15 minute read
Hi, My Name is
PROFILE ON LOCAL BUSINESS: CHRIS KEELEY
MY COMPANY & TITLE IS….
Phoenix Commercial Brokers (owner)
A TYPICAL DAY IN MY LIFE INCLUDES…
I am an early riser and into work by 7:00 usually. Always check the Deer Valley market first, sales, leases and see what’s new! My best days are full of tours, meeting with clients and showing property. I always have documentation to do and respond to client e-mails. Then I wrap up my day with dinner, helping the kids with homework and playing a little backyard soccer.
MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT LIVING/WORKING IN DEER VALLEY IS…
The best thing about working commercial real estate in Deer Valley is this new exploding market. There is still huge opportunity for growth here.
YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE YOU COULD NEVER GET TIRED OF WATCHING AND WHY...
The best character ever in any movie has to be Captain Augustus (Gus) McCrae in Lonesome Dove. Hard life and great spirit. In my opinion, it’s the best Western ever. But be careful it’s a tear jerker!
MY FAMILY…
I’m blessed with the most beautiful Brazilian wife in the world. She is even more beautiful inside than out, and that’s hard to imagine when you see her. We have two Braz-irish kids together, 8 and 4, and their older sister, 28, lives in Texas.
THE BUSINESS LESSON I LEARNED THE HARD WAY IS…
Follow-up. We work so hard to establish our client relationships but without follow up we are so easily and quickly forgotten.
ONE THING I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT…
My family would say it’s college football but the truth is it’s my family.
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I WANTED TO BE…
A fireman, so I became one for 22 years with Tucson Fire Department. I spent 10 years as a paramedic and 10 years as a fire captain. I’ve got some stories when you have time. I’ve delivered 5 babies in my career which was very exciting.
THE SONG I WOULD SING AT KARAOKE NIGHT IS...
I have only sang one time in my life because my wife (who is a great singer) said she’d sing with me. Of course she bailed in the middle of “Suspicious Minds”. You know… ELVIS. Thank god I can dance a little like Elvis because the song bombed. Never again!
THE ONE PERSON WHO MOTIVATES ME IS…
My real estate partner who’s so successful and so generous (he anonymously donates 80 college scholarships a year). It’s inspiring.
THE LAST THING THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD WAS…
My wife is still learning English and as we drove by a supermarket the other day she asked “Honey, am I Fresh & Easy?” The water I was drinking came out my nose!
THE PERFECT DAY WOULD BE…
To close the Big Deal and get my butt home early to get the kids and wife, and head out for pizza to celebrate.
MY FIRST JOB WAS…
Believe it or not the copper mines hired us for our summer job driving earthmovers at the mines. These are dump trucks that you climb an 8 ft. ladder just to get into the driver seat. Scary and big fun.
MY LIFE…
Has been quite a road. Started as a high school teacher/coach then a haberdasher selling custom suits in Phoenix. Then moved on to the Tucson Fire Department and now commercial real estate for 18 years. It’s been fun and no, I’m not 90 years old…I just stay busy! Some of my careers have overlapped.
I’M CURRENTLY WORKING ON…
A new Deer Valley Airpark 2020 Annual Commercial Real Estate Report.
THE BEST GIFT I’VE EVER RECEIVED WAS...
My wife. She’s a gift from God, no doubt.
THE ACTOR I WOULD WANT TO PLAY ME IN A MOVIE OF MY LIFE IS...
Tom Cruise - you know, because it’s an action movie.
MY DREAM VACATION WOULD BE TO…
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Having lunch at the beach Café with the family and watching the kids play in the sand. Just watching Brazil pass by is pure 24-hour entertainment. A long walk on Copacabana Beach to Ipanema Beach.
MY WORDS OF WISDOM TO ASPIRING BUSINESS OWNERS...
You better love to show up for work everyday or find another business. No problem in business is a bad as some of the real problems I saw on the Fire Department – life changing problems! My worst day in business didn’t come close to some of the worst days I saw as a fireman. It definitely gives real perspective in life.
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COVER STORY MY OFFICE® BUSINESS SUITES OFFERS TAILORED SUITE SOLUTIONS
Executive Office Suites have grown in popularity in the Greater Phoenix area due to a rapidly growing trend in the Valley, changing work styles, and a boom in small businesses and start-ups. They have become a viable solution for businesses to be competitive and professional, and can also save a business 65 percent in operating costs over a traditional office space. With four valley locations, one such company, My Office® Business Suites, has been at the forefront of this growth.
