NEIGHBORS

Scottsdale.org l @ScottsdaleProgress /ScottsdaleProgress

Scottsdale WWII vet celebrates 101st birthday

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Charles Poston Jr. is as sharp as a tack and can recall specific dates, names and milestones from his expansive lifetime. That might surprise some people since he was born on Oct. 6, 1921. He can recall people and events from throughout life, starting with his days on the family farm in Leesville, Louisiana, as the second of three children born to Charles M. Poston Sr. and Marjorie Poston, two railroad employees. His family had relocated to the 200-acre farm that his father purchased in 1931 for $2,500 he had saved from his tenure as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy in WWI. On that farm, the family made a modest living selling cotton, sugarcane and corn and though his family was not wealthy by any means, growing up on a farm during the Great Depression had some perks. “What I remember most about it is that there wasn’t much money but there was plenty of food because we ate what we grew,” Poston recalls. “We only bought flour, coffee and sugar and the rest of it we grew.” Poston remained at this farm for seven years before hitchhiking southeast to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1938 to attend Louisiana State University. Hitchhiking was a method of travel common back then. “I hitchhiked and most of the male student body hitchhiked to and from school because it was 25 miles to Baton Rouge from where I lived and I could get to Baton Rouge from where I lived by hitchhiking faster than I could by train,” Poston said. “You could always get picked up and all I had to do was wear a uniform cap or something to show that they knew I was a student.” Poston studied electrical engineering but he also had another interest – ROTC – and that led him to join the fight in WWII. “I took Advanced ROTC at LSU and when I graduated from LSU on June 1, 1942, with a degree in electrical engineering

Charles Poston Jr. flew a combat plane during WWII and eventually settled in Scottsdale well after

the war ended. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

seePOSTON page 38

Saguaros launch ticket sales for tourney, gala

PROGRESS NEWS STAFF

The Saguaros have started ticket sales for their 2022 NiteFlite Golf Tournament and Gala Nov. 11-12. The event kicks off with a golf tournament Nov. 11 at McCormick Ranch Golf Club and continues the following evening with the Night Flight Gala at The W Hotel in Scottsdale. All proceeds will benefit the Saguaros Children’s Charities foundation. Tickets are available at saguaros.com. The 33rd annual NiteFlite is one of the longest running and most successful charity golf tournaments in Arizona and the signature event for The Saguaros, which recently rebranded from The Scottsdale 20/30 Club. “We’re aiming to raise $2 million at this year’s event,” said Saguaros Charity Chair Trent Hancock last year’s NiteFlite Gala Chairman. “With the passion and drive of our members and supporters, I’m confident we can achieve our goal.” The tournament features a unique fiveperson-per-group format with a modified best-ball scramble scoring system. The event includes “play with the pros” holes, longest drive contests, closest to the pin contests, and prizes for the top teams. This year’s NiteFlite Million Dollar Shootout was designed to increase pace of play and maximize fun by giving willing teams a chance to complete all 18 holes while encouraging teams with less

The Saguaros’ NiteFlite tournament and gala will benefit the group’s Children’s

New clinic helps those with mental struggles

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Progress Staff Writer

With mental health issues on the rise, Sierra Tucson Group is carrying its long-standing legacy of clinical and medical expertise to the Valley. Sierra at Scottsdale Outpatient Care at 8035 N. 85th Way brings hope, according to Monica Clayborn, the regional director of outpatient services. “Life and treatment can exist in unison, and there is no better place to do that than Sierra at Scottsdale,” Clayborn said. The strictly outpatient clinic serves adults ages 18 and older who have been struggling with anxiety, bipolar disorder, mood disorders, depression and other mental health concerns, along with those who have co-occurring substance use disorders. “Outpatient is relatively new for Sierra Tucson,” she said. “The goal is to expand the Sierra Tucson model to other cities. The residents come from around the world and that’s why we’re expanding to other cities.”

The Scottsdale clinic’s core beliefs mirror the Sierra Tucson model of treatment, which calls for a holistic view of care. “Sometimes we get clients who have successfully completed the program and they have identified early on that they’re in the spiraling process and they reach out to someone to get back on track,” Clayborn said. “They come back for maintenance, which is important, too.” Adults who receive outpatient treatment at Sierra at Scottsdale participate in evidence-based, research-backed therapeutic interventions provided by behavioral health experts. Each client receives a personalized care plan that reflects their current medical needs and short- and longterm goals. The average length of stay in outpatient programs depends on the progress each individual makes throughout the course of treatment.

