The Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona hosted an awards ceremony for its annual Spirit of Philanthropy Awards, which recognize and honor charity work across the Verde Valley, at the Yavapai College campus in Clarkdale on the afternoon of Sunday, April 14. The speakers throughout emphasized the importance of investing in community development, specifically in housing and homelessness, education and the environment.
“We all know that there are tremendous needs in our community as is true in Arizona and across the nation,” ACF board of advisors chairwoman Sandi Heysinger said. “What we also know is true is that our governments, whether they be city, state or federal, can’t do it all. They can’t fulfill every need, and I really don’t think that they should. It has always been and it will always see neighbors helping neighbors that make the greatest impact … ACF has celebrated this day for 21 years. And during that time, they have recognized 110 people and organizations that have given selflessly of their time, their talent and their treasure.”
This year’s honorees were Rebecca Riffel of Main Stage, Business Benefactor of the Year; Travis and Kelcy Lyons of Yavapai County Junior Rodeo Association, Community Collaborator of the Year; Wheel Fun, Nonprofit of the Year; Mary Byrd, Philanthropist of the Year; and Eric Wyles, founder and treasurer of Low Income Student Aid, Volunteer of the Year. Karen and Leonard Barrow, former Toys for Tots coordinators, received the Spirit of Philanthropy Award.
◼Riffel is the owner of the Main Stage music and entertainment venue in Cottonwood and was recognized for providing free use of the venue for events for groups such as the Verde Valley Sanctuary and the Northern Arizona Hospice Promise Foundation. Main Stage hosted its third annual “Live with Courage” Camp Courage Fundraiser with the Law Tigers Motorcycle Lawyers, a Phoenix-based group whose members specialize in injury cases, on Sunday, Feb. 4, which raised $18,000.
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“The AZ Burn Foundation puts on a Camp Courage each year for the kids between the ages of 6 to 16 that have suffered traumatic burn injuries,” the fundraiser’s Facebook page stated. “During this week of camp, kids are allowed to forget about the surgeries, procedures and hospitals and just have fun in the cool pines of Prescott, Arizona. Provided to youth burn survivors, this summer camp is funded through donations to the AZ Burn Foundation. For more than 50 years AZ Burn Foundation has provided high quality support programs for Arizona children and adult burn survivors and their families.”
“When I was in seventh grade, I suffered third-degree burns on 17% of my body from a candle and I was air-evaced to the Maricopa Burn Unit,” Riffel said. “I was there for a month and then endured a year of treatments with them. And at that time, the Arizona Burn Foundation contacted me and a representative from Camp Courage. And I went to Camp Courage during the summer while I was still in bandages … it was life changing for me knowing that I wasn’t going through that experience alone … It’s something that I always carried with me in my life, and it helped me overcome that obstacle.”
◼ Wheel Fun won Nonprofit of the Year and has grown substantially since its founding in the Verde Valley in 2017. There are now more than 700 students enrolled in the program in 27 free afterschool bike clubs across Arizona.
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The program promotes youth involvement and enthusiasm in all facets of mountain bike riding as well as leadership qualities, social and personal responsibility. Wheel Fun also aims to improve mountain biking accessibility and safety for youth ages 8 to 18, as well as to educate and motivate children to overcome social and personal obstacles.
“But our commitment to those students does not end when the school bell rings,” Wheel Fun president Nayadin Persaud said. “We have built programs … during fall break, winter break and summer break, where students can participate in activities. We also recognize the need for inclusive recreational spaces for students in their communities. This summer, we will be hosting our first ever sleepaway camp where students can explore the outdoors… build friendships, and develop a lifelong passion of adventure cycling and exploration.”
◼ Mary Byrd, chairwoman emeritus of the Fine Art Museum of Sedona, received the Philanthropist of the Year award, which ACF Vice President for Regional Impact Jennifer Perry said was “one of the hardest ones to give away, because a lot of people don’t want to [have] the spotlight shining on them.”
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“We actually added an extra award, just to make sure we could recognize [the Barrows] for their years of service,” Perry said. “Their remarkable achievements in 2023 alone include the distribution of 4,796 items, encompassing toys, books and stocking stuffers, benefiting our 1,111 children in Sedona, Beaver Creek, Oak Creek school and the Hopi Nation, but they also donated 85 bicycles,” ACF events committee co-chairwoman Lisa Glinsky said.
◼ The Yavapai County Junior Rodeo Association is in its second year of operation and the group received the award from Randy Garrison, a former Yavapai County supervisor and Cottonwood City Council member.
“Travis and I are both very humbled and honored by this recognition,” Lyons said. “It has always been a dream of ours to be able to create more local and affordable rodeo opportunities in our community and a place we love and call home. Rodeo isn’t just a sport. It’s preserving the Western heritage and way of life while promoting cowboy ethics and morals. These young cowboys and cowgirls are the future of our community. Our tagline has become ‘getting kids off the fence and into the arena.’ In our first year we had 180 members, averaging 115 contestants ages 3 to 18 years old at each rodeo.”
“I was excited to see a young family be honored,” Perry said. “A lot of times, we have so many retirees. We sometimes lose hope, like, ‘is the next generation really going to step up and carry the baton for philanthropy?’ and Kelcy Lyons is also the board chair of Low Income Student Aid, and I was just really excited that it was going to support youth.”
Volunteer of the Year Eric Wyles will be profiled in an upcoming story
