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Prescott Valley’s AAEC Named a Blue Ribbon School

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And in September, the U.S. government cited it as one of our country’s best.

It may not sound like it from the name, but the Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center is a Prescott Valley high school. And in September, the U.S. government cited it as one of our country’s best.

The U.S. Department of Education named AAEC as a 2024 Blue Ribbon School for High Performance – one of only 356 U.S. schools to earn the honor.

“The award is a testament to the exceptional achievements of students and educators at each of these schools,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement. “The 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools are raising the bar for our nation’s students, serving as models for effective teaching and intentional collaboration in their schools and communities.”

Early College Focus

“I am very thrilled for our students and our staff here in PV,” said AAEC Principal Patrick Wellert. “It has been a real blessing for the work we do.” At a time when every aspect of education seems to be under scrutiny, AAEC is a success story: a triumph of dedicated students, vigilant administrators and solid community partnerships.

Dean Holbrook, associate vice president of Instruction & Early College at Yavapai College, is not surprised. “The award only went to six Arizona high schools. It’s great that a school in our county got it, and AAEC is one of our great partners.”

Established in 2012, AAEC is a charter school, teaching grades 9-12. The school’s agricultural focus is readily apparent. But the school’s other focus – not as obvious, but just as profound – is early college education and the chance to earn an associate’s degree while still in high school. “It’s a great opportunity.” Wellert said. “These kids are setting themselves up for such a great life. And YC is our partner in that.”

This semester, 191 AAEC students are also taking college-level credit courses at Yavapai College. “They take their art and language classes here,” said Dean Holbrook. “Most AAEC students take a studies skills class, as well. Beyond that, it depends on the student’s interest.” Some AAEC students simply earn their high school diploma. Some get their college-level prerequisites out of the way “and some finish up with an associate’s degree by the time they graduate.”

Advancement and Inspiration

The Yavapai College partnership made local headlines in 2019, when Prescott Valley’s Savanna Davis graduated AAEC in May. Two months later, she received her associate of arts degree at Yavapai College’s Summer commencement – the first graduate of the tuition-free YC Promise Program. “It’s a blessing,” she said in a 2019 interview. “AAEC was a blessing. Yavapai College was a blessing, the YC Promise – all of it.” She is now one of 40 AAEC students who have completed degree programs at Yavapai College.

Wellert says the opportunity to take college courses empowers his students. “A lot of these students are not from a college environment. Some are initially a little nervous about the idea. I tell them, ‘You’re doing stuff that people my age are doing.’ It’s inspiring – to them, their classmates and the community.”   

The Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center is one of five schools, and an online program headquartered in Phoenix. In Prescott Valley, 30% of AAEC students graduate high school with a diploma and an associate’s degree – a substantial headstart on a career or a degree at a four-year college. “Even if they don’t complete their college degree [during high school], I see most of them stick around to finish up their programs and graduate through the YC Promise.” Wellert said.

The biggest challenge, Wellert said, is convincing students they can handle college. “I meet with every student to plan out school goals and a program,” he said. “The YC staff does that, as well.” Individual grades, student progress and obstacles are tracked by both institutions and sorted out early on. “It requires great communication,” Holbrook said. “We talk once a week, just to check in. If there are issues, we’re on the horn with each other. I’m backing him up; he’s backing me up. It’s been very productive, especially for the students.”

Wellert travelled to Washington, D.C., in November to represent the Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center at the National Blue Ribbon Awards presentation. It is an accolade earned one student at a time. “It’s really rewarding to see our students earn their degrees and their certifications, and to go on to contribute in their families and in their careers.” QCBN

By Lisa B. Rhine

Dr. Lisa B. Rhine serves as the 10th president of Yavapai College, bringing to the institution over 35 years of leadership experience across a number of leading colleges and universities in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.

Yavapai College offers over 100 degrees and certificates, including two baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities at six locations throughout Yavapai County.

Courtesy Photo: AAEC Superintendent Dale Nicol and AAEC Principal Patrick Wellert are proud of the National Blue Ribbon School designation, praising the high school’s dedicated students, vigilant administrators and solid community partnerships.

Babbitt Ranches Calls Wind Farm a ‘Promise for the Future’

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Babbitt Ranch Energy Center collaboration celebrated in remote grasslands.

As crisp white wind turbine blades rotated gently against a clear blue Northern Arizona sky, more than 100 people, representatives from Salt River Project, NextEra Energy Resources, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Coconino County and Babbitt Ranches, along with dignitaries, business owners, consultants and scientists, gathered to celebrate the completion of Arizona’s newest wind energy center and the meaning behind the steel.

“When I consider the future of renewable energy and what it means for our communities, I see this truth more clearly than ever,” said Babbitt Ranches President and General Manager Billy Cordasco. “Each of us brings a unique part to the table – our skills, our expertise, our willingness to make tough decisions. And while those contributions are important on their own, together they create something greater – a future where we not only generate energy, but also foster hope, resilience and a connection to the land and each other.”

