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3 diversity champions honored on eve of MLK Day
BY J. GRABER
Progress Staff Writer
With 38 years in higher education, Chris Haines, interim president of Scottsdale Community College, has led educational initiatives designed to support marginalized and atrisk populations to reduce barriers to access, such as the Hannelly Center One Stop Enrollment Center at Phoenix College and launching scholarships for DACA/Dreamer students.
As co-founder and president of ONE Community & ONE Community Foundation, Angela Hughey exemplifies leadership through her work within the LGBTQ+ community and the broader business and political communities in Arizona.
Alan “AP” Powell, chairman and CEO of AP & Associates, is a serial entrepreneur, Gulf War Veteran, philanthropist and a renowned strategic consultant developing relationships for Fortune 500 companies. His non-profit, HeroZona, has hosted a series of Bridge Forums in an effort to understand different perspectives, attitudes and beliefs about community policing.
Haines, Hughey and Powell were all named Communities Celebrating Diversity 2022 champions. Diversity Champions are individuals who exemplify the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and who have enriched the community by empowering others. Eligible nominees must work, live or volunteer in Scottsdale. “It’s a tremendous honor to be in the same category as Angela Hughey and Alan Powell. I’m in awe of both of those guys so it’s really an honor,” Haines said.
All three were honored at a dinner last week hosted by Communities Celebrating
Alan Powell Chris Haines Angela Hughey
seeMLK page 21
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
AScottsdale nonprofit is encouraging people to join a nationwide effort to honor the recently deceased actress Betty White on what would have been her 100th birthday tomorrow, Jan. 17.
The “Betty White Challenge” – which encourages people to donate $10 or more in the star’s name to an animal rescue or shelter in her name – has gone viral on social media and caught the attention of Two Pups Wellness Funds co-founder Bip Haley.
“This is a nice opportunity to make the public aware of what is going on out there and make them aware of how great she was,” said Haley.
Noting that White “really was an animal lover and advocate,” Haley said, “She gave a lot of her hard-earned money to animal organizations to help them help the animals, I just love that.”
Two Pups Wellness Fund works with different rescues and shelters throughout the state of Arizona,” said Haley. “When there is an injured, abandoned or neglected pet in need of medical assistance, they usually end up at a shelter and these shelters do not have the funds nor the equipment to do these big surgeries.
“The only way that animal has any chance is by getting rescued by one of their partners or a family.”
Additionally, the Two Pups Wellness Fund is aiming to donate funds to struggling animal organizations.
“We help the underdogs, we help all of those that are struggling and live month to month but don’t stop because their hearts can’t stop,” said Haley.
Haley hopes that the challenge will highlight serious issues that animals have faced over the past two years.
“When everything shut down during the pandemic, vets became appointment only and a lot of people could not afford that,” she said. “Because of that, the low-cost vets and clinics had to stop so there was almost a year where dogs were not getting spayed or neutered because there was no free clinic or low-cost clinic.”
Though most animals have been caught up on getting spayed and neutered, more people who housed an animal from a shelter are losing their own homes and are being forced to move into an apartment complex that does not allow pets.
“Now that people are in a position where the stimulus packages are gone and they are losing their homes, meaning that their pets have nowhere to go. We’re seeing a lot of returns,” Haley said.
Haley also noted that there is a strong need for funding among organizations.
“The lack of being able to fundraise has also hit a lot of different organizations big and small,” she said. “If they can’t go out there and fundraise, then they cannot
Two Pups Wellness Fund co-founder Bip Haley hopes that people open their hearts and their wallets to support animal-based organizations on what would have been Betty White’s 100th birthday.
21 Lovin’ Life Expo features The Duttons
BY ALLISON BROWN Progress Staff Writer
Known for their upbeat, familyfriendly shows, The Duttons weren’t always performers.
In fact, matriarch Sheila Dutton admits she never really saw the value in performing until she had the chance to do it with her kids.
“As a matter of fact, if you were to pick someone, the most unlikely thing that I would be doing would be performing out on a stage with my family, but the kids really wanted to do it together as a family,” she says. “We never made a conscious decision to be performers or entertainers. It was just one thing kind of led to another.”
