2010 Leaders of the Year Awards recipients

David Ira Goldstein
Arizona Theatre Company

Arts & Humanities

Few signs that Phoenix has grown into a major city are more prominent than the progress its arts and cultural offerings have made during the three decades David Ira Goldstein has been managing stage productions.

A recurring criticism of Phoenix and other relatively newer cities – that they lack the kind of cultural diversity of older cities – has little merit today, says Goldstein, 57, artistic director of the Arizona Theatre Company.

“Many arts and cultural institutions in Arizona have a considerable national profile, which wasn’t the case when I started 30 years ago,” he says.

The Valley is filled with examples, Goldstein says, from traditional centers such as the Heard Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Phoenix Symphony to the recently opened Musical Instrument Museum.

Patrons of the arts who move to Arizona sometimes contribute financially to arts programs in other states, but they still support arts programs here by attending events.

“They may still give to the Cleveland Orchestra, but they are coming to the Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Theatre Company as well,” says Goldstein, who says that from a purely business standpoint, Phoenix’s arts institutions have become better at raising money than they used to be.

The Arizona Theatre Company has relied on a wide variety of works to draw audiences, says Goldstein, who says the biggest attractions tend to come from classic musicals, although last season’s biggest seller was “Second City Does Arizona,” in which the nationally famed comedy troupe lampooned Arizona politics and personalities.

According to an Aug. 31 article at examiner.com, Goldstein came to Phoenix in 1991 after serving as associate artistic director for theater companies in Seattle and St. Paul, Minn. He also has been a guest director for several theater companies nationwide.

As Arizona Theatre Company’s artistic director, Goldstein has produced more than 165 main stage plays, workshops and presentations. He has also been a visiting instructor at several American universities.

Goldstein says budget cuts have affected arts educational institutions that prepare the next generation of performers.

“In many ways we have a bigger challenge in arts education funding than when I was growing up,” he says. “It’s become incumbent on arts institutions like Arizona Theatre Company to double their efforts.” The number of young people seeking careers in the arts remains unabated, he says.

“There’s never been or will be a shortage of talent among young people,” Goldstein says. “But there may well be a shortage of opportunity.”

Todd Sanders
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

Business

For one whose job is to wave an encouraging flag to lead businesses to settle in the Valley, Todd Sanders’ economic forecast is straightforward and serious. Population growth, Arizona’s reliable economic engine, won’t get the state back on track as it once did, he says.

“Growth won’t be a part of who we are, at least for the foreseeable future,” says Sanders, 41, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

That doesn’t mean that he’s put down that flag, however.

The Valley and the state will be turning to other pillars on which to build an economic future, including health care, education and biosciences, he said. The state also will be relying on solar power equipment manufacturing incentives, made possible by the 2009 passage of SB1403.

Of course, starting any business in Arizona now won’t be easy, says Sanders, whose organization’s membership is made up of 70 percent small businesses. But those who find a way to get through the next several months have a very good chance of survival.

“If you can be successful now, you will be successful in the further-out years,” he says. That success will be defined by an entrepreneur’s sense of certainty and “intestinal fortitude,” he says.

“It’ll take some certainty on the public side as well,” Sanders says, adding that he hopes the Legislature will adopt a “do-no-harm” attitude.

“You can expect regulatory authority, taxation,” he says.

“But you have to balance out the idea that there is a tipping point,” when too much government involvement is detrimental to a rebounding economy.

According to Sanders’ biography, he spent seven years as a policy analyst at the Arizona House of Representatives, where he advised lawmakers on energy law, municipal policy and trust land reform.

Before taking over as president and CEO, he was the chamber’s vice president of public affairs and economic development, where he worked on issues such as immigration reform, tax policy and health care. His biography states that the bilingual Sanders, who was born in Bogata, Colombia, also serves on the Arizona-Mexico Commission, which encourages advocacy, trade and networking cooperation between Arizona, Mexico and Latin America.

The economic comeback will be slow, he says.

“It looks like we’re in a recovery mode, but it’s a shallow recovery. It’ll take a few years to get back to where we were in 2007,” he says. “At least four years.”

Christine Mackay
City of Chandler

Economic Development

Christine Mackay doesn’t exactly laugh at recessions and sneer at slow recoveries.

But they’re nothing new to her, she says.

“This is my fourth down cycle. I go back to the RTC in the 1980s,” says Mackay, 48, Chandler’s city economic development director since 2008, recalling the 1980s savings- and-loan scandals.