Cordasco recounted his recent ultramarathon journey, in which he power walked for more than 16 hours across the nearly 60 miles of the Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, passing each of the 50 turbines that together will generate 161 megawatts of electricity and reflecting “on the contribution, effort and dedication” of all those involved.

“With every tower I passed, I felt a growing light, a sense of admiration and gratitude for the collective spirit that made this renewable energy project possible,” he said. “I carried with me, not just my physical endurance, but the realization that each part of this journey, each person involved, mattered in a way that created something far more significant than just the sum of their efforts. I saw a promise for the future – a symbol of what we can accomplish together.”

Coconino County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair and District 1 Supervisor Patrice Horstman noted the county’s guiding principles including conservation, sustainability and the advancement of stable, safe and attractive rural communities and called the Babbitt Ranch Energy Center “exactly the kind of project and results that Coconino County contemplated” when creating its Renewable Energy Ordinance.

“Coconino County made a commitment for the promotion and development of reliable clean energy as the county sees this as critical to the health, safety and welfare of our residents, all while also promoting economic opportunities,” she said. “One of the early voices in the building of the Renewable Energy Ordinance was Billy Cordasco. His leadership reflected generations of experience, his land ethics and his passion for the wildlife that have long inhabited this vast country.”

SRP Senior Director of Resource Management Angie Bond-Simpson said the utility has big goals and a mission to serve its customers with reliable, affordable and sustainable water and power for generations to come.

“We want to go net zero by 2050, have an 82% reduction in our carbon emissions by 2035 and do that in a reliable, an affordable and a very mindful way for the communities that are supporting this infrastructure.”

She added that SRP cannot achieve these goals alone and that the Babbitt Ranch Energy Center is not just a collection of 50 different turbines. “It’s actually a symbol and a recognition of hope, of progress and the strength of collaborations because all of us are working together on a shared vision to strive and thrive for Arizona for generations to come.”

Amber Troidl, Arizona State Land Department acting manager of the right-of-way section, said every inch of the project on state trust land generates revenue. “Over the next 30 years, the revenue received from this operation and then transferred to the K-12 public schools is forecast at nearly $10 million. It was amazing to observe how much intentional thought was put into every aspect of this endeavor by fostering open collaboration and honest communication between all of the entities involved.”

NextEra Energy Resources Executive Director of Development J.D. Rulien thanked everyone involved on the project and praised Babbitt Ranches for its leadership. “You have been visionary as to how this land can continue to provide value to all Arizonans, including the wildlife that were here long before us. What we’ve learned most from the Babbitts and Billy is the importance of working together so we can collectively rise to the occasion, this modern-day energy revolution, and continue to build assets like this that bring value for decades to come. Thank you for teaching this $160 billion company the North Star.”

“As I finished my journey, a bit weary but meaningfully fulfilled,” shared Cordasco about his ultramarathon, “I thought about how we – as individuals, landowners, public officials, agencies, developers, utility companies and the broader community – how we are all on this journey together. Just as I relied on each step to carry me forward, our shared efforts will carry us forward, putting ourselves and everything we have toward a cleaner, more sustainable world. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Babbitt Ranches President and General Manager Billy Cordasco reflected on his recent ultramarathon through Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, passing each of the 50 turbines across nearly 60 miles. “It struck me, under the vast night sky, that the strength of this project lies not in the steel of the wind farm, but in the trust and optimism that brought it to life.” 

Former Veterinarian Turned Accidental Professor: Mark Muchna is YC Employee of the Year

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“This was what his next career was supposed to be. I think it has been a great fit for him. His top priority is the students,” Holbrook said.

Yavapai College student Tyler Briner knew something was different – something was special – about his anatomy and physiology professor (A&P) when, while struggling with a concept, that professor invited him to a Saturday study session.

The session lasted four hours and by the end, Briner was no longer in the dark about synapses – the small spaces between neurons where they communicate with each other.

“It was life-changing that somebody actually believed in me,” Briner said of the study session and how Dr. Mark Muchna “made sure I understood what was happening in the body.”

Tyler was so struck by Muchna’s caring and gift of time, he nominated him for the college’s highest employee award, the S.A.M. award. The acronym stands for see, adapt and measure, a key principle of the Outward Mindset that the college community embraces to engender a positive workplace culture.

Muchna won the award and earlier this year, the college’s Employee of the Year award as well, because of Briner’s and others’ accolades.

Now a second-semester nursing student, Briner said his YC classmates all “have nothing but great things to say” about Muchna, a former veterinarian whose foray into higher education was somewhat accidental, if not serendipitous.

Muchna was a practicing veterinarian and teaching youth Bible school at a local church when his co-teacher at the time, Dean Holbrook, asked if he’d considered teaching at Yavapai College. Holbrook, a former math professor and now an associate dean at YC, said he saw in Muchna an uncanny ability to explain material and connect with his young Bible students.

Muchna, who was contemplating giving up veterinary care, along with the 60-hour work weeks and emergency-response duties that go with it, applied for and won an adjunct position teaching A&P at YC in 2010. “For a while, he was trying to do both things, but you could tell he was falling in love with teaching,” Holbrook said.

