Juan Gonzalez of Senor Taco, 2019 Legacy Award Winner As co-owner and manager of two Senor Taco restaurants in town, Juan is being recognized for leaving a long-lasting legacy in the Town of Fountain Hills. The Chamber of Commerce honored him as the 2013 Business Person of the Year. In 2018, he was given the […]

Legacy Award: The Sonoran Trailblazers
The Sonoran Trailblazers, 2018 Legacy Award Winners The Sonoran Trailblazers has been named recipient of the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame’s Legacy Award.The Trailblazers, under the leadership of Bill Craig, is a group of volunteers who have built every foot of the Fountain Hills hiking and biking trails using picks and shovels. There are […]

Legacy Award: Verde Cares
Verde Cares, 2017 Legacy Award Winner The Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame has announced that VerdeCares, a non-profit home health provider based in Rio Verde, will be the recipient of the Hall of Fame’s 2017 Legacy Award.The volunteer organization was nominated by the Verdes Hall of Fame members. “We feel strongly that VerdeCares best represents […]

Legacy Award: Carlos Hadaway
Carlos Hadaway, 2016 Legacy Award Winner The person who nominated him said, “Carlos is one of those unique people who always makes people smile and feel good. He is generous and kind and interesting. There may not be a category for Carlos Hall of Fame because he is one-of-a-kind.â€Before he was an award-winning Western artist, […]

Legacy Award: Phil Rodakis
Phil Rodakis, 2015 Legacy Winner Phil Rodakis, owner of Phil’s Filling Station restaurant is the 2015 Legacy Award Winner. Phil moved to the community in 1994. He had managed a Red Robin restaurant at Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale and opened another on Shea Boulevard, east of the 101. But his dream was to have […]

Legacy Award: Fountain Hills Ministerial Association
Fountain Hills Ministerial Association , 2014 Legacy Winner The River of Time Museum Foundation is proud to announce the Fountain Hills Ministerial Association is the recipient of the fifth annual Legacy Award. Since its founding during the town’s early days, the Ministerial Association, has been represented by a variety of faiths as well as Christian […]

Legacy Award: Victoria Betrone & C.A.R.E
C.A.R.E Fountain Hills: Victoria Bertone, 2012 Legacy Winner Victoria Bertone and her Fountain Hills C.A.R.E. organization were named the third recipient of the Legacy Award. C.A.R.E., an acronym for the Crisis Activated Response Effort, can best be described as “Second Responders”, following the first response by the fire department, Sheriff’s Office or the Arizona Department […]

Legacy Award Winner: Jenny Willigrod & Jerry Butler
Greening of Downtown: Jenny Willigrod & Jerry Butler, 2013 Legacy Award Winners Downtown Greening Project co-chairs Jenny Willigrod and Jerry Butler are the recipients of the fourth annual Legacy Award. The Downtown Greening Project was conceived as a part of the Swaback Partners Downtown Development Plan. Since forming, the committee has placed 140 trees in […]

Legacy Award: Judy Starr Confer
2011 Legacy Award Winner: Judy Starr Confer (1940-2014) Judy Starr Confer is the second Legacy Award winner. She and Steve Busker moved from Michigan to Fountain Hills in 1994. Her trade was interior design. Upon moving to the desert, she created new products to market. Among them are the Cactus Clan Saguaro People and featherweight […]

The Legacy Award: Sally Atchinson
2010 Legacy Award Winner: Sally Atchinson Sally Ballee Atchinson and her two children, Sheri, age 14, and Steve, age 12, were the first official residents to move to Fountain Hills on February 12, 1972. She said it would have been earlier had the utilities been completed. Their home was on Calaveras Avenue, constructed by Cocopah […]