Wednesday, January 1, 2003
<br />Paradise Valley, Arizona
<br />THE TOWN OF PARADISE VALLEY
<br />INDEPENDENT
<br />Page: 1 & 8
<br />Fiesta Bowl to
<br />help economy
<br />ByAmySeip
<br />Independent Newspapers
<br />"The Fiesta Bowl is a
<br />tremendous economic devel-
<br />opment tool for Scottsdale
<br />The 2003 Tostitos Fiesta between Christmas and the
<br />Bowl is expected to have the New Year," Mr. DeRod said. "It
<br />biggest economic impact in is typically slow and leisure
<br />Scottsdale in the history of travel is minimal this time of
<br />the game, generating $30 mil-the year. Occupancy usually
<br />lion and filling up hotel runs in the 50 percent range.
<br />rooms in Paradise Valley and With the bowl in town this
<br />Scottsdale at a tremendous year, occupancy ranges
<br />rate, according to Dave between 80 and 90 percent."
<br />Roderique, Scottsdale's gen-Scottsdale made a
<br />eral manager of economic $400,000 payment to span-
<br />vitality. sor the Fiesta Bowl and
<br />Despite a faltering econo-Insight Bowl over the next
<br />my, Valley hotel rooms are four years, but the economic
<br />also filling up at a swift rate impact the contribution could
<br />as a direct result of the game, have on the city is expected to
<br />said Brent DeRod, exceed the initial payment,
<br />spokesman for the Scottsdale ~ officials said.
<br />Convention and Visitors
<br />Bureau.
<br />Fiesta
<br />See Fiesta -Page 8
<br />The Miami team will stay
<br />at the Scottsdale Plaza.
<br />Insight Bowl teams will be
<br />Continued From Page 1 staying at the Doubletree Par-
<br />Recruiting a team to stay in adise Valley and Pointe South
<br />Scottsdale leads to millions Mountain.
<br />in revenues for the sponsor-"There will be a positive
<br />ing city, Mr. DeRod explained. · economic impact from this
<br />"Keeping team's in Scotts-~eal," Mr. Roderique said
<br />dale is a key component," he Guests shop and eat in
<br />noted. "Wherever teams stay, Scottsdale once they are
<br />fans tend to want to stay down here. There is a direct
<br />there, too." impact to our community."
<br />In addition, the Conven-
<br />The Fairmont Scottsdale tion and Visitors Bureau
<br />~incess, the hotel that is put-refers Fiesta Bowl fans to
<br />tt.ng up the Ohio State Univer-Scottsdale and Paradise Val-
<br />stt: football team, is booked ley resorts and · offers
<br />sohd the week of the Fiesta brochures on Scottsdale cui-
<br />Bowl. tural exhibits and other local
<br />"This is the Superbowl of events and dining.
<br />college football," said Carole "Especially in champi-
<br />Carter, director of public rela-onship years, the impact
<br />tions for the Princess. "It is tends to be higher," Mr.
<br />very positive. People do a lot DeRod said. "There will be a
<br />of dining on property. This sizable amount of venues that
<br />game .. brings us a lot of busi-will feel the impacts of the
<br />ness. Fiesta Bowl.
<br />~-~~---~
<br />Saturday, January -t, 20tl3
<br />Phoenix, Arizona
<br />THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
<br />Page: BS
<br />75 years later,
<br />Lions still give
<br />the gift of sight
<br />By Betty Beard
<br />The Arizona Republic
<br />MESA -Helen Keller was
<br />such an inspiration to the Mesa
<br />Host Lions Club when it organ-
<br />ized almost 75 years ago, that the
<br />work she inspired is still going
<br />on.
<br />The 28-member club not only
<br />helps provide eye exams and
<br />glasses for needy Mesa children,
<br />but has become the most success-
<br />ful in the state in collecting used
<br />eyeglasses.
