Vista Food Bank in Dire Need of Food and Supplies

Vista del Camino Food Bank is out of peanut butter and boxed foods. Food supplies for families in need typically can run very low in the summer when kids are home from school and other household expenses are higher. In fact, the need for emergency food jumps three-fold this time of year.

Food items needed:

Peanut butter

      Boxed prepared meals (Mac n Cheese, Hamburger Helper)

·    Canned prepared meals (chili, ravioli)

·    Boxed cereal

·    Canned meat (tuna, chicken)

·    Canned beans

·    Canned Fruit

     Toiletries needed:

·    Diapers

·    Baby Food

·    Laundry Soap

·    Paper Towels

·    Toilet Paper

·    Soap

·    Shampoo

·    Disposable Razors

Donations can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, at Vista del Camino, 7700 E. Roosevelt St. Monetary donations can be made to Concerned Citizens for Community Health (CCCH), and mailed toVista’s address or made online at www.concernedcitizensscottsdale.org. Donations to CCCH, a qualifying charity under tax code (501 (c ) 3, are tax deductible. For more information, contact Vista del Camino manager Kathy Breen at 480-312-2793

Representative Schweikert Office And American Red Cross To Host Blood Drive

In light of a nationwide blood shortage, Congressman David Schweikert’s District Office Staff and the American Red Cross announced today that they are teaming up to host a community blood drive later this month.

The blood drive will take place in the Red Cross blood donation bus in Rep. Schweikert’s District Office parking lot on Monday, July 30, 2012.

WHERE: Congressman David Schweikert’s District Office
               10603 N. Hayden Road, Ste 108, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

WHEN: Monday July 30, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

To schedule an appointment to donate blood or for more information, contact the American Red Cross at (520) 230-7295 or visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter Sponsor Code: District5.

For press inquiries, please contact Rachel.Semmel@mail.house.gov. For more information on this event, please contact Ernestina Borquez-Smith.  She can be reached at Ernestina.Borquez-Smith@mail.house.gov or at 480-946-2411.
 

Chamber of Commerce Congressional Candidates Forum - August 14th

It is a rare occurrence to have two sitting Congressman running for the same seat, but because of re-districting in Arizona, that is exactly what is happening in this election year.  And who we have in Congress matters!

Rep. Ben Quayle and Rep. David Schweikert are vying to be the Republican candidate for the newly drawn District 6. That means one member of our delegation will definitely be leaving Congress.

Don't miss the opportunity to hear each of them "state their case" for being returned to Washington to represent the District.

EVENT DETAILS:

Where: Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts,

4301 N. Scottsdale Rd. #260, Scottsdale 85251

When: Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Time: 11:30am to 1:00pm

Cost: Members $25 ($30 Day of Event), Non-Members $35 ($40 Day of Event)

REGISTER FOR THE FORUM HERE

Chamber of Commerce City Council Candidates Forum - July 18

The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce will be presenting a free, one hour televised forum on Citycable Channel 11 to be held at 3:00pm on Wednesday, July 18, broadcast live from the City Hall Kiva and repeated three times following. Candidates for the upcoming City Council elections will discuss the issues facing Scottsdale. The Forum will air live, and repeat on Citycable Channel 11 July 22, 25, 29 at 2, 6, 9 p.m.

COUNCIL RACE

Vying for three seats on the council are incumbent Suzanne Klapp and challengers Denny Brown, Bill Crawford, Debra Komarnicki, Virginia Korte, Eric Luoma, Joe Meli, Joanne "Copper" Phillips, Guy Phillips, Chris Schaffner and Christian Serena.

-Brown is a sexton who serves on the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board.

-Crawford is a downtown Scottsdale business owner, resident and president of the Association to Preserve Downtown Scottsdale's Quality of Life.

-Klapp owns and manages and Fast Frame store in Scottsdale. She began her first term on the council in January 2009.

-Komarnicki is a former nurse and nursing supervisor. She recently opened a small assisted living home in Scottsdale.

-Korte served as president and chief executive of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce. She is now president and CEO of Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services (STARS), which provides programs and work opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

-Luoma is president and owner of Scottsdale-based Cactus Flower Florists and Flowershop.com.

-Meli, a Chicago native, has been in sales and marketing for 30 years.

