Founded in 2002 in the United Kingdom, Photocentric has been at the cutting edge of innovation in photopolymer, manufacturing a wide variety of materials that harden in light.
Photocentric will locate its U.S. headquarters in Avondale
Sussely Morales
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Avondale in the Top 10 Income Increases in the Country
Avondale experienced the seventh-highest median income increase in the country from 2022 to 2023, a new study shows.
The study, conducted by financial technology company SmartAsset, examined 636 cities, ranking them based on the percent change in median household income from 2022 to 2023. That data was provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The inflation rate from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023 was about 3.35%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But Avondale’s median household income increase was much higher than that at nearly 30%. In 2022, the city’s median household income was $66,801. But in 2023, that number increased to $86,428.
Tempe was number 36 on the list, with an increase of 19.83%. The median income there was about $76,000 in 2022, increasing to $91,000 in 2023.
Phoenix Raceway
Avondale, Arizona, is home to an exhilarating event that captures the hearts of motorsport enthusiasts from around the world—the NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway. This high-speed showdown, featuring races from the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series, marks the climax of the NASCAR season and is an unmissable event for racing fans. But the excitement doesn’t stop there; Phoenix Raceway offers a diverse range of entertainment options throughout the year, making it a must-visit destination for thrill-seekers and entertainment lovers alike.
The NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway is the zenith of the motorsport calendar. It is where champions are crowned and motorsport history is made. Avondale proudly hosted the Championship Race in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, solidifying its place in NASCAR history. This event attracts racing enthusiasts from far and wide, who gather to witness the thrilling races and experience the electric atmosphere that permeates the raceway.
Phoenix Raceway is not just a racetrack; it transcends the realm of racing to become a versatile entertainment venue. Throughout the year, the raceway hosts a myriad of events, including Relentless Beats concerts, Spartan races, unique weddings, thrilling race-driving experiences, and captivating track tours. Whether you’re a music lover, an adrenaline junkie, or simply seeking a unique experience, Phoenix Raceway has something to offer.
Avondale’s commitment to the success of Phoenix Raceway is evident through significant infrastructure investments made during major renovations. The city has revamped the area surrounding the track, enhancing the overall visitor experience. Welcoming street banners, distinctive checker flag crosswalks, and streets named after racing legends create an inviting atmosphere that ensures every visitor feels at home.
No matter the reason for your visit, Phoenix Raceway guarantees an unforgettable experience. Whether you’re attending the Championship Weekend, catching a race during the season, savoring a concert under the stars, or embarking on a thrilling race-driving adventure, the raceway offers a diverse range of entertainment options for all. It’s a place where motorsport legends are born, the competitive spirit thrives, and diverse entertainment unfolds.
Avondale’s Phoenix Raceway is more than just a racetrack; it’s a place where racing legends are made and diverse entertainment thrives. From the NASCAR Championship Weekend to a year-round lineup of exciting events, Phoenix Raceway offers something for everyone. Whether you’re a die-hard racing fan or simply seeking an unforgettable experience, Avondale’s Phoenix Raceway should be at the top of your must-visit destinations. To learn more about upcoming events, scan the QR code or visit PhoenixRaceway.com and DiscoverAvondale.com. Get ready to immerse yourself in the thrill and excitement that awaits at Phoenix Raceway.
Big Wins for Small Biz – Tools to Help You Succeed
In recent years, the City of Avondale has emerged as an entrepreneurial oasis with an influx of small businesses breaking ground, opening their doors, and proudly switching the sign to say “OPEN”. So, what is it about Avondale that has sparked a small biz boom?
While the city’s rich culture and thriving business climate certainly contribute to Avondale’s allure, the support system built around the small business community is what’s setting the tone for long-term success. Avondale has made significant investments in tools and resources for both aspiring and existing small business owners. With an expansive portfolio of programs and partnership opportunities, the city has assembled a comprehensive toolkit, largely free of charge, to support the thriving small business community.
While the complete list is everchanging (and growing), we’ve highlighted a few tools below:
Arizona Small Business Association
ASBA’s membership provides countless values and benefits, including connections to business leaders and entrepreneurs statewide, business development opportunities, mentorship, peer exposure, access to data, discounted business benefits, and advocacy for a pro-business political environment. Avondale small businesses are eligible for a FREE two-year membership if they register by October 31, 2023.
The online platform combines community and collaboration, offering guidance and assistance to Avondale’s new, emerging, or decades-old businesses while also focusing on meeting the needs of minority-owned businesses; something that is particularly important given Avondale’s minority-majority makeup. By providing a library of on-demand, local-focused webinars, a Spanish-translated website, and a Technical Assistance Grant that provides 15 hours of free one-on-one advising to Avondale business owners, the platform is a one-stop-shop that can meet the needs of business owners, no matter where they are on their journey.
