Tempe Conventions & Visitors Bureau

I had a the opportunity to meet a couple of travel writers last night for dinner.  It had been a while since they had been to Arizona and they were, to be frank, surprised by the quality of life here.  Locals know the great weather, coupled with beautiful scenery and getaways like the Grand Canyon all combine to make this a great place to live and grow up.  But there is another side to this equation.  There is a spirit of entrepreneurship in Arizona that is leading to a number of small businesses, especially eateries, to open up.  The restaurant we had dinner at last night, St Francis,  just opened a few months ago along the light rail in Phoenix.  Just around the corner, a few other places have sprung up.  Along Tempe’s stretch on Apache Boulevard, a few residential developments have opened and the long missed Long Wongs has finally found a home near McClintock and Apache.  The travel writers not only saw the beauty of Arizona, but also felt the ‘vibe’ that is growing.  I hope this type of creative spirit becomes even more infectious and gives everyone something to talk and write about.

This week Tempe has the great honor of welcoming a group of heroes to our city.  The USS Gambier Bay 65^th Anniversary Reunion is coming to Tempe and the Sheraton Phoenix Airport on October 22-24 and we are proud to be the host city for this extraordinary group. 

The USS Gambier Bay was sunk after being ambushed by the largest Japanese Naval force ever brought together.  Over a 2 day period, 1,110 men drifted more than 60 miles in shark infested waters without food or drinkable water. Finally, rescuers from Patrol and Landing Craft found the survivors in the dead of night. The rescuers, with spot lights aglow in waters that enemy submarines patrolled, placed their own lives in danger to find and rescue the survivors still floating about at sea.

This October marks the 65th anniversary of this remarkable event, and Tempe wants to make sure to thank this brave group for their service!

May 13 will be a great day for ASU, for Tempe and for the country. It’s graduation day at Arizona State University and in addition to sending more than 8,000 graduates into the working world armed with enthusiasm, determination and degrees, President Obama is going to speak at the ASU Commencement. This is such a great opportunity for these graduates, their families and a few lucky community members to hear words of encouragement and hope from our President. As a champion for education, there is no better place for him to on May 13 than on the Tempe campus. Do you have tickets to attend the commencement? I’d love to hear your thoughts.