Sierra at Scottsdale offers partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. Clients in the partial hospitalization program participate in programming from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays to Friday, with lunch provided. The average stay is two to three weeks, with treatments like medication management services, daily group therapy, weekly individual therapy, weekly experiential therapy and family therapy, if requested. The intensive outpatient program is 9 a.m. to noon Mondays to Thursdays, with an average stay of four to six weeks. Intensive outpatient programming includes individual therapy session every other week, along with three hours of group therapy daily. Clients can enter either level directly or as a step-down from a higher level of care. Depending on patients’ needs, they may receive care at one or both levels. “Partial hospitalization programming is a more structured environment and provides more support than the intensive hospitalization programming,” Clayborn said. Sierra Tucson and Sierra at Scottsdale offer free assessment and take out-of-network insurance, as they’re not in network yet. Sierra Tucson’s reputation preceded itself. Clayborn said the organization is focused on innovation and seeks ways to incorporate effective and new treatment modalities for clients. “We’re not set in our ways,” she said. “If there are new services we want to add, we can and we stick with it. We’re always looking for new treatment modalities for clients. It’s important to always be innovative.” Chief executive officer Dr. Valerie M. Kading has seen an uptick in maternal mental health, eating disorders and trauma. “More than ever, Sierra Tucson is committed to our Arizona community and the mental health and substance abuse challenges we have faced from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kading said. Information: 888-391-0284 or sierrascottsdale.com

Monica Clayborn is regional director of outpatient services at Sierra at Scottsdale.

(Brittany Lorraine/Contributor)

SAGUAROS ���� page 36

serious golfers to drive their carts over to the party tent. Located in the center of the action, this year’s party tent will be reminiscent of a Las Vegas day club, with a DJ booth, open bars, cabanas, and outdoor games. The team with the lowest 18-hole score will be crowned the champion and get five opportunities to hit a hole-in-one and try to win $1 million. The gala, which starts at 6 p.m. Nov. 12, dates back to the early 90s, when it was created as an ‘after-party’ for the annual NiteFlite Golf Tournament. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the premier charity events in The Valley, boasting an impressive lineup of local food and entertainers from around the country. “The theme for the 2022 Gala is ‘Las Vegas Strip,’” said NiteFlite Chair Mike Bosco. “Guests can expect a magical night of glitz and glamor atop the stunning rooftop of the W Hotel.” Founded in 1987, the philanthropic and social club has raised millions of dollars for local Arizona non-profit organizations. Composed of up to 50 young men under the age of 40, it supports children’s charities through three main fundraising events: NiteFlite, Brokers for Kids, and Agents Benefiting Children. The group not only raises money for children’s charities, but also encourages “hands on” interaction with the children the club supports. “This active participation serves to strengthen relationships with those it serves and create a true partnership with its charity partners,” a spokesman said. “Plus, thanks to our dedicated charitable foundation, all proceeds from Saguaros’ fundraising activities are funneled directly to a 501 (c)(3) foundation, with 30% of the funds going into an endowment fund, and the remainder going into a general fund for disbursement to the club’s charity partners.”

38

NEIGHBORS Ob uaries

480-898-6465 obits@timespublications.com Deadline: Wednesday by 5pm for Sunday

Marilyn Ann La Russo

Marilyn Ann La Russo beloved, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, step-sister and cousin, age 9 4 , p a s s e d a w a y p e a c e f u l l y i n Phoenix, AZ surrounded by her family on

October 3, 2022.

She is survived by her children: Kathleen Grainger, Christine Flaherty (Eugene Perri), Patrick Flaherty, Jennifer Harvey, and Ellis Harvey (Sarah); grandchildren: Rebecca Orife, Felix E. Ward IV, Paula White, Kenneth Flaherty, Taylor Guss, Alexander Grainger and Benjamin Grainger; 5 great grandchildren; Her step-sister, Patricia Firkins; and her 3 cousins, Richard, Nancy and John Heinrich. She was predeceased in death by her beloved husbands, Edward John Flaherty, Ira Ellis Harvey and Angelo Charles La Russo and her grandson, Brendon Guss

Marilyn graduated from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, OH. She received her degree in education from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and her Master of Library Science degree from San Jose State University in California. She worked as an elementary school teacher and librarian. She also worked as a Realtor.

Marilyn loved to dance, enjoyed music, traveling and crossword puzzles. She was an excellent cook, kept an immaculate house and was the undisputed queen of Scrabble. She authored and published several children’s books and a poetry book. Most of all she loved her family and instilled in her children strong values that have served them well. She will be dearly missed and forever in our hearts.

