Chamber Chatter

Volume 17, Issue 12 December 2019

Visit us on Facebook Visit www.coolidgechamber.org

Board of Directors

2018-2019 Officers

Jim Garrett -President Garrett Motors

Debie Neely-Vice President

Kiva Insurance

Shelley Brown-Secretary/Treasurer

Brown’s Coolers, Furniture & Appliances

Board of Directors

Rai Hankins Spektrum Print & Embroidery

Tom Shope Shope’s IGA

Juan Salas Disabled American Veterans

Matthew McCormick Saint Holdings

Ronda Whitney

Arizona Public Service

Charles Dewsnup

Heritage Environmental Services

Contact Information

351 N. Arizona Blvd

Coolidge, AZ 85128

(520) 723-3009

(520) 723-9410 fax

Email: info@coolidgechamber.org

Website: www.coolidgechamber.org

Lynn Parsons-Executive Director

Amy Norwalk–Executive Assistant

Dorothy Chambers-Membership Administrator

Ryan Lara-Visitor Center Clerk

December Membership Luncheon

Guest Speaker:

Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Location: Artisan Village

Address: 351 N. Arizona Blvd., Coolidge. AZ

Time: 12:00pm—1:00pm

Cost: $12with RSVP/$15 with late RSVP

Non-Members $15 with RSVP

PLEASE BRING A TOY FOR TOYS FOR

TOTS

RSVP by Monday, December 16, 2019

(RSVP required for lunch)

Coolidge , Home of the Casa Grande Ruins

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Our Spotlight this month is on Casa Palomino Mexican

Restaurant, located at 1076 N. Arizona Boulevard, Coo-

lidge, Arizona owned by Tony and Dionne Palomino.

Dionne was born in Coolidge but has lived in Casa

Grande most of her life and has many ties to both com-

munities. Tony is from Juarez in Mexico where he grew

up helping in his Grandfather’s restaurant there, learning

the trade and how to cook from him. He has worked in

the restaurant trade most of his life and previously owned

and operated two restaurants in Phoenix. He married Dionne

in June of 1994 and on December 1, 1994 they opened the

Casa Palomino Mexican Restaurant here in Coolidge. They will be celebrating their 25th anniversary

for the restaurant, December 1st this year. They have two of their daughters helping out at the restau-

rant now, Aurora and Adela, and one niece, LaTonya Buchanan has been the Manager for ten years.

Dionne said that they provide authentic Mexican cuisine and are very family friendly. She stated that

they love Coolidge and try to be a part of the community and give back when they can. Dionne stated

“We know god has blessed us with this business and we could never have accomplished anything

without him”.

December Business Spotlight

Casa Palomino Mexican Restaurant

1076 N. Arizona Blvd.

Coolidge, Arizona

(520) 723-4223

Www.theoriginalcasapalomino.com

Open: Monday-Thursday 10:30am-9pm

Friday 10:30am-9:30pm

Saturday 11am-8pm

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Breakfast with the Mayor

SRP was our Sponsor for the quarterly Breakfast With the Mayor held on November 7th at the Artisan Village. Mayor Jon

Thompson started off his presentation by enumerating some of the accomplishments since his last update, including: the traffic

signal at the Ruins Drive and Arizona Boulevard is now complete, the swimming pool bal-

lot measure is on the November ballet (now passed), the water tower is painted and fund-

raiser in place to light it up, Domino’s Pizza in the Safeway Plaza and a Greek Restaurant

(Pita Patio Grill) on Coolidge Avenue will be open soon (both open now) and Chief Jim

Malinski is retiring form the police department. The airport grant is proceeding and con-

struction will start this month. Sidewalk improvements and chip seal projects are ongoing.