Avondale EDGE EMCC Scholarship
In 2022, the City of Avondale announced a groundbreaking scholarship opportunity in partnership with Estrella Mountain Community College, a higher education institution located in Avondale’s very own backyard. Designed to focus on industries hit hardest by the pandemic, the scholarship provides a pathway for students, or working professionals, to pursue degrees in Nursing or Culinary Arts. Whether someone is entering the workforce for the first time, or looking to expand their existing skillset, the scholarship can help you get there.
As an eco-conscious city, Avondale businesses are at the forefront of reducing their environmental footprint. From adopting water-wise landscaping and low-flow water fixtures, switching to energy-efficient LED lighting, upgrading to EnergyStar appliances, installing rooftop solar panels, sourcing supplies locally and regionally, and creating products from recycled materials, Avondale businesses are certified green! Businesses interested in learning about sustainable practices and becoming a certified green business are encouraged to apply.
SizeUp offers a menu of tools designed to help small business owners assess how they measure up to their competitors, be added to a directory encouraging customers to shop local in their community, and to provide assistance in making strategic decisions in the business’ lifecycle, increase acquisition of new customers, and retain existing customers.
With these tools, along with many more that can be found here, the City of Avondale has committed to providing a pathway for small business success. Becoming a small business owner requires an immense amount of sacrifice, resilience, and perseverance. If you bring the hard work and big dreams, Avondale will bring the rest.
Ken Chapa Named Economic Developer of the Year; Cheryl Covert Named Workforce Practitioner of the Year
The Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) presented its annual Economic Development Distinguished by Excellence (EDDE) Awards during its annual Spring Conference held in Tucson last month. Ken Chapa, Avondale Economic Development Director, was named Economic Developer of the Year (category Medium Community) and Assistant Director, Cheryl Covert, was recognized as Workforce Practitioner of the Year.
The EDDE Awards honor the best economic development practices for individuals, organizations, and companies that have significantly contributed to the advancement of economic growth in the state. Recipients are selected from a pool of nominations made by members of AAED.
During 2021, Chapa’s team helped bring 770 new jobs with an average annual wage of $44,855 and a total capital investment of $78 million to their community. He worked diligently to create opportunities for the local workforce last year through a first-ever partnership with Estrella Mountain Community College dedicating $400,000 to a new scholarship program that helped create workforce alignment for industries most impacted during the pandemic.
Recruitment, retention, and creative marketing are at the forefront of Chapa’s key focus areas. In just the last year, he led the expansion of a major healthcare corridor in greater Phoenix’s West Valley; supported programs for the local small business community; and led a cutting-edge business retention and expansion program by launching the Avondale Local EDGE initiative. Last year, the Avondale Local EDGE program hosted 27 new business ceremonies garnering 22,000 Facebook views and a year-to-date digital audience of over 33,600 viewers.
Chapa is an active member of WESTMARC’s Economic Development Committee, the IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partnership and Sustainability Committees, as well as the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Economic Development Director’s Team.
Ken Chapa also worked closely with Phoenix Raceway and NASCAR to secure a three-year commitment orchestrating a unique hybrid watch party with NASCAR that received an AAED 2021 Special Event Golden Prospector Award.
The Workforce Practitioner of the Year Award recognizes outstanding achievements by an individual to Arizona’s Workforce Development efforts, judged on the basis of overall workforce impact on the community, the development of strong relationships and community support, the innovation and creativity used in the process – and contributions to the overall economic and workforce development profession.
Cheryl Covert was singled out for her extraordinary initiative this year to provide opportunities to a workforce pipeline across several sectors. These included:
- Utilizing federal funding to work with the Estrella Mountain Community College, (EMCC) Foundation to create a unique scholarship program to engage the local workforce where it is needed the most. The scholarship provides financial assistance to current and prospective students and also serves as a pipeline to recruit new talent to the businesses and economic sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These sectors include Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Healthcare, and the scholarships can cover a full Associates degree, or provide certifications that will assist businesses in the future.
- Spearheaded a unique partnership with an organization called Career Connectors to collaborate on quarterly career expos that target local businesses seeking workforce assistance. Thus far the program has reached 40 businesses and several hundred job seekers.
- She also coordinated a small business partnership this year with Co+Hoots for use of the award-winning HUUB platform, providing a digital resource center for small businesses. The platform utilizes local subject matter experts to assist local businesses and distributes information about career expos, scholarship opportunities, webinars, and much more. Over 90 small businesses have joined the platform and 25 have applied for one-on-one technical assistance.
