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Bringing Your 2020 Vision into Focus

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Many of us consider the stroke of midnight into the New Year to be some sort of magical reset button that comes with snow flurries and a kiss. I happen to be one of them. However, turning that magical moment into everyday life usually takes a little more than fairy dust, like a bold decision, courage, perseverance and a pathologically unshakeable belief that what you want to achieve is not only possible, it’s inevitable, and it’s already here.

Clean Up That Lens

It’s hard to have 20/20 vision when your lens is blurry, so now’s the time to get crystal clear about what you want to accomplish. In her book, “What Self-Made Millionaires Do That Most People Don’t,” author Ann Marie Sabath says successful people know they have to believe “It” to see “It.”

If it’s hard for you to believe something you can’t see, create a visual and keep it in front of you. Some people make a vision board. Or how about building yourself a business card with the title you wish you had. Maybe wait to hand it out, but keep it on your desk, look at it every day and let it sink in. I’ve known authors who keep a self-drawn book cover in front of them until they finish the book or even put an outline together. And, there’s a wonderful meeting facilitation instructor in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, who writes her own daily horoscope!

Another powerful action item to consider is identifying those who have already achieved what you want to do. Hang out with them and/or study how they did it. With role models in sight, you know what you want to do is humanly possible. As astronaut Sally Ride said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

No matter how outrageous your idea, you have got to see it, want it and feel it deep down in your eye sockets. Don’t hide it like that secret bar my friend, Vicki, sets up in the laundry room when the in-laws are coming over.

Pry Open That Third Eye

Visionaries meditate, and without getting into chakras, energy points or other mystical things I don’t understand, many successful people vow that meditation opens us up to insights and seeing the possibilities that our other two eyes can’t.

I can feel the eye-rolling already from those who know me best. I don’t call myself a meditator for the same reason I don’t call myself a tennis player. I practice both and try really hard. My meditating gurus, audiologists Drs. Karon Lynn and Debbie Kelly, can attest to this, as can my 4.0 tennis friends.

Nonetheless, I believe meditation is important because really smart high achievers, like New York Times bestselling author Jen Sincero, say it is. In her book, “You are a Badass,” she says meditation helps set your intention. Among other benefits, she says it relaxes us, relieves stress and strengthens our ability to focus and hear our inner voice. “Your thoughts and beliefs dictate your reality,” she says. “You have to change your thinking first, and then the evidence appears.”

Meditation can help us change our thinking by calming down the skepticism in our brains long enough for a new reality to move in and take up residency.

Just Say No to Perfectionism, Pink Gingham and Other Bad Patterns

As a 12-year-old learning to sew, I was taken by a pretty pink gingham pattern wrapped around a bolster in a fabric store, which I believed was charming and fitting for my 6-year-old niece, not for a pre-teen, mind you, but for her, it would be great! I lovingly ironed, cut and stitched this oh-so-cute gingham cloth into a ruffled frock. My kind big sister dressed my niece in the garment, took a picture, and I never saw her wear it again.

I tell you this story because not all patterns are flattering. For example, I’ve never met anyone who wears perfectionism well. Perfectionism is a pattern, and if you have it, I suggest you hang it right back up, stuff it in the closet and never take it out again!

Perfectionism can paralyze us from daring to make a move or ever completing a project. In the newsroom, staring too long at a blank page is mind-crippling. Journalists on deadline can’t afford to be perfectionists and neither can you.

Eyes Wide Open in the New Year

Long-time Arizona newsman Bill Close once asked me why I did something. I can’t remember what it was I did that he was questioning, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never forget that this was a trick question. Naively, I started in with my explanation, which he cut off in his thundering anchorman voice. “If I want excuses, I’ll go down to the …,” which was somewhere he thought people weren’t trying very hard.

Gentler bosses might say something like, “How can we learn from this mistake?”

Scientists commit to a career fraught with failure. These are called “experiments.” Acknowledging what doesn’t work is probably a very healthy way for all of us to move forward toward something else that does.

“Do one thing every day that scares you,” is a quote often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. She probably was not suggesting that we be foolish, but rather that we feel the fear and move ahead anyway. Doing things that scare us pushes the boundaries of our comfort zone and helps us grow and gain confidence.

