Arizona has associations covering the spectrum of professions, interests and economic activities. Many are well known, like the Association of Realtors and the Association of Counties, but these organizations don’t paint the entire association picture.
From the Arizona Association for Jazz Education to the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators, associations vary widely in their membership, influence and focus. The following is a look into groups that fly below the radar.
Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona
When Interstate 40 opened through Arizona, it spelled doom for the people and businesses along Route 66, many of whom depended upon it for their livelihoods. The association, founded in 1987, is “a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation, promotion and protection of both the surface and memories” of the old “Mother Road.”
Jan Davis, 60, is the director of operations of the association. She started out as a volunteer at the Route 66 gift shop in Kingman, and assumed her current position in January 2005. Although she never traveled the route in its heyday, she understands its importance. “We need to preserve it as history because history is what makes us what we are today,” she says. “It’s where we came from and shows us where we are going.”
Since the route’s designation as a National Scenic Byway in September 2005, the association can apply for federal grant money to restore and preserve different sections of the old Route 66.
It’s not a moment too soon, since the release of the movie Cars, the route has received a resurgence in popularity from not only Americans, but visitors worldwide as well. “There are many foreign visitors whose dream it is to take a drive down Route 66,” Ms. Davis says. “It just seems that they’re more into the history and taking drives. They have a love of the road that many Americans don’t these days.”
She pegs the worldwide membership at more than 600, including members from Italy, Germany, Japan and Norway.
The organization’s premiere event is the Historic Route 66 Fun Run from Seligman to Topock/Golden Shores. Last year’s event had 800 vehicles and even a participant from Denmark, whom flew to Florida, bought a car, and drove it across the country to participate, says Ms. Davis. This year’s event will be May 4-6.
There are more than 200 miles of historic route 66, the longest stretch of the “Main Street of America,” left in Arizona. The road, not fully paved until 1937, originated in Chicago and ran 2,448 miles to end in Los Angeles. The route through Arizona began in Navajo in the eastern part of the state and exited at Topock in the west. This and other information is available by visiting www.azrt66.com/.
Arizona Association of Manufactured Home & R.V. Owners
President Ron Feinstein, 64, described his organization as the AARP or AAA for manufactured homeowners and R.V. owners in Arizona. He stresses that they offer many kinds of assistance to people living in mobile home parks, in a non-adversarial manner, regardless of whether they are members or not.
“We assist people even if they don’t belong to AAMHO,” he says. “If there’s anyway we can help, we will.”
Mr. Feinstein says that the common bond of all the association’s members is that they are all homeowners, but they rent the land their homes sit on, which can lead to disputes from time to time. The group will always lend itself to solve such disputes between park owners and tenants he says, and he reiterates, in a “non-adversarial manner.”
The association is recognized by the state Legislature and administration as the mobile home owner’s and R.V. owner’s main representative and lobbyist and is called on to serve on many commissions and boards concerning the mobile home lifestyle.
One lobbying effort concerns the ability of homeowners to be able to sub-lease their homes to others when they are away. “Many homeowners in the southern part of the state only use their mobile homes for nine months out of the year, Mr. Feinstein says. “Since they still have to pay rent, they should be able to sublet their homes if they choose.”
The governing statute over mobile home park tenants, enacted in the mid-80s, is the Arizona Mobile Home Park Landlord Tenant Act. Mr. Feinstein says that it sets general parameters for living in mobile home parks. The area that they are trying to change allows owners to sublet their homes, but only if the owner of the park they are living in allows it.
They also keep an eye on what other organizations, such as the one for mobile home park owners, are doing at the policy level. “We all sit down together and chew the fat, try and work things out,” says Mr. Feinstein. “Sometimes we suggest legislation together.”
The association is made up entirely of volunteers, minus a two-person office and legislative lobbyist. The Web site describes the association as “a non-profit organization representing the interests of manufactured home and R.V. owners in Arizona. The federation consists of 170 homeowners’ associations from mobile home parks throughout the state with approximately 21,000 individual members, including some who live in parks without homeowners’ associations.”
Mr. Feinstein is a retired truck driver, and has been a member of the association for five years. He is serving his second term as president. He is also the president of a residents’ association in Cottonwood, although he says that association is largely social. This and other information is available by visiting www.aamho.org/.
Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators
There are more than 1,000 private investigators in Arizona performing a variety of tasks. Association President Rich Robertson says that two of the biggest issues the association focuses on now are combating myths about private investigators and working to enhance professionalism. “A common misconception is that we just follow around cheating spouses,” he says.
In fact, Mr. Robertson says, private investigators perform myriad services, including pre-employment background checks, investigation of car accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, location of lost relatives and internal investigations for the government.
In Arizona, if a person gets paid to go out and gather information that is going to be used in court, they must be licensed. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is the licensing body for investigators, and obtaining a license is far more than just filing out some paperwork and paying a fee.
“For a license from DPS, you must have 6,000 hours, or about three years of demonstrated investigative experience,” he says.