Jon presented preliminary Bond Election figures (and since that time it passed by a slim

margin). In the area of finance, the City deposit accounts were reinvested differently re-

sulting in over $50,000 increase of return of interest in a similar period from earlier this

year. Grant application recently funded: State Housing Fund $385,000 for housing rehab,

ADOT $100,000 for bus stop shelters (5 in Coo-

lidge and 5 for CART), Tohono O’odham Nation $l4,270 for sidewalks in front of Imag-

ine School. The Transit Department acquired a wheelchair accessible van and it is provid-

ing a connection service to the Greyhound stop in Eloy. Mayor Thompson shared pictures

and touted the success of Coolidge Days, Halloween and the City Library events. He also

discussed the recent fire at Bright International where the Coolidge Fire Department main-

tained a presence for 28 hours with 8 other fire departments responding. Almost $50,000

in total Fire Department equipment losses will be reimbursed by Bright. The cause of that

fire is still under investigation. He also recognized the Fire Crew for recently saving a

man’s life with emergency response in September. Home building permits more than

doubled in the last three months and plans are moving forward for the apartment complex,

Avanti on Main. Jon reminded everyone of the importance of the 2020 Census and shared that the Pinal County Economic De-

velopment presented “the Outstanding Commitment Award” to himself and Gilbert Lopez, Coolidge Economic Development

Director, at the Chamber Annual Banquet. For more information, this presentation can be viewed on the Coolidge Chamber of

Commerce Website. We want to thank Mayor Thompson for the update and our Sponsor, SRP.

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

On Wednesday, November 6th Roberta and Fred Jordan had a

ribbon cutting and open house for their new business, Fred’s

Cigars, located at 108 N. Arizona Boulevard, Suite B, in the

Executive Suites on the corner of Central Avenue and Arizona

Boulevard. Mayor Jon Thompson and several Chamber Board

Members along with friends, customers and family, were on

hand to celebrate the opening. This new smoke shop is open

Monday – Wednesday 10 AM – 9 PM, Thursday – Saturday l0

AM – 10 PM and closed on Sunday. Visit them on face book

or stop by and check them out!

On Wednesday, November 13th, Wal-Mart held a ribbon cut-

ting ceremony to celebrate and kick off their online order with

the new curbside pickup at this store. Mayor Jon Thompson

and Chamber of Commerce President, Debi Neely were on

hand to congratulate Wal-Mart Store Manager, Daniel

Crosswhite and Emilio Gonzalez, Assistant Manager of Online

Shopping and his crew of personal shoppers. That was the

first day of this service at the Coolidge store and they had their

first pickup at 7:00 AM. Wal-Mart celebrated this customer

by giving them that first order free!

Desert Sun Pizza, LLC, dba Domino’s Pizza, held a ribbon cut-

ting November 19th with free pizza, drinks and other food with

a helping hand from Mayor Jon Thompson, Gilbert Lopez and

Chamber Director Lynn Parsons. Regional Manager Daniel

Wildes and District Manager Mike Hinckley were on hand,

sharing delicious brownies and information about the new

store. Daniel said that previously, when Domino’s was located

here in Coolidge, it was owned and operated by Domino’s Cor-

porate. But now it is owned by a franchise that also has 17

other store locations in Arizona and others in several western

states. They are still accepting applications and expect to have

20 plus employees. Try their hot sandwiches!

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Workplace ethics are not always top of mind in a profit-centric

environment. However, the moral compass leaders establish for

a company, and how they abide by those values, means a lot

more than you might expect.

Andrew Selepak, an educator at the University of Florida and

director of its MAMC Social Media program, is unequivocal in

his definition of moral choices.

"Ethical dilemmas arise when you have to choose between two

good choices," he said.

According to Robert Foehl,

executive in residence for

business law and ethics at

Ohio University, before a

company can pare down an

ethical dilemma to two op-

tions, it must make an im-

portant decision.

"The first thing a business

needs to do is establish

what its values are in relation to society," said Foehl. In other

words, how a company defines good, moral principles in soci-

ety will color its ethical code.

Workplace ethics and leadership

Leaders don't just establish ethical standards in a business –

they must also demonstrate them.

