News From You (12/16)

Fishell, Sadoway planning wedding

Jack and Donna Sadoway of Ahwatukee Foothills are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Daniel Sadoway, to Jessica Fishell, daughter of Patrick and Deborah Fishell of Phoenix.

The bridegroom-to-be is a Specialist in the Arizona National Guard. He is a 2005 graduate of Arizona School for the Arts and a student at Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University.

The bride-to-be is a 2004 graduate of Arizona School for the Arts and a 2008 graduate of Stanford University. She is currently employed by Trimble Resource Management in Tempe.

A spring 2010 wedding is being planned.

Girl Scouts help the homeless

Members from Girl Scout Troop 470 made scarves and hats for the homeless as a winter service project. The troop also assembled 35 hygiene bags with socks, hats, gloves, razors, shaving cream, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, gum, and more to be distributed to the homeless by a church in Tempe. Many thanks to the generous donations from the Girl Scouts’ families and to Dr. Hatch for providing the toothbrushes. 

The girls are in the seventh grade at Kyrene Altadeña Middle School.

Garden Club members decorate pine cones with seniors

On Dec. 1, four members from the Desert Pointe Garden Club visited the Senior Citizen’s Center at the Pecos Community Center to work with seniors on pine cone Christmas tree ornament decorations. Everyone had a good time and some beautiful ornaments were created.

Club members have been active with seniors at the Center during the past few years. They have presented workshops on various craft projects, helped with potting of plants and accompanied seniors on field trips to places such as the Desert Botanical Gardens.

For more information on Desert Pointe Garden Club, visit its Web page on the Arizona Federation of Garden Club’s Web site at www.azgardenclub.org, then click on “Members Clubs.”

AF agents earn prestigious designation to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure

Ahwatukee Foothills residents Al Rivera and Brigitte Mueller of RE/MAX Achievers (333 N. Dobson Road, Suite 5, Chandler) have earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

For more information about CDPE designation, call (800) 482-0335.

For homeowners interested in assistance, contact Al Rivera at (602) 750-7141 or Brigitte Mueller at (480) 620-8593.

Medina a winner in Bus Stuff Art Contest

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Jaylene Rashell Medina is one of the winners in the Fifth Annual Third Grade Bus Stuff Art Contest, and her picture and drawing will be included in the 2010 calendar to be distributed Valleywide. A best of show and 12 winners were selected from 670 entries from talented third-graders around the Valley.

The mission of transit education is to promote various modes of transportation by communicating the benefits of Valley Metro’s programs and services to any group.

Medina is a third-grader in Mrs. Schubert’s class at Ahwatukee Foothills Prep. She is the daughter of Elizabeth and Damian Medina.

Thunder Speech Theater and Debate Company wins national competition

The Desert Vista High School Thunder Speech Theater and Debate Company recently competed at the Glenbrooks 30th Annual Invitational in Chicago, Ill., one of the largest, most exclusive high school speech and debate tournaments in the nation.

The Company represented Desert Vista with the following results:

Mike Witt and Zaki Aizaz reached the octafinal round in Public Forum Debate, earning them a bid to the Tournament of Champions.

Brendan Porter was a semifinalist in Student Congress, Greg Hietala took seventh place in Student Congress and Brittany Stanchik earned third place in Student Congress. All Student Congress participants received a bid to the Tournament of Champions.

In speech events, Katy Miller was a quarterfinalist in Original Oratory; Priyanka Atreya was a quarterfinalist in Original Oratory; Sam Abney was a quarterfinalist in Dramatic Interpretation; Alexa Saunders was a quarterfinalist in Dramatic Interpretation; Mike Mazzella and Sammi Saunders were semifinalists in Duo Interpretation; Dillon Olmanson and Holly Nordquist were finalists in Duo Interpretation, placing third; Sam Abney was a finalist in Prose/Poetry Interpretation, placing fourth; and Rebecca Decarlo was a finalist in Prose Poetry Interpretation, placing third, and Original Oratory, placing second. She was the only student from any school to reach two final rounds.

Anna Gunderson was a finalist in extemporaneous speaking, placing third. Her ranking got her invited into the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemporaneous Speaking Round Robin. Only 16 students in the entire nation received an invitation to the MBA Round Robin in that tournament.

The Glenbrooks Invitational hosted more than 1,800 students from 220 schools in 36 states. Of all schools and all students, the Thunder Speech Theater and Debate Company placed first in the competition!