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7 opportunitiesthat exist right now

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March 2012 Published for SEAGO Member Entities and Strategic Partners Vol. 2, No. 3

The Greenlee

County Story!

Starts on page 5.

Newsletter sponsor:

GreenleeCounty

Next Month:

Sierra Vista SBDC

Nogales Is Visited byNew York Times Writer

New York Times travel writer Paul Theroux visited Nogales, Sonora, for an article that ran Feb. 23 and came away “with a hand-carved set of dominoes, some silver coins and cleaner, whiter teeth.”

It’s a finely crafted article about Ambos Nogales and left the Times’ nearly 1 million readers with a generally positive view of the communities. “No-gales is a border town trying to save itself, and I think succeeding,” wrote Theroux, who is also a novelist. (His “Mosquito Coast,” for example, was made into a movie starring Harrison Ford.)

The article doesn’t ignore the gritty side of life along the border, but it talks up the hopefulness, extensively quot-ing people like Juan Cordero, director of the Department of Economic Development in that part of Sonora, and Peg Bowden, a retired American nurse who volunteers at a shelter run by American Jesuits near the Mari-posa gate.

To read the complete article, visit here.

International Border OpportunitiesBy A’kos Kovach

The real estate community has done a superb job of imbedding the term – “location-location-location” into our everyday life.

Every good business plan or business model emu-lates or incorporates this theme as well, location is truly one key to operating a successful business.

To this end, developers and investors are taking a closer look at not only the extensive border area in the of SEAGO Region, but also towns that have something unique to offer employers – like: a trained work force, proximity to community colleges or uni-versities, access to airports, access to major highways and/or railroad spurs.

Population matters. Nogales, Sonora shows an official population of

220,292 while other factors and indicators lean to-wards a true population of 400,000. Agua Prieta population of 77,254 is much lower than local esti-mates which hover around 125,000, and Naco show-ing 6,425.

Regardless of which statistic is utilized, the So-noran population base increases the potential for success of any retail oriented business, and also for employers looking for a work force.

To learn more these and further opportunities along the border, email economicdevelopment@seago.org or call (520) 432-2622 ext 210.

Greenlee County is the only county in Arizona with wages higher than the national average, according to figures released Jan. 26 by the Bureau of La-bor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The average U.S. weekly wage is $891, while the average Greenlee County wage is $1,058, thanks to the fact that it’s home to the national largest — and still rapidly growing — copper mine.

The average weekly wage is Arizona

is $842.Other SEAGO Region counties did

not fare so well: Cochise is closest, at $831, very close to the state average, followed by Santa Cruz at $785 and Graham at $692.

All of these figures are drawn from data gathers in the second quarter of 2011.

In Arizona, only Greenlee, Cochise and Maricopa counties had an average weekly wage of $800 or more.

Average Greenlee Wages Highest in Arizona

Naco, Sonora has several large buildings, which could be used for manufacturing,

already in place.

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 2

1. There is a major textile operation in Agua Prieta, producing approxi-mately 1 million units per year. They are looking to double their capacity and the number of their employees. This company is seeking a large-scale silk screen operator to locate in nearby Naco, Sonora capable of handling a volume of 50,000 units per month.

2. There is a businessman seeking a program manager to organize and run a heavy equipment restoration busi-ness. The business will perform resto-ration services and mechanical servic-es for large mining equipment.

3. We have an investor looking for tech-oriented businesses that need capital infusion in order to commer-cialize products and create jobs. This investor is willing to invest in Arizona or Sonoran businesses.

4. Nogales, Arizona needs an inter-modal operation center in order to at-tract new business, increase warehouse demand and become a new job cre-ation engine in the area.

5. A major Cinco de Mayo celebra-tion is scheduled for Saturday, May 5 in Naco, Arizona at the Turquoise Golf & Country Club – Bringing Sonora to Cochise County – food – beverages – cultural entertainment – live music – vendor booths - games – cake walk – golf – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

6. Plug & Play – Fully operational Call Center in Nogales, Arizona. Set up for 700 calling stations. Complete with lobby/reception area, lunch room, plenty of parking. Current call center was poorly managed and has laid off nearly all the employees and will soon be closed. CALL NOW!

7. Naco, Sonora — vacant, ready-to-occupy, former maquiladoras oper-ations, small business and light manu-facturing buildings. Trained work force available. Mexican business license – normally very time-consuming and expensive to obtain, is also available.