Two years later, after filling in full time for an A&P professor who abruptly left the college, Muchna earned a promotion as full-time faculty. “This was what his next career was supposed to be. I think it has been a great fit for him. His top priority is the students,” Holbrook said.

Fast forward 12 years: Muchna humbly accepted the Employee of the Year Award. “I know there are others here at the college who are better teachers than myself and who have given more to the college outside the classroom,” Muchna said. “I am still growing as a teacher.”

His First Career as a Rural Veterinarian

Muchna’s affinity for creatures of all sorts, especially reptiles and amphibians, revealed itself while growing up in a Chicago suburb. He studied biology and later earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois. After graduation, he put his passion and skills to work for a mixed-animal veterinary practice in Iowa. “In the morning, I would get in my vet truck and go to farms working primarily with cattle and pigs, but also the occasional sheep or horse. Then, in the afternoon, I would go to one of our clinics to work with dogs and cats. Being in a rural area, without specialists or emergency clinics nearby, the job demanded long hours and being on call weekends and nights. I did this for 15 years,” he said.

During that time, Muchna and his wife, Carolyn, welcomed four children, Jessica, Amy, Matthew and Mollie. The family later moved to Mississippi, where Muchna spent a year working with catfish farmers while interning at Mississippi State University. When the internship ended, Muchna moved his family to Prescott and began working at a local small-animal clinic.

“I’d always enjoyed the West. My grandparents lived out here when I was growing up,” he said.

Muchna is grateful to have found a second calling at YC. “I have really enjoyed being a community college teacher as my second career. I enjoy my colleagues, the creative aspect of teaching and the variety of ages of students we have here at YC. I also enjoy the subject I teach – the truly amazing human body.”

Muchna acknowledged that A&P is a difficult, yet necessary, course for aspiring nurses, radiologic technologists, paramedics and many other career tracks offered at YC. “It’s like learning a foreign language. There is a lot of raw learning of what’s there [in the body] and how it works. I love it when students get it, do well and are successful.”

“Without his steadfast dedication to education, I’m not sure I would be where I am currently,” Briner said. QCBN

Courtesy Photo: “It was life-changing that somebody actually believed in me,” said YC student Tyler Briner about Dr. Mark Muchna, pictured here. Dean Holbrook, associate dean, says the students know he cares. “It just oozes out of every part of him.” 

Prescott Doctor Marks His One Hundredth Surgery Using a Robot

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Dr. Shane Monnett says the da Vinci Robotics System speeds up the surgery and recovery time.

The future of medicine has a solid foundation in Prescott. Surgeon Shane Monnett has used a three-armed robot to successfully complete his 100th robotic surgery at Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott.

The robotic surgery method, known as the da Vinci Robotics System, makes the surgery more precise and the recovery faster.   

Dr. Monnett said completing 100 surgeries of this type would not have been a big deal if only half of them were successful, but so far, he’s had a 100% success rate.

Monnett arrived at YRMC six months ago, but has been specializing in this robotic surgery for 12 years. “This is space-age medicine. This is one of the trends of the future. We are just catching up with medical trends outside of Prescott, just like most rural areas. Patients don’t have to go to Phoenix for this anymore,” he said.

YRMC can now do rectal or colon cancer surgeries, which it had not been able to do previously. The robotic method has been so successful that the hospital is booked until January and two new surgeon partners will join Monnett’s team by the end of the year.

“This way, we will be able to do more sooner,” he said.

Monnett grew up in Wickenburg and has spent the last 12 years in Charleston, West Virginia, specializing in robotic surgery.

“It means we only have to make small incisions and it takes out the fatigue factor for the doctor. Yesterday, I removed a rectal tumor and the patient went home today without any pain or medication,” he said, adding that a massive tumor removed from a colon usually takes a seven-day recovery period, but with the robot, it takes just two.

As a result, he says, patients have less exposure to infections that occur in hospitals, because they are released sooner. “Patients are back on their feet quicker, so they are less likely to get blood clots or pneumonia.”

Since its introduction, the da Vinci system has been used in multiple disciplines, including urology, gynecology, heart, stomach, colon and general surgery. “We are incredibly proud of our surgical team and the staff who have embraced this technology and worked diligently to achieve this milestone,” said Monnett. “The da Vinci Robotics System has not only improved patient outcomes but also broadened the range of surgical options available in our community.”

The robotic surgeries are not more expensive than conventional surgeries and are covered by insurance like any other surgery, he said. “I like to do what’s more affordable.”

Monnett oversees the robotic surgeries, along with surgical technicians Elizabeth Dubois and Alicia Ball. Most of the robotic surgeries take only an hour, he says. The robot is battery operated. It is plugged in while it’s working.

When patients first hear about the robotic surgery, they often have concerns that the robot is working by itself, but it is not, says Monnett, as the doctor and surgeon assistants are always there. “This is a team sport, just like any surgery.” QCBN

By Stan Bindell, QCBN

Photo by Stan Bindell: Dr. Shane Monnett says that with robotics surgery, patients are back on their feet quicker and are less likely to get blood clots or pneumonia. 