But she agrees that the current recession is different from those others. “This one is so broad-reaching,” she says.

How does an economic development director, who’s paid to generate cash flow from new and bigger businesses setting up in town, accomplish that in such tough times? By getting aggressive, she says. And, she says, with a staff that doesn’t look at things the way government employees often do.

More like how Donald Trump might.

“The most important thing is that we come from the private sector,” Mackay says. “We don’t operate as the government. We all have a private marketing background. We know that whoever gets to the deal first gets the deal.” In an economic climate with fewer opportunities for a city to land premier businesses, Mackay says it’s vital to go after the ones that are out there with a real competitor’s attitude.

If you don’t return a phone call from a prospective business that same day, they’re going to call somewhere else, she says.

“We all come from a place where if you don’t make a transaction, you don’t eat,” Mackay says.

Mackay’s economic development staff probably hasn’t missed many meals lately. In May, the city welcomed the Continuum, a 153-acre science-and-technology park at the site of a former Motorola plant that will include a 10,000- square-foot University of Arizona learning center. City officials estimate that when fully built out, the park will be home to between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs.

And in April, the city celebrated the grand opening of the Innovations Technology Incubator near McClintock Drive and Chandler Boulevard. According to a city statement, the incubator gives the city the ability to grow its own businesses in fields such as biotechnology, bioinformatics, software design, nanotechnology and medical devices.

Chandler tourism is showing signs of improvement as well, she says. Hotel stays are up 41 percent compared to 2009, she says, belying highly publicized vows to boycott Arizona.

“They may tell their neighbors they’re boycotting Arizona,” Mackay says of out-of-state visitors. “But they really aren’t.”

Tim Carter
Yavapai County Education Service Agency

Education

Like most educators, Tim Carter believes that the right curriculum combined with the right amount of hard work will produce great results for a student.

But he believes even more strongly in another contributing factor to academic success.

Carter, 57, Yavapai County schools superintendent, says the “spark” — a properly motivated student — does more than anything else.

“The spark is the critical factor for anybody,” he says. “Once you find your passion, that’s what motivates you to learn to be successful.”

Carter agrees with a premise advanced by Newsweek columnist Robert Samuelson, who wrote in the magazine’s Sept. 13 issue about how the main impediment to student learning is motivation, which can’t be encouraged through typical efforts at education reform.

“It is not always a big enough concern in education,” Carter says. “We don’t control the parts of the process the way other businesses do. Very rarely along the way do we ask the person, ‘What do you want to know? What’s important to you?’ Too often, education is what someone else thinks is important to them.”

Carter recalled two former students who, while in school, said they didn’t understand their chemistry and physics classes. They didn’t have to, they said, because they didn’t believe they would ever use what they were learning.

“Today they’re accident investigators that use both,” he says. “Individualizing education works right, but that’s hard to do.”

According to his biography, Carter taught high school and college courses in several Arizona communities. He also served as principal at Prescott High School until his retirement in 2003.

He was appointed Yavapai County schools superintendent in 2005 by the county Board of Supervisors and was elected and re-elected to the position in 2006 and 2008. He plans to seek re-election in 2012.

Carter also has experience teaching Traffic Survival School in Yavapai County.

He says the “wave of the future” regarding motivating students may well be found in online instruction, where some students who don’t do well in classrooms often excel.

Carter says parent involvement is vital to properly motivating students, saying that he wished there was “a tax credit for parent involvement.”

Cheryl Lombard
The Nature Conservancy

Environment

Cheryl Lombard, the government relations director for the Nature Conservancy’s Arizona chapter, is being honored this year for her leadership in environmental issues at the Capitol. Her 20-year career has given her experience in politics, community and media relations, as well as nonprofit development and conservancy ventures.

Lombard oversees all political and policy decisions by the Nature Conservancy’s Arizona chapter, as well as federal and state lobbying and some community relations. She was appointed by former Gov. Janet Napolitano to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council and still serves there thanks to a re-appointment by Gov. Jan Brewer. She was also recently appointed to the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Commission.

Lombard gives credit for much of the success this year to the tightly knit group of people who push for the environmental agenda at the Capitol.

“It’s a real honor and a huge shock,” Lombard says. “It’s a great group of people who work on these natural resources. We do disagree, but when we can reach a resolution it’s a good group to work with.”

