Peak People

Michelle Anderson, Columnist 

I can remember when Scottsdale Road turned to dirt at Lincoln Drive!  My sister and I used to conduct regular Sunday afternoon trotting races between our two horses on Tatum Blvd. (all dirt then), between Shea and Bell Rd. You might think I’m ancient, but no, have just lived in Phoenix/Scottsdale since being a mere pup.  Having two degrees in Agriculture, my interests lie in plants and animals –  our home (often referred to as a greenhouse!) has two huge Boston ferns over 25 years old, just to mention a few.  The beauty of this very special high Sonoran Desert and the incredible saguaros  is unmatched anyplace else in the world!  On the animal side, my family has been involved in Morgan horses since the late 60’s, and my dog group of choice is Terriers.

I moved to Arizona in 1975, resided in the Dobson Ranch area of Mesa, and raised three sons. In 1989 my husband and I moved to Pinnacle Peak.  I bbecame involved with my homeowner's association of Pinnacle Peak Unit II for the next ten years. I became acquainted with the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association through Don Schoenau in 1995.  I became a team player working with the city and it's staff to help preserve our rural life style. One of my passions is working on the "Peak" by educating residents of our history and promoting preservation.. 

Jane Hiltbrand, Columnist 

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but I started moving west as soon as I could. At this point I would say I have been “Westernized!” When I was nineteen I moved to Colorado where my husband worked as a hard-rock miner. We followed a “camp-miner” life-style and lived way up high in the Colorado Rockies in still-active (at the time) mining towns like Silverton, Ouray, Cripple Creek, Leadville and Creede. During that time, I became a fan of old mining lore, and read a lot of Zane Grey novels. It was fun to drive around to different places in Utah and Arizona and realize that Zane Grey had lived there.

Later on, I moved to New Mexico which is rich in tri-cultural history. It was a great pleasure to re-read “Death Comes to the Archbishop” by Willa Cather, and visit many of the locations she described; such as Acoma Pueblo where the natives threw the Franciscan Priests off the rocks!

I moved to Arizona in 1999, and this is my favorite southwestern home so far! My column in The Peak combines my love of history with my love of homes, as I am a realtor with The Equitable Real Estate Company. Please visit my website at www.janehiltbrand.com
 

Bean Town Les was transformed into Desert Les back in the late 70s while eating a chimichanga and drinking  margaritas at the old Garcia's Restaurant on Indian School Road in Scottsdale.  Yup. That day a prospect had suggested a visit to the popular Mexican restaurant. To get to Garcia's, Bean Town Les had driven up McDowell Road with Micky Gillie tunes blaring on the radio and his rear view mirror filled with the twinkling lights of Phoenix framed by a spectacular sunset.  Les was so taken by the friendliness and beauty of the "West's Most Western Town" that he proceeded to Old Town and loaded up with Indian jewelry for all his kin. Yup.

It took a little time and a lot of wangling, but in 1983,  Desert Les and his family moved to their desert "homestead," located in  the only neighborhood (about 10 houses, then) on Scottsdale Road between Bell Road and Carefree Highway. That first night, with coyotes howling up a storm, Desert Les and his wife, Desert Judy, scurried about locking doors and windows.  Don't tell anybody Pardner, but Desert Les was trembling in his boots (sneakers, if you look closely). Yup. 

Wasn't long before Desert Les was having encounters with many critters - javalina, coyotes, Colorado Rive toads, rattlers, scorpions, and worst of all, evil-doer developers. Yup. Well Pardner, somehow twenty years rode into the sunset carrying a lot of  open desert in its saddlebags, but there's still a one-shot opportunity to create something very special in this beautiful place. Desert Les hopes you'll pitch in and do what you can. Yup.

Natalie Keller, Columnist

Natalie Keller is a Registered Nurse with a Master of Arts in Counseling. She has advanced graduate studies in Marriage, Family and Child Therapy. Additonally, Natalie is a Certified Professional Counselor, a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor and a Certified Compulsive Gambling Counselor. She has a counseling/psychotherapy practice,Pinnacle Coaching & Counseling.

Natalie has been writing for The Peak for over one year and has lived in Scottsdale for about nine years. Natalie lived for eleven years off the mainland USA in Hawaii, Geneva Switzerland and Singapore which enhanced her knowledge of cultural diversity. She is married and has three children and two grandchildren.

Pinnacle Coaching & Counseling is located in the General Store Complex at the corner of Pinnacle Peak and Pima Roads in Suite F101. For more information please log on to her website at www.pincc.com.