Natural Skin-Care Products Safe Enough to Eat

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Sedona’s natural beauty inspired Amelia Danoff’s Garden of Eden Organics.

Some say that if your beauty products aren’t safe enough to eat, they may not be that good to put on your body. With Garden of Eden Organics (GEO), owner Amelia Danoff says this is not a concern with her products.

Now living in Sedona, this Boston-born and raised 25-year-old is taking skin care and body deodorizers to a whole new level with products that she says are safe enough to eat. “Our skin, especially sensitive areas, are the most absorptive to your bloodstream. The chemicals in most deodorants and beauty creams can be damaging to your entire system.”

It all started when Danoff was having disruptive skin issues when she was using standard deodorants. “Aluminum-based deodorants were compromising my skin and I was dealing with skin abrasions and rashes. After doing some research, I started to feel very uncomfortable about some of the ingredients contained in deodorants. A friend advised that if you couldn’t pronounce them, then they might not be good for you. As I got older, I became more conscious of what I was putting into my body, not only with food but products, too.”

The solution to Danoff’s sensitive skin reactions and concerns about ingredients was to handcraft the products herself. Now, many of her customers are very thankful.  

“I’m a holistic health and wellness coach and as you can imagine, using clean, natural products is very important to me,” said Empowering Wellness owner Krista Arnaudo, based in Cottonwood. “Amelia has such a beautiful integrity about what she uses in her products by making a line of clean and natural products that are non-toxic. My favorite is her deodorant, which is targeted to keep odor down and keeps me fresh throughout the day, even during workouts. I give her five stars.”

Going back to her younger days, Danoff recalls her interest in making products. “I remember taking small, travel-size bottles and mixing creams to make potions. Then I would create a stand in our driveway and pretend to sell the products to my family. It’s funny, because it’s kind of what I’m doing now – but on a much larger scale, of course.”

Danoff attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated with a degree in Italian studies.  She credits her grandmother, Sue Kuan, for sparking her curiosity about beauty products. “My first skin care tip was from my grandmother, who takes banana peels and rubs them on her face.  She is into her 80s and has the most amazing skin. She has no wrinkles.”

Working at farmers markets in Flagstaff and the Verde Valley, Danoff also is selling her products at Chocolita Downtown on South San Francisco St. in Flagstaff.

“Customers have commented on her wonderful scents, especially the gardenia face moisturizer,” said Chocolita Downtown owner Sarah Ann Lesslie. “Amelia pays such attention to detail with her packaging. And her products not only smell incredible but are very effective. On top of that, she is such a sweetheart and great to work with.”

Living and hiking in Sedona has inspired Danoff’s products. “The ingredients I use in my products are straight from nature, and hiking in the majesty of the red rocks has not only inspired how I make my products but also my packaging,” she said.

After producing her deodorant paste, she then moved into solid fragrances. “These are solid form essential oil scents in recyclable push up tubes. I have five scents, and customers love them because of their portability. The bestsellers are my sandalwood and gardenia. I source my essential oils from reputable companies.”

Harvesting rosemary, peppermint and other herbs in her garden, Danoff’s product list continues with a Beef Tallow Moisturizer (another bestseller), a Rosemary Hair Oil, a range of nine lip balms produced from Sperry Farm Honey beeswax, plus candles and spray deodorants. She is in the process of reformulating her ultra-light moisturizer.

“I’ve only been in business for six months, but my products have really taken off. My most recent creation is an essential oil car diffuser that’s ready to sell. I’m just waiting for labels.”

The GEO products are all free of aluminum, parabens, phthalates, talc and synthetic fragrances. QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

For more information about GEO, visit www.gardenofedenorganix.com.

Photos by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography: Garden of Eden Organics founder Amelia Danoff sells her all-natural skin care products at the Verde Valley Farmers Market in Camp Verde and in Chocolita Downtown in Flagstaff.

Mountain Artists Guild Celebrates 75 Years: Supporting Local Artists and Arts with Gala Reception, Fundraiser

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“As we proudly celebrate our 75th anniversary, we reach out to our community for support to continue our mission at 228 N. Alarcon Street.”

Since its founding on Oct. 28, 1949, the Mountain Artists Guild (The Guild) has been instrumental in supporting Prescott artists and helping them improve their skills. Well known for the role it played in George Phippen’s art career (The Phippen Museum), The Guild became a creative arts and social hub, shaping Prescott as a cultural and visual arts center.

“George Phippen, as one of the original founders of The Guild, and countless others in the past 75 years, have honed their skills through their membership in The Guild,” said Guild Board Member Donald Hildreth.

75th Anniversary Gala Celebration, Fundraiser

“To mark this significant milestone, we are excited to host our 75th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Fundraiser, 5-7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 18, featuring a show of traditional and contemporary art that celebrates our culturally diverse heritage, environment and community. Beginning at $85, tickets include a drink coupon with appetizers, and can be purchased on Mountain Artists Guild’s website or its donation site at https://donorbox.org/events/656548. Sarah Phippen is the guest speaker and space is limited, so we encourage you to register today,” said The Guild Treasurer Dawn Zintel. “Proceeds from ticket sales, sponsors and the silent auction will support our capital campaign to refresh our building (classrooms, galleries and library), as well as replace our parking lot. These projects will require approximately $200,000 to $250,000. As we proudly celebrate our 75th anniversary, we reach out to our community for support to continue our mission at 228 N. Alarcon Street.”

