Volleyball was Kyle Pitman’s secondary sport, but it was hard to tell with his effort and influence on the court.

Enjoy great food, live music and fireworks at the 38th celebration of Red, White and Boom! Hosted by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce and presented by Vision Community Management, the Red, White and Boom Fireworks Festival is professionally produced by HDE Agency and will be at the Ahwatukee Country Club, 12432 S. 48th St. from 4 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3.

The city of Phoenix Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is hosting a Homebuyer Information Session at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, at the Sunnyslope Senior Center, 802 E. Vogel Ave. The session will feature available Move-In Ready (MIR) homes in established Phoenix neighborhoods as well as newly built green homes at the Gordon Estates subdivision located at 16th and Apollo streets, between Southern Avenue and Baseline Road.

Forget the tie. Think bespoke booze for Father’s Day, specifically a beverage tailor-made to suit the hobbies father knows best.

She started looking into her homeowner’s association because she just didn’t think what they were doing to her was fair.

Five years ago Ahwatukee Foothills resident Joe Busone made headlines when his firing from a corporately-owned restaurant caused many of his employees to walk out with him. Those employees inspired him to open a restaurant of his own, and over the weekend of June 1 the business celebrated four years of doing what the staff loves.

All quarterbacks and receivers in sixth to 10th grade are invited to attend a specialized instructional camp June 24-27 from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at Mountain Pointe High School, 4201 E. Knox Road.

Festival of Lights (FOL) committee members are inviting the adults of Ahwatukee Foothills to come party this weekend at the 18th Annual Festival of Lights Wine and Beer Tasting.
Hundreds of people attend the event each year. This year’s festivities will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. tomorrow, June 1, at the Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive. The Festival of Lights Charity Golf Tournament will be earlier in the day on Saturday at the Foothills Golf Club. The shotgun scramble tees off at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $100 for individuals with discounts for a foursome. That price includes a round of golf, a cart, a buffet lunch, range balls, a goody bag and entrance into multiple drawings. Golfers can register at Safeway or through the Festival of Lights website, www.folaz.org.
Money raised from both events will benefit the community’s Festival of Lights, Ahwatukee Kiwanis and the YMCA’s Outreach Program for Ahwatukee Seniors (YOPAS).
Tickets for the wine tasting can be purchased for $40 in advance at www.folaz.org, or for $50 at the door on Saturday night. There are also additional discounts for large groups who purchase tickets in advance.
Guests will have a chance to sample more than 50 varieties of wine and beer along with food from local restaurants. Dr. Ron and the Painkillers will provide live music throughout the night.
The silent auction this year is excellent, said Linda Jochim, a FOL committee member. There will be more than 120 items up for auction including several different spa packages, vacation getaways, tickets to sporting events and even a three-day Harley rental. Of course, the silent auction will also include gift cards to local restaurants and lots of sports memorabilia. Jochim said donors to the silent auction have been more than generous this year and it should make for some great bargains for those who bid.
Every year from Thanksgiving to New Years night thousands of strands of lights span Chandler Boulevard. The tradition has continued through the support of the Ahwatukee Foothills community. Each year the kick-off party is filled with events and activities for kids and families to enjoy while the wine and beer tasting in the summer is a celebration for the adults.
To sign up, or to find out more information, visit www.folaz.org.


Arizona Christian University will hosts the 2013 Baseball Recruit Identification Camp June 3-6 at Firestorm Field. Players ages 14-18 are invited to attend the camp, which focuses on baseball skills development.

In a time of upheaval, when everything for Axel Muller was changing, he grasped onto the one thing that he could always rely on — his athleticism.


While planning a patient appreciation event when Pecos Pool opened about 10 years ago, Dr. Joe Pearson never thought it would continue on into a decade-long summer tradition.

Taylor Guthrie, a student from Chandler, was recently honored as one of the brightest young students in the nation at a statewide awards ceremony for academically advanced children sponsored by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY).

Selling your first home in a buyers’ market? You can get the best possible price if you know how to negotiate.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee is preparing to defend Ahwatukee residents’ quality of life during construction of the South Mountain Freeway, should it go down Pecos Road.

Memorial Day symbolizes the start of summer for you and your pet. Before you start planning trips to the beach and summer getaways, keep in mind that it’s important to plan ahead for pet travel and always keep the best interests of your furry, four-legged friends in mind.

Instead of asking for gifts, St. John Bosco sixth-graders Lauren A. and Shea S. combined their recent 12th birthday parties into a fundraiser for a family in need. The Perres are local residents facing heart wrenching medical issues and staggering medical costs. Within two months of one another, Mrs. Perre was diagnosed with a form of Lou Gehrig’s disease and her 16-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer. Lauren and Shea invited the entire sixth-grade population of St. John Bosco, as well as many other friends, to party at Desert Foothills Park on April 26. In lieu of birthday gifts, Shea, Lauren and their friends dug into their piggy banks and donated money to help the Perres. In the end, Lauren, She and their friends collected approximately $1,700. The Perres were overwhelmed at the compassion and generosity of both the girls and the community.

What do United States Congressman David Schweikert, State Senate Majority Leader John McComish, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, Kedrick Ellison of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Shauer, Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Baca, and Pangea Development have in common?

Sydney and Eryn Schmisseur found the sport of synchronized swimming somewhat serendipitously.

Phoenix film makers Marcus A. Stricklin and Sandy Kim, of Future Legends Production, have been invited to the Cannes Short Film Corner for the production of their film, “The Last Dance,” working with children actors from Ahwatukee.

Alex Shin, a kindergartner at Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary School, placed first in a writing contest for PBS Kids Go! He was invited to a special awards ceremony in downtown Phoenix where local author, Terri Fields, presented Shin with his first place prize, a Kindle Fire.

It’s been eight months since I had the great opportunity to join the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Since that time we have not made radical changes to the paper or wild editorial changes to the product. What I wanted to do was listen to our readers and take note of any changes that would aid this great community.

Doria MeChelle is a teacher by day, salon owner by night, and once a month she flies across the country to do the hair of faithful clients. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

The 2013 USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour opened with hot temperatures and even hotter action at the Desert Open on April 28 in Glendale.

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway expansion has been released, local environmentalists are planning to use the 90-day comment period to tear it apart.

The Mountain Pointe duo of Natrell Curtis and Jalen Brown keep getting national attention.