I’m not a look-before-you-leap kind of person, but perhaps we can all look with eyes wide open to the possibilities and simultaneously leap after something we dearly want in the New Year. And if rose-colored glasses help us see what’s not there yet, by all means, let’s wear them, just not with the pink gingham frock. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens 

Bonnie Stevens is a public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com

Shonto Brownie Sets Example for Giving Back

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Kylee Henry is nine years old. Already, she has a deep appreciation for state and national parks, tribal lands and other sacred places. She hopes future generations will be able to enjoy them and learn about history. “I want to help people protect and preserve the land,” she said.

On a warm August day, Kylee volunteered with Glen Canyon’s Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team (GRIT) and other volunteers working with Glen Canyon National Park to clean up sandstone surfaces at Horseshoe Bend near Lake Powell. She recruited her mom, Althea, and her five-year-old brother, Ash, to join in the effort.

“People were drawing on the rocks and ruining the scenery. We had to scrape it off,” she said, noting that one day the only art she would like to see at these sites are original petroglyphs and pictographs left behind by prehistoric cultures.

Kylee lives on a farm northeast of Tuba City in the community of Shonto on The Navajo Nation. She is a Brownie, which is the feeder camp into the Girl Scouts. Althea says Girl Scout values of caring for the environment and giving back to the community have brought out the leader in her daughter.

“The Girl Scouts have helped her open up and communicate better, and work as a team. She was a little shy at first, but now she’s traveling, networking and making friends.”

Some of her new friends include park rangers at the Navajo National Monument. Recently, she helped them plant corn, beans, squash and onions as part of a cultural gardening project. The objective is to teach visitors about food sources of ancestral Puebloans who farmed in Northern Arizona in the 13th century.

Currently, Kylee is in the third grade at Shonto Preparatory School. Her baton twirling skills and talent for styling a traditional Navajo bun in Ash’s hair helped her win the title of Little Miss Shonto. At home, she helps Ash with his school work and takes care of chickens, sheep, ducks and other animals her family raises. She understands this is great training for her future career as a veterinarian.

“I’ve very proud of her,” said Althea. “The feedback I hear from her teachers is that she’s a good helper, always getting up to help. They mention her leadership skills, too.” QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Restoring Coral Reefs

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A third of a mile off the west coast of Hawaii in Makaiwa Bay, bright white-violet pops of color almost glow from the seafloor some 30 feet below the surface in comfortably warm water. Although pleasant and beautiful to humans, neither the ocean temperature in October nor the color of the coral is a healthy sign.

Sandra Romer dives down to point out skeletons of cauliflower coral. To communicate mortality, she makes an underwater gesture with her hand across her throat. Nearby, she finds a creamy-amber cluster that is mostly alive and offers a thumbs-up.

“The white color means the algae have left the coral,” said Romer, the general manager of Legacy Reef Foundation (LRF), who, with her husband, Dominic, a diver and professional photographer, transplanted from Flagstaff to Kona in June.

While effortlessly treading water, she offers an explanation. “The algae give coral their color and provide the corals their primary food through photosynthesis. They have a symbiotic relationship. When you see white, it means the coral is starving. It’s called bleaching.”

Bleaching events caused by warming sea temperatures have been particularly deadly in recent years, but scientists say reefs have suffered heavy degradation since the 1970s. “Some 25% to 40% of the world’s corals have been lost in the last 40 years,” said Zac Forsman, Ph.D., a research associate at the University of Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and scientific advisor for Legacy Reef.

Business consultant Bill Coney is a diver who grew up in Hawaii. “As a child and a young adult, I remember the coral reefs and marine life thriving and abundant. As I got older, particularly in the last 20 years, I saw a sharp decline in the marine life and coral reefs, to the point that our reefs today are only a shadow of the reefs I remember.”

When he retired a few years ago from the tech world, he wanted to do something to restore a small patch of reef near where he lived. “I wanted to be able to take my grandkids diving to show them ‘Papa Willie’s’ reef so they could experience a small taste of what I experienced when I was their age.”

His vision for reef restoration tsunamied beyond “a small patch” when he met retired anesthesiologist Susanne Otero at a beach cleanup event. “Given her medical background, I knew that if we teamed up – with her understanding of medicine and biology and my business background – we would make a perfect combination to build a world-class coral restoration lab. A few days later over coffee, I asked her to join me in forming what would become Legacy Reef Foundation.”

In March 2018, they opened their first coral nursery and restoration lab at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) near Kona on the Big Island. There, a team headed by Romer provides tours and educational presentations, and recruits conservation partners in reef restoration.