"The ethical standards of a company are top-down and bottom-

up, and the employer sets the example," said Selepak. "If the

employer does not act ethically, that trickles down to the bot-

tom of the organization."

Leaders can set the company's ethical standards not only by

creating a code of ethics but also with their management style.

This includes these elements:

Sending appropriate messages

Remaining visibly on topic

Behaving in ways that match the company's stated ethical in-

tentions

"[There is] no meaningful way for a business to act ethically

unless leadership does so first," Foehl said.

"Leaders can't just lead by example or just by talking about

[ethics]," he added. "Actions plus words demonstrating the

value of ethics is how leadership affects the ethics of the

group."

It's not just the top brass that sets the example, either. "Leaders

at all levels, not just executive leaders" set the moral compass

of a business, Foehl said.

To create a moral environment, company heads need to con-

sider both their formal and informal behaviors. Formal behav-

iors are what they say, while informal behaviors are the actions

taken by a business entity.

"[A company] must have both if it hopes to create an ethical

workplace environment," the lack of which will lead to ethical

lapses, said Foehl.

4 ethical personality types

Not everyone's concept of ethics is the same. Some people ad-

here rigidly to the rules set out by management, while others

have their own internal moral compass that guides them.

"We all have an innate ethic sense that lets us know the right

thing to do, but we don't always follow it," said Mark Pastin,

an ethics consultant and author of Make an Ethical Difference:

Tools for Better Action (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013).

Employees may go along with something they think is unethi-

cal because they fear the consequences of raising the issue, he

said. He said people can be broadly categorized into four ethi-

cal personality types. In defining these four types, Pastin said

each one handles workplace ethics differently.

The Conformist: This employee follows rules rather than

questioning authority figures and tends to do things by the

book. One might think this ethical type could be counted

on to always do the right thing, but the Conformist might

look the other way if leaders are acting unethically. That's

because they tend to view managers as people to be obeyed

no matter what. The Conformist will run into work-related

ethical conflicts unless their organization has a set of rigid

rules and well-defined consequences for not following

them.

The Navigator: When confronted with a situation in which

people are behaving unethically, Navigators rely on their

innate sense of ethics to guide their actions, even if these

decisions aren't easy. This ethical type has a generally

sound moral compass, giving the Navigator the flexibility

to make choices – even unpopular ones. The Navigator's

moral sense imbues them with qualities of leadership, and

others learn to respect and count on them. They succeed in

most organizations and will leave a company that is unethi-

cal.

The Negotiator: Negotiators try to make up the rules as

they go along. When faced with a sketchy situation, such as

a co-worker drinking on their lunch hour, the Negotiator

might take a wait-and-see attitude to see if the incident af-

fects their job in any way. For example, they may wait to

see if the drinking worsens or anyone else notices. Naviga-

tors will encounter ethics-related trouble if their jobs re-

quire them to exercise judgment without guidelines, be-

cause they change the rules according to what seems easi-

est at the time.

The Wiggler: The Wiggler doesn't give a lot of thought to

what is right, instead taking the route that's most advanta-

geous for them. For example, Wigglers may lie to appease

a supervisor but refuse to lie again if they sense that others

are beginning to suspect them. Wigglers are mostly moti-

vated by self-interest: getting on a manager's good side,

scoring a better deal for themselves or avoiding conflict.

They often run into trouble when others sense they dodge

ethical issues to protect their own interests.

While no one wants to be perceived as the of-

fice whistleblower, employees naturally act more ethically

when they sympathize and empathize with the people affected

by their actions, said Pastin. He added that ethical dilemmas are

often resolvable if employees and managers are open to dis-

cussing them.

Continued…..

By Tami Kamin Meyer How Leaders Determine Workplace Ethics

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Customer Service Award

Have you received excellent Customer Service at a local busi-

ness? You can now nominate the employee and the company

at the Coolidge Chamber of Commerce. We award a business

and employee every quarter.

Just submit a nomination form found at several businesses, to

the Coolidge Chamber office, or on our website;

www.coolidgechamber.org.

