Jerry Miles and I will be addressing members of the Fountain HiIls Leadership Academy on Saturday Jan. 28.

Our topic will be “The History of Fountain HiIls.”

We have put together a Power Point presentation that will cover various aspects of the development of the community.

Jerry will talk about the town’s politics and I will cover the formation of the community, early marketing, the growth, special events and anything the group may want to address.

The invitation to speak came about when members of the first graduating class said they would like to hear us talk at a special meeting. Jerry and I along with Jean Linzer co-authored the town’s history book, “Rising Above the Rest,” several years ago.

Last time I checked, there were 15 copies available for sale at the River of Time Museum store.

The presentation will be a good way to reminisce about my 47 years of being affiliated with the community. It was on Jan. 19,1970 that I first saw this land that would become a planned community called Fountain Hills. I was driven out here from downtown Scottsdale, a week after I had started as a copywriter at a Scottsdale advertising agency which did promotion for McCulloch Properties, the original master developer of Fountain Hills.

The driver was Randy Wood, son of C.V. Wood, the president of the development company.

He told me about plans to build a planned city of 78,000 people on the property we were about to see.

I remember Saguaro and Palisades boulevards were only roughly bladed in. There were big earthmovers contouring the land that would become Fountain Park.

My thought at the time was how am I going to write about this place? There’s nothing but dirt and cactus. The McCulloch people were building out a dream.

I spent nearly four years at the ad agency before leaving with the intent of starting The Times. Being around those McCulloch guys had taught me how to dream.

-------

We had an interesting talk at last Wednesday’s dinner meeting of the Fountain Hills & Lower Verde Valley Historical Society.

Stephanie Bjorkman and Doug Hill of Sami Fine Jewelry talked about the amethyst mine tour. The store offers the largest selection of Arizona amethyst. The Four Peaks variety is considered “world class” in color. Its color is a dark plum purple with bright flashes of magenta.

The mine tour is offered several times a year and costs $395 per person. That includes the helicopter ride to the mining site located between the third and fourth peaks.

-------

Pastor Don Lawrence will be giving his final sermon this Sunday at the church he founded in 1984, Christ’s Church of Fountain Hills.

Don was active in the community beyond his involvement with the church.

He was a member of the Town Council and he was the spokesman and chairman of a campaign to get the Beeline Highway widened and divided between Mesa and Fountain Hills.

He liked playing softball, and when he found there were no leagues in the community, he established the Fountain Hills Men’s Softball League in the late 1980s.Common thinking in the community was that it would not succeed. His perseverance in rejecting that thinking paid off with two leagues and 12 teams.

The leagues paved the way to the formation of the Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation Department after incorporation of the Town.

You’ve earned your retirement , Don.