What began as a golf cart taxi service that merely broke even has evolved into an award-winning and profitable guided tour adventure that invites Wild West bank robbers, pirates and ghosts along for the journey. And this has Puzzle Rides founder Katie Dufort thrilled. On Friday, Aug. 2, Dufort won the grand prize of $10,000 in the statewide Moonshot Rural Pitch Tour Competition in Cottonwood. She says the award will help her expand the hours of current staff members and hire more tour guides at … [Read more...] about Puzzle Rides Turns Sightseers into Wild West Crime Solvers and Pirates
Local News
County Agency Helps Laid-Off Workers Find Jobs
A Coconino County workforce agency is busy assisting dozens of local workers laid off this summer because of a plant shutdown and retail business closures. The largest job loss was at Schuff Steel, which displaced 63 employees when it closed its fabrication plant Aug. 31 in Bellemont, west of Flagstaff. Other recent business closures include Big Lots, Kachina Kitchen, Grimaldi’s and Peter Piper Pizza. Billy Francis, Coconino County Workforce Board executive director, said there are … [Read more...] about County Agency Helps Laid-Off Workers Find Jobs
BOLD Mission: Debra Boblitt Coaches Leaders to Courageously Pursue Their Calling
Debra Boblitt knows what it takes to completely halt a journey on one career path and make a massive course adjustment. She did just that, after years of teaching and earning additional degrees in education. She even cashed out her retirement fund to follow her dream and launch her own business. Today, this Scottsdale-based entrepreneur is helping others find and go after their true passion. Boblitt’s bold move led her to corporate America where she spent nearly three decades as a leader at … [Read more...] about BOLD Mission: Debra Boblitt Coaches Leaders to Courageously Pursue Their Calling
Jim Garretson is Remembered for Creating a Community of Health, Fitness
Before relocating to Flagstaff from Telluride, Colorado, in 1978, Jim Garretson had carefully researched the best place in the Southwest to establish an athletic club. His desire to start an athletic club was driven by his passion for all sports and his goal to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles. Friends say his choice of Flagstaff was an excellent decision. Today, his Flagstaff Athletic Club (FAC) is celebrating 45 years in business, with two successful locations, FAC West (1979) and FAC … [Read more...] about Jim Garretson is Remembered for Creating a Community of Health, Fitness
Natural Skin-Care Products Safe Enough to Eat
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 … [Read more...] about Natural Skin-Care Products Safe Enough to Eat
Historic Camp Gets Facelift
An antique wood-burning stove sits on one side of the original kitchen in the historic Wilson Lodge at Camp Colton, Flagstaff’s environmental camp for young people in Hart Prairie, surrounded by the Coconino National Forest. The “Home Comfort” wrought iron range, manufactured in St. Louis in November 1881, has three parts – a metal door in the middle with a firebox for loading wood, two little oven doors on either side for baking and three cast-iron griddle tops for cooking. “It’s a beast,” … [Read more...] about Historic Camp Gets Facelift
Rock Your Bath
What began as a dream in the midst of a global pandemic has meta-morphed into business success for Sheon Paige, a Phoenix-area entrepreneur who turned her passion for creativity, relaxation and the Arizona landscape into bath bomb geodes. Paige, who launched Smell ‘N Bomb in July 2020, had been running a direct marketing company for four years when she realized that her true calling was elsewhere. “I loved being a business owner and leader, but I knew marketing wasn’t my passion. I prayed for … [Read more...] about Rock Your Bath
Past ATHENA Recipients Discuss the Impact of Encouraging Others
For two Prescott-Area ATHENA Leadership Award recipients, Carmen Frederic and Teri Drew, the encouragement, impact and responsibility of the honor has stayed with them since the moment a banquet room full of businesspeople roared with applause and standing ovations. “So much of the time we can feel very alone, working hard and doing our thing, when someone reaches out and acknowledges us,” said Frederic, the 2023 Prescott-Area ATHENA Leadership Award recipient. “It takes you by surprise and … [Read more...] about Past ATHENA Recipients Discuss the Impact of Encouraging Others
Rebuilding The Arboretum from Rocky Ground
A maze of meadows and hillsides of colorful wildflowers in late summer bloom, the sound of live music floating on the warm August air and Flagstaff residents wondering about the Ponderosa pine forest, discovering and enjoying nature on full display against a backdrop of the majestic San Francisco Peaks. Such was the scene at The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s annual Summer Garden Party on Saturday, Aug. 24. “It was the most successful fundraising event The Arboretum has had in years, as far as I … [Read more...] about Rebuilding The Arboretum from Rocky Ground
NACOG’s Fall Tourism Forum to Feature Marketing Tips, Strategies, Best Practices
State and local tourism industry professionals, news media representatives and Forest Service officials will be among those providing insight during the two-day Fall Tourism Forum, hosted by NACOG (Northern Arizona Council of Governments), Oct. 9-10, at The Lodge at Cliff Castle in Camp Verde. Featured speaker, Arizona Office of Tourism Executive Deputy Director Lisa Urias, is a fourth-generation Arizonan. Urias built her career by crafting and promoting the multi-faceted brand of our state … [Read more...] about NACOG’s Fall Tourism Forum to Feature Marketing Tips, Strategies, Best Practices