Life Coach in Buckeye, AZ

Edkey Inc. – Sequoia Schools celebrated the opening of Sequoia Pathfinder Academy at Verrado Way & I-10 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and “Meet the Teacher” night with students and their parents. The elementary and secondary schools are located at Verrado Way and the I-10 in Buckeye, Ariz. The school will provide students in grades K-11 with the highest quality teaching and an outstanding learning environment.

“One main component that has been missing in this community has been a school that is both high-end in academics and athletics,” said Mark Plitzuweit, Edkey’s President and CEO. “I think what we have been able to build for this community is something that will go on for years to come as a proud legacy.”

READ ALSO: Ranking Arizona: Top 10 charter and private schools for 2022

The students and their families that attended the ceremony celebrated a space where the future generation can truly thrive. Joshua Hernandez, an 8^th grader who will begin classes on the new campus, helped commemorate the moment by cutting the ribbon with school officials and community members present. He was chosen by his principal for living out the school’s vision.

“Today’s ceremony is a reminder of our school’s vision, which is to prepare our teachers and students for the future and develop individuals with leadership skills, STEAM+ knowledge, and a strong work ethic,” said Jacob Jacobo, Sequoia Pathfinder Campus Director.

The 35,727-square-foot facility with 20 classrooms, gymnasium, performance platform, warming kitchen, administrative offices, restrooms, storage, fire suppression system, and outdoor playground equipment, was built by Willmeng Construction and designed by SPS+ Architects’ Neil Pieratt, who had designed many of Edkey’s schools. During construction, Pieratt sadly passed away. In honor of his impact on the community, Edkey dedicated Sequoia Pathfinder Academy to his legacy.

“Knowing that I’m never going to be able to build a school with him ever again makes my heart heavy,” said Willmeng Partner Keith Sabia, before the dedication. “I know his work always touched the Edkey family and the community members of this school.”

The employees of Willmeng Construction would like to give our deepest condolences to the family of Neil Pieratt during this difficult time. We also extend our thoughts to the SPS+ Architects team and anyone else mourning this loss. We truly believe that Neil’s impact on the community will be felt for many years come, and the students, faculty, and staff will be able to thrive in their learning environment because of his efforts.

The Mangat Group, a Glendale-based land development group, announced today plans to build a world-class cricket stadium to serve the international cricket community in Buckeye, Ariz. The 20,000-seat stadium, known as MG Cricket Stadium, will sit on 30 acres located north of the I-10 freeway on Miller Road.

“Although cricket has been played for many years in other countries, it’s gaining popularity here in the states with many athletes, professional and amateur,” says Tony Mangat, founder of The Mangat Group. “There are limited places for cricket players and enthusiasts to play, as games have been played on baseball and soccer fields in recent years. Our goal is to create a dedicated place for all cricket enthusiasts to enjoy the sport with accurate accommodations and proper field dimensions.”

READ ALSO: 5 of 10 fastest-growing Arizona cities are in the West Valley

While there are cricket complexes in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Pearland, Texas, MG Cricket Stadium will be the second ICC-Certified cricket stadium in North America, the first west of the Mississippi, and the first cricket stadium in the state of Arizona. The only other ICC-Certified stadium is located in Lauderhill, Fla.

Earlier this year, USA Cricket partnered with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) to create a professional US T20 cricket league that will hopefully lead to the creation of Major League Cricket across the country. Mangat hopes Phoenix and the MG Cricket Stadium will be a key part in the creation of those teams.

Mangat and his team plan to build a state-of-the-art soccer field and pickleball court in addition to the cricket stadium, along with a training facility for players. An additional 20 acres will include a hotel and shops for entertainment. Plans for a parking structure are also in development.

“Buckeye continues attracting new industrial, retail and entertainment developments to the city,” said Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn. “The announcement of this facility creates another amenity for our residents to enjoy. It is definitely a great time to be in Buckeye!”

