2023 December InMaricopa Magazine

FROM THE EDITOR

T THE AFTERNOONS REMAIN WARM, BUT THE mornings and evenings are crisping up like well- behaved bacon. That’s how you know the holidays are upon us here in Maricopa. The seasonal songs that croon over department store speakers this time of year are like the first appetizer before a Christmas feast. It always amazed me how that same old family dining table and familiar ingredients could transform into a meal worthy of being fondly remembered for half the year — and then mouth- wateringly anticipated the other half. What dishes grace the table? A stuffed bird, obviously. Roasted potatoes, obviously. Stuffing and cranberry sauce, probably. But creamed spinach? Bourbon balls? A glass of fizz? There’s really no meal more diverse and limitless. Maricopa reminds me of a Christmas dinner. Always a new friend pulling up a chair, a tasty new dish in tow. You’ll see what I mean when our newest reporter, Jeff Chew, introduces you to Maricopa’s burgeoning Kenyan community in this issue. The feast gets larger and the menu more diverse — but it’s still that same table underneath. Whether you’re setting a Christmas buffet or incorporating the time-honored kids table, there’s just no way to get everyone seated at the same time; someone always gets whisked away tending to a tray of parsnips or supervising the pecan pie in the oven. Christmas dinner

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

Maricopans don’t sit still too well, either. We’re always working on something new and exciting, like starting a band or breathing new life into an ancient sport. Tom Schuman and Monica D. Spender will tell you more about those endeavors.

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

At Christmas dinner, there’s probably going to be a luscious cheesecake or a baked stuffed brie that makes everyone swoon. Someone’s got to show up and steal the spotlight — hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg will do just that in Maricopa next month. Conversely, it seems like one of the dishes never pans out. Maybe a burnt roast

Advertising IRENE DITTRICH

VERONICA RODRIGUEZ MICHELLE SORENSEN MERCED VILLALOBOS Writers JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAYV MORGAN HARRIET PHELPS BRIANNA REINHOLD TOM SCHUMAN MONICA D. SPENCER

or something that fell pudding-side-down on the floor. Whoever is baking the apple pie knows there’s always a bad apple in the bunch. Likewise, not every Maricopan is the hero in their own story. In this edition, I’m busting yet another case of stolen valor. At the end of the day, though, Christmas dinner isn't about the dishes on the table. It’s about the people sitting around it. This holiday season, I’m happy to sit at the InMaricopa table with my readers. ‘Til next year!

Photographers BRYAN MORDT JENECE MORDT VICTOR MORENO

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

ELIAS WEISS MANAGING EDITOR

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

CONTRIBUTORS

VALUES

• Integrity • Accountability

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

Volume 18, Issue 12 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel 520-568-0050 Fax News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2023.

BRIANNA REINHOLD With Christmas around the corner, it is the season for giving. Brianna reminds us to not forget about ourselves.

JEFF CHEW Jeff, a new reporter at InMaricopa, offers a profile of Maricopans

DAYV MORGAN Dayv, owner of HomeSmart Premier, takes a trip down memory lane to when soil sulfates were all the rage.

who moved from Kenya. Hakuna matata indeed.

InMaricopa.com | December 2023

4

Powered by