Longtime Supporter of Prescott Arts

As a membership-driven organization, for decades, The Guild has supported and educated artists of all ages and awarded scholarships to talented high school students pursuing art in college. Understanding the crucial role of creativity in child development, The Guild has offered after-school and summer art programs since the early 2000s. More recently, in collaboration with the Prescott Veterans Administration, The Guild began offering Veterans Art classes in 2021, recognizing the therapeutic power of art for those who have served.

The Mountain Artists Guild (The Guild) is Prescott’s only arts-focused 501(c)3 that is member-based and run. Beginning with 25 members, including founder George Phippen, and now numbering more than 200, The Guild is dedicated to fostering the education and appreciation of the visual arts in Yavapai County, through its galleries, classrooms and independent artist studios at its home at 228 N. Alarcon St., in Prescott. QCBN

For more information, visit mountainartistsguild.org.

Meandering with Music

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Entrepreneur creates new business to promote music education in scenic locations.

Julie Sullivan Brace is accustomed to wearing many hats. After 46 years as a highly successful art director and graphic designer, including 35 years in Northern Arizona, she is slowly and joyfully easing into retirement from her Shine Creative Industries design and marketing firm, as she builds a new venture, the Musical Meanderings Series, an extension of her Roots and Boots Music Camp (RBMC), started in 2019 and inspired by the bluegrass tradition.

This musical move is not a big stretch, as Sullivan Brace is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter who is also well known for co-founding Pickin’ in the Pines, the beloved bluegrass and acoustic music festival, now in its 18th year in the cool September pines of Fort Tuthill.

Today, she hopes to aim for a larger view, beyond retirement. “The story of me retiring is kind of boring and old,” she said. “I’ve always had the sideline of music, but now I’m transitioning to really just only music, including performing and curating these events.”

Her passion for music began early in life when she learned to play guitar at 14. It continued as a young adult, when she moved to Berkeley, California, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after college as an art student and fledgling guitar player. She began jamming in local coffee houses.

She found that music, specifically bluegrass, was a universal language and that she could go anywhere in the world and find people to play with. Educating, sharing and inspiring others to play music is still at the root of her musical drive, and the popular Roots and Boots Music Camp continues in that tradition. It has afforded a strong foundation for launching the new Musical Meanderings Series, a sub-brand of RBMC that can go anywhere.

The first music camp in 2019 was at Arizona Nordic Village and was a great success, she says. However, the pandemic and forest closures derailed the camp in 2020 and 2021. The camp was back on track in 2022 and 2023, with a change of venue to Camp Colton.

The Musical Meandering Series was officially born after she received an ARTx grant from Creative Flagstaff to provide live music with local and regional musicians to accompany many of the exhibits and events that happened during its 10-day festival.

The music served not only as entertainment, but also as a means to direct and drive audiences to specific events and galleries.                                                                                                                 

“It’s not really my story so much,” she continued, “but [the grant] did inspire the idea for Musical Meanderings and gave me the green light for understanding that I could take music and music education and support anywhere, like on rivers, oceans, in foreign countries. It affirmed a dream that I wanted to pursue.” 

Sullivan Brace expects more manifestations of her dream to unfold with a Musical Meanderings journey of music education and adventure during a scheduled three-day trip on the San Juan River, Oct. 6-9, from Sand Island to Mexican Hat, Utah. 

Featured musicians on the river trip include two national flatpicking guitar champions, Tyler Grant and Peter McLaughlin, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brashear. “All three are incredibly talented singer-songwriters whose passion for wilderness shines through their original material,” she said.

The music featured will be mostly bluegrass and acoustic folk, and passengers are encouraged to bring their instruments and join in on the nightly jamming. “We’ll have the ability for people to store their own instruments in big dry bags on a dedicated baggage boat. Of course, you can’t bring an upright bass, but I always bring my guitar on the river trips!”

The trip is outfitted by Tse Kooh Outfitters, the only commercial outfitter to have full access to the archeological sites on the Diné side of the river. “The bigger story is the collaborations that take musical education to different, fun locations,” said Sullivan Brace. “The collaborations I’m doing now exponentially lift others, not just me. You bring community in, and from there, it takes on its own collective personality.”

Another Musical Meanderings event is “Give Birth to your Mirth,” a three-day singing and journaling retreat for women, scheduled for Nov. 7-10, at La Posada Hotel, the restored Fred Harvey Hotel in Winslow.

Participants should not be afraid to sing, she said. “Anyone can sing; very few people can’t. I encourage people to sing. When in a group, it’s more comfortable; you can match you voice to someone else’s.”

Singer-songwriters Christine Sanders and Trish Jahnke will be facilitating during the Musical Meanderings. Sullivan Brace’s husband, musician Roger Brace, also will be assisting.

