SaddleBrooke Ranch resident Debby Bowen was named SBCO Receptionist of the Year for 2023-24.
Debby Bowen Honored as SBCO Receptionist of the Year
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
On April 8, at SaddleBrooke Community Outreach’s (SBCO) annual meeting, Debby Bowen was recognized as its receptionist of the year for 2023-24. This honor is significant for an all-volunteer organization that relies upon hundreds of volunteers to implement its programs to feed, clothe, enrich and educate youngsters living in the Copper Corridor. Debby was recognized from a group of 31 outstanding volunteers who work in the SBCO office.
Prior to moving to SaddleBrooke Ranch from Lynnwood, Wash., in 2020, Debby and her husband, Tim, owned a cruise travel agency. She had worked for the company as a receptionist and when the owner wanted to sell, she and Tim decided to purchase the business. After running the business for 25 years, they were ready to retire. Their search for a warmer place to live led them to the area north of Tucson. Former clients had settled in Marana and while that wasn’t a fit for them, the Ranch was.
Debby learned about SBCO at an Activity Fair held at the Ranch and began volunteering later in 2020. Working as a receptionist in the SBCO office was a natural fit, based on her work with the travel agency, as well as her prior work in an assessor’s office and other clerical positions. In addition to serving as a receptionist, Debby has helped with the SBCO Thanksgiving Baskets program and the annual Food Drive. In fact, the Bowen’s garage has served as the assembly site for Thanksgiving baskets delivered by Ranch residents to families in the San Manuel/Mammoth Unified School District.
Debby says, “I find it very gratifying to know that I can help in some small way and seeing the volunteers who come and go, so graciously doing whatever they can to make SBCO work for the kids. I enjoy working with all the other receptionists and being part of something so important.”
To those thinking about volunteering for SBCO, she would advise, “Volunteering is a great opportunity to help in any capacity, knowing that children in the 100-mile service area are going to smile and feel blessed when they get that new outfit for school, a warm coat in the winter, new shoes they’ve never had before, food in their tummies, and scholarships that will help them with their college expenses. The needs are never ending and constantly growing. It requires many volunteers and we need you!”
Prior to walking the route, 2023 Walk for Kids participants were led in warm-up exercises by Janis Bottai of Vital Moves.
Save the Date for 26th Annual SBCO Walk for Kids!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Each year, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) hosts the Walk for Kids. This year the Walk will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. This signature SBCO event helps support our food, clothing, enrichment, and education programs benefiting youngsters along a 100+ mile corridor from Catalina to Globe. Annually, SBCO touches the lives of approximately 4,000 students through new clothes, backpacks filled with school supplies, post-high school scholarships, contributions to Tri-Community Food Bank, and financial support for a wide range of enrichment activities.
Online registration for the 2024 Walk for Kids will begin in August at community-outreach.org. The registration fee per adult and child (ages 6 through 18) will cover the cost of a t-shirt, snacks, and drinks.
If you choose not to register online, in person registration will begin after Labor Day and run through Oct. 25, every Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the SBCO office at Suite L in the Minit-Market plaza. Registrations will also be accepted the day of the event.
However, early registration is recommended to ensure that you receive a t-shirt in the desired size.
Talk to your neighbors about forming a unit Walk for Kids team! Walking with friends while supporting SBCO is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
Laura Pauli was elected SBCO president at the organization’s annual meeting on April 8, 2024.
SBCO’s New President Committed to Volunteerism
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” There’s truth in that statement because busy people don’t waste time—they manage it. Laura Pauli, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach’s new president, has always been a busy and productive person.
Laura and her husband, Don Cain, moved to SaddleBrooke in May 2006 and she has wanted to be part of SBCO’s mission ever since. But until January 2023, she was working full time for IBM in finance. Her career with “I’ve Been Moved” spanned 42 years of financial planning and budgeting, pricing for products and services, business process audit management, and finally, mergers and acquisitions. However, she still managed, despite juggling time zone differences, travel and the other demands of her job to squeeze in volunteer work.
In 2007, Laura and Don became SBCO members and in the fall of 2015, she took on the task of maintaining the organization’s publicity scrapbook, a task she could fit in whenever her schedule permitted. It also became a good way for her to learn about SBCO’s programs. She also served on the finance committee of SaddleBrooke HOA 2 from 2010 to 2013, until she and Don relocated to a house in HOA 1. Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries benefited from Laura’s leadership as treasurer for six years, beginning in 2012, and as president for an additional four years.
