Groups Expand Community Efforts

Joint Community Service Activities  Announced by Local Organizations

June, 2000.

Beginning in September, 2000, Friends of the Scenic Drive, Greater Pinnacle Peak Homeowners' Association (GPPHA), Desert Foothills Property Owners' Association and the Rio Verde Foothills Alliance will begin  "rowing" together to sponsor a series of community service events. In addition, the three organizations are seeking to improve communication between their groups and with the community at large. 

The objective is to do greater community good by reaching more people, sharing resources and joining forces to reach common goals. The groups will co-sponsor litter pickup efforts, a town meeting and a social event. In addition, the groups will work together to produce the content of their various publications.

 Expanded Litter Pickup Efforts

The groups will organize residents to pickup litter along north Scottsdale's scenic corridors. Friends and GPPHA, which have conducted separate litter pickup efforts in the past, will combine forces and sponsor pickups in September, October and November. The October event will be part of the city-wide Scottsdale Pride Day cleanup. In addition to holding regularly scheduled pickups, the groups hope to pickup litter over a much larger area. 

Town Meeting and Social Event 

For several years GPPHA has invited Scottsdale's Mayor and City Council to meet with residents in an open discussion of local issues. The "town meeting", which has been popular with residents and leaders, will be co-sponsored by the three groups. In addition, the groups hope to expand the scope of the meetings by inviting state and county officials to participate in discussions related to preservation and growth management.

In November, GPPHA, Friends and the Desert Foothills Property Owners Association will hold a social event for their members and volunteers. Additional information about the event will be announced in the future.

Improved  Communications

Hundreds of Scottsdale residents enjoy the local news, features and advertisements provided by GPPHA's magazine, A Peek at the Peak. Every day, hundreds of residents and people from around the world visit the Friends of the Scenic Drive Web site at www.scenicdrive.org. The Desert Foothills Property Owners organization keeps its members informed by circulating a newsletter.  Now the groups will work together to share content and publicize issues of common concern. 

Meetings Produce Schedule

Leaders of the three organizations have been meeting on a regular basis for several months to determine how they might work together in the future. The initial result of the meetings was a schedule of the joint events discussed above [ For dates - Read More].  To facilitate coordination, Les Conklin, Howard Myers and Tony Nelssen have agreed to serve on GPPHA's board of directors.