-Joanne "Copper" Phillips is the former deputy associate superintendent of special education for Arizona. Upon retirement, she opened her own educational consulting firm, Arizona Education Cadre.

-Guy Phillips (no relation to Joanne) owns an A/C contracting business.

-Schaffner an account manager for Milliken & Co., a textile and chemical manufacturer based in South Carolina.

-Serena has been an account executive at Swiss America Trading Corp. He was captain of the Saguaro High School football team.

EVENT DETAILS:

Where: Scottsdale City Hall Kiva,

3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd, Scottsdale 85251

When: Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Time: 3:00 to 4:00pm

Cost: Free and open to the public

Tesla Shows off Model S at New Scottsdale Fashion Square Dealership

Tesla Motors, a high-end electric car company, will open its first Arizona location tomorrow (July 13) at Scottsdale Fashion Square mall. The company has more than 10,000 reservations for its Model S, its premium electric sedan, which sells for a starting price of $57,400. The company’s Scottsdale location has touch-screen monitors that allow visitors to customize a Model S to be displayed on a large flatscreen in the back of the store.

George Blankenship, Tesla’s vice president, said today from the new Scottsdale dealership that the car differentiates itself from other electric cars on the market because of its design, performance and style. He said the car will go about 265 miles per charge, while most other electric cars go about 75 miles.

The Scottsdale location is Tesla’s 23rd location worldwide and 13th in North America. The company uses analytics to strategically select locations for new stores.

“We have a bunch of reservations in Phoenix,” Blankenship said. “So we put a store where we already have a lot of reservations.”

Read the FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Scottsdale Fashion Square has been a proud member of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce since 1983.

Mayo Clinic Hospital Named One of the 10 Safest Hospitals in the US

Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix has been named to Consumer Reports magazine’s list of the 10 safest hospitals in the U.S., landing at No. 7. The magazine rated 1,159 hospitals nationwide for safety. These ratings are based on six categories of patient safety: hospital-acquired infections, readmissions, communication about new medications and discharge, overuse CT scanning, complications and mortality.

The data comes from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state governments, and the Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization that collects data on hospital safety.

Mayo Clinic has been a proud member of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce since 2000.

Read the full article HERE.

Scottsdale Chamber Announces New Officers, Executive Committee and Board Members

The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce elected Eric Larson of AVB Development Partners Chair of the Board of Directors at its June 26 Board meeting. Mr. Larson was elected with a slate of officers and the Executive Committee for 2012-2013.

                            

At the same meeting, several new Board members were elected. Rebecca Grossman, President/CEO of the Scottsdale Association of Realtors; Don Couvillion, representing the ASU Foundation; Shawn Thiele, Deputy CEO of Magellan Heath Systems; and Pam Kelly, Owner of Pro One Media were unanimously elected to serve on the Board of Directors for three-year terms beginning July 1, 2012.

Erik Pederson of AXA Advisors, Jim Walker of DataPreserve, Kevin Wilson of Farmers Insurance, Brad Beller of Signs By Tomorrow, Todd Peterson of the Scottsdale Charros and a yet-to-be named representative from the Board of Scottsdale Leadership will be joining the Board of Directors for one-year terms coinciding with their committee leadership within the Chamber or as representatives of two of the organizations which sprang originally from the Chamber but which are now independent.  

The new Executive Committee of the Chamber is as follows:

Eric Larson, AVB Development Partners - Chair

Bryce Lloyd, FirstBank - Vice-Chair

Rick Kidder, Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce -Secretary

Geoff Beer, Crescent Bay Holdings – Treasurer

Kurt Zitzer, Partener, Meagher and Geer - Immediate Past Chair

Kevin Sellers, First Fidelity Bank - Partner Council Chair

Steve Helm,

Scottsdale Fashion Square

- Public Policy Chair

Don Couvillion, ASU Foundation - Economic Development Chair

Pam Kelly, ProOne Media - Membership Value Chair

Bill Heckman, Heckman Marketing - Emerging Issues Chair

Kurt Brueckner, Titus Brueckner and Levine -At Large

Angela Creedon, Arizona State University - At Large

Jennifer Bongiovanni-Karas, The Karas Group - At Large

Dale Fingersh, The Right Direction - At Large

The Chamber, representing more than 1000 business members in and around Scottsdale, is in its 65^th year of serving the business community.