By A’kos KovachThere are only 14 members representing

the public and private sectors on the newly formed International Business Develop-

ment Strategy Committee — a long title that literally means “Arizona is open for business with the world.”

These 14 members include representa-tives from U of A, ASU, the Arizona Com-merce Authority, GPEC, Yuma Economic Development Corporation, U of A Tech Park, Skysong, TREO and SEAGO.

Ten areas of focusTen areas of interest or focus have been

outlined to this point:

1. New water-use-related technology for commercialization;

2. Countries of high interest include Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Japan;

3. Agriculture, water, solar and solid-waste disposal;

4. Ottawa, Berlin, Manchester and Israel as related to Global Advantage, university research park collaboration and homeland security;

5. Biosciences (Ventana Medical);6. UAS drones, data gathering sites, bor-

der crossing collaborations and UAS train-ing centers;

7. Export Activities and “matchmaking” between economic development agencies;

8. International Business Development using an Innovation Team to get projects in front of investors, and an Expansion Team targeting mid- to large-size companies;

9. Sustainable economic development (economic, social, environmental) creating Sustainable Systems in Arid Land, Tech-nologies for water, food, energy, and bio-products in a public, private, educational partnerships; and

10. Solar-related projects targeting Chi-na, Europe and Israel, expanding to include Renewable Energy.

ImportanceWhy is this effort so important? One rea-

son is because the more communication we sustain among and between these vari-ous public- and private-sector entities the more likely our activities and efforts will succeed.

We all agree – any success means success for the State, which benefits everyone. Or one can sum up the group motto in one word – selflessness.

It is a privilege to be one of these 14 team members, especially when we all know how much benefit we can actually attract to our State by combining our efforts and leveraging our collective ability to perform research, introduce contacts, offer training, host or attract foreign dignitaries, etc.

Please comment or make suggestions re-garding the above Top Ten list, whether you want more information, have suggestions or can make introductions that will help this amazing statewide effort bring success to Arizona in this our Centennial Year. Write to economicdevelopment@seago.org.

International Business Development Strategy Committee

7 Real Opportunities

Among the investment opportunities around the SEAGO region is the need for a program manager to organize and run a heavy-equipment rebuild business. Both the region and the area of northern Sonora have a plethora of small to extremely large mines that need equipment.

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 3

Is issued at the beginning of each month by the SouthEastern Arizona Governments Organization Economic Development District.

118 Arizona Street, Bisbee, AZ 85603(520) 432-5301,

economicdevelopment@seago.orgTo subscribe, visit www.seagoedd.org

A’kos Kovach, publisher and editorMargaret Dillard, copy/graphics editor

Items for publication are welcomed fromSEAGO member entities and strategic partners. Copy must be submitted at

least 7 business days prior tothe end of each month.

Four SEAGO Region BusinessesWin Statewide Honors from SBDC

When the Arizona network of Small Business Development Centers meet at the Arizona State Capitol March 29 to honor a dozen small business success stories, four of them will be from the SEAGO Region.

Every year, the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network honors small businesses throughout Arizona for the vital

role that they play in our state’s economy. Among them will be:→ Cotton Clouds Inc. from Safford;→ Sorellas Elite Fashion, also from Saf-

ford;→ Kool Treats LLC, dba Dairy Queen of

Douglas; and→ Sierra Seed Company, LLLP of No-

gales.Last year’s competition saw winners from

Safford and Sierra Vista.For more information, contact your lo-

cal SBDC center in Sierra Vista, Thatcher or Tucson.

The Service Annex has arrived and has been “installed” behind the Samaritan Sta-tion Shelter at 420 N. 7th St, Sierra Vista, reports Kathy Calabrese, executive director of th Good Neighbor Alliance.

The City of Sierra was responsible for funding it with a CDBG. Good Neighbor Alliance has been operating the Samaritan Station Emergency Homeless Shelter, serv-ing men, women and familites with chil-dren since 2003.

CDBG funds shelterin Sierra Vista

Erika K. Breckel, Media, Public Relations & Film Tourism Services for the Sierra Vis-ta, reports that she has arranged to have the Mescal movie set opened up for tours dur-ing March and April.

Mescal has been featured in more than 50 films — including “The Outlaw Josie Wales” and “The Quick and the Dead” — as well as television programs and commercials.

