Fountain Hills, Arizona, is a place where everyone knows your name. The town gives you that vibe, like when you walk into a local bar similar to the old TV show, Cheers. It’s a place we’ve grown to love with the views and a small town feel. It’s a place we all call home.

I moved to Fountain Hills when this was a place with nothing but a Fountain, a few homes, a few restaurants and a small shopping center. The drive into the Valley seemed like an eternity, as there was nothing between here and Pima and Shea. Growing up in a town like that, I could only dream of leaving.

Then one year, my parents took my sister on vacation to New York City and I immediately fell in love with it. One night my dad came into the room and I was sitting by the window, taking in all the sights below. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him how much I loved the city and that I was going to move there some day.

That “someday” happened after graduating from high school. I moved in with my sister, Holly, who was working as a Broadway dancer in the production of Hello Dolly. Straight from high school to the bright lights of Manhattan. It was a dream I had since I was in fifth grade and now it had become a reality. I was 19 at the time and, coming from a small town, I felt living in Manhattan helped me mature and open up to the culture of the world, as New York is a mecca for all cultures.

There was never a dull moment living in the city (I was robbed on the way home from the video store my third day there), but I could never see myself coming back to Arizona. I started to mature more living there so, of course, I started thinking differently. My thoughts turned to what my future would hold.

New York is a very expensive place to live, so I made the choice to return and finish school in Arizona. But I still wanted to make it back to New York, eventually.

I started classes at SCC and served tables at Tonto Verde Clubhouse when it first opened. I fell in love with the restaurant business, so I changed my major to Restaurant Management and Hospitality. I would then find my way to working part-time which turned into full time with the Fountain Hills Times in 1997.

I loved selling advertising because of all the people I was meeting on a daily basis. In addition to working at the paper, I worked nights at Phil’s Filling Station since I missed the restaurant business, so it was the best of both worlds for me. Phil has been such an amazing boss. He has been there for me since the first day I met him back in 1999.

I feel working at Phil’s and selling ads has helped me reach another level of maturity. Plus, as you all know from my last column, Phil’s also gave me the opportunity to meet my amazing wife, Gina.

The point of this column is to share how, over the years, I only dreamed about getting out of here or returning to New York as soon as possible. But that has all changed. The people I have grown close to, like all my advertising clients, Phil and my wife, Gina; I couldn’t see myself calling anywhere else home. Fountain Hills has grown so much over the years that I now love returning to this town after going to the Valley.

The hiking, restaurants, shopping, people and that small town vibe makes this a place that I love to call home.

I attended the Chamber meeting recently, where Mayor Linda Kavanagh gave the State of the Town address and I could remember thinking how much I have seen change for the better in this town. This town is headed in the right direction and I am so happy to be a part of that. I love to hike the Overlook Trail, walk around the Fountain, workout at a local fitness club and eat at the local restaurants.

My friend, who I graduated with, came back to Fountain Hills for my wedding and he turned to me and said how awesome this town looks now and how we took it for granted when we were younger.

I see now what my parents fell in love with. Fountain Hills has such a bright future that many generations will enjoy and I am so lucky to have been here since the beginning. Mayor Linda Kavanagh said at the end of the State of the Town address that the future of this town is strong and bright and I couldn’t agree with her more.