Since private investigators are for hire, they may work for the prosecution or the defense. This sometimes fuels the misconception that investigators and law enforcement are always on opposite sides of the law. Not true, says Mr. Robertson, since most private investigators are retired law enforcement officers.
In an age of unprecedented access to personal information, Mr. Robertson says that the association aims to increase professionalism among investigators and between investigators and law enforcement through education. “In an era of privacy concerns,” he says. “We want to make sure our members are at the forefront of using the information they collect responsibly and legally.”
Nearly every state has a private investigator’s association and there are only four that don’t license investigators, Mr. Robertson says. The Arizona association is part of a national organization that lobbies Congress on any issues involving freedom of information and access to government and court records.
The organization was founded in 1974 to “promote and maintain the highest ethical practices in the profession of private investigation, strive to further the spirit of cooperation and mutual assistance among members of the association and those engaged in law enforcement.”
They also want to “expand a mutual feeling of trust, goodwill and friendship among investigating agencies, monitor and take action on any legislation that may affect the profession and upgrade the professional standards of the organization and its members through continued education.” This and other information is available by visiting www.aalpi.org/index.html.
Arizona Association of Bed & Breakfasts
The mission of this organization of 60 inns is to “develop and encourage high standards of hospitality, provide opportunities for professional growth and a forum for communication on all aspects of the industry.”
They also aim to “promote members, broaden public understanding and appreciation of bed and breakfasts and country inns and act as an advocate with state and local regulatory agencies by speaking with one voice.”
There are bed and breakfast associations all across the country, most focus on setting standards for their members. The Arizona association is the only one in the state. While they don’t lobby the Legislature, their bylaws stipulate that members must conform to state and local laws, which can vary considerably by county and city, says association President Gary Edelbrock.
“When someone applies for membership, a thorough inspection is done to make sure they qualify for our standards,” he says. “Fifty percent don’t pass the first time.”
The general definition of a bed and breakfast, according to Mr. Edelbrock, is a “home-based business, which has less than 10 rooms and serves breakfast.” More typically, however, a bed and breakfast will have five rooms or less and be a residence where the proprietors also live.
The association inspects member inns at least every two years. Members must maintain commercial liability insurance to cover hotel guests and live on site, says Mr. Edelbrock.
This and other information is available by visiting www.arizona-bed-breakfast.com/about.html.

Arizona Association for Jazz Education
The mission of this association is to assure the continued growth and development of jazz and jazz education in Arizona. It is a chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education, which has approximately 8,000 members in 40 countries. The Arizona chapter’s President-Elect Tim Matteson has been involved with the organization on and off for 10 years, and says that interest in jazz is strong in the Valley of the Sun.
“The appreciation of music and jazz is growing with the area,” he says. “It’s getting better.”
Mr. Matteson has been a teacher for 10 years, the past three serving as director of bands at Thunderbird High School in Phoenix. The school’s and Mr. Matteson’s dedication to jazz is evident, considering they maintain two jazz bands and two combo bands, which he described as “smaller jazz bands.”
The organization focuses primarily on two groups of people: Musicians of all ages who are learning jazz, and educators who are teaching jazz or any type of music. Mr. Matteson says that the clinics the organization offers can be applied to teaching any type of music.
To aid in putting on clinics and other outreach efforts, he says, they partner with other music-related organizations like the Arizona Band and Orchestra Director’s Association and theArizona Music Educators Association. They also provide events for AMEA’s annual conference.
He estimated that the association has been around for 30 years, remembering that as a student, he used to be a member. He became interested in music while at Cactus High School in Glendale and joined the jazz band. He went on to study jazz and saxophone at NAU, and plays professionally with his rhythm and blues and soul group “Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns.”
He is set to become the group’s president in Fall 2007. As the president-elect, he observes how things are done to ensure a smooth transition to the helm of the association.
This and other information is available by visiting www.azjazz.org/home.html.
Arizona Book Publishing Association
Founded in Phoenix in April 1992, this association’s mission is “to advance and promote successful book publishing in Arizona.” They achieve their mission through education, community involvement, cooperative effort, peer recognition, industry advocacy and support of 1st Amendment rights. The association has 150 publisher and associate members and continues to grow each year. Membership is open to all publishers and associates interested in the book publishing field. This and other information is available by visiting http://azbookpub.com/.
Arizona Association of Gold Prospectors
According to their Web site, they are the “premier recreational gold prospecting and mining club in Arizona.” The association is “dedicated to bringing fun, entertainment and education to the novice, intermediate, and advanced prospector, through placer gold prospecting and mining activities for both the individual and family members.” Each club chapter provides members with monthly meetings, prospecting and mining events and local claims to prospect on. Activities offered include digging, panning, dredging, sluicing, highbanking, drywashing and nugget shooting. The club promises members that there “will always be plenty of fun and excitement to be had, prospecting to do and gold to be found.” This and other information is available by visiting www.arizonagoldprospectors.org/.