Tours will be available Saturdays in March and April at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, a p.m. and 2 p.m. No reservations are re-quired. Price is $9 per person.

There are no restrooms, water or food — this is an actual movie set.

Take I-10 west to exit 297. Follow Mescal Road north 3 miles, and turn left where the pavement ends. Drive 1/2 mile on the dirt road.

Mescal Movie SetTours Are Arranged

Utilities have yet to be run from poles, pipes and other places to the building. Some interior work still needs to be done.

The SA will house all administrative busi-ness, shelter guest case managing, PATH client meetings, as well as our HPRP case managing meetings (until that contract twilights in Sept.).

Once the SA is functional and all the work is done, there will be two more family bed-rooms ready to serve. The biggest change will be that the shelter will be a place where families with children can be safe indoors and off the streets by day.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Southwest Office of Native American Programs issues regular information bulletins about its activities and opportunitieds.

This link will take you to the information bulletin for the week of Feb. 27.

Among the topics covered in this issue:• HUD announces more than $400 mil-

lion in Indian Housing Block Grants;• A discussion of the American Indian

Empowerment Act of 2011. (H.R.3532);• IRS tax tips for Indian Tribal Govern-

ments; and• The April 6 deadline for 2012 EPA

award for smart growth achievement.

Information bulletin coversNative American programs

Regional Events

Online Articles➢ The port of Guaymas is now shipping

Sonoran beef, cotton and textiles to Shang-hai and Hong Kong as it now can accom-modate container cargo. The Arizona Daily Star has the complete article.

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 4

Mar. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Co-chise College Sierra Vista campus, the SBDC is hosting Media Marketing Day, covering traditional and new media.

Mar. 31, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Safford High School will host the Graham-Greenlee Special Olympics Track & Field meet. www.SpecialOlympicsArizona.org.

April 28, The Santa Cruz Commu-nity Foundation is hosting its annual Folklorico fundraising event. The event features live music, catered dinner and a live auction. Tickets are $150 each; $120 is tax-deductible. (520) 761-4531.

May 5, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Turquoise Valley Golf Course & RV Park, Naco, Arizona, will host a bi-national Cinco de Mayo celebration, with traditional foods, games for all ages, displays of art, artifacts, jewelry, indoor and outdoor furniture, with entertainment that in-cludes a mariachi band, Mexican folk dancing and a disc jockey. Proceeds will benefit the floor-repair fund at St. Mi-chael’s Mission in Naco.

Freeport-McMoRan Is a Top Employerin Cochise County, Too; $42 Million

In the SEAGO region, there is no ques-tion that Freeport-McMoRan is the top em-ployer in both Greenlee and Graham coun-ties, with the behemoth Morenci mine and the large operations at Safford.

But what fewer people realize is that the company contributes significantly to the economy of Cochise County as well through

its Copper Queen operations at Bisbee.The company itself employs 182 local

workers, with that number swelling to 295 when adding in contractors and consul-tants.

Total economic impact in 2010? $42 mil-lion, enough to support 577 total jobs.

Click here for more details

Members of Gila Valley community are invited to meet and greet the mayors at the Thursday, March 8, Chamber of Commerce Breakfast.

Mayors Gibbs, Rivera and Lemen will be on hand to speak about the state of the Gila Valley.

The event will be held at the Graham County General Services building in the Supervisors Room.

Mayors Breakfast Is March 8 Doors open at 6:30 a.m. for a meet and

greet; breakfast will be served at 7 a.m., with the program running until about 8:15 a.m.

Breakfast is $10 per person, and reserva-tions are required.

Call the Chamber of Commerce at (928) 428-2511 or info@graham-chamber.com. The mayors will participate in a question-and-answer period.

Is Your Business Profitable?Editor’s note: This is another helpful busi-

ness lesson prepared by Jenny Spurgin from The Center for Economic Vitality (CEV) at Western Washington University in Belling-ham.

You might remember a few issues back we ran a page of “business terms” that she had created.

Click below for the complete document on business profitability, which is in the form of a PDF so that you can easily print it out for reference.

Profitability is a key measure of success for any business — new or existing. But knowing how profitable your business is can be tricky. There are several ways to look at profitability and each can tell you some-thing about whether your business is mak-ing or losing money.

What is Profitability?The term “profitability” refers to a busi-

ness’ ability to earn a “profit.” A profit is what is left after a business has paid its ex-penses and interest. In general, a business is considered profitable if it makes enough money to cover all of its expenses and in-terest.