William LeRoy, Columnist

William LeRoy is an avid desert preservationist and has been exploring the remote desert regions of California, Arizona and Utah for almost twenty-six years. His favorite pastime is outdoor photography. His subject matter includes the Archaic and Pre-Columbian Native American habitation sites scattered throughout the southwest.

William is the CEO of a nationwide association of mortgage banking attorneys. William moved to Scottsdale from Tustin, California in 2001. He became involved with Wild at Heart as a result of the rescue of the Great Horned Owl, Logan. (The true story of Logan’s rescue was featured in the October, 2003 issue of the Peak).  Since then, William has dedicated a significant portion of his time, energy and monies to support the efforts of Sam and Bob Fox and the other volunteers of Wild At Heart.  He is committed the conservation and preservation of Arizona's native wildlife through the rescue and rehabilitation of injured and orphaned birds of prey, relocation of displaced raptors, public education and habitat enhancement programs. 

William lives in North Scottsdale. 

Howard Myers, Columnist

Howard Myers was born in Maryland and raised in New York, but longed for some place more laid back, where natural beauty dominated over the built environment. After traveling extensively across the country with his family, he, and his wife Carol, found that Arizona was that place and moved here permanently in 1996.

 Both he and his wife were immediately captivated by the upper Sonoran desert and joined groups dedicated to preserving as much of it as possible. To that end, he has been a member of the City’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission for over 4 years, president of the Desert Property Owners’ Association, treasurer of the Friends of the Scenic Drive, a board member of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, and a member of COPP. He has also been very active working with the City to preserve as much of this area’s character as possible by working on all of the character studies done so far, on the Desert Foothills Zoning Overlay, revisions to the Environmentally Sensitive Land Ordinance, text amendments to the Wireless and Sign ordinances, as well as changes to other City ordinances and policies. He is an electrical engineer by trade and still works at that full time.

Donna Palica, Columnist

 Having grown up in a ‘dog family’, Donna was surprised when the very first homeless cat turned up and she felt an amazing connection and fascination with the tough little survivor.  Little Gray ‘Guy’ became the catalyst for launching Donna’s passion to learn everything she could about cats.   She holds a certificate in feline behavior from Cornell University and is a student of T-touch, a behavior mofidication therapy developed by Linda Tellington-Jones in the 1980’s.  Psychology courses in college complement her work with cats and their people.    

“My respect and admiration for cats continues to grow. Cats are more complex than dogs and quite often their behavior is misunderstood.  Many cats end up in shelters, abandoned, or euthanized because of inappropriate behavior that could have been resolved. Oftentimes what people consider bad behavior is in fact, the cat’s attempt to communicate with us and tell us what is wrong.  My goal is to give people the tools to better understand their pets and help restore acceptable behavior.”

Edie Shannon, Columnist

Edie Shannon is a mid Westerner who has been transplanted all around the US with her husband BJ. She has lived north, south, east and now west in North Scottsdale.  During those years she has taught at various levels, been an office manager, produced and directed plays, been a realtor, a trainer, choir director and Mom.

Edie loves music, to travel, cook, eat and read. In the recent past, much of her time has been spent providing business training places like in Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Nigeria, Russia, and Uganda. Her expertise is in the areas of Organizational Change and Human Resources.

This purpose of the training which is funded by the US state department is to develop the capabilities of the newly independent states to survive and prosper on their own, and secondly to bring back business to the US.  

“It’s all fun, well, maybe not the living conditions. But the people are great! Open minded, willing to learn, and eager to put into practice tomorrow what they learned today. I love training trainers, and find it particularly rewarding to work with woman’s entrepreneurs” says Edie. 

Edie and BJ have their own consulting company “Global Concepts Ltd.”

Marilyn Schletzer, Writer and Proof Reader

Marilyn Schletzer moved to the desert from her native Virginia thirteen years ago after vacationing in Scottsdale just once.  “I ate an orange off a tree, saw a sunset, and came face to face with a coyote.  I moved here the next year.” 

           Though her formal degree is in English, Marilyn fulfilled another passion in her life eight years ago when she embarked on career in the fitness business.  “I loved it instantly.  It combined my love of exercise and my desire to motivate people and gave me a chance to prove that if you make it fun, they’ll come back.  If it’s no fun, who’d want to?”  Since then, she and her husband, Jim, have been partners in three fitness facilities.  Currently, they own and operate Peak Personal Training, a training studio and 24-hour gym located at Pinnacle Peak and Pima Roads.  They specialize in functional and sport-specific training and provide guidance for individuals as well as groups.