The stadium comes at a perfect time of growth and development in the West Valley and Arizona. Buckeye is in the top 5% of population growth in the country, and many companies continue to relocate to the area. The major interstate is also under construction as the Department of Transportation works on widening the I-10 to accommodate the growth explosion.

Mangat has partnered with Managing Partner, Vispi Karanjia, from the national architecture firm Orcutt Winslow, and Marc Taylor Inc. Construction Management. Cricket enthusiasts Ashish Bobby Malhotra (Desi Rasoi Brand) and Dr. Nishant Gupta have also partnered with Mangat to help develop the largest cricket stadium in the country.

To learn more about MG Cricket Stadium, please visit http://www.mgcricketstadium.com/. For more information on business opportunities, contact John Lowson at jlowson@mgcricketstadium.com.

Az Business and AZRE magazines announced the publications’ lists of the Most Influential Women in Arizona of 2022 including, Lisa Rulney, senior vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, University of Arizona. In celebration of the 11th anniversary of the Most Influential Women program, azbigmedia.com is profiling one of the Most Influential Women of 2022 each day leading up to the Most Influential Women of 2022 dinner and reception.

READ ALSO: The Most Influential Women in Arizona Business for 2022

READ ALSO: The Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate for 2022

The Most Influential Women for 2022 will be honored at a reception on August 25 at Chateau Luxe in Phoenix. For sponsorship information, email Amy.Lindsey@azbigmedia.com. For information about the event honoring the Most Influential Women, email Lynette.Carrington@azbigmedia.com or click here. To buy tickets, click here.

BACKGROUND: Passionate about unlocking and developing the potential in those around her, Lisa Rulney serves as the University of Arizona’s (UA) senior business and financial officer. Her strategic leadership of the finance and administrative functions — traditionally male-dominated — ensures her teams have the flexibility to create innovative and effective business processes that advance the university and its mission.

SOURCE OF PRIDE: “In the immediate weeks of the pandemic, I established the Financial Sustainability Emergency Response Taskforce made up of faculty, staff, and students in seven working groups that focused on mitigation strategies, new opportunities to generate revenue and novel approaches to the way we did business in order to maintain UA’s long-term institutional health. In just 15 months, we implemented over 80 recommendations from the task force.”

SURPRISING FACT: “I can pitch a tent, light a fire, operate a portable camp stove and lead guided groups off-trail through forests using only a topo map and compass — without getting lost!”

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: “My earliest memories of leadership were formed by Thelma Gentry, my paternal grandmother. Thelma was an inspiring, gracious and humble leader. She taught the importance of volunteerism by including me on rounds for Meals on Wheels, modeled lifelong learning via daily reading, shared her love of the environment by teaching me how to maintain her gardens, and instilled my fidelity to accuracy and acumen through her role in my grandfather’s construction company.”

Rachel Davis-Schultz, CopperPoint Insurance Companies

Brigitte Finley Green, Engelman Berger

Lin Sue Flood, Hospice of the Valley

Christine Gannon, BrightWorks Consulting

Karen Hoffman Tepper, PhD, Terros Health

Dawn Jones, Intel

Lisa Lovallo, Cox Communications

Lyndel Manson, Arizona Board of Regents

Carli Ann McClure, Grant Thornton

Karla Morales, Arizona Technology Council

Breanna Naegeli, PhD, Grand Canyon University

Shar Najafi-Piper, PhD, Copa Health

Christina Noyes, Gust Rosenfeld

Grace O’Sullivan, Arizona State University

Reena Rastogi, MD, Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Karen Roch, Credit Union West

Lisa Rulney, University of Arizona

Sherry Stotler, Valleywise Health

Lynn Toler, TV judge and host

Kelli Tonkin, Enterprise Bank & Trust

Telle VanTrojen, Geneva Financial

Ruth Veloria, University of Phoenix

Amy Walters, Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Annabel Whiting, PNC

