2024 March InMaricopa Magazine - 20th Anniversary.

COMMUNITY

JOYCE HOLLIS 2004-2011

“Considering there were 5,000 people in town and no stoplights when I came on board, Bashas’ opening was the biggest news in town. There was no police department, no fire department and four schools. Our vision was to cover everything that was going on in town. That means — literally — a meeting every single night and all kinds of community events on the weekends. It was a busy time, but we were the voice of the community at that point. My greatest contribution was that I was willing to be everywhere, whenever. 85239.com gave me more than I gave it because it allowed me to be on the ground floor and to meet everyone in this community, and that was amazing. InMaricopa is bigger, it is better now with bigger stories. The magazine is amazing. Things have come so far, and they look great.”

ELIAS WEISS

2023-Current “Maricopa is hot and 20 years old — but that’s not the only thing that made her attractive. After some years as an investigative politics reporter at The Daily Beast and Phoenix New Times , I was dying to get back to leading a hyperlocal newsroom. My first editor gig was at a hyperlocal paper in a town of 1,300 in the rural mid-Atlantic. Sure, it was a ‘sleepy town,’ but it’s where I cut my teeth and learned how to exponentially grow

JUSTIN GRIFFIN 2021-2022

OF LEADERSHIP 20 years

“Though my tenure was a relatively short one, I respect and appreciate the journalistic mission that owners Scott Bartle and Vincent Manfredi have undertaken with InMaricopa . They deeply care about the issues facing the community and its citizens. That’s what I think journalism is all about, and it’s why I remain a contributor to this day.”

an online news audience — and the value of a print journalism product that excites and engages an entire community. Spending long hours in offices and conference rooms in Phoenix, I pined for the days when I waved hello to loyal readers at the local café or high school football game; when writing tales of small-town heroes felt bigger than breaking open a national politics scandal. InMaricopa brings big-city quality with small-town energy. Every day, I aim to bring that big-city quality to our reporting because my neighbors in Maricopa deserve a watchdog who’s got their back as we grow into a big city together.”

BOB MCGOVERN 2020-2021 “My greatest accomplishments at InMaricopa were enhancing coverage of quality-of-life issues

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deep in the HOAs, and secondly, though not fully accomplished during my tenure, boosting watchdog reporting on local government to increase transparency, especially in relation to the planning

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RAQUEL HENDRICKSON 2014-2020

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“The community was growing and people needed to get involved. I was making sure they knew how to do that. I came in after the Great Recession when we had an entire community getting back on its feet. When things started to grow again, it was important for folks to understand who was and who wasn’t getting the job done. Those were our most read stories at the time — commercial and residential development. That was a great learning experience for me. When I was young, this was literally a one-horse town. Being able to have a big say in the direction of the city is something I’m proud of. I still get the magazine. I’m proud of InMaricopa , too. I love the work that you’re doing. It’s a good portrait of what’s going on. Being able to have this online presence that was the vision from the beginning — it’s the future right in front of our eyes.”

of the city’s growth. My first job in journalism was with a small-town

newspaper in suburban Philadelphia, where I quickly learned the value of local news. While we had competition from other newspapers, ours was the lone publication with a hyperlocal focus. Our little news operation meant a lot to the people in town, and folks weren’t shy about strolling off the sidewalk and into our office to tell you why they disagreed with an editorial or share a tidbit of news or express thanks for putting their kid’s picture on the front page. I eventually went on to bigger dailies in Philadelphia and St. Petersburg, Fla., where I learned the value of print and online publications to be a voice of the people in big cities. Mid-sized Maricopa is fortunate to have its very own quality “small-town” publication, focused intently on life in the city, to serve as a voice for readers and advertisers. InMaricopa caters to the interests and needs of this desert community, fostering a sense of belonging and invigorating community engagement. That is a vital necessity for every city, but especially one growing by leaps and bounds.”

Notary available all hours with no appointment needed.

M-F 8am-6:30pm Sat. 9am-5pm Sun. 11am-4pm

Scan to view the magazine’s inaugural issue.

Located in the Fry’s Marketplace Plaza

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20987 N. John Wayne Pkwy, Suite B104

InMaricopa.com | March 2024

March 2024 | InMaricopa.com

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