<br />"All the Lions collect glasses
<br />for us. But the Mesa Host Club
<br />gets the prize every year for col-
<br />lecting the most," said Donna
<br />Rowe, executive director of the
<br />Lions Sight and Hearing Founda-
<br />tion.
<br />The club has received a trophy
<br />from the foundation for the past
<br />three years and has gathered
<br />60,000 pairs of glasses since July
<br />1, 2000.
<br />"We pick them up by the truck-
<br />load," said Bob Dahlheimer, one
<br />of the club's directors. Having
<br />boxes at stores such as Safeway
<br />and Albertsons helps, he said.
<br />Tuesday, January 7, 2003
<br />Phoenix, Arizona
<br />THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
<br />Page: B4
<br />On Jan. 12, the club will cele-
<br />brate its 75th anniversary with a
<br />dinner and speech by Dr. Tae-Sup
<br />Lee from Seoul, South Korea. Lee
<br />is the first vice president of Lions
<br />Clubs International and has been
<br />one of his country's leaders.
<br />Dinner will be at Holiday Inn
<br />Express, 5750 E. Main St., Mesa.
<br />Cocktails will be served at
<br />4:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 5.
<br />The cost is $30 per person. Reser-
<br />vations, due by Monday, can be
<br />made by calling ( 480) 834-q306.
<br />Mesa Host was organized in
<br />1928, only a few years after
<br />Helen Keller challenged the new
<br />Lions Clubs in 1925 to help people
<br />with visual problems. Keller was
<br />a deaf and blind . woman who
<br />learned to communicate, write
<br />and lecture. Her story was me-
<br />morialized in the movie and play
<br />The Miracle Worker. She died in
<br />1968.
<br />Donated glasses are run
<br />through a machine that reads
<br />their prescriptions and then
<br />sorted and labeled. Most of the
<br />roughly 200,000 glasses collected
<br />in the state every year by Lions
<br />go to Mexico and other countries,
<br />and the rest are prescribed to
<br />needy Arizonans.
<br />Paradise Valley may turn lot into wildlife refuge
<br />By Diana Balazs
<br />The Arizona Republic
<br />PARADISE VALLEY -The
<br />, town wants to turn a H~-acre
<br />dirt lot into a desert park and
<br />urban wildlife refuge that
<br />would attract birds, butter-
<br />flies and maybe a cottontail.
<br />The Paradise Valley Town
<br />Council will discuss the idea
<br />on Thursday and is asking res-
<br />idents for feedback at the
<br />1 meeting.
<br />The council also will con-
<br />sider applying for a state Her-
<br />itage Fund grant and issuing a
<br />request for a proposal to hire a
<br />landscape architect to design
<br />a plan for the town-owned par-
<br />cel at the northwest corner of
<br />Scottsdale and Doubletree
<br />Ranch roads.
<br />Last year, a council subcom-
<br />mittee chaired by Councilman
<br />Stephen Benson was formed
<br />to look at the property and
<br />consider what to do with it.
<br />Benson said the Scottsdale-
<br />Doubletree corner is an im-
<br />portant entry point into the
<br />town and a desert park and ur-
<br />ban wildlife refuge would be a
<br />definite improvement.
<br />· ~'It's a bit of an eyesore," he
<br />·said.
<br />Benson said the town wants
<br />to create,a spot where people
<br />could stroll and enjoy wildlife.
<br />There would be no parking or
<br />lighting.
<br />The project is estimated to
<br />cost $200,000 to $300,000. The
<br />town has $25,000 in capital im-
<br />provement funds to begin the·
<br />design work. It hopes to use
<br />grant money from the Arizona
<br />Game and Fish Department's
<br />Heritage Fund to supplement
<br />future town funding to de-
<br />velop the property in phases.
<br />The Heritage Fund is a vQt-
<br />er-approved program that
<br />funds parks and Game and
<br />Fish projects with lottery rev-,
<br />enues.
<br />Thursday's meeting begins
<br />at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 6401 E. ·
<br />Lincoln Drive.
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