According to John Graham, former chair of the Conservancy’s Arizona chapter and a member of its board of trustees, Lombard probably shouldn’t be so modest about her abilities.

“She’s got a great skill set, and she’s well-respected,” Graham said. “She’s very thoughtful about walking in others’ shoes. For the complex issues, which environmental issues tend to be, she’s an ideal fit for the role.”

Lombard says a big environmental victory this year came with a settlement being reached between the Salt River Project (SRP) and the communities of Prescott and Prescott Valley. Previously, SRP had sued to stop the communities from pumping water from the Big Chino Aquifer, which the utility viewed as a threat to its water holdings in the nearby Verde River. The settlement allows both parties to essentially get what they want while making some concessions.

“We were supportive of that settlement to move forward, because it’s opening discussion about water issues without the need for litigation,” Lombard says.

Lombard says that the past few years have been tough, which is due mostly to the state’s budget issues. Cuts to Arizona’s natural parks and the downturn in state land development have been stressful for environmentalists, but Lombard says the small but effective environmental lobby at the Capitol is dedicated to working them out.

“We want to be a party in these budget discussions and bring out all of these issues for a full and balanced discussion,” she says.

Central Arizona Water Conservation Project Board of Directors

Government

The Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board of Directors knows that a steady water supply is vital to Arizona’s future and continued sustainability. It is the board’s goal to lead the state’s government bodies in efficiency to achieve balance in water supply and distribution.

“We’re having to deal with a multitude of very complex issues,” says Susan Bitter Smith, president of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) board. “But we have a unified leadership that’s launching into those and fixing them successfully.”

CAP was established to deliver the state’s share of water from the Colorado River to Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. It’s maintained by a 15-member board of directors. Board members serve unpaid six-year terms and implement new strategies aimed at maximizing the state’s supply of fresh water for the future with as small a cost as possible.

“I firmly believe we’ve shown a leadership role in making sure we have water supplies, and we’ve done this at the same time as the state is lowering tax rates,” Bitter Smith says. “We’ve done more for less money. That’s great in this environment.”

One key issue that required the board’s attention, Bitter Smith says, was working to restart operations at the Yuma Desalination Plant. The plant takes agricultural wastewater and converts it back into usable water. Environmentalists, as well as the government of Mexico, had concerns that the plant was using water critical to Cienega de Santa Clara, a nearby wildlife habitat.

Central Arizona Project commissioned a study in an attempt to alleviate those fears and hopefully show that the desalination plant could be restarted without destroying the 40,000-acre wildlife reserve.

“We did so, successfully,” Bitter Smith says. “The environmental community basically agreed we were right, but the issue is multinational. The government of Mexico had concerns, and they were satisfied.”

Pamela Pickard, vice president of the CAP board, says the group has been a model for leadership in government, not only because of the efficiency with which it accomplishes its goals, but because of the diverse, talented and specialized group it represents.

“We really have a diverse board with different strengths that we use,” Pickard says. “We’re good at getting out to the community and getting our message out to the Legislature.”

Ronald S. Weinstein, M.D.
Arizona Telemedicine Program, University of Arizona

Health Care

Dr. Ronald Weinstein is being honored this year for his leadership in the health care field, but if you ask him he’ll insist that the real credit belongs to all of the professionals who dedicate their time to making the Arizona Telemedicine Program a success.

The program was established in 1996 under the direction of Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC). At the time, Weinstein says, the Legislature was dealing with the issue of unequal distribution of health care across the state. It was finding that people in the state’s rural communities, prisons and tribal populations were having a hard time making contact with highly trained, highly specialized medical professionals.

“In 1996, there was a lack of broadband telecommunications in the state,” Weinstein says. “The government had attempted in the past to create programs that would encourage companies to build out here, but it didn’t happen.”

Weinstein was commissioned by JLBC to lead the program. He was also integral to creating the enabling legislation, sponsored by then-Rep. Bob Burns. His proposal was accepted and the program began with an initial eight-site pilot project.

Since that time, the program, which is partially operated out of the University of Arizona, has expanded to more than 150 sites in more than 70 communities. It allows people in smaller rural communities to have direct interaction with specialists such as radiologists, cardiologists and psychiatrists who might not work within a reasonable distance of them.

“We’ve created a business model for telemedicine which has been very successful,” he says. “Our corps of engineers, who are state employees, have actually physically built out a network. Over one million telemedicine cases have been handled over our network.”

