Issue # 10
Time Marches On, The Clock Keeps Ticking, & Maricopa Moves Forward
Most of my friends are split about 40/60; forty percent of them are the "half empty" type of people with the other sixty percent on the "half full" side of life. With the challenges that America and its economy is dealing with, I can understand people's less than positive attitude. If you lost your job or just moved out of your home because it was foreclosed, you could justify being upset. I understand these frustrations.
But the more I study my friends and the people around me, the more I find that circumstances, whether good or bad, don't change the atttitudes that most people have. My "60 percenters" somehow manage to find the good or the better with each and every difficult and challenging situation that they are dealing with. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.
During the presidential election someone asked me if I thought President Obama would be able to turn our economy around. My
response was this, whether or not the President even had the ability to
fix problems that big, if Americans believe he can fix them, then they
might start believing that a change is coming and that the collective
POSITIVE Attitude would be the catalyst to fixing the economy.
I watched my oldest son graduate last month from Maricopa High School.
My wife and I saw in the faces of all these young adults, a look of
hope and expectation for their future. This graduating class started
High School in an old school in much need of repairs. What an honor for
these students to be the first class to graduate from a brand new
school.
Change has happened in the last four years and most of it for the better. Our city has undergone changes. Some very tough calls had to be made, some very good people had to leave, yet these decisions were what was required in order for the continued success of our city. Our leaders are constantly looking forward, seeking the right choices for us. Our leaders are "half full" people.
Is your glass "half full" or "half empty?" Attitude is everything and I choose to push forward looking for the good in tomorrow, praying for God's blessing and trying to uplift those people around me. Maricopa, make this our attitude and we will succeed.
Will & Cindy Dunn
Publishers, Maricopa Community Directory & Area Guide
Issue # 9
Maricopa is a community in transition. Together we are all finding our way, we are finding our future. Maricopa has been around a long, long time. From the Native Americans that first settled this area, to the Spanish Explorers, to the early Americans that brought the stagecoaches, then the rail road line that caused our first boom, then the farmers who tamed the desert, finally Rancho El Dorado and all of our new friends that found this oasis, Maricopa has great past. What many of us remember and lived were the farms, pecan groves, and the cattle industry. This is our proud past.
Recently the City of Maricopa embarked on a journey to find our “brand”. City staff and experts in this process of branding took countless hours, surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one meetings with the citizens of our city, to find a symbol, logo or statement that describes Maricopa. Never had the experts that helped us ever had as many people in a community get so involved in this process. There were many by-products of this process that will help our continuous economic development efforts; there were many differing opinions on the “brand” that was developed. In the end the “brand” was decided. I saw the brand at the end of the process as I wanted the citizens to develop this look for us and not a few councilmen. Maricopa, you did well.
We do have a proud history and the fact that the citizens of Maricopa chose to honor that makes me proud of our community. Proud of the heritage that we share. But we can’t move forward if we cling to the past. We must honor the past but strive toward our tomorrow.
Where are we today? The streets are clogged; road and signal construction continues giving us barricades to negotiate. While housing construction has taken a considerable hit, people are still moving to Maricopa. Businesses are still opening. Schools are bursting at the seams, with three new ones scheduled to open next year. This is where we are and as difficult as it seems, this is progress. These are necessary steps in the transformation of our city. Maricopa is stretching it’s borders with an annexation to try to prepare for the next wave of growth that is surely coming. If we don’t get control over the planning of these areas, Pinal County will surely keep making the same mistakes they have been making for years.
Our future plans for a “Downtown Development” and an airport that could bring as much as $50,000,000 worth of economic development to our city in the next decade are part of the investment we must make in our tomorrow. “A Prosperous Future” is where we are going. What a great statement to describe our community. Thank you Maricopa for seeing the past but pushing us towards where we must go. A prosperous future will take patience and determination from all of us. We are on the right path with the changes that have been taking place in Maricopa. I am proud of the direction that soon, all of us will all be able to see. Why do we make these investments and sacrifices?
Quote from singer Kelly McGuire
Too many days go by and most of us spend most of our time concentrating on the struggles and challenges of living, being married, being single, raising children, working at our jobs, dealing with the bills, the regular complexities of life and don’t take opportunity to look above all of these challenges and see the small victories, the glimpses of eternity all around us.
I’m looking out my window and watching my children playing in the sprinkler, dragging the garden hose to the top of the slide and sliding down the waterfall giggling and screaming with the simple pleasure of life.
I think back to a couple of weeks ago and remember seeing the look in my wife’s eyes as she watched our 16 year old son win at a roping, competing with adults and still getting a paycheck.
Watching my 19 year old daughter perform a dance routine in front of thousands of people at her graduation; these are the small victories that I need to dwell on.
As a business owner there are times when we struggle to make sure we can make payroll for all of our employees and the great feeling we receive when the money always comes in and those fantastic individuals that work with us in our businesses are able to buy groceries, pay the electric bills and provide for their families. Small victories.
Hearing about the realtors who are selling homes when everyone says the market is gone. Someone telling me about the new exciting job they just got. Watching a terrific dance recital. Seeing the shy smile on a lady’s face when I delivered her flowers from her loved one. Thinking about Debra Fink’s retirement from the City and the joy she and her husband will have building the next phase of their life. Thinking about the many joys still ahead of me and my wonderful wife. These really are not small victories, they are great and fantastic victories and too often I find I am letting the “small challenges” of life clog up my brain.
We have a wonderful community here in Maricopa. Let’s all see the great and fantastic victories that happen daily and shout them from the rooftops. Let’s try to be the positive counterbalance to the negative around us. Make someone smile. Wipe a tear from your friend’s eye. See the wonderful things God has put all around us and let the “junk” slide on by. And when the “junk” threatens to overwhelm us, remember the victories, press on.
God Bless You,
Will & Cindy Dunn
Maricopa, where are we going?
Hi Friends,
As we look forward to Patricia Brock’s updated edition of Reflections of a Desert Town, it brings to mind, not only the rich heritage of our community, but also causes me to consider where we are today and where are we going in our future.
There has been much discussion and debate over where Maricopa’s permanent City Hall should be located.
While some of the arguments have seemed to be quite contentious, this decision that the City Council has made will impact our community for generations. The spirited intercourse over this issue shows me how deeply our leaders and citizens really care about the direction we are going. If we didn’t care, we would be silent; because we care we will speak out. Maricopa’s citizens should thank all of those who have not only had the courage but also the heart to take a stand.
Now that the dust has settled (This is going to print before the final decision has been made, so I hope the City Hall site is settled. If not, rest assured the dust will settle soon.) all of Maricopa will come together as friends.
What a cool new city park we now have. Pacana Park, Maricopa’s first full-service public park. From fishing derbies, Founder’s Day, little league play and movies in the park, Maricopa has a great new gathering place.
But the best thing about Maricopa is our people. New friends, old friends, family and neighbors, we are what make up Maricopa special.
We are the future of Maricopa. It’s not about the City Hall, the new park or the old cotton fields, Maricopa has always been about it’s people.
Maricopa is about you. Your children, your grandchildren, your parents, your husbands and wives, your neighbors, your pastors, your teachers, your businessmen and women, your grocer, your police officer and fire fighter, and your city hall receptionist Kelly, all of these people are what make Maricopa special.
Maricopa has always been about it’s people. Get to know Maricopa and you will get to know a great bunch of people. Get to know Maricopa’s people and you will get to know a great bunch of friends.
God Bless You Maricopa,
Will & Cindy Dunn, Publishers