“He has continuously supported all these endeavors silently in the background – setting up canopies, fixing anything and everything, driving me places, coming to all my gigs,” she said. “He is incredibly loving and supportive of all my crazy schemes.” QCBN

By Betsey Bruner, QCBN

For more information about Roots and Boots Music Camp and the Musical Meanderings Series, contact Julie Sullivan Brace at https://rootsandbootsmusiccamp.com/2024-events/.

Photo courtesy of Sue Regan Krause: Julie Sullivan Brace travels with her guitar, as seen here at a family event.

Watters Garden Center Cultivates the Next Generation

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McKenzie Lain combines her passions for growing plants and helping people.

Families often hope that their children are able to make a good living without having to move away from their community. McKenzie Lain is fulfilling that dream as the third generation to dispense plants and local growing advice at Prescott’s Watters Garden Center.

In 1962, Harold and Lorna Watters expanded their landscaping company to include a plant nursery on Plaza Drive. As it grew, the garden center at one time included a pet store and flower shop. The couple’s four daughters all pitched in to help, a tradition that continues today. By 1983, the garden center needed room to grow, so Harold moved it to its current location on Iron Springs Road.

In 2002, Harold passed the business on to his youngest daughter, Lisa Watters Lain, and her husband, Ken Lain. Lisa remembers spending a lot of time at the center. “From very early on, as the youngest child, I was dragged in to work all the time!” she said with some humor, considering she is the child who made the garden center a career.

Lisa and Ken first met at Prescott’s First Baptist Church, where they sang in its traveling choir, Deliverance. They were both attending Yavapai College, then transferred to Arizona State University. That’s where they “clicked,” she said.

While Lisa had a lifetime of plant knowledge, Ken had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. During their ASU years, the couple earned extra money by starting a business, Expressions, crafting silk bouquets. The couple married after graduation and had their first child in 1988, eventually having four kids, including McKenzie, who is an identical twin.

The Lains spent time in Phoenix and then Northern California, where Ken worked in banking and then marketing. The couple began to miss home and returned to Prescott in 1992, when they became the second generation to join the Watters business.

For Ken, the gardening part was easy. The hard part was accounting and marketing, credit cards and insurance. “I grew up gardening with my grandparents. That was my connection point with them. I could dig holes and lift rocks! One grandmother had a huge farm with an acre garden. She would let me take the salt shaker to the garden and have whatever I wanted. I love my vegetables even today!”

Three of the couple’s children continued their education in Texas. Katelyn moved to Texas, where her friend lived, and stayed. James entered the military and is now a captain stationed in San Antonio. Meghan, McKenzie’s twin, moved to San Antonio to be closer to her siblings. She is now a store manager.   

“Part of it is they came of age during the Great Recession,” said Ken. “Job opportunities were hard in Arizona, while Texas was booming. A lot of Prescott kids went to Texas.”

McKenzie traveled west after high school, earning a degree in psychology from Fresno Pacific University and a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Fuller Theological Seminary. But Prescott was in her blood, so she returned to work in the family business, turning her desire to help people into helping them cultivate a love for gardening.

“I love helping people find some peace at home through gardening. It’s a nice thing for them to do and enjoy,” she said. “I love Prescott. I enjoy working with family and I fell in love with the freedom and seasonality of it. Gardening never leaves you. The smells, the sounds, the flowers are always with you.”

Along with her parents, McKenzie says she continues to focus on the latest gardening trends and top quality, unique plants. She spearheaded the only rare and exotic tropical houseplant selection in Northern Arizona, searching for plants from the jungles of South America to southeast Asia. She continues to take on more of the business, such as managing the center’s employees. “I’m on the floor 24/7, and I get to know them as family. We respect people and their time, and when we have an opening, it’s not hard to fill,” she said.

“We can usually find folks who want to be here,” Ken said. “It’s therapeutic and it pays well. It’s a good place to be!”

McKenzie is passionate about seeing the garden center succeed into the next generation, and some day, she hopes to open a second location. She’s also active in Prescott Area Young Professionals and the Prescott Chamber of Commerce. This year, she is one of only three young gardening professionals nationwide nominated for the American Horticulture Association’s Green Profit/The Garden Center Group Young Retailer Award. The winner will be announced this month at the Cultivate ’24 Conference in Columbus, Ohio.

After more than 60 years in Prescott, the Lains are confident Watters Garden Center will be in good hands into its third generation. “Watters is not just a business, it’s a legacy,” said Ken. “We wanted to continue that with the second generation and now, the third, with McKenzie. If Watters went away, we would be missed. We want to fill that need in the community.” QCBN

By Heidi Dahms Foster, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Ken and Lisa flank their daughter, McKenzie Lain, at the multi-generational family business.

Wilderness Expert Cody Lundin Offers ‘The Survival Show’

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Variety program designed for fun and staying alive.