Those who work with Weinstein say that the program has been a great success and Weinstein’s leadership should be recognized.

“He’s a leader, a visionary who educates on a daily basis while he’s mentoring us in the program,” says Kris Erps, associate director of administration at the Arizona Telemedicine Program.

“He’s always on the go with new ideas and the strong leadership that we admire him for.” Weinstein says that while there are a lot of hurdles the state still needs to jump over to provide equitable health care across the board, it’s great to be recognized for the huge amount of work he and his team have put into making telemedicine a reality in Arizona.

“We’re very honored,” he says. “It’s a real success story, to be benefiting a million-plus patients.”

Chad Campbell
Arizona House of Representatives

Government Transparency

Phoenix Democratic Rep. Chad Campbell says he doesn’t seek out recognition, but he does appreciate being honored for his public service to promote government transparency.

“I’m not in this job for awards but for public service,” Campbell says. “But it does mean a lot to me.”

Campbell, who serves as House minority whip, says his philosophy encompasses accountability and commitment to a chosen cause. Campbell is also the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee and serves on the House Government Committee.

A Phoenix native and long-time supporter of progressive causes, Campbell touts his work with the O’Connor House Project. The project is a collaboration of more than 100 state leaders working to reform state government, including repealing term limits, reducing initiative fraud, repealing Clean Elections and creating a lieutenant governor position through the political organization Government for Arizona’s Second Century.

“I’m very serious about the overhaul of the legislative system,” he says. “The current system was constructed in a different time, before we had so much going on. We need to re-look at the time we spend in session, and ensure we have full debates about the issues.”

Campbell said he is concerned that the system caters more to special interests and political parties than to the people of the state. “And legislators need to have a good support staff,” Campbell adds.

Campbell is always accessible. He is also a reliable source to get a feel of his caucus’ pulse. He also has advocated for a more open government budget process and for the rights of the media to access information.

“It’s part of my job and responsibility; people deserve to know what legislators are doing.”

Campbell, who’s engaged to be married in 2011, wants to see more long-term thinking and planning from state leaders. “Short-term solutions are making conditions worse,” he says. One of his goals is to engage in debate about how to get the budget and the economy back on track.

“I’m looking forward to — more like hoping — for a serious conversation about where the state is headed,” he says.

Russ Jones
House of Representatives

Government Transparncy

Yuma Republican Rep. Russ Jones says his award was a welcome surprise “When I got the list and looked at the legislators and saw my name, I said ‘Holy mackerel!’”

Leadership involves a willingness to “walk the walk,” Jones says. “You must be committed to truly understanding those who you would lead.” He says legislators also need to earn constituents’ respect. “You need to ‘get it,’” he says.

Finally, he says it’s vital to “have a clear vision of where you want to lead, and to articulate your vision so that people can visualize your direction.” Jones calls it a “roadmap” down which he leads his constituents. “If you can do these things, people will sign on and allow you to lead them down that path.”

Jones says he shares mutual respect with the media.

“I value the place of media to act as a check and balance,” he says. “It’s their job to show if I detour from my roadmap.” Jones adds that, as sometimes is the case, a detour is necessary, and the legislator should be able to justify to the media and the public what he or she is doing and why.

“The media is a means to the end for public servants,” says Jones, “and also helps generate feedback from constituents.” However, Jones also notes that the media need to more clearly define the wall separating editorial and commentary from straight news reporting. “The dividing line is gray,” he says. “The more clarity we can make, the better.”

Jones also stresses that he intends to represent all people in his district, and thus will not sign on to any type of voting pledge. “We narrow ourselves down and make ourselves less flexible,” he says. “It’s more important for a constituent to try and understand the candidate’s core values that make the person who he is; that’s the best a candidate can possibly do.”

Jones credits his wife for keeping him centered, “and so do my constituents.”

The vice-chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, Jones, a customs broker who deals with Yuma’s agricultural industry, is also on the committee of record for the Department of Agriculture’s sunset review. He calls the department “critical” to Arizona’s overall economy and says that jobs will be his focus this coming session. “Putting politics aside, small business doesn’t know any politics,” Jones says.

Frank Antenori
Arizona Senate

Government Transparency

Nobody in public policy will ever say Tucson Republican Sen. Frank Antenori is reluctant to express his opinion.