The Duttons will show off their performance chops as the musical entertainment at the Lovin’ Life Expos on Jan. 24, at the Sundial Recreation Center in Sun City and Jan. 26 at the Mesa Convention Center.
The family has been hitting stages full time since 1991 and has since become a force. They landed among the top 10 finalists on “America’s Got Talent,” voted America’s most musical family by Nickelodeon, won several awards for performance and entertained thousands at their theaters, including one in Mesa. The Duttons first brought their show to sunny Arizona in the winter of 2005 and have since made it their winter home.
In 2010, the Duttons partnered with East Valley High School in Mesa to renovate and update their auditorium. Shows that blend bluegrass and country kick off on Jan. 14, and continue every weekend through March 31.
What began as just mom, dad and their four children has grown to include their in-laws and grandchildren. Dutton says the family ties run deep. Everyone is closely involved in all aspects of the business.
She says working, performing and touring with family has brought them closer together.
“We traveled over a million miles giving all these concerts around the United States,” she says. “So, they grew up together in the bus and I always said that the best way to help families be together is to get in a bus and then if they have issues, they have to work them out.
“They can’t run to their bedrooms or to their friend’s house. They have to sit and talk about it and work it out. So, the kids learned early on to forgive each other really quickly. I think that was an unexpected advantage of touring.”
She says there is more to The Duttons than performances and accolades. The music comes down to the fans. Sheila says she was amazed to learn how their shows could bring joy to audiences.
She recalls fans telling her that their performances encouraged them to reunite with their own families or pursue music.
Dutton isn’t quite sure what the future holds for the family business. As the children have aged, they’ve pursued different lines of work. However, there is a third generation of Duttons who may choose to take up the mantle. No matter what lies ahead, Dutton says she feels they are forging the right path.
“We just feel so honored and blessed that we’ve been led into something that we didn’t even see the value in the beginning,” she said.
“It has enriched our lives, provided us with the best friends in the world that we have met through performing, provided us with a second family who we had adopted and given us an opportunity to work on something that makes a difference and that is really a positive thing in our lives.”
Ben and Sheila Dutton will be bringing their upbeat music to the Lovin’ Life Expos this month in Sun City and Mesa. (Special to GetOut)
Lovin’ Life Expos lovinlife.com/expos/ The Duttons theduttons.com/arizona
PUPS ���� page 18
take in as many animals and save as many lives.”
However, Haley sees the challenge as being a positive aspect for struggling animal organizations across the state.
“As a tribute to her and out of respect for her, you will see a lot of this going on in the Valley,” she said. “A lot of people will jump in and honor Betty White by accepting this challenge and asking their donors to give to the animals.”
Haley also hopes the challenge serves to commemorate someone who became known as a national icon.
“As far as Betty White goes, she didn’t make it to her 100th birthday but we can make it to her 100th birthday for her by everyone participating in this challenge,” she said. “If it was her 100th birthday and she was here she would ask for no gifts, she would say donate to your animal shelter.”
She also hopes that this will allow peo-
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Diversity, a Scottsdale nonprofit that sponsors educational and community events to celebrate and create a greater awareness of the city’s diversity. Its mission is to enhance the perception and understanding of diversity, provide opportunities for citizens to recognize similarities and to acknowledge differences, and seek respect for the values of others as well as the oneness of humanity.
While coaching women’s sports at South Mountain Community College, Haines realized many players required flexible schedules to participate and she adjusted practice times to accommodate everybody.
During the summer of 2020, when the campus community was hurting from the tragic death of George Floyd, Haines held multiple town halls and encouraged everyone to share their experiences. She also quickly launched an extensive diversity, equity and inclusion committee to engage and support the campus community.
“My grandmother had a saying she said, ‘Honey, everybody’s got a story that will break your heart,’” she said, adding that making people understand that everybody’s got pain works much better than “telling people, you should do this or you should do that.”
“People don’t want to be told what to do,” she said.
