Airheart earns economic development award

The City of Maricopa’s economic development director was honored in the Arizona Association for Economic Development’s Economic Development Distinguished by Excellence (EDDE) awards Thursday.

Denyse Airheart was named Economic Developer of the Year, Small Community, credited with overseeing projects that brought more than $20 million in capital investment, 200,000 square feet of new retail space and more than 75 jobs to Maricopa during 2018.

Airheart called it an honor.

“To be recognized by your peers and staff as having what it takes to move the needle on projects is a huge privilege,” she said. “Equally I would like to recognize Maricopa City Council, who has always made economic development a top priority, as well as my Economic Development team for the hard work and dedication they put forth on a daily basis.”

Overall, 10 EDDEs were presented during an evening awards dinner at the AAED Spring Conference in Tucson. The other winners are:

• Fernando Garcia, economic development specialist for the City of Casa Grande, AAED’s New Member of the Year.
• Lawrence T. Lucero, senior director of economic development for Tucson Electric Power Company, the William Lampkin Award for Long Term Excellence in Economic Development.
• Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, economic development/downtown specialist, Town of Marana, Member of the Year.
• Jeanine Jerkovic, economic development director for the City of Surprise, Economic Developer of the Year, Large Community.
• Harry Paxton, economic development project manager for the City of Goodyear, Economic Developer of the Year, Medium Community.
• Ian Roark, vice president of workforce development for Pima Community College, Workforce Practitioner of the Year.
• City of Chandler, Large Organization of the Year.
• City of Goodyear, Medium Organization of the Year.
• Town of Camp Verde, Small Organization of the Year.

“What a tremendous honor it is for each of the EDDE Award winners to be recognized for their contributions to economic development,” said Joyce Grossman, AZED Pro, AAED’s executive director. “They truly represent the best and brightest economic development practitioners and organizations in Arizona and demonstrate not only a commitment to the communities they serve, but to the economic vitality across the state.”