Do you have a skill or time you would like to

share?

If you would like to volunteer please contact the

Chamber office (520) 723-3009.

The Chamber of Commerce

Artisan Village of Coolidge

Coolidge Historical Museum

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

"Most ethical issues that arise in the work environment can be

solved if raised in a timely manner," Pastin told Business News

Daily. "The problem is that many people avoid speaking in

terms of ethical concerns. Welcome disagreement and contro-

versy in the office to foster a more ethical work environment."

Going beyond good choices

Transparency with the public about the company's operations is

essential to establishing a business's code of ethics, said

Selepak. However, that transparency can come at a cost.

For example, does the business want its employees to act as

brand advocates, perhaps even on social media? If so, Selepak

urges corporate leadership to make it clear to the public that the

posts are nothing more than the opinion of the writer, not nec-

essarily reflective of the company's morals and values.

If a company allows any of its employees to act as a brand am-

bassador, it needs to be selective as to whom it extends that

privilege. Moreover, if any staff members are empowered to

post anything relating to the company online, they must be

transparent about their association with the brand, said Selepak.

"Since we know people are influenced by the media they see,

you want to be truthful in your company messaging," he said.

The ethics of rewriting history

To what extent does a company with any sort of blemish on its

reputation rewrite its history while remaining loyal to its ethical

code?

For example, said Selepak, the carbonated beverages known as

Fanta were created by the Nazis. It could be tempting to con-

ceal this information, but the lack of transparency could be per-

ceived as unethical. The right decision is not always so clear.

"If you hide that history, you make more sales [and] more peo-

ple have jobs – or should the company be upfront about its

negative history, if it has one, and face the consequences?"

Selepak said.

He suggested a company makes the information available to the

public to the extent that "repeating it is not necessary."

The deletion of negative comments on a company's social me-

dia platforms is another form of rewriting history. The brand's

leaders need to decide if they will remove the comments or al-

low them to remain.

A primary consideration is "what is the [company's] standard?"

said Selepak. For example, is the post spam, racist or homopho-

bic? Comments that violate these standards could be ethically

removed, while critical comments that do not should remain

visible.

"There needs to be an ethical standard set to decide how to re-

spond based on the company's code of ethics," Selepak said.

Educating employees on the code of ethics

There is no time like onboarding for educating new hires about

the company's code of ethics, said James Bailey, professor of

leadership at George Washington University.

Moreover, that process should be both formal and explicit, he

said. Story examples are a fantastic way to connect with a per-

son perusing the code, so Bailey advises companies to use

them.

He also suggested informing an employee about company cul-

ture in relation to ethics during the interview process. That way,

he said, the "employee is immediately apprised of what is ex-

pected."

A company's code of ethics should be in writing and respected,

he added. "A code not adhered to is a shell."

However, a code of conduct cannot possibly cover every ethical

consideration in detail. "The values [of a company] are its

North Star" but not an instruction manual, said Foehl.

Company ethics and customer satisfaction

With the proliferation of the internet, consumers are better

equipped to research a company's past behaviors than they were

in the past.

"With the internet, there is an unprecedented amount of trans-

parency," said Foehl.

Many customers shop with their hearts, and today's American

consumer is gaining interest in corporate behavior.

"We see a lot more people making decisions about where to

invest money based on the behaviors and ethical standards of

the businesses they support," said Foehl.

He even pointed to anecdotal evidence that people are willing

to pay more to work with companies whose behaviors align

with their values.

"Companies with a strong moral and ethical compass end up

doing better," Foehl said. "[They are] stable, stronger, and have

less employer turnover."

An increasing number of American corporations and businesses

are in the process of reacting to society's shift in morals and

values, he said.

"We are seeing more companies realizing their past behavior of

ignoring ethics and conduct with a shift in the way business-

people and leaders are thinking about business," Foehl said.

"Part of that is due to a shift in societal expectations."