How do I Measure Profitability?There are two ways to measure profitabil-

ity. A business owner or manager can mea-sure a business’ profit on a given product or service (also called a “margin”), as well as the business’ profitability as a whole.

To find out whether a specific product or service is profitable, you will want to con-sider the cost per “unit” of the product or service. For a product, this can mean what you paid for the product at wholesale, or the cost of all the parts and labor hours that were put into creating the item.

Go here for the complete explanation, including a “break-even” calculator.

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 5

A Veritable Job Engine, Greenlee Now Wants HousingBy Gary Dillard

When Greenlee County Supervisor Da-vid Gomez writes out his wish list for the Arizona county with the best employment opportunities, he thinks first about afford-able housing.

Home to North America’s largest copper mine, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold’s Morenci’s operation, Greenlee County doesn’t suffer from a shortage of high-pay-ing jobs, as does virtually ever other county in America.

What it lacks, however, is a place for them to live, says the retired district manager for Southwest Gas Corp.

“We have 50% of our work force driving here out of Graham County,” he says.

That has a direct impact on other goods and services that can be provided to the Greenlee County communities. “Folks just go over the hill to Graham County and do their shopping there.”

Gomez has lived through several cycles of the copper industry and knows how that can impact the desire for homebuilding and home ownership.

But he also knows that copper, now at about $3.80 a pound, has been a high-priced commodity for several years and looks to be staying there for the long term, and that Freeport now has a $1+ billion project get-ting under way.

That will bring in approximately 1,200 construction jobs and about 600 additional permanent jobs when it’s complete.

“There’s a lot of folks that would choose to stay in Greenlee County, if they had the choice,” Gomez said.

And who wouldn’t want to live there?For the District 1 supervisor who is a na-

tive of Morenci, choosing to live in Green-lee County is a no-brainer.

“This is a great place to live and raise kids,” he said. It offers a low crime rate, great schools and a low tax rate.

It also offers unbelievable outdoor recre-ations. Its fishing and hunting opportuni-ties are among the best in the state, espe-cially with three rivers — the Blue, the San Francisco and the Gila — as well as Eagle Creek flowing all year round.

It also offers a host of other outdoor ac-tivities, including rockhounding, hiking, rafting and birding.

For many people, perhaps the absolute best aspect of what Greenlee County has to offer is that “FMI is hiring right now and we want folks to know that there are jobs here.”

The county, named for early-day miner Mason Greenlee, is 120 miles long and 20 miles wide, covering 1,837 square miles.

Most is managed by the government, with the Forest Service holding the largest share, about 63.5%. The Bureau of Land Manage-ment controls 13.6%; the State of Arizona controls 14.8%; and individual or corporate ownership is only 8.1%, with much of that controlled by mining.

Nevertheless, Gomez says, there is land for construction of affordable housing. There is land at Tabletop, at the top of the hill at Clifton, he said. There is land avail-able at Loma Linda and Verde Lee and state land can be acquired.

There also is room to build between Clif-ton and Duncan, he add.

Another hotel needed, tooSecond on Gomez’ wish list is another

hotel somewhere in the county.At present, there are only two, one in

Morenci and one in Clifton, and the mas-sive amounts of business companies do

with FMI keep those booked up months in advance.

If developers are looking at Greenlee County and want to put in something in-dustrial, it would be best if that were some-thing compatible with the existing copper mining operations.

“We’re always talking about diversifica-tion,” Gomez said, “but we’re more likely to attract developers that could tie in with what we already have.”

And there is no doubt that copper min-ing is the lifeblood of Greenlee County. It’s what created the region almost a century and a half ago and it’s certainly what makes it one of the nation’s best job engines.

Freeport has pointed out in recent months that there’s as much copper left in the hills of Morenci as has been mined by open-pit methods since about 1940.

Talking with the governmentDuring the week of March 5, Greenlee

County officials attended the National As-sociation of Counties meeting in Washing-ton and had a chance to meet with both senators, several representatives and offi-cials with the U.S. Forest Service.

Since time was limited, the county offi-

Copper mining continues to be good for Greenlee County and its residents. But Supervisor David Gomez wishes that more mine workers could live nearby instead of having to com-mute. (Photo from the website of Robert Shantz of Duncan.)

continued on page 8

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 5

By Nancy HarwoodSEAGO Area Agency on Aging

Office SpecialistAt a national level there has been an ef-

fort for several years to create Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) to educate the public and make them aware of available resources.