A Foundation for Life

The traditional Hawaiian Hymn of Creation, the Kumulipo, has long taught that reef life is the foundation for all life. Science tells us that coral reefs are important because they contain some of the most diverse ecosystems, protect coastlines from storms and provide habitat and shelter for marine organisms like algae, which produce oxygen. They also boost local economies through tourism and provide a hunting ground for coastal villages where fishing is a way of life.

However, there are a number of stressors weakening coral. One of them is a warming ocean.

Heatwaves

Usually associated with El Nino events, heatwaves raise sea temperatures. Scientists are concerned they are happening more frequently, leaving less recovery time for animals like coral. The most damaging warming event ever recorded started in 2014.

“Every time we have a heatwave, it’s chipping away at the fabric of the coral ecosystem, and we’ve had severe losses in Hawaii,” said Greg Asner, Ph.D., founder of Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science. “The heatwave in 2014 was weak; the one in 2015 was a monster. We lost 30% of the coral reefs in Hawaii; some areas lost 90%. In 2019, we got super scared as temperatures were higher earlier in the summer than in 2015.”

Last month, Asner and other scientists came up for air when the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources reported coral bleaching was not as severe as predicted for 2019, but still widespread. Asner says 2015 was “like turning the temperature on high and letting it burn, compared to a long slow simmer this past summer.”

With ASU’s new satellite imaging system, the Allen Coral Atlas (named for Microsoft’s Paul Allen), Asner and his team are building the world’s first coral bleaching monitoring system. It was used for the first time in October across the Hawaiian coastlines.

“We mapped it all out,” said Asner. “Some areas lost 50% of the coral, but these were smaller areas than in 2015. A lot of areas lost about 20%.”

Through a combination of satellite imaging and new technology Asner uses on aircraft – imaging spectroscopy, which records ocean depths and live and dead corals by measuring photons from sunlight that bounces off the seafloor – Asner says an accurate assessment can now be obtained about the amount of damage to coral reefs.

Asner’s wife, Robin Martin, Ph.D., a chemist and associate professor at ASU, converts the chemical signatures into measurements, indicating live or dead coral.

“This is the first time this [seafloor mapping] has ever been done where we can see the good, the bad and the ugly,” he said.

Chemicals in Sunscreen

Besides long spells of high temperatures, chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate also have been found to cause coral bleaching. Both are commonly used in sunscreen, but beginning in January 2021, it will be illegal to sell sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in Hawaii.

Romer says this is a start, but she notes other sunscreen chemicals are deadly as well, such as avobenzone and homosalate. “The ‘Reef Safe’ label on the bottle can be misleading. Basically, avoid sunscreens with ingredients that you can’t pronounce.”

A Sunscreen Use Assessment in Hawaii conducted by social scientist Arielle Levine, Ph.D., with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program was concluded last March. Findings revealed that about 30% of survey respondents on Hawaii’s beaches were using sunscreens containing oxybenzone and/or octinoxate. Levine noted that most were willing to switch to reef-safe products, especially if they were reasonably priced and provided a high SPF.

Physical Human Impact

People unintentionally damage coral. Marine biologist and dive guide Olivia O’Neil says many people do not know the coral is a living animal. “You’ll see them standing on it, handling it, kicking it. They don’t know they’re hurting it.”

On board to deliver the message of how to behave around coral reefs are Hawaii’s sea-going excursion companies like Body Glove, Sea Paradise and Fair Wind Cruises, which provide an educational component on their tours, along with reef safe sunscreen.

Overfishing and Wildlife Trafficking

Tropical fish, including yellow tang, angel fish and moray eels, are captured from Hawaiian coasts to swim in aquariums someplace else.

Snorkel Bob’s website says 90% of fish found in glass tanks around the world are taken from the wild. “This devastating practice results in severe mortality rates from the point of capture through handling, shipping and acclimation,” it states.

“A lot of the fish they take are herbivores that the coral needs to eat back the algae that grows thick during these heatwaves,” said Asner. “If you watch yellow tang, you’ll notice they’re grazing. They’re eating the algae on coral.”

Contaminants

Sewage, pesticides and pollution from coastal communities also threaten reef life.