My Office® Business Suites provides efficiencies and professional services in the business suites environment that allow small, homebased and growing businesses to be competitive and professional at competitive prices.
The owners of My Office® Business Suites are two successful women, Shelley Bade and Jill Pogrant. “As owners of small businesses ourselves, we can see through the eyes of those who rent from us. We understand the dynamics of the local marketplace and choose to be very involved in the day-to-day operations.”
With technology and economic times, the landscape of office space continues to change. Bade and Pogrant have developed a solid operations model and continue to search the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area to find additional premium locations where their network of businesses can effectively and efficiently grow their businesses. The dynamic duo Bade and Pogrant have taken on independent responsibilities to ensure that their business is able to operate smoothly and flourish. Shelley Bade is responsible for strategic partnerships, marketing, site selection and risk management of the organization. Her knowledge of commercial real estate and running small businesses has helped My Office® in its implementation of alternative office space concepts for business owners and professionals. Jill Pogrant is responsible for leasing and service contracts, site operations and relationships with businesses in the My Office® network. She has been active in the business arena of Greater Phoenix for 30 years, and is a small business owner herself.
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FOUR MYOFFICE® BUSINESS CENTERS IN THE VALLEY
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EDUCATION
HOW TO CATCH UP ON CREDITS WITH PRIMAVERA
Every year, 1.2 million U.S. recovery program; it’s a public charter before enrolling with Primavera, we Here are a couple student stories: students drop out of high high school. However, Primavera has recommend you check your school’s “I’ve had a rough high school career school. a few unique programs and personal- policies. You can learn more about that put me in a bunch of different ized support that can make students transferring Primavera credits in this schools and left me behind in credits. That’s about one in four high school more capable of catching up and article. Primavera has helped me change that students who will not graduate. Earn- graduating than at another school. and was a great way to catch up and ing your high school diploma is ex- Sometimes life circumstances can learn plenty of things on the way! tremely important. You can learn more HOW TO CATCH UP ON CRED- make it difficult to add on courses. in this article. ITS TO GRADUATE If you are behind and unable to take The way I finished was just realizing, Full-Time Students on extra work, you can still earn your I HAVE to do this. Don’t just drop If you’re thinking of dropping out, Primavera’s curriculum is separated high school diploma. You can stay out and give up after working for a don’t. If you’ve already dropped out, into two courses every six weeks. By with Primavera until you are 21. How- couple years on it. Just be motivated it’s not too late. There are several the end of the traditional semester, a ever long it takes you to finish high and understand that having a dischools and programs designed to help student at Primavera will finish the school is not important, so long as you ploma helps out a great bit in the real you get back on track. same 6-7 courses a traditional student earn your accredited diploma. world…Good luck to all of you and has; they just split it up differently. understand that it’s all worth it in the One of these schools dedicated to Looking to recover just a class or two end!” helping credit-deficient students get After students successfully completes quickly? Summer school might be -Joey Hergatt, Graduate back on track is Primavera Online a six-week block with passing grades, your best option. High School. they can request to enroll in an ad- “My experience doing Primavera ditional course each block, equating to Credit Recovery Through Online was great. I encountered Primavera is Arizona’s largest high three courses every six weeks. By the Primavera’s Online Summer School credit problems at the beginning of school. About 43 percent of its stu- end of the school year, a student can For catching up on one to two semes- my sophomore year, so my school dents come already behind on credits. finish up to six additional semester ter courses quickly, we recommend recommended taking online courses. And each year, thousands of former courses. enrolling in a summer school course. “at-risk” students go on to receive At first I thought it was hard and their high school diploma. As a refresher, here’s how to catch up Summer school courses are condensed that it needed a lot of focusing and on credits with Primavera: into four weeks. Coursework is accel- dedication. Thanks to the help of all Learn more about recovering cred- erated so students can finish a semes- my teachers and student advisors, its through Primavera Online High Concurrent Enrollment ter course in just a month. Students are I was able to do so! I even became School below. You don’t have to leave your current allowed to take one class per block, confident in asking for all the help school to catch up on credits. Pri- and there are generally about two to I always needed, that’s how helpful You Don’t Need a Credit Recovery mavera also offers part-time enroll- three blocks each summer. That means and nice the teachers and advisors Program to Graduate on Time ment. This means you would enroll you can finish up to three classes dur- were with me. Primavera is not a credit recovery pro- in one six-week class while attending ing your summer. gram, as aren’t most schools. A credit your traditional high school. Since Even though I came upon many recovery program tends to consist of a Primavera is 100 percent online, you Summer 2017 sessions are May 30 conflicts and would fall behind on students sitting on a computer, reading can go to your current high school, and July 5. homework, the teachers always had a documents, taking quizzes and passing come home and log in to start Primav- backup plan to help me move along the course. era coursework. PRIMAVERA GRADUATES and succeed. I enjoyed Primavera, it Over the years, Primavera has helped offered a lot of flexibility! I highly Primavera is an accredited high Primavera credits are transferrable to thousands of credit-deficient students recommend Primavera!” school, which means it’s not a credit all Arizona public schools by law. But graduate on time. -Marianna Montes, Graduate
TWO DEER VALLEY UNIFIED STUDENTS WIN COOKING UP CHANGE COMPETITION
Barry Goldwater High School’s Michael Griffin and Jason Forrari won Cooking up Change competition held last month with their MJ’s Curry with Zesty Curried Corn and Potatoes and Darn Good Bananas menu.
