Happy Birthday USA: this July 4^th there are 234 candles on that really BIG cake!  On behalf of myself, my family, and, I’m confident, my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, here’s a heartfelt “Thank You!” to all those Americans who have or are serving in our armed forces in order to protect and preserve our democratic form of government with all the privileges we enjoy today.  I want to especially take this time to salute not only the men and women who are serving today – particularly those warriors in harm’s way in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world – but their families as well.  Theirs is often the hardest battle and they deserve not only our gratitude for their sacrifices but our support during these long, lonely months of separation.

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Elevate and make your Event Great with Straight to the Plate! Sue Carlisle, owner of Straight to the Plate Catering, is very passionate about her business and takes this tag line very seriously. In the last 2 ½ years, she has served over 3500 guests from small office parties and open houses to large events for 550. Each event is special, unique and lots of fun for Sue. “I get to be part of making great memories and fulfilling a bride’s dream wedding or helping a company elevate their game by providing a great catering event for their board, customers or employees.” Sue is great at listening to the desires of her clients and providing wonderful, flavorful food and excellent customer service. Last month, Straight to the Plate was honored to be 1 of 3 caters featured for the 17th annual hospitality event, “Cool off in Style” event which hosted 550 guests at the Phoenix Museum for Children.

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AK-CHIN — So no finally means yes, it would seem.

As representatives from the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Harrah’s Entertainment and the city of Maricopa joined a crowd of more than 125 on hand last week for the groundbreaking of a $20 million, five-story hotel expansion project at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort, the facility’s general manager, Geoff Andres, gave a simple yet poignant anecdote to help answer an obvious question: “Why now?”

“Why would we be adding a hotel tower in a down economy? Well, I’ll tell you, my friends, we are sold out every night,” said an energetic Andres of the property’s current 140-plus-room setup. “In fact, do you guys want a room tonight? … Well you can’t have one, because we’re full!”

No, western Pinal County’s only gaming facility doesn’t have much availability, and yes, that’s exactly why the time is right, he contends, to expand.

“That’s been the story for us for quite some time,” he said. “We’re excited to be able to add these hotel rooms, we think it’s going to be a great thing for this business, and we also think it’s going to be a great thing for the city of Maricopa.”
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Desert Sun Performing Arts “Rocks The Mouse” and Wins Top Honors

April 14, 2010.  Desert Sun Performing Arts Competition team, the DSPA Gems, traveled with 34 dancers to perform at Disney.  They performed their award winning dances on Carnation Stage next to the Disney Castle.  Dances included “Fast As You Can” “Ironic” “Trickle Trickle” “Follow the Leader” “Breathe” and “You Should Be Dancing.”   While there they attended multiple workshops with professional Disney choreographers.  To achieve this trip, the dancers had to fundraise thousands of dollars.  They worked diligently selling cookbooks, cookie dough, hosting car washes, and working at Firebird Raceway.

Being able to perform at Disney was an incredible experience for everyone.  “I have been to Disney many times but my favorite part was having my dance family there to share it with,”  said Denise Baker.

The dancers learned a lot from their trip that can be applied both on stage and off  “Natasha’s favorite part was dancing.  We talked about why it is important for them to perform at places like Disney, and she first said because people like to watch them dance…because it helps her be comfortable in front of an audience.  She agrees that it has helped when she’s had to make presentations at school, “  Christine Nechvatal said.

The DSPA Gems then competed in the Kids Artistic Revue held in Mesa on March 19 and 20th.  They won seven First Place trophies and six Top First Place trophies.  Additional awards included:

3rd runner up 8 and under age division Miss Petite Dance
4th high score overall solo 12-14 age division
4th high score overall small group 15-17 age division
4th high score overall large group 9-11 age division
Judges awards “Way to Work It Award”, ” Touching Tribute Award”, “Fabulous Faces Award”

DSPA Gems also competed at I Love Dance Competition held in Phoenix on April 3rd.  They won:

3- 2nd place awards
8- first place trophies
Overall costume winner
3rd high score overall solo ages 8-10
1st place high score overall beginner group age 8-10

Desert Sun Performing Arts is Maricopa’s premiere dance and performing arts school.  We believe in a positive atmosphere for our students and their parents. Our school takes the responsibility of educating and guiding children very seriously. The lessons learned at dancing school go beyond the technique and steps they master. We believe they gain an understanding of discipline, commitment, teamwork, and the value of hard work. We offer them a way to express themselves and a better understanding of themselves.  DSPA features Rising Stars program for ages 2-5, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Musical Theatre, Jazz Funk, and Inspire, a unique program for dance lovers with special needs.

Desert Sun Performing Arts
www.desertsunperformingarts.com
19756 John Wayne Pkwy
Maricopa, AZ  85239
520.483.8915
dance@desertsunperformingarts.com

This was a really exciting project to work on here at factor1. Ace Hardware Phoenix is a regional site to represent the collective marketing efforts of all Phoenix metro valley stores. A total of just over 50 stores.

The new website features a Do-it-yourself video archive, news, sales & promotions, seasonal tips, and a Google Map™ store locations page. The new site is built on the cutting edge software Expression Engine—which also powers many large government and retail sites around the world. Factor 1 Studios worked with local Ace Hardware Phoenix staff to develop this beautiful, easy to navigate website. Visit the new Ace Hardware Phoenix website at http://www.acehardwarephoenix.com and see more work from Factor 1 Studios at http://www.factor1studios.com.

The Core design was planned around the focus of our unique location. Phoenix Ace Hardware stores have a different season of marketing than other states. They sell grass seed while other stores in the US sell snow salt. We had to make sure that the visitor knew they were local to Arizona. So We have a cycle of quarterly images to rotate into the background of the site, all with very clear Arizona landscapes.