Speeding Up Coral Growth

Both Forsman and marine biologist David Vaughan, Ph.D., discovered and co-published a method to grow corals up to 40 times faster than observed in the wild. Vaughan has been studying and experimenting with coral for decades at the Mote Marine Laboratory in the Florida Keys. By accident, he learned that if they are cut, they heal themselves, much like our skin grows back over a wound.

In a TEDx Talk, Vaughan explains how pieces from the same parent will grow together and create a much larger, more mature coral in a fraction of the time it would take for the animal’s natural process of spawning in the wild. Even dead reefs, he says, can be brought back to life through microfragmentation and replanting. “We can put 500 cloned pieces on and in two years get them to touch and we are literally bringing a half-a-century coral back to life in a couple of years.”

Forsman, who studies coral genetics and cultivation on Oahu, stumbled on microfragmentation as well at the Waikiki Aquarium and Kewalo Marine Lab. “I’ve been working for the past 16 years to develop coral as a model organism so we can learn more about it. Corals are basically colonies of thousands of interconnected individual mouths, like tiny upside-down jellyfish with specialized algae in their tissue that grow structures that are very similar to bone. Since they are colonies, each fragment is a genetic replica, [which] means you can do all kinds of interesting experiments. There’s a lot of mystery about coral. I think it’s the closest we can get to studying aliens from another planet.”

Coral Kits

Coney and Otero foresee Legacy Reef providing others with resources and assistance to help restore coral reefs. “We are hoping to address the challenge of scaling up restoration efforts,” said Otero. “To be effective, restoration and preservation of coral reefs need to be a global effort, and still follow rigorous scientific methods. The research projects at NELHA will allow us to design restoration and preservation labs that are low cost, and develop easy-to-apply protocols that follow best scientific practices.”

Legacy Reef cannot legally ship living animals (coral), but the team can send tools and directions to build a coral nursery, and provide access to researchers. The plan is to load up 40-foot shipping containers with items like lights, pumps, solar panels and instructions and send them to places such as Fiji, where reefs are struggling and communities depend on coastal marine life for their livelihood. Each outfitted seacan is expected to cost about $150,000.

Coney and Otero foresee Legacy Reef making substantial progress by 2030. “Within 10 years, we hope to take our coral restoration technology through our containerized coral nursery program and set up 100 or more remote restoration lab facilities around the world,” said Coney. “With these efforts, we could see thousands of hectares of dead or damaged reefs brought back to life in key areas where coastal populations depend on their reefs for food.”

Meanwhile, as snorkelers delight in the beauty off Hawaii’s west coast, Romer observes the subtle signs of a struggling underwater ecosystem and teaches others about the value of the planet’s coral reefs. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

For more information, visit LegacyReefFoundation.org or contact Romer at sandrar@legacyreeffoundation.org

Granite Creek Park Rejuvenation Moving Forward

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Improved public safety and security, better lighting, attractive recreational enhancements, environmental protection, better signage and more and better access points to enter and exit – these are among recommended improvements to the downtown Granite Creek Corridor.

City representatives and members of the Granite Creek Corridor Revitalization Committee shared a draft of the master plan prepared by Natural Channel Design, a Flagstaff-based company that specializes in such projects, at a community meeting last month.

Allen Haden, an aquatic ecologist, emphasized that the improvements will be made in segments, not all at one time. “Changes will be prioritized over time, depending on cost and complexity,” he said.

The plan is the result of more than 18 months of collecting data and public input about rejuvenating the downtown Prescott Granite Creek Corridor.

“I am excited we have moved along this rapidly in planning,” said Prescott Recreation Services Director Joe Baynes. “The contacts and connections we have established with businesses, residents who use the Prescott trail system, and others who enjoy our unique environment have been rewarding. We really appreciate all the effort Allen and his team put into the draft.”

Though no final figure has been set, the City of Prescott has earmarked $1 million in the coming year’s budget to be dedicated to park improvements. That fiscal year’s budget begins July 1, 2020. The Prescott City Council has begun reviewing cost estimates and will be making decisions soon.

Already, a $79,401 grant from the Arizona Water Protection Fund has made it possible to support the creation of a project master plan, said Tyler Goodman, assistant to the Prescott city manager. Additional federal, state and private grants have been filed requesting more funding to support improvements.

Goodman reported that to date, more than 650 comments and responses from the greater public had been submitted regarding recommendations for creek and trail rejuvenation. About half of the city allocation of $1 million is tentatively scheduled to create a splash pad playground and restrooms. Underground water lines have already been installed.