Indeed, the first-term legislator who moved from the House to the Senate in March after Jonathon Paton resigned for an unsuccessful congressional run, is known for being outspoken, even bombastic. He attributes this philosophy to his time in the military, where he says he “inspired people to do the right thing for the better good, giving people direction and focus.”

The former Green Beret, Bronze Star recipient, guerilla fighter and author of a book about his experiences in the Iraq War, Antenori has little good to say about the media; “It’s my hallmark. Newspapers have drawn scorn because of what is seen as bias,” he says. “I see a liberal slant in reporting; it’s going to be difficult to side with media who don’t want to show both sides.”

To illustrate his stance, Antenori, who represents District 30, is proud to say that he once buttonholed the publisher of the Arizona Daily Star and argued that the paper should hire more “conservative” editors.

Antenori is easily one of the most quotable lawmakers at the Capitol; he doesn’t quibble and he’s always fired up. But his most notable contribution to government transparency was a bill he co-sponsored this year with Rep. Steve Montenegro and others that will require local governments to maintain a website beginning in 2013 that contains reports of all revenues and expenditures of more than $5,000.

Antenori says that his focus this year is to “get rid of Arizona’s archaic tax code and bring good jobs back.” He notes that the current tax environment “stinks” and says that the state’s focus on tourism and other service-related industries is working against Arizona’s long-term economic sustainability.

“Changing sheets and flipping burgers is for people just entering the job market,” Antenori says. “They were never meant to be lifetime careers. We’re not creating decent jobs.”

Antenori, married with two teenage sons, sums up his legislative style: “I will be relentless this term.”

Rebecca Rios
Arizona Senate

Government Transparency

Apache Junction Democratic Sen. Rebecca Rios defines her leadership role as being the voice of a caucus that is often overlooked.

“It’s incumbent upon us to fight to be heard and get our message across to the Legislature and through the media to the public,” says Rios, a third-term legislator and assistant minority leader.

Rios feels an additional responsibility to not only represent her district and party, but “the half, or more than half, of Arizonans who don’t agree with what the majority is doing in government, or how the government is being run.” She says being a leader requires the willingness to work hard to get that message out.

Rios is one of the most accessible legislators at the Capitol. The outspoken Democrat almost always takes time to call back if she missed a call and follows up on queries. Her office is always open to reporters, and she rarely backs away from tough questions.

She says that the media is vital in acting as the conduit between the Legislature and the kitchen tables of every home in Arizona. “We here at the Legislature live and breathe it and it’s not a normal role,” she says. “Normal people may only hear a two-minute news clip or see a headline. From that quick glance, their opinions are formed. If the media doesn’t report it, it’s like it never even happened.”

However, Rios says many aspects of the legislative process have become far more accessible to the public. “We have TV cameras that broadcast hearings and sessions, we allow people to sit at home and comment on legislation – those things didn’t exist in 1995,” she says. However, she admits that there is always room for improvement. “Lots of decisions, such as the budget, continue to be made in closed-door meetings that are inaccessible to the media and public,” Rios says.

“What happens in the Appropriations Committee has much too little do with how the budget is really crafted; it’s a complete disservice that shuts out many stakeholders.”

It’s hard to believe Rios’ assertion that she’s a quiet, shy person by nature; however, she says “finding myself in a leadership position in the Legislature has been an opportunity for growth.”

Rios inherited her feisty spirit from her dad, long-time legislator and former Senate President Pete Rios, who’s now a Pinal County supervisor. “He says that the more local the politics, the busier one gets.” Rios says.

“I want to be worthy of the public trust,” Rios says. “It’s humbling to think they have given me this distinction; to be acknowledged feels good.”

Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T. Program
TERROS

Social Services

TERROS has been engaged in providing care to those afflicted with behavioral health issues such as mental illness and drug addiction since its formation in 1969.

The organization was awarded control of the Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T. (Families In Recovery Succeeding Together) program in 2001, a year after the program was crafted through legislation.

“Our state government said they wanted to provide substance-abuse treatment to parents of children taken away by Child Protective Services,” says Dale Rinard, president and CEO of TERROS. “They wanted specific funding that would address outreach and engagement efforts to get people into treatment.”

Rinard says TERROS’ approach to recovery is unique because it involves the family unit as a necessary step to beating drug addiction.

“We have the dynamic of involving other people,” he says. “It’s family-oriented, and families and significant others are in the process.”

