CFMA - Valley of the Sun

Happy National Tortilla Chip Day! When : Always February 24th Today is a holiday with a crunch. One might even suggest that it is a corny holiday. Well, that's okay because today is National Tortilla Chip Day. Just a few decades ago, Americans seldom ate Corn Chips and Salsa. It's popularity has grown immensely. Today is a tribute to that rising popularity of one of America's favorite munchies. Did you know? The corn chip recipe was brought to the U.S. from Mexico by Texas businessman Elmer Doolin.  Celebrate National Tortilla Chip Day with a handful of crunchy, tasty corn chips and your favorite salsa or dip.

As reported by Jan Buchholz in the Phoenix Business Journal on Tuesday, February 21st: The Phoenix metro area has lost the most construction jobs of all metro areas — some 93,000 — since the industry was at its peak in December 2006, according to the Associated General Contractors .  Construction employment remains below peak levels in 329 out of 337 metro areas, recent analysis shows. The AGC is recommending that Congress support legislation to increase spending on highway, transit and aviation construction work. “What makes these job losses even more frustrating is the fact that many of them could have been avoided, said AGC’s CEO Stephen Sandherr . “Thousands more construction workers would be employed today if Congress wasn’t years late in passing measures like the highway and transit bill.” In terms of the highest percentage of jobs lost, the Lake Havasu City-Kingman area lost the most jobs nationally, some 70 percent of its construction workforce, or 5,300 jobs, sinc...

Saturday Success!! In the spirit of community, a number of CFMA VOS members and their families gathered in Arcadia last Saturday to glean the citrus trees of their delicious, nutritious fruit for a massive donation to St Mary’s Food Bank. Pictured below are a number of the participants (as usual, we forgot to pull out the camera while EVERYBODY was still there! J ). Despite gravity and the grapefruits that bounced off of a couple of heads, arms, faces, etc. no one sustained more than a couple of scratches and bruises! A BIG thank you to all the kids that showed up – they really worked hard and were a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone that showed up and we’ll keep you posted on next years pick!

Just a reminder - see you on Thursday!!

REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR CASH TO THE NEXT LUNCHEON! -Raffle tickets are on sale for a chance to be entered to win a free registration to the CFMA National Conference in Orlando, Florida this June!!! $ 1,095 Value -Raffle tickets are $10 each OR 3 for $25. - Drawing will be held at the April luncheon. -Two Registrations will be awarded AND proceeds raised from the raffle will be split between the two winners!!!

Happy Lame Duck Day! Hey, today is everything it's quacked up to be. Lame Duck Day is set aside to give recognition to people whose tenure in a position is running out.   On Lame Duck Day...  If you are a Lame Duck: Enjoy those final days. Reflect upon you successes, and the joys and rewards the position provided to you. Kick back a little and have some fun today, and in the remaining days.    If you know a Lame Duck: Supporters should provide recognition and support. Non-supporters can cut the Lame Duck a little slack today. They will soon be gone.   If you are a duck and you are lame, seek medical attention.

                SAVE THE DATE!! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS!! You know you have been waiting for news of this years' installment of CFMA VoS Education Seminar. Every year has gotten bigger and better and this year is no exception! New venue! New topics! There is so much to see and do this year you don’t want to miss it! Look for the brochure at the next monthly luncheon - then you will actually be able to "Look Inside for details" (unlike right now where that line is just there to tease you.) Stop what you are doing and mark your calendar right now for Thursday, May 17 th ! Why are you still reading this? Go! Mark your calendar right now! More details to follow……wait, are you still here? Why are you still reading this? Go! Mark your calendar right now! Stop trying to look inside - you have to wait for the lunch to see inside! Go! Mark your calendar right now!

Happy Groundhog Day! In case you have not heard the good news, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so we are in for six more weeks of winter. At least for us, here in the VOS, that means six more weeks of 70 degree weather with blue skies and light breezes – I say “Bring it On!”. This month there are a number of dates to remember, including: Feb 10 th – New Member Breakfast Feb 16 th – Monthly lunch Feb 18 th – Community Service Day Feb 23 rd – Association Mixer For more details and information, leave a comment here on the blog or check out the CFMA web-site!