It is estimated that more than 160,000 people use the Greenway Trail between Gurley Street and Granite Creek Park, making it one of the most visited stretches of trail within the city. That number is expected to increase significantly when the Hilton Garden Inn at the intersection of Sheldon and Montezuma Streets is completed this fall.

During the meeting, Goodman, Baynes, Kristy Everson, chair for the Granite Creek Corridor Revitalization Committee, and others responded to questions and provided explanations. They also showed map details and illustrations from the multi-page draft master plan.

The current master plan is focused mainly on the downtown area, but future planning phases are expected to include portions of the creek corridor that run through the Prescott College area near the Miller Valley Road.

Initially, an approximate 1.2 miles of the creek corridor, beginning at the Aubrey Street Bridge south of Goodwin Street and ending in Granite Creek Park along Montezuma Street near the LaGuardia Bridge, will be rejuvenated. The corridor width is approximately 70 feet. The project emphasis is focused on preserving and protecting the urban ecological greenspace. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

For more information about the master plan, visit prescott-az.gov/city-management/leadership/programs-2/granite-creek-cooridor-master-plan

 

New SANA Hospital Fills Community Medical Needs

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Saying everyone in the community will benefit from the opening of a state-of-the art hospital, Prescott Mayor Greg Mengarelli welcomed executives, administrators, healthcare professionals, elected officials, staff personnel and residents at the grand opening of SANA Behavioral Hospital during afternoon ceremonies on Dec. 9.

The parking lot was crowded as visitors toured the 15,378-square-foot, one-story, recently constructed medical facility, estimated to cost between $9 million and $10 million.

SANA Hospital Administrator Pamela K. Pierce introduced Kirk Olsen, principal and owner of ERH Healthcare, a Salt Lake City-based hospital development company that manages SANA hospitals.

Olsen said the decision to build SANA in Prescott was based on extensive research about medical needs of the broader community.

Pierce told the crowd that official occupancy will begin when the Arizona Department of Health Services Medical Licensing unit surveys the hospital and licenses it as a “Specialty Hospital in Geriatric Psychiatry.” That was expected to occur at the end of December, she said.

The hospital will focus on providing acute integrated in-patient psychiatric and medical care to adults age 65 and above on Medicare, and 55 and above with additional contractors as they add SANA to the provider networks.

In an exclusive interview with Quad Cities Business News, Pierce, a highly credentialed behavioral health leader with more than 30 years of experience, described the 24-bed hospital with 14 bedrooms as a privately held facility. “Our hospital will provide a healing environment where patients feel safe and well-cared for. We will provide care that equally addresses a person’s emotional and physical well-being. To do this, we have a team of dedicated and experienced health care professionals who have a commitment to quality care in serving the local community,” she said.

Pierce explained that primary emphasis will be on adults with Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans. She noted that SANA also will pursue contracts such as Tricare to provide services for veterans.

Particular focus will be directed toward care for patients with mental disorders that cause major disabilities in social, interpersonal, occupational and or educational functions that lead to dangerous or life-threatening situations. Such conditions can be addressed only within an acute in-patient setting, she explained.

“We will provide medically appropriate services to our patients who may need 24/7 oxygen, C-Paps or other medical care within our scope of service.” SANA also will have linkages with Yavapai Regional Medical Center to provide specialty services it does not have.

“I want to emphasize we will work with all patients to be certain they get the care they need, either with our hospital or with another hospital that accepts their insurance plan. I see SANA as valued added, not competition, in the medical community,” said Pierce.

The hospital will include a large patient activity area. It also will have several group rooms for educational and behavioral treatment experiences for patients, family members and caregivers, Pierce said.  Meals will be catered.

Professional Staff Will Number More Than 60

Pierce will be the lead SANA administrator. She introduced psychiatrist Dr. Omar Ruiloba and Dr. Elizabeth Caspian as co-medical directors.

Longtime local Prescott physician Dr. Sam Downey has accepted the position of associate medical director. “We have needed a hospital like this for a long, long time,” said Downey. “SANA will fill a major health need in our community. The professionals in this hospital will serve a serious community need.”

Among other professionals introduced were Director of Nursing Kim Kreiner; Director of Social Services Mary Ellen Hays, LCSW; Administrative Chief Sherlyne Hall; Quality Management Director Lynn Levine, Ph.D.; and Registered Pharmacist Paul Smith.