Reine Yazbeck Hamilton, Wells Fargo

Sandra Zebrowski, MD, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Morgan Betancourt, project director, Okland Construction

Keri Davies, partner, LevRose Commercial Real Estate

Alicia Hardwick, leasing manager, Prologis

Michelle Heeb, president and CEO, Forward Tilt

Dani Huval, business development director, Chasse Building Team

Bev Jensen, regional operations manager, Colliers

Carrie Kelly, executive director, Arizona Association for Economic Development

Alexandra Loye, executive managing director, Cushman & Wakefield

Stephanie Maderazzo-Hughes, CEO and COO, Canyon State Electric

Nancy McClure, first vice president, CBRE

Kathleen Morgan, managing director, Newmark

Vicki Robinson, senior vice president, JLL

Heather Skinner, vice president of global real estate, JP Morgan Chase

Angela Watson, president and CEO, Shepley Bulfinch

It’s not the best sign when a couple of your linebackers have moved over from running back over the last few years. Luckily for Ohio State, the linebackers that have moved from the offensive side of the football are two tremendous athletes. Last year, Steele Chambers got his feet wet at linebacker at the college level, becoming a key contributor on a Buckeye defense that struggled. This year, Arizona State transfer DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum hopes to follow a similar path.

Trayanum is off to a great start in scarlet and gray, becoming the first player in fall camp to lose his black stripe. The transfer joins Tanner McAlister, Kye Stokes, and Caden Curry as new Buckeyes to have their black stripe removed, in addition to Jyaire Brown just this Tuesday. The other three officially became part of the Ohio State brotherhood during spring practices.

The new Buckeye is originally from Akron, playing on both sides of the football for Archbishop Hoban. Trayanum was a four-star prospect, ranking as one of the top players in Ohio coming out of high school. Even though Ohio State recruited Trayanum, Arizona State earned his commitment because they recruited him exclusively at running back. Ohio State recruited him on both sides of the football, keeping their options open to play him in the position that would help the team most.

In two years at Arizona State, Trayanum carried the football 127 times for 692 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns for the Sun Devils. The Akron product burst onto the scene in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, rushing for 84 yards and two touchdowns in his first college game against USC. In his next game, Trayanum recorded the only 100-yard rushing game of his college career, racking up 108 yards against UCLA.

2021 saw Trayanum receive even more work at running back, rushing for 402 yards and six touchdowns. Even though he didn’t reach triple digits in any game, Trayanum had solid performances against UCLA, where he rushed for 68 yards and a score, followed by an 89-yard game a few weeks later against Washington State, where he also found the end zone.

Even though Trayanum was set to be Arizona State’s leading returning rusher this year after Rachaad White was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the increase in carries wasn’t enough to keep Trayanum from entering the transfer portal. The lure of Trayanum to return to Ohio and play for the premier college football program in the state was too much to pass up. Trayanum gave head coach Ryan Day a big Christmas present, announcing on Dec. 25 he would be joining the Buckeyes.

After trying his hand at running back, Trayanum is eager to return to the defensive side of the football. With guys like Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers already entrenched in their roles at linebacker, Ohio State doesn’t need Trayanum to be an every-down linebacker. Where Trayanum will provide value is giving the Buckeyes an athletic option to spell the starters when they need a breather. Also, if the linebacker unit is dealt some bad injury luck, Trayanum helps the depth of the group.

Since Trayanum’s first year of college football came during 2020 when COVID-19 shortened the season, he still has three years of college eligibility left. While it would be great to see him make a ton of plays at linebacker for the Buckeyes this year, Jim Knowles and the defensive coaching staff can ease him back into the role. Where it will really be interesting to see what Trayanum does on the field will be in 2023 and 2024. Ohio State can follow a similar plan as they did with Chambers, where they gradually gave him more time at linebacker to allow his confidence at the position to grow.

