Editor: May InMaricopa magazine marks milestones

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Maricopans should receive InMaricopa Magazine in their mailbox today. And as with every issue of InMaricopa, a theme seems to evolve.

This month, it’s all about milestones.

Jim and Alice Shoaf watched 20 years of hard work burn up when the Maricopa Pantry caught fire on March 28. The food bank was destroyed.

Less than three weeks later, on April 16, Maricopa Pantry was back in business, doing the work it does best to help local families. It’s really a case study in resiliency.

What does it say about the dedication and determination of the Shoafs, and their volunteers, that after such a devastating event they are serving the public once again so quickly? It’s clear their humanity and desire to serve burns brighter than any diesel-fueled blaze. Such a quick recovery from disaster certainly counts as a milestone in my book.

And speaking of serving, Mayor Christian Price, perhaps the City of Maricopa’s biggest cheerleader, announced his resignation so he could serve the city in yet another way – leading the Maricopa Economic Development Alliance.

As mayor, one of Price’s many goals was to attract good-paying jobs to the city. Now, he will get to focus on that duty full time.

Price moved to Maricopa in 2005 in the midst of an incredible boom. He bought a house for $185,000 and as the Great Recession took hold in the following years, watched its value drop 80 percent in just two short years. Here through thick and thin, he chose not to cut and run. Instead, he ran for office and spent the next decade guiding the city’s economic recovery.

And lastly, how do you reach a bigger milestone than graduating high school?

More than 700 high school students from five institutions will graduate this month in a rite of passage, signifying the beginning of adulthood.

Congratulations to all!

And thank you for reading our magazine.

Click here to read May and recent magazines. 


This Editor’s Letter was first published in the May edition of InMaricopa magazine.