In Arizona the ADRCs are known as AZLinks, the SEAGO AAA is a member. The Southeastern Arizona AZLinks part-nership began in August of 2011.

Now the SEAGO AAA is taking the lead to grow the partnership and schedule re-gional activities.

Key partners include the DIRECT Center for Independence, the regional AHCCCS Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS), DES Division of Developmental Disabili-ties offices, hospital social workers, the AAA case management providers, and the ALTCS Program Contractors.

The Southeastern Arizona ADRC has al-ready hosted two networking meetings.

The first meeting in October dealt with Open Enrollment with an overview of Medicare provided by SEAGO and Janice Bush from the ALTCS office explained the ALTCS Pre Assessment Screening (PAS) tool. The PAS is the basis for determining medical eligibility for ALTCS.

Resources for disabledThe January meeting dealt with resources

for disabled individuals in training, educa-tion, and adaptive aids.

Dave Cheesman, from DES Rehabilita-tion Services Administration spoke about resources for training and vocational re-habilitation, and Randy Collins, Program Director of AzTAP, spoke about their pro-gram for loaning or purchasing assistive devices.

AzTAP is a federally funded program that is part of Northern Arizona University Institute for Human Development.

Their mission is to promote awareness, access and acquisition of Assistive Technol-

About SEAGO’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers

By Alison Van GorpJob Developer

As the Pathways Out of Poverty Program winds down, we would like to take a mo-ment to acknowledge our awesome team of Case Managers.

A great deal of Pathways’ success can be directly attributed the efforts of these indi-viduals.

Edith Lee came to Pathways with a strong background in public health case manage-ment. Her years of experience and willing-ness to mentor have made her a valued member of the team.

Sarah Montoya is very passionate about helping her clients. When she is not at SEA-GO, she is working tirelessly for P.R.A.I.S.E., a local non-profit with a mission dedicated to helping ex-offenders transition into civil-ian life.

Steve Roybal is our jobs expert, having worked for the Department of Economic Security for over 35 years.

Steve has left our ranks effective Feb. 6, to rejoin DES as the Director of their Division of Child Support in Bisbee.

We know he will do well there and we all wish him well. Thank you Edith, Sarah and Steve, for all you have done for Pathways!

The Pathways Out of Poverty Program was put into motion in January of 2010, and is slated to end April 28, 2012.

It is a vehicle for job training designed to assist disadvantaged populations in be-coming job-ready for employment within emerging green industries.

Pathways is funded by the Department of Labor by way of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Thank You, Pathways Case Managers

Departing Pathways case managers, from left, Sarah Montoya, Steve Roy-bal and Edith Lee.

Funding sought for new programSEAGO Pathways is seeking funding

from the Department of Labor for a new grant opportunity.

The Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Grant would bring $1,212,000 into our communities and help a minimum of

400 clients receive credentials for in-de-mand industries.

Previously we had announced a segue into a Temporary Job Agency. We have since decided to refocus our efforts on what we perceive to be a better opportunity for our region by applying for the RExO Grant.

Should we be favored with this award, SEAGO will be able to build on the current seasoned Pathways program’s success and momentum, utilizing the strengths and re-sources that have already been cultivated.

SEAGO Pathways Out of Poverty Pro-gram has helped over 145 people in our lo-cal communities find employment.

This amazing result is a testament to the determination of our clients and has been facilitated by our many partners who have supported and invested in our program and students. As of the writing of this newslet-ter, we have trained over 380 individuals with the objective of having 126 of them find jobs.

We have exceeded this goal despite the challenging economy and the many obsta-cles faced in our rural communities. In the Pathways program over 50 percent of our service population were ex-offenders.

We enjoy a recidivism rate of approxi-mately 2%, far less than the State average of over 40%.

ogy (AT) for persons with all types of dis-abilities and all age groups.

In addition to the AT/equipment lend-ing and demonstration program, AzTAP provides a wide variety of Assistive Tech-nology (AT) related services and programs including: low interest financing for AT; AT/equipment reutilization; the Arizona Department of Education – Exceptional Student Services AT/equipment loan pro-gram; information and assistance on AT needs; an annual statewide conference on AT topics; training and technical assistance on AT needs as well as interagency coordi-nation and collaboration about AT.