But reminding people everyone has a story will go a long way in celebrating people’s diversity, she said. “You can’t see everybody’s story, you can’t see everybody’s pain, but we can put a hand out and say, ‘How can I help?’” Haines said.
Scottsdale may not always be thought of as a paragon of diversity, but the work is being done in schools and at city hall, she said.
Case in point: Scottsdale City Council
ple to feel good about themselves by doing something charitable.
“I hope that the donors feel like they did something good,” Haley said. “100% of this money is going to fixing an animal in need and donors should feel really proud of themselves.”
Information: twopups.org/donate
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unanimously passed an anti-discrimination ordinance with protections for the LGBTQ community and other protected classes last April.
“My favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quote is, ‘You are not only responsible for what you say, you are also responsible for what you don’t say,’” she said.
Haines serves on the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, Community Celebrating Diversity, East Valley Think Tank, City of Scottsdale Education Committee, Scottsdale Coalition of Today and Tomorrow (SCOTT) and Arizona Happy Tails Dog Rescue.
Hughey co-founded ONE Community in 2008 with the goal of engaging socially responsible businesses, organizations and individuals who support and promote diversity, inclusion, equity and equality for all Arizonans.
In 2013, Hughey and the ONE Community team launched the UNITY Pledge to advance workplace equality and equal treatment in housing and public accommodations for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) individuals and their allies. More than 3,300 businesses and 20,000 Arizonans have taken the UNITY Pledge, the largest equality pledge in the nation.
“We saw that business and organizations of all sizes wanted to have a genuine connection to the LGBTQ community and didn’t necessarily know how,” she Hughey said.
Hughey said there has been a cultural shift in Arizona, stating, “We are educating people and meeting them where they are at but also the majority of people in this great state know someone who is LGBTQ… .“We want all people to understand when you create an all-inclusive atmosphere, you get a better healthier, more sustainable and vibrant community for all of us.”
Arizona has 10 municipal anti-discrimination ordinances on the books protecting the rights of roughly half the state’s population. That includes Mesa, Scottsdale and Glendale, which all passed antidiscrimination laws within a 90-day period last year.
“That created inclusive policies for over a million more Americans and that’s awesome,” she said.
The next step is to get Arizona to pass a similar statute, she said. “We really hope the state of Arizona takes the cue from the Mesa, Scottsdale and Glendale,” Hughey said.
Hughey has won multiple awards for her work on inclusion and awareness including the Human Rights Campaign Individual Equality Award, Echo Magazine’s Woman of the Year and the Anti-Defamation League’s Al Brooks Community Leadership Award. Hughey is a 2021 Phoenix Business Journal, Most Admired Leader.
In working with former mayor Jim Lane and former police chief Alan Rodbell, Powell and his team have spurred the implementation of 29 changes to community policing in Scottsdale.
“And we continue to work with the current administration, mayor (David) Ortega and police chief Jeff Walther,” he said.
His last bridge forum in October focused on working with police officers under the age of 30 and was themed “The Next Generation” because the average person reacting to news in the media of police shootings is between 15 and 30 years old.
Powell feels much of the gap that has grown between community members and the police comes from a misreading and over reaction to what is in the media.
“I think there’s an overreaction both ways,” he said. “I think the community can over react and I think the police can over react.”
There is a simple way to counter that though.
“Working together and living together equals respect,” he said.
The community and the police need each other, Powell said.
“No one can live without law and order and the police can’t exist without the community. The police won’t have a job if they don’t have tax payers.”
Powell’s foundation’s programs include HeroZona National Veteran Summit, Veterans Reach to Teach, Phoenix Tools 4 Schools, the Bridge Forum, Play It Forward, among many others.
Previous topics tackled by his foundation include ways to better support veterans with recruitment, hiring, opportunities in service, veterans in crisis and support systems. Another one of his more recent projects includes the Play It Forward program, which exposes students to the arts at an early age with opportunities to learn, create and grow.
“Arizona is one of the greatest states to live,” he said. “Arizona is becoming a model of change. The test of time will help us all persevere.”
