GILBERT – Just three weeks ago, Gilbert’s Mayor Lewis presented his State of Business in Gilbert video presentation at a Gilbert Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Afterward, there were many positive comments made by local business owners about the Town’s focus on helping small businesses grow. Imagine how surprised they were when they read a recent editorial from the Mayor … [More]

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) on Tuesday will release findings and recommendations from its Aerospace and Defense Market Intelligence Program, a pre-sequestration analysis of the region’s aerospace and defense companies. Following the announcement, a panel of community leaders and aerospace and defense experts will discuss the region’s strengths and weaknesses, … [More]

Pam Gaber, founder of Gabriel’s Angels, was honored today as Women of Scottsdale’s Woman of the Year for her work with neglected and abused children through the application of pet therapy. In 2000, with the help of her young Weimaraner, Gabriel, she established a nonprofit organization which today includes 156 pet therapy teams serving 115 agencies and reaching 13,000 … [More]

National Bank of Arizona’s (NB|AZ) 2013 Arizona Leadership Forum (ALF), “Great By Choice: The Power of Leadership – Leading Great Organizations and a Greater Arizona” provided more than 700 Valley executives with a rare opportunity to start a conversation focused on unified leadership for the state. Represented in the eight-hour gathering were top executives from Arizona’s … [More]

The Maricopa Community Colleges today announced creation of a Maricopa corporate college, a new entity that will provide customized technical training to local employers. Maricopa Chancellor Rufus Glasper has appointed Dr. Eugene Giovannini to be president of the new organization. Currently, Dr. Giovannini is President of GateWay Community College. Chancellor Glasper announced … [More]

It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air – maybe right there in your workplace. But while it may be impossible to prevent the love bug, small businesses should take some steps to protect themselves from any legal problems that might arise when employees get romantic. Beth Melito, senior counsel for the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, offers employers the following … [More]

AMR Corporation (OTCQB: AAMRQ), the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) today announced that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine to create a premier global carrier, which will have an implied combined equity value of approximately … [More]

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix announced today the 2013 recipients of their Kids At Heart Award, honoring an individual(s) and corporation or foundation, for: • Strengthening children’s learning through play; • Helping to make additional and better play possible for Arizona’s children; • Demonstrating a commitment to learning through play; • Making outstanding … [More]

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), one of America’s leading community banks and the nation’s largest home mortgage lender, today announced the company will make donations totaling $1 million shared across six Arizona nonprofits to help further strengthen and stabilize Arizona communities. The local grant recipients were identified in close collaboration with the City of … [More]

The Arizona Bankers Association joined 10 other western state bankers associations along with the American Bankers Association on a brief (the associations’ brief) to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals urging the reversal of a Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the BAP) decision with far reaching and negative implications for real estate lenders in the western … [More]

Start revving your engines what’s been called Sam Fox’s most ambitious project yet, the 53,000-urban-square foot spaced dubbed “The Yard” featuring the rebel-child, Culinary Dropout, opens its garage doors to the public at 11:00 a.m. on February 11th, 2013 on 7th Street just south of Montebello. Fox Restaurant Concepts and WDP Partners have transformed the old Ducati and … [More]

Join the business women of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce for a “no fluff” educational luncheon about managing work and life while excelling in the professional world! This event is limited to 100 attendees and men are welcome to join. There will be two featured speakers: Coleen Rossi, Founder of Trinity Cross Collection for Inspired Works: The Trinity Cross design … [More]

Sensing an opportunity with a recovering Arizona housing market and economy, one-time Paddock Pools’ executive Craig Maggi and Valley businessman Tom McKee have purchased the company from previous owner Lincolnshire, which has owned the company since 2005. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Maggi joined Paddock Pools in 2009, nearly doubling sales as Service Manager. … [More]

GPEC Executive Vice President Chris Camacho, 32, has been recognized as a rising star among the nation’s top economic development professionals. Development Counsellors International (DCI), a New York-based firm that specializes in economic development marketing, named Camacho to its distinguished "40 Under 40" panel, the first-ever awards program recognizing young talent in … [More]

Fulton Homes’ Ironwood Crossing community in Queen Creek is the top-selling master-plan community in Arizona, according to a new report. Ironwood Crossing made the list of 50 Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities in the U.S. in 2012 in a newly-released report by Irvine, California-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Ironwood Crossing landed 23rd on the list, making it … [More]

The Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau, the nonprofit organization that markets metropolitan Phoenix as a visitor and meeting destination, has promoted Michael Mooney to the position of Executive Vice President. Mooney, who previously held the title of Chief Operating Officer, will continue to serve in that role. He joined the Greater Phoenix CVB in 1997. In … [More]

Direct Energy, one of North America’s largest energy services providers, is expanding the company’s footprint in Arizona with a new, comprehensive call center, which will will play an important role in the company’s growth. Direct Energy already has a thriving call center in Phoenix employing 150 people.  With the new call center to be located in Tempe, Direct Energy will … [More]

In an effort to provide critically needed financial services information to military veterans, Wells Fargo Consumer Loan Underwriter Mark Field will present its online financial literacy program, Hands on Banking® to a group of former homeless military veterans at The MANA House, the transitional housing facility for the Madison Street Veterans Association … [More]