The AzTAP program can support and assist Arizona residents with disabilities, their families and rehabilitation providers with investigating and obtaining Assistive Technology of all forms.

For more information, contact Nancy Harwood by calling (520) 432-5301 ext 220 or by email at nharwood@seago.org.

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 6

Bisbee Celebrates Statehood CentennialBy Steve Pauken

Bisbee City ManagerHere are a few pictures from the Bisbee

Statehood Day Celebration. We started out with Posting of the Colors across the street from City Hall at the Warren Community Church.

Posting of the Colors was jointly con-ducted by the Bisbee Police Department Color Guard and Boy Scout Troop #1 (the first recognized Boy Scout Troop in Ari-zona).

A short invocation was lead by Pastor Warren Griffin of the Warren Community Church.

After the flag raising, the crowd moved over to City Hall where a lecture on the importance of copper mining leading to Statehood was given by Richard Graeme, a Bisbee native and former geologist for the Phelps Dodge Corp.

Graeme is a world famous mineral ex-pert, a frequent visitor to southern Arizona, and the president of a copper mining com-pany in South America.

The capacity crowd at City Hall enjoyed his lecture tremendously!

The Turning Point Monthly, March 2012, page 8

cials lobbied the Forest Service on issues that are of immediate concern to Greenlee and other counties in Arizona.

One of the most important, Gomez said, was maintaining PILT monies. Payment in Lieu of Taxes has been an impor-tant program to rural counties for decades, especially in areas where government controls most of the land and neither pays taxes nor allows any devel-opment that does.

Payments like these are vital to Greenlee County, Gomez said, for maintaining basic ser-vices.

On some of these Washington visits, he said, Greenlee officials joined with counterparts from Navajo County, which shares the issues.

Saving the forestsAnother issue brought to

members of Congress and For-est Service officials was what is known as the 4FRI plan, or Four Forest Restoration Initiative.

Since the Forest Service doesn’t have and isn’t likely to have budget for maintaining the Apache National Forest or others in Arizona subject to de-struction by forest fire, the 4FRI plan contracts that out to pri-vate industry.

It’s been in the works for years now, with no action, Gomez said, but Forest Service officials said something should happen within a month or so.

It is imperative that the For-est Service work expeditiously to select the most qualitied contractor to start thinning our forest and preserve 2.4 million acres around the state.

It would create about 600 jobs and inject almost $200 mil-lion per year into the Arizona economy.

“We’ll be entering this year’s fire season soon,” Gomez said,

Greenlee . . .continued from page 5

“and nothing has been done since the Wallow fire,” which last year became the most de-scructive fire in Arizona’s his-tory.

1 year at a timeThe best that elected officials

and Forest Service personnel could promise, Gomez said, was basically “one year at a time.”

There is hope, for example, that the PILT program will be renewed for another year, but there are no promises about what will happen after that, he reported.

Another political issue the county is fighting is on the state level, he said.

The Legislature keeps sweep-ing HURF (Highway User Rev-enue Funds) into the general fund, a move that is more de-structive of rural than urban populations, Gomez said.

These funds, which come from gasoline taxes, were spe-cifically designed to pay for highways and “were never meant to fund state agencies,” the Greenlee County supervi-sor said.

A one-man chamberTalking with David Gomez

is like listening to a one-man chamber of commerce.

He recalls attending state-wide meetings of Southwest Gas managers in Tucson.

When it neared time to break up, he said, he started packing his papers with great enthu-siasm, telling his peers that it was time to get back to “God’s country.”

He recalls that his counter-part from Yuma started refer-ring to his home as “paradise,” though Gomez had a slightly different view of the part of Arizona exactly opposite from “God’s country.”

He also recalls a county of-ficials’ meeting in Eastern Ari-zona and he was able to show them exactly what he meant. They were shocked, he says.

Few had ever been any further east than Apache Junction, and they certainly had no idea what Greenlee County offered.

“Nobody had a clue,” he says.While the giant copper mine

is the county’s greatest asset, and the forests to the north and the three year-round rivers of-fer many riches and opportuni-ties for adventure, but close be-hind those attributes comes the way of life that’s possible in such a setting.

“Greenlee County is such a relaxed atmosphere, a way of life,” he says.

His kids now live in Chandler and he has meetings regularly in Phoenix, he says.

But even after all these years, David Gomez says, “it’s always a great, great feeling to be com-ing back over the mountains in Clifton,”