Even though the defense hasn’t performed up to expectations the last few years, there is reason for optimism this year and going forward, especially at linebacker. After having what seemed like too few linebackers last year, now it almost feels like there might be too many, which is a great problem to have. With the amount of linebackers that are hungry for reps, it will force those in the group to be at their best on every snap, or else there is someone waiting to take those snaps and make a name for themselves. Expect to see Trayanum be one of those to earn more snaps as the season goes on.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

+2500

PHOENIX - Cleanup efforts remain ongoing in parts of the Phoenix area on July 18, after a weekend of monsoon weather brought lots of damage to various parts of the Valley.

The weekend of wild weather has resulted in cities across the Valley being left with severe damage, from fallen trees to downed power lines.

As of the afternoon of July 18, thousands are still without power.

East Valley

According to officials with the National Weather Service, a microburst happened in parts of the East Valley, which packed wind gusts of up to 80 miles per hour. The microburst knocked down some power lines, as well as leveling a home and trapping a woman inside.

On July 18, people are still sifting through what's left of the home.

"It rumbled and lifted up, and everything was shaking. Felt like I was in a boat," Elaine Cabrera recounted.

The incident happened along State Route 87. The house, which belongs to a woman identified as Suzette Garcia, was reportedly lifted up by the storm, and tossed 30 feet onto a road.

Cabrera and Garcia's daughter ran out to find her in the debris.

"She was calling for help. She was moaning. In a lot of pain. For some reason, her wheelchair was just right there, so her daughter pulled her out, put her in the wheelchair and got her back to her house, and the ambulance finally came," Cabrera recounted.

People at the scene immediately afterwards said the rain was falling so fast onto the debris, that it felt like they were taking a shower.

Garcia's sister, Paula Ray, returned from the hospital on July 18. She described her sister's current condition.

"She was able to talk to us, knew who we were, and then, they moved her up to ICU overnight," said Ray.

Everyone living near Garcia will now look for a hotel for the night, as they try to clean up what's left.

"I feel sad, and hurt that she’s hurt," said Cabrera. "I don’t wish this on her, or anybody. I know there’s a lot of devastation in our community right now, with this whatever happened, so it’s terrible. She said she heard it coming, got up to go out, ended up in the kitchen/ She literally felt her trailer lift come down and then roll. She was trying to make it out but couldn’t make it out."

Meanwhile, State Route 87 has partially reopened between Gilbert Road and Shea Boulevard. The highway remains closed between McDowell and Gilbert Roads.

West Valley

The weekend storms also affected parts of the West Valley, with Buckeye getting slammed by high wind and rain on Saturday and Sunday.

"He said it sounded like a sonic boom," said Trevor Bale, describing a wild Saturday night storm that mangled a shade for horses on his hay farm, and destroyed parts of the roof over their main store.

Farther north, in the Sundance community at around 275th Avenue and Van Buren, hundreds of Mesquite and Palo Verde trees were pocked up, and laid down by mother nature.

"It's just been non-stop for our crews," said Annie Dechance with the City of Buckeye.

In and around Buckeye, private and city crews can be seen engaging in cleanup efforts.

Eloy

The storm affected more than just people living in the Phoenix area, as people in the Eloy area also saw widespread power outages as a result of the storm.

"It started off a red storm. The whole sky was red," said Blake Ramirez, who lives in the Eloy area. "Next thing you know, everything went black, and rain everywhere."

The storm took down more than a dozen power poles along Battaglia Road, resulting in power outages, which continued into July 18, as people deal with hot daytime temperatures that Arizonan often experience during the summer months.

Residents were alerted that their electricity would be out for another couple of days, leaving them sweltering inside their homes.

"This morning, I went into Casa Grande because they had power," said resident Elaine Matthies. "Last night, I just opened the windows and enjoyed the 76 degrees outside. It was a little warm."

"We’re getting ready to head down to Sun Splash. House is about 80F right now," said Ramirez.

Power Outage Updates