March 30, 2019
By Les Conklin
President, Greater Pinnacle Peak Association
Allison Warren of the Scottsdale Public Library called me. She said that staff at the library was ready to add the next batch of old A Peak at the Peek (The Peak) magazines to the library’s online archive.
The first issue of that batch was dated February 1996. As I flipped through its pages, something on page 8 captured my attention. The article’s title was “A NEW NAME…ELECTED TO THE GPPHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS.” The article included a photograph of Yours Truly. Can you believe that was more than 23 years ago, when our organization was GPPHA (Greater Pinnacle Peak Homeowners Association). GPPHA was founded in 1977. The first issue of The Peak was published and distributed to GPPHA members in 1983.
What was happening back in 1996?
I looked at the issue’s cover. It featured the January 13, 1996 “Super Bowl Road Clean-Up.” There had been a terrific turnout. No doubt the free breakfast enticed some people to show up but the need for cleanups was obvious to anyone driving on the major roads of what today is called north Scottsdale. Roadsides were littered with trash, most of it from the numerous development projects that were underway. It was not unusual to see litter flying off the back of contractor’s pickup trucks.
The cover also includes a picture of the January 10, 1996 public meeting that was held at the Grayhawk Clubhouse. At the time large planned communities, including Grayhawk, Terravita and Troon North were being developed along with smaller neighborhood along Scottsdale and Pima Roads.
Who was on the board back then?
Next, I turned to the page that identified the members of the GPPHA board. When I joined the board, I knew only a few of them.
I knew Jane Rau from the mid-1980s when we had successfully led the opposition to the development of a motion picture production studio, theme village, townhouses and two hotels on more than 300 acres located on the southwest corner of North Scottsdale Road and East Dynamite Boulevard. Later, in the early 1990s, Jane and I worked to prevent the development of a gas station on the east side of the same intersection. Jane was of the first Friends of the Scenic Drive vlookingolunteers.
In 1994, when I was looking for money to restore the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, the first donor was GPPHA. It was then that I met Don Schoenau and Cynthia Lukas, who helped in a variety of ways.. In 1995, Don, Cynthia and other board members attended the Friends of the Scenic Drive celebration when the restoration was completed. .
Contentious Board Meetings
Back in 1996, it seemed to me that part of the board wanted to play a very aggressive role in Scottsdale politics. Another group of members emphasized cooperating with the city and treading lightly when it came to taking political sides.
An older couple, Bill Warren and his wife, managed The Peak for a stipend of about $100 an issue plus expenses. Don Schoenau sold advertising and, with others, wrote articles. The layout of the magazine was done by Qwik Copy, located at Thunderbird and Scottsdale Roads. I remember that several of the board members were “brutal” in asking the Warrens questions about even very small expense items. The role and content of The Peak, like GPPHA’s political role in the community, was a bone of contention.
Not All Talk!
Despite the back-and-forth, everyone was concerned about the desert. It was during this time that the board voted to donate $25,000 to the McDowell Sonoran Land Trust to support Scottsdale’s preservation effort. I n 1995, the Rio Fire burned more than 30,ooo acres. Maricopa County and GPPHA’s Don Schoenau organized a firefigher recognition event at Reata Pass Steakhouse. Donations flowed in from thankful homeowners. Because of the urging of Cynthia Lukas and others, it was decided that the bulk of the money GPPHA recieved should be donated to Scottsdale’s preservation effort. At the time, the donation was very important.
Change Happens
By 1997, I had changed jobs and had also become very busy with Friends of the Scenic Drive and Cookout at the Ranch. I stopped going to GPPHA board meetings but continued to work with Don, Jane and Cynthia. GPPHA was one of the sponsors of Cookout at the Ranch and Friends of the Scenic Drive published information about GPPHA and The Peak on its website.
I rejoined the board in 2000. Much had changed since 1996. In some ways, it was a different organization.
- Marcita Ryan and Alan Kaufman and others had resigned from GPPHA to start the Coalition of Pinnacle Peak (COPP). COPP’s mission was to educate residents and hold government officials accountable to the public on issues that posed a threat to the community, the environment or fiscal responsibility. A nonprofit, COPP actively supported political candidates.
- Jane Rau, who remained a member of GPPHA after the COPP breakup, had resigned from GPPHA’s board because of Scottsdale’s increased emphasis on creating the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Jane had co-founded the McDowell Sonoran Land Trust (MSLT), the forerunner of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, just prior to my joining GPPHA.
- Cynthia Lukas, who also remained a member of GPPHA, had resigned from the board when she began her successful campaign to become a member of the Scottsdale City Council.
- Don Schoenau had assumed responsibility for publishing The Peak. Nancy Lucas became the editor.
- GPPHA members, Bill and Barbara Copeland joined GPPHA’s board and focused on changing the organization’s legal status. In 2000, the organization became a nonprofit 501 C (3) organization.
Back to the Future
I put down the February 1996 issue of The Peak and arranged to deliver all the back issues for 1996 and 1997 to the Scottsdale Library. GPPA will deliver more batches of back issues as the project moves forward.
It’s truly amazing how much has changed since GPPHA, now GPPA, was founded under the leadership of Ralph and Nancy Knight in 1977. Back in those days, Pinnacle Peak wasn’t even part of the City of Scottsdale. To learn about that history, check out the Scottsdale City Library online archive.
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