Cooking up Change® is a national healthy cooking competition launched by Healthy Schools Campaign. It challenges teams of high school culinary students to create menu items that are not only healthy, but also meet nutrition guidelines and the budgetary constraints (about $1 per meal) that School Food Services programs across the country face today. It’s a program that allows students to be involved in the conversation as campuses across the country strive to serve healthful, great-tasting school food that their classmates would enjoy eating at school.
The winning Deer Valley Unified student meal will be served at district schools and the winning students win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June to compete at the national competition at the U.S. Department of Education. There’s also a chance the student meal will be served to U.S. Representatives in D.C.
Teams of two or three culinary students from the District’s Culinary Arts programs followed a rigorous recipe development process with a limited list of ingredients to create dishes that are low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium. The District’s Food Services dietitians carefully checked each recipe to meet nutritional requirements.
EDUCATION
TIPS TO MAKE MATH YOUR CHILD’S FAVORITE SUBJECT
For many students, math can Pretend you are running a “store.” seem like a chore. Not only are Take turns being the customer and the concepts sometimes tough the shopkeeper. This is also a great at first, but teachers are required opportunity to learn about budgeting to keep their lessons moving at and saving. a particular pace, making it easy er, assigning your child all the tasks tor that’s appropriate for his or her for any student to get lost in the • Use Free Fun Resources: Online classroom shuffle. math games can reinforce classroom concepts in a way that is fun and alParents however, can help make math lows students to set their own pace. more fun and engaging at home, help- Check out free online resources like ing students excel in school and enjoy the Lesson Library at casioeducation. themselves in the process. Here are a com. Their collection of graphing few ideas and tips for doing so. games can be used with a graphing • Pie Graph: Bring pie graphs to life understand graphic concepts and the by using real pies. First, bake togeth- equations behind them. that use numbers and math: measur- • Play Ball: Cater to your student’s ing, counting and setting the timer extracurricular interests. If your child on the oven. After the pie has cooled, has a love of sports, make a game of it’s time to demonstrate the visual assessing team and player statistics. concept of halves, quarters and thirds. If your child loves music, evaluate Ask your child to convert these frac- favorite songs for patterns, rhythms tions into percentages and decimals. and intervals. Literature buffs may Correct answers get a sweet reward! find that poetry can be mathematical. • Gear Up: Math is no fun when one hands will find the need for math in is not equipped to succeed. Ensure crafting, sewing and model kit buildyour child has a high-quality calcula- ing. calculator to help students better Those who like to work with their grade level. The K-12 line from Casio Math is not only essential to acaincludes basic calculators, scientific demic success; its mastery is useful in calculators and graphing calculators all facets of life -- from understandthat contain up-to-date functions that ing one’s finances to landing a job in help distill math concepts. an emerging technology sector. Help students get a leg up in their math • Play Shop: Teach kids how money classes by encouraging a love for the works, while reinforcing adding, sub- subject. tracting, and how tax is calculated. (StatePoint)
DEER VALLEY ACADEMY A NONPROFIT CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL
The “ACADEMY” Experience
Tuition FREE • Six ENTRY Dates Afternoon/Evening Classes • Individualized Instruction Credit Retrieval • Full/Part-Time Enrollment 51st Avenue & Union Hills www.DeerValleyAcademy.org • 602.467.6874
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SESSIONS START JUNE 1, JULY 5 & JULY 17
With Arizona’s #1 summer school, your child can complete a course from home, around their job schedule and even during the family vacation!