Other employees will include full-time and part-time positions in nursing, health service patient care technicians, pharmacy staff and housekeeping and janitorial personnel.

A History of Hospital Management

While the SANA hospital in Prescott is the first of the chain in Arizona, another is scheduled to open in Gilbert in late 2020. The Prescott hospital is being cited as a model for others. The organization has a history of owning, leasing and managing rural and medium size hospitals in several states.

Ryan Eggleston, another partner in the management company, commented that while the new building was in every sense “medically state-of-the-art,” it is what goes on within the walls of the building that makes the real difference for patients. He added that small and rural hospitals require a complex blend of strategic, operational and financial expectations to be successful. Eggleston has more than a decade of executive hospital leadership with hospitals in the western United States.

SANA Behavioral Hospital is located at 181 Whipple. For more about information, visit sanabehavioralhospital.com. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

Tapping Ancient Wisdom for Energy Healing

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If you visualize the human body as an energy field, it is easy to imagine it receiving stress from everywhere, including what we eat or drink, watch through various media formats and feel from different environments. Experts say the body craves solutions that shake off negative, stagnant, ailment-prone energy and replace it with a positive, life-affirming, restorative vital life force.

That positive energy is a major component of every living thing, according to ancient Eastern culture, known as Chi / Qi (Chinese), Ki (Japanese / Korean) and Prana (Sanskrit). Passed down through the centuries and into the fabric of modern societies, the principles and healing properties of chi have become a way of life for those who practice.

“We all have the ability to heal,” explained Tara Tech, Dahn Master and owner of Qigong for Health AZ.  “We just need to learn how to tap in. Qigong is a beautiful, gentle, loving way to help restore your physical, mental, and emotional health. I have practiced Qigong with clients who are in the hospital, who are in wheelchairs, and some who are bed-bound in their homes. It can be done anywhere and at any time.”

With the guidance of a facilitator/instructor, an individual can learn basic principles and mirror movements designed to free the body of emotional baggage and worries. The balance of yin (substance) and yang (function) facilitate vitality, longevity and emotional equilibrium.

“We do what we can comfortably and allow ourselves to get into a state of relaxation and healing to allow our bodies to heal naturally from the inside out,” said Tech. “We facilitate our vital life force energy to flow smoothly through and around our bodies, removing energy blockages, stagnations and imbalances which cause pain, illness, disease and physical and emotional trauma. There is a sense of peace and calmness, even tranquility, in the air after Qigong class. Everyone experiences it. You can see it on people’s faces.”

The human body has meridians connecting all major organ systems, according to Debbie Dunbar, one of Tech’s Qigong students, a Reiki Master Teacher and realtor with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty. “Each meridian plays a specific and crucial role in the health of the entire body. Energy blockages in those meridians can be the result of trauma, stress, emotions, bad living habits, addictions and diet. The root of all physical, mental and spiritual problems can be traced to these blockages.”

Qigong and Reiki are said to help unblock chi and keep it flowing. Chinese Qigong utilizes universal energy supplies to impart healing to self or others, while Japanese Reiki opens the body as a conduit for energy from the cosmos. Reiki meshes cosmic energy (Rei) with the energy within a person (Ki). Knowing how to harness energy from the earth and the heavens unleashes the vital life force for optimal living and success in life’s paths, Dunbar says.

“Reiki is a natural healing art and a spiritual discipline. Energy is transmitted through the hands to all levels of your being: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The person receiving the Reiki healing does not need to understand Reiki or believe in its power. It still heals. ”

With the ability to work at all levels of a person’s being, Reiki can strengthen the immune system, eliminate toxins and facilitate personal transformation.

Dunbar became involved in holistic healing through her daughter, who four years ago urged her mother to join a Yoga class. At a point in her life when personal loss and high stress opened her mind to something different, Dunbar agreed.  She signed up for classes through Yavapai College Community Education. Ultimately, she became certified as a Reiki Master Teacher with the Usui System of Reiki Shiki Ryoho Natural Healing.

Managing stress in a healthier way is one of the prime benefits Dunbar has found with Qigong and Reiki. She cited giving up coffee as one positive life change. Following a Reiki class one morning, she said she knew it would be the day she quit because she felt great and her body no longer desired caffeine. She has made the practice of Reiki, QiGong and Yoga a daily habit.