Family and friends are invited to attend the service on Saturday, October 29 th @ 11:00am at St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church, 6715 N. Mockingbird Lane, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253. and a second lieutenant’s commission in the Corps of Engineers, I was called to active duty three days after I graduated,” Poston recalls. Six months after being called to serve in the 70th Engineer Light Ponton, where he built floating bridges, Poston remembers, “I went on active duty and six months later I was sick of the Corps of Engineers because Army engineers don’t do engineering. “They build roads, they build runways, they build floating bridges and they and several lieutenants just got told what to do,” Poston said. “They don’t get a chance to think or any of that and in October or November of 1943, I heard that I could volunteer for pilot training and the Air Corps and I said, ‘I’m out of here.’” Sandwiched between his post, Poston married in December 1942 and over time had four sons. Then, on Aug. 31, 1943 – a date Poston remembers vividly – he got his wings and “the grand adventure began,” he said. Poston aspired to become a fighter pilot but since he was 22 at the time and most fighter pilots were nearly four years younger than him, he knew he would be behind the curve. However, he was still able to go through combat training and upon completion, he went through gunnery school. During gunnery school, he drew heavily upon his youth of hunting birds – which he said taught him how to hit a moving target. In April 1944, Poston was promoted to first lieutenant and volunteered for combat duty in the CBI region (China, Burma and India.) Not long after that, Poston heard chatter among four men who were looking to go off to Karachi, Pakistan, but needed a fifth man that knew how to fly P-47 aircraft, which Poston happened to know how to fly. Poston was given a day to get familiar with his aircraft before soaring off to his mission as part of the sixth fighter squadron of the First Air Commando Group – an elite group that had been formed as a result of a conference between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to rescue Burma from the Japanese for the British.

Poston often tells people that he was never shot down but during the first mission, he was shot up. “They had planned a big operation and of bombers and 40 fighters were escorting these bombers to this south part of Burma and when we got there, we were flying in 22,000 feet and our commander of my squadron called and said, ‘sixth fighter squadron is going down and strafing the Japanese airfield,” recalled Poston.

“We went down to strike a Japanese airfield and, me being on my first combat mission, I had tail end assigned to me.” Poston and his team began firing machine guns at a Japanese field named Mingaladon as he pulled through the clouds and came back around to make another strafing run when he heard a concerning noise. “I heard some sounds like Chinese fireworks,” Poston said. “There were no Chinese there, though. They were Japanese and that was a Japanese fighter on my tail.” After alerting his team that he had a Japanese fighter tailing him, one of the members of his squadron “probable destroyed” plane. It wasn’t until Poston landed at his base after an over 1,000-mile journey that he discovered how close he came to meeting his maker. “When we got back and landed, my crew chief looked surprised,” he said. “There was a hole under each one of my wings about two feet in diameter.” The next notable date for Poston from his time in the service was April 1, 1945, when he was promoted to captain. Poston remained in the reserves after the war and eventually settled down in Ohio with his wife and children, getting a job as a design engineer. After a while, he later realized that he was better suited to be a salesman. Poston got a job with Westinghouse and spent six years as a salesman before deciding that the promotions came too slowly. After that, he landed a job with A.O. Smith Corp. “We made the finest electric motors in the business and our competitors made junk.” Poston eventually climbed the ranks to become the general sales manager for the company. He eventually divorced and as a newly minted bachelor, decided in 1980 to travel to Los Angeles, where he would read an article about river rafting. When Poston set out to go to the river in Sacramento, a bus picked him up. As he sat alone, a younger woman boarded and asked if she could sit next to him. Her name was Carole and she was 42 at the time. Poston admits he spent the next four years chasing after this woman and in 1986, the two were married. By 1987, a newly retired Poston began looking for a place to hang his head and fancied the idea of living in Arizona. “Carole and I got in the car and came to Arizona and we checked out Prescott, we checked out Tucson and we checked out Scottsdale and we decided on Scottsdale,” Poston said. “Carole and I moved to Arizona on April 11, 1987, and it was 100 degrees that day,” he added with a chuckle. Since then, one of Poston’s sons has passed away but all have married and graced him with 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Poston credits his long life to having a regimented exercise routine. Although he no longer runs three miles and does 100 pushups and 100 sit-ups, he uses a set of bike pedals that Carole purchased for him to exercise. He encourages others who wish to have a long life to do the same.

Charles M. Poston is a World War II veteran who earned several medals fl ying P-47D Thunderbolt fi ghters in the 1st Air Commando Group of the 6th Fighter Group in the China Burma India Theater.