Community Stewardship & History Day

By Daniel McCrobie
SRP, Customer Experience Analyst

It was a wild ride for Leadership Class 31 as we set out on community stewardship day.  A main take-away from the day is that it is up to us to develop our community.  Volunteers with a vision, perseverance, and creativity can accomplish a great deal.  Scottsdale is a living testament to this mantra as all of the ideas came from individuals who then found a way to implement.

Joan Fudala, Historian/Author, Class 9, Kira Peters, Scottsdale Parks and Recreation Manager, Class 29, and Inga Varney, Owner, Wine Star Services, Class 29 were our tour guides.  They did a thorough job educating us on the history of Scottsdale, from the conception of the town by Winfield Scott, who purchased 640 acres of land for $2.50 an acre in 1888 through all of the recent history.  An engaging exercise was provided to spot the current buildings in downtown from 3 or 4 pictures of what they looked like in the 50s and 60s.

The class was then whooshed to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve for another tour and history of the largest urban preserve in the country.  Virginia Korte, Class 3, and Mike Nolan, Class 27, led the class on a scenic hike through the desert and provided a history of the preserve; expounding on the diligence of the founders to save the space, so it could be enjoyed by all.

We all enjoyed a beautiful Scottsdale day – as this panorama points out.

Class 31 and honored guests had lunch on a railroad car at the  McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Sharee Stillman and Nick Molinari, Class 26 described the park, train maintenance, and led the class on a behind-the-scenes tour of the train yard.

We then departed for the Cattle Track Art Compound, a historical haven for artists.  Janie Ellis gave us another tour and talked about the historical significance of the Compound.  We were treated to a Q&A session with several artists so we could explore many different art mediums including inner-tube art.

Scottsdale Stadium was the next destination and we were able to chat with Jeff Cesaretti and Dennis Robbins, about the historic significance of the stadium and how it is being used.

A fun and exhausting day, Class 31 now has a better appreciation of the history of our home town.   At the end of the day we enjoyed happy-hour to at Los Olivos, a great location to unwind and enjoy chips, salsa, and a beverage.