Since 2017, Laura has served three terms as co-president and a term as president for Soroptimist International of Desert Tucson, as well as leading the committees for each of its service projects and writing grant applications. In 2020, Laura became involved with Soroptimist International of the Golden West Region, which has more than 30 clubs. She led the region’s service program offering career support to secondary-school-age girls for two years and is finishing two years as region leader of multiple service programs to improve access to education for girls and women facing obstacles. In July Laura will begin a two-year term as district director for the clubs in southern Arizona and western New Mexico. The Soroptimists focus on projects that lead to social and economic empowerment for women and girls in underserved communities. Laura actually became involved with the local club when she worked for IBM in Tucson in the 1980s and renewed her involvement after returning to the area in 2006. “The group is all about providing access to education as a path to success, which is something I really believe in,” noted Laura.
Laura understands the importance of a post-high school degree. She worked a variety of hospitality and clerical jobs and obtained financial aid to complete her bachelor’s degree. “After having five children, my mother got her master’s in social work and worked for child protective services. My dad had an associate’s degree and worked in hospitality management. I knew a degree was the only way I could get an interesting, good paying job. I really value SBCO’s efforts to provide local kids with educational opportunities so they can realize their career goals.”
After she retired, Laura was ready to take on a bigger role with SBCO and became executive vice president, focusing on seasonal programs, such as Walk for Kids, Thanksgiving Baskets, Adopt a Family/Adopt a Child, and the SBCO Food Drive. As president she looks forward to maintaining SBCO’s efforts to provide the youth in Arizona’s Copper Corridor—from Catalina north to Globe and east to San Carlos and Fort Thomas—with opportunities to succeed through programs that offer food, clothing, enrichment and scholarships for post-secondary training or education.
Laura says, “What I enjoy most about volunteering is showing up—participating in planning the projects and being on hand to help make them happen. It gives me a deep sense of satisfaction to help others and I always learn something that I can apply to other projects or volunteer organizations. I’d encourage others interested in volunteering for SBCO to raise your hand, offer to help. and do your best. You won’t regret it.”
Makaiah Gorham is an outstanding student, and SBCO has been proud to provide scholarships to support his undergraduate and graduate studies.
SBCO Endowment Fund Awards Three Graduate School Scholarships
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
In 2001, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) began awarding two- and four-year college scholarships. In 2019, SBCO established a scholarship endowment fund so that more scholarships could be granted without taking money from other SBCO programs. Donations made to the fund are managed by Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CFSA was founded in Tucson in 1980 and has managed more than $200 million in grants over the past four decades. Even if SBCO should one day cease to exist, endowment fund donations will continue to be used to fund scholarships for future generations of students.
Each year CFSA designates an amount that SBCO can use to award scholarships. To date, these funds have been used to award one-time graduate school grants. This year the funds were distributed to three students:
Makaiah Gorham—Master’s of Global Management, ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management
Clarissa Gonzalez—Master’s of Social Work, Northern Arizona University
Sarah Perz—Master’s of Health Management, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona
In coming months, we plan to profile all three students in SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch publications. This month, the focus is on Makaiah Gorham.
After graduating from San Manuel High School in 2017, Makaiah volunteered in the Philippines for two years, performing tasks ranging from pulling weeds and cleaning gutters to typhoon preparation and clean-up. He continued to volunteer and work full-time while attending Pima Community College, where he finished with a 4.0 GPA. In 2020, he moved to attend Brigham Young University-Hawaii, majoring in business marketing and minoring in psychology and Mandarin. SBCO awarded Makaiah scholarships for all four years of his undergraduate studies. While at BYU, Makaiah raised funds for Ukraine, led a project in outer Mongolia to improve soil quality, traveled to approximately 20 countries, and started an ongoing business in the Philippines.
This summer he will begin pursuing a master’s in business administration at Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management, focusing on global entrepreneurship. SBCO has given him a one-time graduate school grant to help support his studies. Upon graduation, Makaiah plans to move to the Philippines, grow his existing business and expand it to Indonesia, India and Africa. Approximately 70% of the students in the program at ASU are from India or Africa, making it an ideal training site for his goals.
Makaiah says, “All of these amazing experiences I’ve had—the travel, the jobs, the people, the achievements have all been because I have been here at BYU-Hawaii and SBCO has subsidized a huge amount of my tuition and I cannot thank you enough.”