….Continued

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Coolidge Historical Museum

Open

Friday and Saturday

10:00am-2:00pm

520-723-7186

161 W. Harding Ave.

Coolidge, Arizona

Hope International Ministries/Food Pantry

Pastor Anthony Warren

1280 N. Arizona Blvd.

Coolidge, Arizona

www.himtoday.com

(520) 233-6699

Metagaming Café

Larry Roberts

1024 N. Arizona Blvd.

Coolidge, Arizona

(520) 509-6875

gamemaster@metagamingcafe.com

El Dorado Insurance

299 W. Central Ave.

Coolidge, Arizona

(520) 723-3933

www.agencyassociates.online

Godlevsky Enterprise LLC

Deborah Godlevsky

1910 S. Arizona Blvd.

Coolidge, Arizona

(520) 709-0315

Godlevskyllc@outlook.com

Pita Patio Grill

235 W. Coolidge Ave.

Coolidge, Arizona

www.pitapatiogrill.com

ServiceMaster

816 W. Gila Bend Hwy, Ste C

Casa Grande, Arizona

(520) 421-0828

www.servicemastercasagrande.com

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

Casa Grande Ruins Visitors

2017 2018 2019

508

5413 2

577

2

380

489

8126 2

598

1

374

2018 2019

050001000015000

Casa Grande Ruins Visitors

2015 2016 2017 2018

Chamber Stats

October

Coolidge Sales Tax

2019 Retail Sales Tax Municipal Tax

October $161,693.02 $313,266.82

FYTD Total $796,490.33 $1,288,520.17

OCTOBER NEW BUSINESS LICENSES

9

Casa Grande Ruins Visitors

City Building Permits October 2019 YTD

New Residential Buildings # of

Permits Valuation

# of

Permits Valuation

One-Family Houses, detached 6 $767,894 157 $23,805,922

Mobile Homes 6 $390,000

New Nonresidential Buildings

Industrial Buildings

Schools/Other Educational Build-

ings, Publicly Owned 1 $150,000

Other Nonresidential Buildings $

Structures Other than Buildings 10 $17,338 212 $905,394

Additions and Alterations

Residential Buildings 21 $361,328 104 $1,428,136

Residential Garages, Carports and

Patio 2 $1,100 21 $64,065

Commercial/Industrial Buildings 1 $18,489 20 $1,523,329

All other Buildings and Structures 2 $78,410

Total 41 $4,666,149 526 $32,155,325

Plan Review Only 1 $1,400,000 6 $2,275,950

Total 42 $6,066,149 532 $32,235,726

Re-Investments for October

Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Western Investments Spirit of Joy Church American Legion Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Org. Henry Brown Automotive Pinal County Federal Credit Union Coolidge Unified School District Casa Palomino The Windmill Winery Total Network & Telecom Solutions Hoho Kam Mobile Village Bottle Stop Great Western Bank Heritage Environmental Services Coolidge Cleaners

New Members for October

Tulu’s Precious Hands, LLC

The Rivers Edge Dental

Dominos Pizza

Fred’s Cigars

Volume 17, Issue 11 Chamber Chatter November 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Sip ‘n Shop

Mineral &

Gems of AZ

2 3 4

Rotary Meeting

Ribbon Cutting @

Pita Patio Grill

5 6 7

Airport Fly-In

Cornhole Tourna-

ment

8 9

City Council

10 11

Rotary Meeting

12 13

Christmas in the

Park

Light Parade

14

Christmas Dinner

15 16

17 18

Rotary Meeting

Membership Lunch-

eon

19

20

21

22 23

City Council

24

Close at 12pm

25

CLOSED

26 27 28

29 30

31

Close at 12pm

December 2019

Visit our Website for more information

www.coolidgechamber.org

Coolidge , Home of the Casa Grande Ruins

Contact Information

351 N. Arizona Blvd

Coolidge, AZ 85128

(520) 723-3009

(520) 723-9410 fax

Email: info@coolidgechamber.org

Website: www.coolidgechamber.org