Dunbar challenges everyone to practice the Five Reiki Principles, which state: “Just for today…I will not worry; I will not be angry; I will do my work honestly; I will give thanks for my many blessings; I will be kind to every living thing.”

Dunbar says she has chosen a path of holistic healing. “My whole life, I have taken in people and animals in need. This nurturing comes to me naturally and is very important to my essence and chi.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Symposium Discusses Sustainable Economic Development

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Strategies that work in building economic growth, businesses and jobs in the greater Phoenix area and Tucson do not always transfer to rural and non-metropolitan communities like Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Payson and Prescott.

That is what participants from 14 communities and five counties heard at the half-day Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) symposium conducted in Camp Verde on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

Camp Verde Mayor Charlie Gorman and Star Valley Councilmember Bobby Davis opened the meeting. Speakers presented recommendations suited to smaller communities and less-populated regions. All emphasized sustainability and meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future of the environment, culture or society.

Leading off was Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) Deputy Director Becky Blaine. She described how tourism bolsters the Arizona economy, especially in smaller communities. “It brings in new money and new people,” she said.

She cited data showing that domestic tourism brought in $34.6 million, while international tourism brought $5.9 million to Arizona last year. She said tourists want new places to explore and experience and AOT is dedicated to emphasizing rural, non-metropolitan experiences.

“Attracting tourists strengthens the local economy and encourages protection of the natural and cultural resources that make communities unique,” she said.

Most visitors are coming from Mexico, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France and China.

Leaders from local Central and Northern Arizona communities spoke as well. Town of Camp Verde Economic Development Director Steve Ayers said intense planning and collaboration with construction and building organizations had resulted in significant growth potential for the Verde Valley. “We have the possibility of seeing $20 million of potential involvement in our area within the next 24 months, and that means jobs and economic growth.”

Page Economic Development Director Gregg Martinez said the city is focusing on repeat visitors. “We are going to have our business emphasize excellent customer service. We see customer satisfaction as a key to making people want to return to the good times they enjoyed in Page, so we’re really focusing upon workforce development and education.”

Flagstaff Community Investment Director David McIntire said his community is working with the business and hospitality community to create an atmosphere of friendly, sustainable and practical development. “We need to help businesses utilize existing space and facilities, for Flagstaff is never going to be a low-cost community to build in or live in. We will work with the university and college personnel, with local leaders and others to create a quality environment, for we know that tourism has a major impact on the city.”

Verde Canyon Railroad Vice President of Passenger Services Teresa Prospeck said the train company is focused on protecting the Verde River and Verde Canyon. “We’ve taken 2.2 million people into the Verde Canyon. In that 42-mile round trip, we constantly tell our guests that they should feel obligated to protect and respect the natural environment. Our employees – 30 full-time and 40 part-time – are told over and over of that obligation. Our economic future depends on that.”

Luncheon speaker Keith Watkins, representing the Arizona Commerce Authority, said his organization is aggressively working with rural Arizona and small businesses on two objectives: encouraging the development of more sawmills in Central and Northern Arizona in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service; and the expansion of broadband high-speed wireless Internet service to rural communities.

Local First Arizona Executive Director Kimber Lanning said there is a need to improve entrepreneurship in our smaller communities. “They are the ones who will help us keep dollars and jobs in our local communities. We need to stop leakage of hometown money to big cities by spending it at home. Rural communities need to diversify their economies. They need to be consistent, convenient and focused on customer service.”

The next AAED meeting related to economic development in Central and Northern Arizona is at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 25, in Sedona. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

For more information, go to AAED.com or call 602-240-1233.

Local Author Delivers Tale of Biker Drama

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Writer, author and journalist NGBush has just released his newest book, “Spanner’s Chronicle,” which is considered biker pulp fiction-action romantic fantasy.

A long-time Prescottonian and native Arizonan, graduate of Yavapai college and Northern Arizona University, Bush was an investigative and entertainment staff writer for numerous Northern Arizona publications. He was also the journalism writing instructor and student newspaper adviser for the award-winning Prescott College student newspaper, The Raven Review.

His recent book release, “Spanner’s Chronicle,” available on Amazon, is a fanciful fictional romp through the motorcycle culture of the 2000s. The genre, biker pulp fiction-action romantic fantasy, has been given some high praise.

