A graduation ceremony was recently held for Class VII of the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy (FHLA) at the Desert Canyon Bar & Grill.

The event was attended by FHLA alumni, sponsors and local officials which concluded the eight-week immersion into the town’s governmental processes, civic and community services, public safety and environmental management.

FHLA’s Class VII graduates include Alison Stumpf, Angela Clark, Carleen Watts, Dave Peterson, Lee Holmes, Frank Colella, Gayle Earle, Joann Lyles, John Watson, Joe Reyes, Rick Watts, Toni LePoer and Will Hurst.

Following a meal provided by DC Bar & Grill, the FHLA Class VII members presented their class projects to the attendees, drawing from their newfound knowledge and experience in the academy. Each project identified an ongoing challenge in the community and provided an initiative to address each issue.

Class projects

Class members Angela Clark and Alison Stumpf proposed Fountain Hills becoming “Blue Zone”-certified, a designation that recognizes a community’s efforts to enhance lifestyle, nutrition and human and physical environmental conditions to promote long and healthy lifestyles.

Gayle Earle, Lee Holmes, Toni LePoer, Dave Peterson and Joe Reyes presented their project, “Elevate Art,” which proposed a multi-organization collaboration consisting of the Town of Fountain Hills, the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Fountain Hills Cultural & Civic Association, the Public Art Committee and other community members.

The team proposed developing a centralized database of all the town’s public art and creating an app, allowing residents and visitors to easily access the history and information about artwork around the community.

Will Hurst and Joanne Lyles presented the “Internet of the Community,” a proposition to establish an Information Technology nonprofit affiliated with the town. This project proposed bringing in experts in the IT field to offer services to any resident, business and organization within the Fountain Hills community to promote a business-friendly community at a low cost.

Class members Frank Colella, Rick Watts, Carleen Watts and John Watson proposed creating a Fountain Hills Senior “Village,” stemming from a movement that has resulted in over 140 villages across the U.S.

This project aims to enable older adults to live independent, healthy and purposeful lives through connections to their communities.

Class member Will Hurst also proposed a secondary project as an initiative with the Fountain Hills Fire Department to give hot-home monitoring devices to underserved and unserved residents in the community.

The small temperature sensor devices would benefit Fountain Hills residents, particularly during the hotter months, when households become at risk for experiencing heat-related illnesses and alerts the Fire Department when a residential space becomes too hot, a press release read.

Class VII also heard from Patricia Day-Ryan, president of the FHLA’s board of directors, Tom Lindsey, an alumnus and former board member and Mayor Ginny Dickey.

Following presentations, Class VII received plaques recognizing their completion of the program.

The FHLA is led by the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association (FHCCA). The founding member of the Academy is Dori Wittrig and the current FHLA chairperson is Patricia Day-Ryan.

This year’s committee was made up of Class VI members who graduated in 2022 under the leadership of Gina Waldo and Rory Wilson.