Community involvement

From purchasing a ticket and passing through the turnstiles to buying some peanuts and Cracker Jack — and maybe a couple of hot dogs and a souvenir — an enjoyable day at the ballpark depends on many hard-working people fans may never meet.

ASU students enrolled in PRM 427, Special Events Management for Revenue Generation, were able to meet the people in charge of staging a Major League Baseball game at Chase Field through a visit that gave them insight on how it is done. The gathering of students and experts resulted from a happy coincidence of time and place.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has worn on, feelings of isolation and depression run strong for many people. For members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), a volunteer-driven organization open to members of the community who are 50 and older and where stimulating courses, trips and social activities are the mainstay, the sudden and limited social interaction left them at a loss.

The OLLI staff was challenged to find new ways to keep members connected.

Felicia Ganther’s higher education career spans more than a quarter century and includes a PhD degree from Arizona State University. On July 1, that career took a major step forward as Ganther became a college president.

Ganther built strong local roots and gained many memorable experiences before taking over as head of Bucks County Community College, which enrolls 7,100 students at three campuses in and near Newtown, Pennsylvania, and online.

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic led Jason Faircloth, founder of the United States Disabled Golf Association, to cancel the association's annual national golf tournament, which was scheduled to be held in Mesa. This year, a severe lack of volunteers and sponsors – the lifeblood of a golf tournament – led the tournament’s founder to think seriously about shelving the 2021 event as well.

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