Besides providing as much treatment as needed, the program provides temporary housing for people who may have lost their jobs or homes because of an addiction. Additionally, TERROS can provide some supportive transportation and minor auto repairs until the person is able to regain employment.

This may seem a bit costly, but Rinard insists that the state’s overall savings once treatment is completed far outweigh the price.

“CPS has to take children away, and they go to foster homes,” he says. “The state is having to pay those foster-care rates. The faster you can help reunite families, the faster it saves the state’s costs. Then, the people are back to paying taxes, working and back on their feet.”

Hank Radda, chairman of the TERROS board of directors, says the program’s leadership position in the social-services arena is thanks to its family approach and close cooperation with other state agencies such as Child Protective Services.

“We were very successful, even compared to national benchmarks, with a focus both on the sobriety of the family and the safety of the child,” Radda says.

ServiceArizona.com
Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicles Divsion

Technology

ServiceArizona.com offers fast, online access to many transactions that you’d otherwise have to go to a Department of Motor Vehicles office to complete. Since it emerged from a partnership between the Arizona Department of Transportation and IBM in 1997, the site has serviced more than 45 million transactions.

“We were looking for alternate ways to deliver customer service outside of our brick-andmortar facilities,” says Stacey Stanton, associate director at ADOT’s Motor Vehicles Division.

“We had the vision then – that electronics were going to be our future. The implementation team includes folks who are highly energized and future-thinking, truly out-of-thebox thinkers.”

Some of the site’s features that set it apart include vehicle-registration renewal, changes of address, specialized plates and even voter registration. Stanton says features like these make Service Arizona a leader among other services of its kind.

“Other states are trying to emulate what we’ve done,” she says. “But we’re still very much a leader in this activity.”

This industry-wide recognition is partially due to the varied services the site offers, Stanton says, but also because of the aggressive branding that the Department of Transportation has pursued since its inception.

“We’ve used different media to publicize it,” she says. “We’ve had commercials, radio spots, pens, pencils, even tote bags. It’s very much a commonplace web address these days. Once you’ve used it, you’ll think about using that instead of coming to our office in the future.”

Service Arizona kiosks, which allow credit cards to be used to process transactions, are installed in Motor Vehicle Department offices across the state. Last year, the updated Service Arizona Machine (SAM, for short) made its debut in Phoenix and Tucson offices. The new machine allows customers to use cash, personal checks and credit or debit cards to pay for services.

Stanton says her team is brainstorming new applications to feature on the site, including redesigning certain aspects of the site’s layout.

Arizonans should be proud, she says, of the industry-leading example that the website has set. While other states attempt to pilot time-saving online applications, ServiceArizona.com is a few steps ahead.

“The partnership with IBM allows our customers to have an experience which leaves them with a positive thought about the state of Arizona,” Stanton says. “We can play a large role in that undertaking.”

Dale Shewalter
Arizona Trail Association

Unsung Hero (posthumous)

People talk about leaving behind a legacy after they pass away. Dale Shewalter’s legacy could well last into future centuries — and stretch for more than 800 miles.

The Arizona Trail is now nearing completion 25 years after the former schoolteacher, who died in January at 59, took the first steps to create the 820-mile sojourn from the Mexican border to Utah.

When completed next year, it will be only the third of 11 recognized National Scenic Trails to be finished. The two others are the famed Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, says Dave Hicks, executive director of the Arizona Trail Association since 2005.

According to the association’s website, Shewalter first thought of the idea nearly 40 years ago.

While hiking in the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson in the 1970s, he first conceived of a longdistance trail. In 1985, Shewalter undertook a Utah-to-Mexico hike to scout what would become the trail. Not long after, Shewalter took his pitch for money and approval to government officials and private organizations.

The trail was officially dedicated in 1988 through a bipartisan effort that included U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Bob Stump, a Republican, Hicks says.

Congress officially declared the Arizona Trail a National Scenic Trail in 2009. It offers hikers, mountain bicyclists, horseback riders and cross-country skiers year-round access to some of the state’s greatest natural features, including the Grand Canyon and parts of several national forests.

Hicks remembered first meeting Shewalter in 2001, a meeting which not surprisingly took place on the trail itself.

“Dale was just a genuine person. So many people he met, including me, would say that once you met him you felt you had a personal connection,” Hicks says. “It was a genuine feeling between just you and him.”

Then Hicks laughed. “He was not an introvert,” he says.