The home is very short and to the point. We know the audience is not here to shop online, but to find a store, or watch video DIY tips and messages.

The locations page was built using Google Maps API for a dynamic store browsing experience. A user can pan and zoom to a location near them, or select a store from the list to see it pinpointed on the map.

Videos were a must. Ace Hardware Phoenix has several media relationships that keep the content rolling in on a routine basis. We built a system where Ace can simple add a new video, add the YouTube code, notes and any associated files, and our tools would sort them, newest up top, and rolling archives below. This makes management of the videos a breeze.

News operates similar to the videos page. Simply add a new news article title, description and content.

April 8, 2010

Business After 5

Maricopa Veterans Center

Thank you to the Maricopa Veterans Center for hosting us last night!  They did a fantastic job with the remodeling and sprucing up of the old Library Building.  The Center also serves as a museum of sorts with VFW & American Legion member donated memorabilia.  Center Coordinator Jack McClain proudly gives you a tour and explains the history of various items on display.  They even have the original bell from the Enlisted Men’s Club in DaNang, Vietnam!

Service groups, self help groups  and other community organizations can rent meeting space at very low cost.  The funds earned from these fees are placed directly back into the facility for this like continued maintenance, utilities and insurance.

Thanks to the donation of  raffle items from Maricopa Chamber Member’s, Coyote Trails Bed & Breakfast, Ride Arizona, Benchmark Home Loans and Balance Personal Training,  we were able to donate back over $200!

Special Guest on hand was our May 19, 2010 Keynote Speaker, Micheal Crain to give us a sneak peak of the upcoming event.  Anyone interested in more information can contact the Chamber or follow this link…

Mach 12, 2010

Maricopa, AZ

Arbonne Office in Rancho El Dorado
43370 W Rio Bravo Dr
Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-705-0998

The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce was honored to facilitate another exciting Grand Opening!  Jolene Miller, Local Distributor for Arbonne International, opened her office/showroom in true Chamber fashion.  This event also featured special guest speaker Jenelle Adams, Arbonne guru to showcase the products.

In addition to Jolene and her guest speaker the following Chamber Ambassadors and  members were on hand to show their support. Ambassador Bob Gillespie, Ambassador Suzie Miller, Ambassador Cynthia Morgan.  Chamber Members, Jill Smith, Rita Schmidt.

The students at Legacy Traditional School in Maricopa are learning a lesson in giving and receiving. The school, which opened in Maricopa in 2007, participated in the Disney Give A Day Get A Day program. This program allowed the nonprofit charter school to give a 1 day pass to Disneyland for every person age 6 and over who donated a day of volunteering at the campus. One of the projects that the volunteers completed was making garden boxes for the students to grow vegetables. This past Friday the kindergarten through 6^th grade classes were able to go to their class garden and plant tomatoes, onions, peppers, and many other vegetables. Although the younger students had been told that it will take a few weeks to see the seeds sprout, many wanted to watch for a few minutes just in case something happened sooner. The vegetables grown by the students will be used in the Legacy kitchen for staff lunches and also donated to the Maricopa Food Bank.

Andre Paternina, a Maricopa High School senior has been chosen The Maricopa Rotary Club February Student of the Month.  Paternina has been chosen for the status of his grades, citizenship and honors classes that he is enrolled in.  He is also a participant in student clubs, The Link, Key Club, National Honor Society, Journalism, and Orchestra and is involved in community projects and your local church organization.

Mr.Paternina will be eligible with other students at the end of the year for a scholarship to be used at your choice of a post secondary school after graduation from Maricopa High School.

Madison Moncel, a Desert Winds Middle School eighth grade honors student has been chosen to be the Rotary February Middle School Student of the Month. She is the daughter of Mitchell and Lois Moncel. At school she is active in student council, band, yearbook, and softball. Outside of school she is active in club softball and dance.  Madison will be eligible for a $250 high school scholarship to be used at Maricopa High School.

Madison and her mother were honored guests at a recent Rotary Club meeting where she was honored and presented a certificate and gift certificates from various businesses in Maricopa.

Show your artistic talent and environmental stewardship this

Earth Day by participating in the Art Recycling Contest sponsored by Environmental Concerns Organization, Inc. and your local

Maricopa residents are encouraged to take items from their waste basket and recreate them into an art object. The art objects submitted will be judged in both student and adult categories and winners will be given awards.

1. What is the purpose of the Art Recycling Contest?

The purpose of the Art Recycling Contest is to encourage Maricopa residents to recycle their trash instead of throwing it away.

2. Who can participate?

Maricopa students – Grades K-12 can enter the art contest.  Adults of all ages can also participate.

3. How do I get more information?

Contact the Recycling Association of Maricopa at 520-568-9428 or e-mail 1earth@cox.net.

4. What is the entry deadline?

Artwork must be submitted to your local Recycling Association of Maricopa facility any Saturday between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm. Entries must be received by 2 pm Saturday, April 3rd, 2010 to qualify.

5. What are the prizes?

Judges will choose one winner from each of five different categories – Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 and Adult. Category winners will receive a “Certificate of Accomplishment” and Valuable Gift Cards from local participating businesses. A “Best of Show” will be awarded to one winner, who may come from any of the five categories. Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2010 in the media and will have their artwork, their name and, for the students, the name of their teacher and school displayed at the Maricopa Library.

6. What are the contest rules?  How will the entries be judged? To get a copy of the detailed information regarding the contest rules, submission requirements and the point system used to judge the entries, call the Recycling Association of Maricopa at 520-568-9428 or e-mail 1earth@cox.net