This week I have memories of the start of the Pony Express Days and the Ambassadors. The Pony Express photo taken by The Times’ Bob Burns won a first-place award for small weeklies in the National Newspaper Association’s feature photo contest.

Pony Express

A bit of old west history came to life when the Hashknife Pony Express rode into Fountain Hills in late January 2000.

The annual ride from Holbrook through the Mogollon Rim country north of Payson and down the Beeline Highway to the Scottsdale Main Post Office covers a distance of more than 200 miles. Members of the Hashknife Pony Express re-enactment group are actually volunteers with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Posse.

The horseback-riding Hashknife gang Pony Express has the longest continuous Pony Express contract with the U.S. Postal Service and annually delivers an estimated 15,000 pieces of mail bearing the valued “Via Pony Express” cachet.

The hashknife was a tool originally used by chuckwagon cooks to cut meat for hash. The Hashknife brand originated in Texas as the identification for the Aztec Land and Cattle Company, which moved to Holbrook in 1886.

Fountain Hills Pony Express Days began as a special event in 2005 and was co-sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Los Artistas Vaqueros, and the River of Time Museum, which later became the sole sponsor of the event.

Ambassadors

In1984, Jim Coggins, an insurance agent in town, suggested to me as the then-president of the Fountain Hills Chamber, a spirit group should be formed to be “goodwill ambassadors” of the Chamber. Coggins had previously lived in Albuquerque, and that city’s Chamber had such a group. Coggins felt the program here could be set up on a smaller scale.

The Ambassadors could hold grand openings, visit member businesses and encourage people to get involved with the Chamber. I, as president of the Chamber, thought the idea was a good one and followed through with getting the group started near the end of my third term as president in 1985. I encouraged the Board to establish this group.

The first meeting of the Chamber Ambassadors was held on February 22, 1986. It consisted of 12 members; Scott Brendemuhl and Alyce Grigsby served as Co-Chairs.

Other charter members were Bob Freybler, Allison Garay, Joe and Carol Goyena, Henrietta Hasynic, Marti Hemie, Mary Marsh, Marge McGarry, Loretta Robinson and Mary Wood. I attended that meeting and outlined the purpose of the group and the potential it could have for increasing involvement in the Chamber. Maureen Pignataro, the 1986 president, also attended the meeting and kept the group together during its first year.

The Ambassadors’ Mission Statement reads: “To promote the goodwill of the Town and the Chamber of Commerce and to encourage involvement of all its members, the Community, and all those who live outside of our community for the benefit of Fountain Hills’ businesses.”

The original Ambassadors wore blue blazers and were referred to as the "Bluecoats." They are now called the "Redcoats" because in the late ‘90s the blue jackets were no longer available. Each member signs a pledge to be active and committed to the organization.

The Ambassadors are the public relations team for the Chamber. They arrange ribbon cutting ceremonies for businesses, help with monthly mixers, walk in parades to advertise our Town, and visit with businesses on their membership renewal dates to promote communication and positive relationships with member businesses and the Chamber.