Covert has also been a key collaborator with WESTMARC on its Workforce Implementation Strategy, and locally, she has conducted a Healthcare Gap Analysis to better understand the healthcare workforce needs of the local market. Her collaborations with workforce organizations include West-MEC, Leadership West, Career Connectors, AZ@Work, Goodwill, and many others.
Carrie Kelly, AAED’s executive director, said the EDDE Awards truly recognize those who are bringing businesses to Arizona and creating jobs.
“These professionals and organizations can take great pride in knowing how impactful they are in helping to create and maintain Arizona’s growing and vibrant economy,” Kelly said. “AAED is proud to have each one of them as members in our statewide organization which supports them and their efforts.”
About the Arizona Association for Economic Development: AAED, founded in 1974, has a mission to serve as Arizona’s unified voice for responsible economic development through professional education, public policy, and collaboration. For more information on AAED, visit www.aaed.com or call (602) 240-2233.
Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse opens its first Az location in Avondale
Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse opened its first Arizona location in Avondale this week, and Avondale officials were there to welcome them to the City, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 25.
Located at 10485 W. McDowell Road in the Park 10 development, the Colorado-based chain serves New York style pizza, wings, calzones, sandwiches, wraps, salads, pasta, and 80 to 90 craft beers on draft. Since opening its first restaurant in 2007, Parry’s has expanded to locations throughout Colorado and Texas. Avondale was selected as its first restaurant in Arizona.
Said Ken Chapa, Avondale’s Economic Development and Tourism Director: “Parry’s Pizzeria & Taphouse has found an exceptional location along the busy McDowell Road corridor. Over the last couple of years, Avondale has seen this area take off, with unique offerings and exciting chains such as Portillo’s, Barrio Queen, Trapper’s Sushi, as well as First Watch, the popular breakfast and brunch spot that’s opening soon. With other nearby amenities like Main Event and Home 2 Suites, it’s no wonder that this area is an Avondale destination for residents and visitors alike.”
For more information, visit parryspizza.com, For more information on Avondale Economic Development visit avondaleedge.com , or follow on them social media @AvondaleEDGE .
Newly Created Scholarship Fund Already Helps Close to 50 EMCC Students
Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) announce that nearly 50 of its students have already been helped by the newly created Avondale EDGE-EMCC Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship fund was established last spring and is the result of a partnership between the City of Avondale, EMCC, and the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, the body that administers the fund. It is subsidized with federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan, which the city received to invest in the community, education, and local workforce to assist industries impacted by COVID-19. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, books, equipment, and certifications, and is awarded to students in EMCC’s culinary and nursing programs. Future plans include expanding the scholarship to behavioral and biological sciences.
“Culinary and nursing are both career fields that we’re seeing a shortage of employees in,” EMCC President Dr. Rey Rivera said. “Yet these are the same industries that Avondale is continuing to attract and are in need of a competent workforce. The partnership between EMCC and the City of Avondale is so exciting because it not only benefits our students by covering the costs of their education, but also provides a much-needed talent pool for medical facilities and restaurants looking to call the rapidly growing West Valley home.”
Under the agreement, the city will endow the scholarship fund with $430,000 in three payments with the final payment scheduled for July 2023.
“We are excited to recognize the power of collaborative community partnerships and hear real-life stories from students who have been positively impacted by the vision of these groups,” said Kenneth Chapa, Director of Economic Development for the City of Avondale. “The scholarship is an opportunity to bridge the gap between a tight labor market and the next generation of our workforce. As Avondale continues to attract more hotels and restaurants, our goal is to create and maintain a strong culinary and healthcare workforce — and what better place to start than with local talent attending culinary and nursing school at our local college.”
Since the city’s initial payment of $110,000, 21 culinary and 28 nursing students have received scholarships totaling $102,960. Those students have been invited to a special presentation ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 19 at Avondale City Hall, 11465 W. Civic Center Drive, Avondale. Two of the students will speak at the ceremony, which will take place just before the regular City Council meeting.
WHAT: Avondale EDGE-EMCC Scholarship Fund Check Presentation Ceremony
WHEN: 4:30 p.m. Sept. 19
WHERE: Avondale City Hall, 11465 W. Civic Center Drive, Avondale
Following the ceremony, light refreshments will be served and the scholarship recipients will receive free headshots to assist them with creating professional online profiles for employment opportunities.
“Our partnership with the City of Avondale and Estrella Mountain Community College in support of the Avondale EDGE-EMCC Scholarship Fund helps make post-secondary education and certifications possible,” said Brian Spicker, President and CEO of the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation. “Educating our students and providing opportunities that extend way beyond the classroom in key areas ranging from counseling and psychology to nursing and culinary arts directly impacts the community with an immediate skilled and motivated workforce in high-demand industries.”
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