality of life. “The event will not be a debate but rather a moderated discussion focused exclusively on the jobs economy,” said Denny Barney, EVP president and CEO.
“After all, jobs will remain a key issue regardless of who occupies the governor’s of�ice.” The event will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton in Gilbert and online. Stacy Derstine, vice president of external affairs at APS, will serve as the program’s moderator. “We look forward to an illuminating discussion that will help inform public opinion of our state’s next top leader,” Derstine said. APS, Okland Construction and Times Media Group are the event sponsors. The cost to attend is $800 for a table of
eight and $125 for single tickets. For more information and to register, contact Jessica Hubbard at 480-5320641 or jhubbard@phxeastvalley.com. EVP was established in 1982 as a nonpro�it, nonpartisan coalition of civic, business, education and political leaders dedicated to the economic development and promotion of the East Valley of Greater Phoenix. The Partnership advocates for economic development, education, transportation and infrastructure, health care and other critical areas. Information: phxeastvalley.com. ■
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