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COMMUNITY & BUSINESS
BUILDER of the YEAR AWARD
 Winners of the 2009 Community & Business Builder of the Year awards
announced.
Winners of the
2009 Community and Business Builder of the Year awards have been
announced by the Marana Chamber of Commerce.
Recipients are:
Batters Box, sole proprietor; State Farm Insurance- Gary Nicholl,
2-10 employees; Canyon Community Bank, 11-50 employees; Southwest
Gas Corporation, 51 or more employees; MHC Healthcare, non-profit
organization.
The
awards were presented by Mayor Ed Honea on Wednesday, February 10 at
a reception and ceremony at the Tower Theatres in Marana.
The Community &
Business Builder of the Year Award was established to recognize
companies that have contributed to building the Marana community.
Ed Stolmaker,
Marana Chamber president/CEO, said “I especially want to thank
Comcast , our Presenting sponsor for this year’s Community &
Business Builder award, and our Event sponsors, CalPortland,
e-Media Services, Integrity Automotive, Marana Community
Correctional Treatment Facility, Trico Electric Cooperative, Inc.
and Tucson Turf, LLC.”
Prior to the
awards, chamber food service members provided samplings of their
specialties. They were Boston’s the Gourmet Pizza, Chili's Grill &
Bar. Creative Catering Corporation, Cutters Point Coffee, Dickey's
Barbecue Pit, Hooters of Marana, Hungry Howie's Pizza, New Town
Buffet, Texas Roadhouse, Tower Theatres and Sunflower Farmers Market
Batters Box
involves itself in multiple education-based activities that build
and shape the lives of young people in a positive, safe environment.
Time and resources have been volunteered to Coyote Trails and
Rattlesnake Ridge elementaries, Marana Middle School, Mountain View
High School and the Sonoran Science Academy. They have sponsored two
Little League teams, various youth club teams and participated in
the Star Spangled Spectacular with Boston Market organizing games
and giveaways. Due to their unique set-up they helped launch several
business including Mr. Tee’s, Redefined Performance, Above & Beyond
Signs and a barbershop by subleasing building space to reduce start
up cost. College graduate athletes wishing to start coaching
careers use their facility to get real world experience by training
youth, instructing teams and establishing a credible coaching resume
to launch their full time coaching careers.
Gary Nicholl, State Farm agency
continues to be an authorized donation point for the Marana Food
Bank. Gary is a member of the Police Citizens Advisory Commission
and supports many community activities. Just a few of these are
Continental Ranch Little League, a local contestant in the National
American Miss program, Safe Teen Accident Reduction Training,
Arizona Christian School Tuition Program, Tucson Fire Department
free smoke detector program, Breast Cancer three day walk, and
Making Strides Cancer walk. In addition to supporting Chamber
events, Gary is a member of the Chamber Education Committee and the
Adopt a School Program with Twin Peaks Elementary. He sponsors
three quarterly Good Neighbor awards for students’ good behavior and
achievements. This year he has created a scholarship for a 2010
graduating senior at Marana High School.
Canyon Community Bank
is the only locally owned bank headquartered in northwest Tucson.
They support numerous local charities and other civic organizations,
including the chamber, both monetarily and through participation by
management and staff. In May the bank’s seventh annual Charity Golf
Tournament raised over $ 40,000 for Arizona Youth Partnership,
Interfaith Community Services and Marana Health Center. The Arizona
Youth Partnership promotes drug prevention and helps motivate
children to stay in school. Canyon supports the Marana School fund,
which funds youth sports. Free products serve Marana schools and
clubs, PTO’s, social committees, and other civic organizations. The
same products and services are offered to churches and other
charitable non-profit organizations. Since the bank is locally owned
and operated, it makes all decisions locally to more effectively
provide deposit services and loans to local businesses.
Southwest Gas
and the Blue Crew, its volunteer committee, support the area in many
ways. A multi-month employee food drive netted more than 1,126
pounds of food for the Community Food Bank. Southwest also donated
more than $10,000 for holiday food for the Food Bank. The Arizona
Families for Children Celebrity Bowl, a Blue Crew project, this year
raised $18,000 to aid the adoption of special-needs children.
Southwest representatives serve on the Economic Development
Committee and the committee writing the town’s Economic Roadmap.
They have sponsored monthly LED meetings, luncheons and donated
items for raffle and door prizes for networking breakfasts,
luncheons, mixers and special events. They advocate green energy
conservation programs with local builders and support job and
science fairs, summer internships, a supplier diversity program, and
provide teachers with free educational materials.
Marana Health Center
has served the community for more than 50 years. In 2009 it
sponsored and participated in dozens of activities on behalf of the
public, ranging from free H1N1 flu immunization clinics to starting
a Quick Care Clinic for those with minor illnesses. They purposely
changed hours of operation to 7am-5pm to accommodate the public’s
working schedule. MHC also launched a “Take Time to Take Care”
initiative from July 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 for sliding fee scale
and uninsured patients. Cost of well visits to MHC was reduced to
$15. With the downturn in the economy, MHC wanted to offer an
economical opportunity for families to seek preventative health and
wellness services they might perceive financially out of reach. MHC
also partners with many organizations to increase awareness of
health issues and assist in education of future health
professionals. |
