On the second Tuesday of every month, the Verde Village Property Owners Association meets to give community members an opportunity to gather, plan, and connect. We’re proud to have an organization so dedicated to building a stronger community as a Local First Arizona member! Get to know them and why they are excited and dedicated to do what they do.

As the heart of Arizona wine country, the Cottonwood area boasts local wineries as well as tasting rooms for vineyards throughout the state like Pillsbury Wine Company. Weekendzona guests enjoyed two wine tastings and a tour of the Southwest Wine Center in Clarkdale, where they learned how students run the process from growing the grapes to bottling, naming and labeling the wines each season. For a unique dinner experience, guests were invited to Blazin’ M Ranch, a Western-themed frontier town where activities include bull riding, axe-throwing and a tractor pull before a live-music stage show over a barbecue dinner served chuck wagon style.

A higher percentage of Arizonans quit their jobs in March 2022 than almost anywhere in the nation. Whether this is due to employees making big personal decisions about life changes or the fact they have an abundance of available positions in our state to choose from, it’s clear that this is a job seeker’s market.

Adrian y Mary Pineda son los fundadores de Pineda 's Auto Glass LLC, una compañía local en Phoenix, Arizona que abrió sus puertas en agosto de 2010 especializada en el reemplazo de parabrisas y ventanas para todo tipo de automóviles, compostura de reguladores y polarizados.

Esta gran historia de superación nació hace más de 30 años cuando Adrian Pineda aún era muy joven y daba sus primeros pasos en esta industria. Inició a los 17 años en la ciudad de México trabajando para una compañía donde pudo conocer todo acerca de las instalaciones de parabrisas de autos y años después le ofrecieron la oportunidad de poder viajar a Estados Unidos para trabajar en otra compañía por 4 años.

Proudly placed on the corner of 7th Avenue and W. Highland is a local business ready to help you connect to yourself and to this planet we call home. Majestic Earth is a proud LGBTQIA+ friendly business and owner Steve Milweed says his store is full of “gifts from Gaia (the Greek goddess of Earth, mother of all life).”

Featuring its distinct call-to-action card, Independents Week encourages Arizonans to “go local” by supporting as many locally owned businesses as possible. Each year, traditionally over the first week of July, first-timers and returning customers across the state discover new and fun ways to support Arizona’s small, independent businesses!

Businesses of all sizes including small businesses support The Equality and Fairness for All Americans because equality and fairness are not just the right thing to do, but are good for business. At Local First we believe we must be inclusive to attract and retain top talent, ideas and innovations.

Susy Martínez es una empresaria local especialista en cosmetología por más de 30 años, originaria de Sonora, México, en sus inicios trabajo sin sueldo en 1989 como asistente en un salón de belleza sin imaginar que un día se convertiría en la dueña absoluta de dicho salón y daría sus primeros pasos como empresaria local de Arizona en el año 2000 con Unique Designs by Susy.

¿Pero cómo se convirtió en dueña del salón donde un día trabajó como asistente y aprendiz?

Local First Arizona (LFA) today announced it has received $15,000 from the National League of Cities (NLC) City Inclusive Entrepreneurship (CIE) program, which helps cities empower entrepreneurs of color and invest in underrepresented communities. Local First will use the funding to conduct outreach to qualified businesses and provide training on how to become a vendor for the City of Phoenix.

From November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989, the Arizona segment of Route 80 - also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway - shaped the west as a major transcontinental highway and was an important highway in the development of Arizona’s car culture. On September 21, 2018, Arizona U.S. Route 80 was designated a Historic Arizona Road.

In 2022, it’s more important than ever to invest in our local self-reliance and make sure Arizona will thrive for years to come. The businesses who have graduated in SCALE UP Cohorts 7 and 8 know this and are clearing the path ahead! Join us in celebrating and congratulating these businesses and their innovative sustainability projects.

Local First Arizona’s recently launched Rural Business Academy addresses these unique challenges through four virtual courses facilitated over six weeks with up to 12 participants. Each course is led by an expert in the field with opportunities to collaborate with peers and one-on-one with mentors. The goal for each course is to provide hands-on learning, real-world exercises, and take-home tools that strengthen each business where it’s needed most.

Since 1984, Keep Arizona Beautiful has worked with citizens across rural Arizona to organize and implement local initiatives that keep our state clean and beautiful, including litter abatement efforts, recycling programs, illegal dumping prevention, and community beautification projects.

The Rural Policy Forum is an opportunity for rural economic development professionals, nonprofits, community leaders and stakeholders, and business owners to discuss the unique challenges that rural communities face and the solutions that are working to overcome those challenges.

Tony y Brenda Salcido son originarios de Chihuahua, México y son los fundadores de Tony Brenda Photography. Una empresa local establecida en la ciudad de Phoenix desde el 2018 que ofrece los servicios de fotografía y video profesional para eventos sociales y corporativos. Actualmente están ofreciendo en mayo y abril sesiones para niños de mini pascua y día de las madres.

El inicio de este sueño, nació de Tony Salcido, porque después de muchos años de trabajar en video y tener una gran afinidad por la fotografía, decidió emprender su primer negocio junto a su esposa Brenda Salcido. Con el tiempo ambos pudieron obtener la educación profesional y el equipo necesario para ofrecer este servicio y poder ser capaces de administrar su propio tiempo que les permitiera estar más cerca de su familia.