Special Thanks to Climatec Support

As I sit in my naturally lit, generously appointed office surrounded by healthy air and good people, I am struck as I often am by the generosity of our Phoenix community. In particular, I would like to personally thank Vianne and Jack Kucera at Climatec for all their support of A Stepping Stone over the years.

Jack and the good name of Climatec has been associated with A Stepping Stone golf tournaments (a shout out to Mike Gattorna, who got that golf ball rolling), which over the years raised more than $130,000 (1999-2003). Vianne and friends –with the great support of Page Lewis and Carolyn Keagle– supported our high-end auction/dinners, netting more than $71,000 at the 2001 Diamond in the Rough at the home of Jerry and Dana George. Most recently, and perhaps even more importantly, the Kuceras have hosted A Stepping Stone Foundation’s offices at the Climatec Campus.

When A Stepping Stone Foundation made the initial move from the grass roots founding of Shadow Rock Church because we had outgrown the space there, Climatec found a small office for us in their tight-knit campus located at 23rd Ave. and Peoria in Phoenix. Climatec also began underwriting a leased car for Foundation use.

When Climatec outgrew their old digs, they purchased and renovated the old HyperCom building located near I17 and Greenway making it an Energy Star rated building. The transformation from the closed in closet-sized offices to the open ceilings which are speckled liberally with skylights was remarkable to witness. Jack and Vianne were kind enough to plan a special space for A Stepping Stone!

That brings me full circle to the deep seated gratitude I feel toward Climatec and Vianne and Jack for their amazing support over the years. All this tremendous support has translated into thousands of hours of high quality preschool, adult education and home visiting for children at risk of school failure and their families. More than 1800 families have gone through our program. (see blog post April 4, “Former Parents Now Community Leaders”).

THANK YOU JACK, VIANNE AND CLIMATEC!!