With summer heating up in Arizona, survival instructor Cody Lundin is well aware of how quickly a day hike can turn into an emergency situation. Having taught survival skills to thousands of people – ages 7 to 80 – for more than 30 years from his Prescott-based Aboriginal Living Skills School, Lundin is “deadly serious” about survival. Along with his many courses, he now offers a playful, yet informative, variety show. Like a good daypack, “The Survival Show with Cody Lundin” is neatly packed, with life-saving tools and tips for all ages.

“I’ve wanted to create a survival show that gives viewers accurate information for years,” said Lundin, “while still holding a viewer’s attention. As teachers, that’s a challenge that we all face.”

Part caveman, part businessman, Lundin hosts the program authentically as himself – in braids and a bandana – and has one goal: “To teach you how to stay alive. Self-reliance training will never go out of style,” he says.   

Set in the 1970s inside a Streamline travel trailer with green shag carpet, The Survival Show has groovy visuals, eccentric co-hosts and occasional Elvis appearances. Lundin balances the silliness with segments like Bushwhacking with Cody for survival lessons, interviews with scientists and outdoor experts, practical advice about dealing with inconveniences such as poison ivy and even what to do with a dead body.

An Awesome Place to Explore, An Easy Place to Get into Trouble

Lundin calls Arizona an awesome place to recreate, where outdoor enthusiasts can go from what looks like Canada to what looks like Mexico, but much of it is arid landscape. He says one must drink water and know where it is “because you’re dead without it.”

He adds that there are a lot of myths about drinking your urine or putting a spicket into a barrel cactus to get water. “Of course, that’s not true and it could cost you your life.”

The classic way to die in the Arizona desert is hyperthermia, he says. “It’s a rise in core body temperature from 98.6 to a dangerous temperature, and dehydration is the ugly brother that goes with hyperthermia.”

What we can do in a desert survival situation with urine or water that’s not drinkable, he says, is wet elements of clothing, like a bandana, to cool down our head and neck. “The head area especially because you have a lot of blood vessels up here. The neck, you have the carotid artery and the jugular veins, highly susceptible to heat loss and gain. So, if you had to pee, pee on a bandana and wrap it around your neck and you’ll get a vital cooling effect from that. I know it sounds nasty, but we’re dealing with people’s safety.”

The World’s Foremost Primitive Expert

With years of on-air experience, Lundin is an outdoor survival celebrity. He has been called “The World’s Foremost Primitive Expert” and has appeared on a great number of national television programs and in publications. The extensive list includes The Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC Dateline, CNN, the BBC, The Donny and Marie Show and The New York Times. In addition, he co-hosted and co-produced the hit TV show, “Dual Survival,” for four seasons.

 Lundin also is the author of two best-selling books, “98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive” and “When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes.” Through the COVID-19 pandemic, his book sales spiked.

In them, Lundin gives straightforward scientific information about how the brain works when the body perceives a threat and what happens physiologically: blood vessels constrict, breathing becomes shallow, judgment is impaired. He also discusses how hypothermia and hyperthermia impact motor skills. And, he teaches how to control fear by what he calls “cultivating rational insanity.”

“You need to be rational in the respect of ‘OK, here’s what’s going on with my body,’ but then you kind of just need to be like a kid in a way. Kids don’t have limitations or boundaries. When your life’s on the line, you might be expected to do stuff you never thought you could do. So, when you have the science down pat, get ready to expand your boundaries and be more of an animal than a human or like a little kid and be able to push your mind through areas that you didn’t think you could go before. There are a lot of survival stories out there about regular people who survived situations by having nothing more than the goal of wanting to see their mom or their dad or their family. So having that thing that you want to live for is huge for that positive attitude to stay alive.”

Lundin says everyone needs basic survival skills. His courses include urban preparedness, modern outdoor survival skills and primitive living skills. His intention is not to scare people, but to help them stay calm, think logically and start out their journeys being prepared and educated. “These are not just outdoor survival courses, they help make us stronger, more resilient in the face of change.” QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

For more information about “The Survival Show with Cody Lundin,” or his books and courses, visit codylundin.com. For more tips and scenarios, watch Zonie Living, “Surviving Arizona’s Extreme Environments and Emergencies with Cody Lundin” on https://starworldwidenetworks.com/episodes/surviving-arizonas-extreme-environments-and-emergencies-with-cody-lundin-video

Courtesy Photo: Prescott-based survival instructor Cody Lundin teaches survival skills to people of all ages and skill levels, from children to search and rescue teams. 

Promoting Space Travel with a Land-Use Ethic

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Preparing for new worlds with a land stewardship mindset.

Once again, cows and astronauts shared the high desert landscape of Babbitt Ranches as NASA, assisted by geologists from USGS, tested equipment, conducted moonwalking drills and practiced geology in preparation for Artemis 3, a crewed mission to the dark lunar south pole region, anticipated for 2026.

The cattle seemed untroubled by the slow-moving visitors in spacesuits, a recurring event throughout the last half century. “I smile when I think about my grandad, John Babbitt, a quiet, understated, hardworking man who opened up the cattle gates for NASA in the 1960s for the Apollo missions,” said Babbitt Ranches President Billy Cordasco, during a media briefing at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff last month. “He had just one request: ‘Don’t let the cattle out – be sure to close the gates behind you.’ Like my granddad, on behalf of the Babbitt Ranches Community, I only have one request or hope, really, and that is: that we, as humans, carry the land-use ethic that we – along with the USGS, Coconino County, NASA and JETT – promote on Babbitt Ranches, to other worlds.”

