BILTMORE AREA PARTNERSHIP LUNCHEON
Tuesday, July 26, 2011

SPEAKERS:WIN HOLDEN, PUBLISHER OF ARIZONA HIGHWAYS AND SERVES ON THE ARIZONA CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: THE UPCOMING ARIZONA CENTENNIAL"

Centennial Website: www.AZ100YEARS.ORG

It is rather outstanding when I speak to some groups that they don't have a clue about the centennial. Some of that is due to the fact that the fundraising for the centennial has been challenging. For an example about 7 ½ years ago Oklahoma for their centennial raised 64 million dollars from the private sector in 2 months. We have been working on fundraising for 2 years and have raised about 2 million dollars .The fact of the matter is it is a lousy economic environment. Unlike Oklahoma, Arizona is not a corporate headquarters environment. The usual people/company who writes big checks no longer are able to.

That doesn't mean we can't have a party, and that Arizona was the last of the contiguous 48 states to join the union won't be celebrated. My purpose today is to let you know that there will be and it is revving up to be a celebration. It is going to be much more grassroots oriented as might otherwise be the case. But from a public relations/marketing perspective/communications standpoint, that is not all bad either.

I am a member of the Centennial commission and there is another group called the Arizona Centennial Foundation and it is a separate 501-C3. And the purpose of the Foundation is to raise funds. If you donate to a Foundation you get tax credit. Bud Jones, formerly retired Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court has been working tirelessly on behalf of this organization. In addition there are community and nonprofit organizations throughout the State that have become engaged. Already the AZ Republic, Channel 15, Channel 8 as well as Arizona Highways are already doing features on the centennial.

The Copper Chopper motorcycle has become the de facto Centennial's mascot. It is travelling all over the state making appearances. People are able to buy raffle tickets-on February 14, 2012, someone will win the motorcycle. Immediately in August, you will be able to purchase tickets ($5/ticket) at Circle K's. This motorcycle is worth about $250,000. Every month there will be a drawing, so all the tickets that are purchased that month, one name will be pulled and then we will have 14 finalists. They will turn a key to see who won.

There are some signature projects and events so if you have an event or activity that you would like to have designated as a centennial function, all you do is go to the website (listed above) and you will find a list that will let you apply for certification and it is free and the standards are low. The signature projects are really pretty nifty. The first one you might have read about is the Capital Centennial Drive-the penny drive. The copper dome of the capital is absolutely disgusting and there is a tremendous amount of renovation that needs to happen. The program was done through the Centennial staff with Arizona's elementary schools to raise money, literally a penny at a time to form a fund that will endow our ability to keep the dome looking good. We have Centennial Way which is an area that leads from 7th Ave. on down to the State Capital complex. So know when you drive that area, you will notice there is a lot of construction, but in about 120 days, there will be a tremendous transformation. You will see banners, shade structures that will contain history and information about tribes and each of the counties in the state. It will give people a walking tour from 7th to 15th Ave. The anchor from the USS Arizona is a memorial downtown and is in the best shape of anything down there. Because the US Navy and Defense Dept. said if you let this fall into any kind of disrepair it is gone. We are trying to develop funding to support renovations to the other memorials downtown. In addition, our state has historical markers many of which need repair. There is an effort under way now to modernize the design, make it much less susceptible to vandalism or damage and to add 100 sites to our repertoire. In individual communities, not just Pioneer Memorial Park area, but across the state, people are being encouraged to plant a tree to commemorate your local community for the centennial. It could be one or a hundred; it just depends on the community's interest.

The Centennial Challenge was started in the schools, but will be rolled out in the Fall to all the communities in the State. This is to encourage everyone to sign a pledge to donate 100 hours of community service. 100 hours isn't much-it is less than 2 hours a week. We hope people will become more engaged with their local communities at whatever level they choose to. The point being, find a way to connect and get involved.

Centennial Patches: We are hoping to get the sponsorship to produce 240,000 centennial patches. There will be stickers, pins and sew on patches, depending on the application. The high schools will have them on during all their extracurricular activities where there are uniforms involved and this will be throughout the state. Recognition will be given when this is done.

Stamps: Other states have had stamps for their milestones and we have a design and it has been approved and it will be announced in Prescott in September. Stamp collectors will be able to purchase 1st day canceled commenaortory stamp at Centennial activities at the State Capital activities on February 14, 2012.

Signature events is something you can apply for on the website if you have an event or activity that you think is meaningful and tied into the centennial, that would be an appropriate thing to do.

The Arizona Centennial mayor events will be in Prescott, Tucson, and Phoenix. Why? Because they were the territorial capitals and the state capital as in the case of Phoenix. The idea here is what amounts to wide scale street fairs. They will have dinning, entertainment, attractions and historical components. etc. In September we will have the kickoff event - a brunch - in Prescott. We will be bringing in national entertainment for the centennial. We have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir coming in and they have already had to add 2 more performances.

The railroad played an important role in the development in the history of Arizona. We have the Union Pacific Steam engine tour. Will start at the four corners in New Mexico, come down through Phoenix and stop at some of the Arizona communities along the rail line to commemorate the centennial.

Statehood Day is Valentine's Day, February 14, 2012. There will be a sunrise activity, bells will ring at 2:14 because of Feb. 14th and there will be fireworks at 7:12 PM.

We have done a lot of research to find people who were born here in 1912 and who are at least 100 years old and live here. We found over 400. We will have a centurion's brunch.

We found someone who is a dead ringer for Gov. Hunt and he is now travelling the state doing presentations as Gov. Hunt.

Fandango Arizona is going to be like a Ball. The most glamorous large scale event-formal attire-all that kind of stuff. Fandango is what those kinds of things were called during the time of state hood. There are a lot of things happening all over the state. We even took the initials of the state and using them in words that related to Arizona. On the street banners we talked about earlier, you will notice on Washington St, you will see them at the Airport, at the State Capitol, both outside and inside, and also in local communities. You will see outdoor billboards relating to the Centennial. We have print that is available to anyone who wants it in various formats. We have had history makers in the state of Arizona, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, etc. What would a Centennial be without collectable? We will have them of all kinds---buttons, putter, t-shirt, etc.

There are many more signature events that you can find out about by going to our website-once again it is www.AZ100YEARS.ORG Tag line is "history still in the making". Looking back is fun, but it does not do much to build the state.