“No biker foreplay here, this is the act of narrative love itself, a bouncing, boisterous story that moves from split second overdrive through the complex survival mechanisms of the heart,” said Los Angeles Woodbury University College Liberal Arts Dean Reuben Ellis, Ph.D.

A release party for “Spanner’s Chronicle” is scheduled at from 4-6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 5, at Raven Cafe, where a limited release of signed copies will be available. “If you have the ability to download this book, I will be offering a special promotional offer of the ebook for a $1.99 starting Dec. 5, ending Sunday, Dec. 9,” said Bush.

“It will be a night of activity, that’s for sure, we’ll also have a Stone Brewing tap takeover, and, at 7 p.m., we’ll feature our Jazz Jam Night,” said Raven Cafe General Manager Tiana Costello. “We’re really happy this fit into our schedule.”

His second book of this two-part series,
“Taylor’s Ride,” will be available shortly after the first of the year. QCBN

 

“Spanner’s Chronicle” is now available at Amazon for $12.99, and a special promotional price of  a $1.99 for the ebook will be offered Dec. 5-9.

Recognizing Heritage Keepers

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The awards banquet looked like a scene out of Arizona’s frontier days. There were nearly 300 attendees of the Prescott Western Heritage Foundation (PWHF) event, many of whom dressed in cowboy hats, boots and pioneer dresses.

PWHF founder and CEO Dennis Gallagher and Prescott bootmaker Paul Krause served as masters of ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 2, as individuals were honored for their work as heritage keepers.

Kathy McCraine, a Prescott rancher, writer, photographer and publisher was recognized for her work depicting Arizona cowboy and ranching life.

Desert Caballeros of the Western Museum in Wickenburg accepted the award for the 50-year-old museum, which specializes in Western art and culture.

Scholarships were awarded to Shayla Murdock, a Verde Valley native, now attending Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, to study equine therapy and Rocky Rodriguez, a Chino Valley woman now attending Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas, on a rodeo scholarship.

Frank Shankwitz, a Prescott resident and founder of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was recognized for his work and generosity. Shankwitz is donating proceeds to the WHC from a private showing in April of the movie, “Wish Man.” The movie, filmed in Prescott, is a tribute to Shankwitz and his colleagues’ efforts to grant wishes to terminally ill children.

Gallagher received a special award acknowledging his leadership in founding the Western Heritage Center, which opened May 16 at 156 C S. Montezuma in the heart of Prescott’s legendary Whiskey Row. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

Enchantment Resort Begins Construction on Adventure Center

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Sedona’s Enchantment Resort in Boynton Canyon is elevating its outdoor adventure program with a new activity center designed to expand guests’ options, scheduled for completion by next summer.

The 4,000-square-foot Trail House will offer retail space for professional-grade equipment and accessories, a shop for bike rentals and an area dedicated to the discovery and education of Sedona’s iconic trails. Guests will have access to learn from, hike with or ride alongside the resort’s expert guides who bring decades of combined Sedona-specific trail experience.

With the debut of Trail House at Enchantment Resort, the property will also introduce a variety of new programming, including an all-new Canyon to Creek challenge for biking enthusiasts. In addition, to help educate the Sedona youth, Trail House will welcome classrooms from West Sedona Elementary School for annual field trips to coincide with their geography, flora and fauna and physics curricula.

“With exclusive ride-in, ride-out trail access to over 300 miles of trails and 21 expert guides, the resort has developed an array of programming that encourages guests to discover Boynton Canyon from a unique perspective,” said Enchantment Resort Managing Director Stan
Kantowski. “With the announcement of Trail House, we are working to define a new standard for outdoor adventure and will continue to introduce new and compelling experiences for our guests.”

Enchantment Director of Outdoor Adventure and Activities Jim Foss will oversee the operations of the Trail House, including the resort’s 100+ scheduled weekly activities. “At Enchantment Resort, we strive to be the premier resort for biking and hiking. The development of Trail House is a reflection of our dedication to creating unforgettable adventures for guests and highlighting Sedona’s spectacular red rocks that surround the resort.”

Guests did not need to wait until summer 2020 to experience these red rocks and meet the team of guides. Enchantment Resort hosted the second annual Ride the Red Rocks Nov. 14-17, an epic three-day mountain biking adventure suited for all skill levels. Riders rode alongside professional long-distance mountain bike racer Kaysee Armstrong. QCBN

For more information, visit ridetheredrocks.com.