The event was a reunion of sorts for Babbitt Ranches, USGS and NASA’s Joint EVA and Human Surface Mobility Test Team (JETT), as they share a land stewardship philosophy. The group last connected in Northern Arizona in October 2022.

“We acknowledge a personal and professional commitment to helping maintain the integrity of the land on which we are testing as we take this next step off our world and onto another,” said NASA Project Manager Barbara Janoiko, in a statement created in honor of NASA, JETT, USGS and Babbitt Ranches. “Flagstaff is so supportive as a community. We love testing out in the terrain, working with the Babbitts, being out on their land and the property, and preparing for Artemis.”

Astronauts Kate Rubins, Ph.D., and Andre Douglas, Ph.D., donned the latest 95-pound ExCon spacesuit prototype for some of their field exercises, which included hi-fi cameras that beam a video signal back to Mission Control and a toolbelt with collection packs to carry rock samples.

“Our actual spacesuits are going to be 300 pounds, they are going to be pressured to 4.3 PSI, so it’s kind of like being inside a basketball and then having to do scientific and physical work,” said Rubins.

“As you kneel down on one knee, you have to stabilize,” said Douglas. “We have to be careful how we move our legs to make sure we stay safe in the suit. The analogue helps us understand how to do that in the environment that we’re in. Even putting it [a rock] into the bag and using the swing arms can be a little bit of a challenge.”

On their backs was a portable life support system. “That’s going to be the backpack that carries our oxygen, our cooling loops, our CO2 scrubbing. So, as you can see, we’ve got this really hi-fidelity model and we can test that out as we’re doing all of our geology,” said Rubins.

Flagstaff-based USGS geologist Jim Skinner helped chart the path for the astronauts to find a variety of rock samples. “We expect the moon to be very flat with a lot of crater holes in it and a lot of distributed rocks and sediments, probably that had been ejected from craters from different areas,” he said. “From a geologist’s standpoint and in training the crew, the gradation of sediments across the surface is very, very subtle. One of things we’re testing out is whether the astronauts can see the difference from one kind of unit of sediment into another. As we map the moon, we’re very interested in those subtle variations on the surface that we see from orbit. We don’t know what those variations are.”

Meanwhile, Flagstaff-based USGS geologist Lauren Edgar was receiving the information from the astronauts at Mission Control in Houston. “We were testing out situations in which the crew might be out of communications due to topography blocking the signal, or how we might not get the video feed from the crew beyond a certain distance from the lander. We also tested a situation in which we could get some real-time images transmitted from the crew to the science team in Houston, which is another way of experiencing what they’re seeing so we can help them make geology interpretations during the EVA [Extravehicular Activity]. Our colleagues at NASA’s Johnson Space Center have developed some great software tools that help us piece together all of the information in space and time.”

“This is a really great place for us to learn what might happen on the moon,” said Douglas, “but also, for just about anybody interested in geology. We train people from beginners to advanced because it’s just a rich place to look at different features and different minerals.”

The astronauts practiced two night walks, as the moon’s south polar region will have challenging lighting conditions with the sun low on the horizon. NASA wants to know how water is stored there.

“We don’t know what form it is in,” said Edgar. “Is it a solid layer of ice? Is it trapped in pockets in the regolith? It would be a critical resource for supporting longer term exploration of the moon, to serve as a source of water for humans and as an important source of hydrogen and oxygen for rocket propellant.”

Douglas holds a doctoral degree in systems engineering. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a naval architect and was a senior professional staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, where he worked in maritime robotics, planetary defense and space exploration.

Rubins, a microbiologist with a doctorate in cancer biology, is the first person to sequence DNA in space. She has worked on two flights on the International Space Station and spent 300 days in space. She says the innovations being developed for the space program could have “a serious impact” on remote corners of the world that don’t have access to clean water or effective ways to sanitize waste.

“On the International Space Station, we recycle all of our water,” she said. “If you don’t have a lot of mass that you can lift off of Earth, every single molecule is important. But if you think about the kinds of things that we’re going to need to do to get to the moon in a sustained way and to get to Mars, conserving our carbon cycle means breaking down waste, making human waste biologically safe, potentially using that to build structures, making sure that we have plants that can scrub CO2 out of the atmosphere and then put that nitrogen back into the plants. All of these things are useful technologies for humans on Earth to help us live in our environment better, provide clean water, reduce waste and reduce our impact on the environment.”

Cordasco added, “What the community of NASA, USGS, JETT, Coconino County and others, along with Babbitt Ranches, provides with regard to our obligations to a land-use ethic, matters today and will benefit generations to come.” QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Hear more about the Artemis 3 mission from USGS geologist Lauren Edgar on Zonie Living: Business, Adventure and Leadership at https://starworldwidenetworks.com/shows/bonnie-stevens.