After Shewalter’s death, the website posted this remembrance from Trails Association board member Randy Warner:

“The astonishing thing about Dale Shewalter was not that he had a great idea. It was not that he hiked the length of Arizona to map the trail’s route. It wasn’t that he was a great salesman, managing to get so many people, organizations and government agencies to buy in. It wasn’t that he was an inspirational teacher for so many students while remaining an inspirational leader for the Arizona Trail Association,” Warner wrote. “It was that he was all these things.”

Russell Smoldon
Salt River Project

Volunteerism

When told he had earned the 2010 Leaders of the Year award for volunteerism, Russell Smoldon downplayed the recognition while admitting to being easily convinced to volunteer by people with “great stories.”

“I’m not sure how I got the award,” says Smoldon, who lobbies for Salt River Project. “I just keep saying yes to people because they have a great story.”

Smoldon has given his time to organizations including the Western Business Roundtable, Greater Phoenix Urban League, Arizona Supreme Court’s Child Support Guidelines and Domestic Relations committees and the Challenger Space Center.

“I’ve volunteered all my life,” Smoldon says. “My dad was very big into giving back, and I was educated by the Jesuits who also stress volunteerism and giving to the community. It’s a wonderful thing.”

Leaders are people willing to give of their time and money, Smoldon says. He lives by three rules: “First, follow the Golden Rule,” he says. “Leading by example and treating people the same as you would like to be treated will never let you down.” Next, he says to “make as many friends as possible.” The third rule: “More talk is good, less talk is bad,” Smoldon says. “The more talking you do, the more successful you’ll be. Nobody lost a battle by talking too much.”

The Greater Phoenix Urban League is one of his favorite places to donate his time. He is serving his 19th year on the board. “George Dean (GPUL’s president and CEO) keeps calling my boss and tells him how much he needs me,” he says.

Smoldon speaks highly of the organization’s programs. Of the first-time homebuyer program, he says, “Those who can buy a home tend to take care of that home. It increases personal responsibility and pride.”

Next on his kudos list: the SAT testing program. “This program provides kids from lower-social-economic-status families with the opportunity to learn how to take a test,” he says. “We’ve had kids from south Phoenix win full-ride scholarships to Ivy League schools because they do well.”

He also is proud of his work with the Supreme Court. “We’re working in the best interest of the child,” Smoldon says. “We’re working to make the system fairer for people.”

He’s really excited about his newest board, Keogh Health Connections. “We match people who are underserved with health services that they need,” he says.

It’s clear that he won’t be giving up volunteering any time soon.

Jack Brown
Arizona House of Representatives

Lifetime Achievement

Rep. Jack Brown and fellow ranchers once were plentiful in the Arizona Legislature. Today the state Capitol is dominated by urban lawmakers. And Brown is the last survivor of an era when power tipped toward rural counties.

Brown, a rancher from St. Johns, began his legislative career in 1963. Rural lawmakers held much greater sway in Arizona politics because at that time the same number of legislators represented each county, regardless of population.

That all changed in the mid-1960s, when legislative districts were drawn.

Words such as gridlock often describe state politics today.

But at that time, lawmakers understood the value of cooperation.

The uncompromising aura at the Capitol is due in large part to voter attitudes, says Brown, 81, a Democrat who retires in January after a combined 36 years in the Legislature.

He first served from 1963 to 1975, returning home for 12 years. He came back in 1987 and has served since.

More and more voters are unwilling to cross party lines in choosing candidates, he says, despite polls showing strong public support for legislators to stop bickering and accomplish something.

“People claim compromise is what they really want, but when it comes to a vote they vote Republican or Democrat,” Brown says.

Voters also demand more limited government, he says, but at the same time don’t want funding cut for government services they like, making it tough for a legislator to make hard choices.

The Capitol wasn’t always a place when legislators sat in conference committee with chins up and arms folded. Brown says he remembers when such meetings were much more conciliatory.

“Neither side would feel they got 100 percent, but each felt they got the most important thing,” he says.

Today, more Arizonans are registering independent. The fear of losing control moves many legislators to concentrate on their party’s hard-line voter base instead of the growing center, Brown says.

In retirement he has returned to his ranch, now run by one of his sons. His advice to a young person thinking of a legislative career: Always tell a straight story. And meet people face to face, so they can gain confidence in you. You’ll have people back home behind you as you try to move legislation, he says.

“Build a reputation for honesty and the ability to get the job done,” he says.

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