By Anne Gibson
The Mission Statement of Incorporate Vail Arizona (?) reads: “to explore with community input and participation the interest and viability of incorporation.” The 11 officers and director of the 501(c)(4) corporation have made a commitment to uphold this mission.
We are happy to share that a resident of the Greater Vail area, not one of the 11 officers and directors, has made a generous donation to the Incorporate Vail Arizona (?) with restrictions. The restrictions include the name of the donor shall remain anonymous and that the funds may only be used within the scope of the corporation’s mission statement to explore and study, said President David Hook.
So, who would do something this generous for a study? He or she met with Corporate President Hook, Vice President MaRico Tippett, and Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Brad Anderson. It became obvious the donor had studied the area and who the 11 officers and directors were and their combined contributions to the Greater Vail area. Discussions began on how best to use this generous donation. As it turned out the answer became simple after CEO Brad Anderson suggested Bruce Wright, a person well known to many in Vail.
Bruce Wright, the founder and principal of The Wright Associates, was asked to bid on the exploratory project. Working with The Wright Associates on this project are NuPoint Marketing and Market Research principals Mary Rowley and Steve Lynn.
Who is Bruce Wright? Wright has more than thirty years of experience in community and economic development, community and public relations, and public policy. Wright was the Associate Vice President for Tech Parks Arizona at the University of Arizona, where he was responsible for the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park located on Rita Road, the UA Tech park at the Bridges, and the Arizona Center for innovation, his proposal to the officers and director of the Incorporate Vail Arizona (?) states.
Wright sits on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Senior Academy, located on Old Spanish Trail, and the Davis Monthan Air Base Thunder Squadron. He is a member of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Greater Tucson Leadership Alumni Advisory Council, the proposal read.
“We know Bruce Wright and he knows us,” said President Hook. It was at a meeting on April 20th that the Executive Committee discussed the contract presented by The Wright Associates and it was signed.
“What is the future of Vail? Should it remain an unincorporated part of Pima County? Be annexed into the City of Tucson? Or incorporated as an Arizona town or city? Our team is excited to help the residents of Vail answer these questions,” said Bruce Wright.
“As part of our work, we will examine the economic feasibility of incorporation and help conduct a series of neighborhood and public meetings that will solicit input from the community on the pros and cons of incorporation. Our goal is to help the residents of Vail make an informed decision on this important issue. Should the community decide to move forward with incorporation, we will also assist in putting this issue on the ballot for a vote,” Bruce Wright continued.
The first part of Bruce Wright’s energy was to immediately reach out to three different areas. The first was a meeting with Stakeholders, the second will be with some of the businesses operating in the Greater Vail Area, and third will be a meeting with developers heavily invested in the area.
“The Stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 was held as an initial conversation with members of neighborhood HOA boards and neighborhood areas to get a small sample of opinions on incorporating Vail. We were able to accomplish three things,” said MaRico Tippett, Vice President of Incorporate Arizona Vail (?).
According to Tippett, the three accomplishments included:
to get an idea of all neighborhoods that could be considered in the Greater Vail area,
to inform them of the process the board is undertaking to gauge both interest and viability of incorporating Vail, and
to discuss, in general terms, the pros and cons of incorporating, and listen to their feedback.
“Discussions were robust and provided good information. Our hope is to host a similar meeting for the broader community this fall,” Tippett said.
