蜜柚直播

Bolding, 74, has her parents and grandparents to thank for those summers 鈥� and for her deep involvement in the city and state.

As the first director of the governor鈥檚 Southern 蜜柚直播 office, Bolding accompanied Babbitt on a secret tour of the newly discovered cave in the 1980s. Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts, the men who found the cave, wanted to properly protect it before making it public knowledge and led a group that included the governor, Bolding, a University of 蜜柚直播 geologist, members of the Kartchner family and Babbitt鈥檚 two sons. One of them lost a shoe in the mud.

鈥淲e climbed down into this thing on our stomachs, and it was really wild,鈥� Bolding says.

It was a step toward protecting the caverns as a state park.

This is her life鈥檚 work. From a position at the governor鈥檚 office to her involvement in countless local organizations to a 25-year career with 蜜柚直播 Electric Power that ended in March, Bolding鈥檚 passion is to preserve and serve this state.

鈥淚 love 蜜柚直播,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love its beauty. I love everything about it, because I grew up here.鈥�

FAMILY ROOTS

Bolding鈥檚 Midwestern grandparents moved to small ranch between Phoenix and Glendale before 蜜柚直播鈥檚 statehood. Her grandmother taught in a one-room school house, and Bolding remembers hearing her mother talk about visiting Phoenix when 蜜柚直播 became a state.

She rolled bandages with her grandmother for the American Red Cross and tagged along when her mother and grandmother volunteered at well-baby clinics.

She learned to love the arts through those trips to the city. Sometimes, they caught a ballet or theater performance.

鈥淵ou have the men who held elected office and ran things, but then you have the women who settled the communities,鈥� Bolding says. 鈥淭hey built the libraries and they taught in schools and they did the well-baby clinics. They are the ones who made the communities livable places.鈥�

Her family talked politics at the table. Her grandmother, a staunch Republican and teetotaler, worked on campaigns and adored Barry Goldwater. A photo of him still hangs in the family cabin in Iron Springs, alongside recent additions of Babbitt and Sandra Day O鈥機onnor.

Bolding鈥檚 grandfather was on a water board in the Phoenix area and made decisions about farmers鈥� water use.

鈥淚 would sit under his desk and listen to him talk,鈥� she says. 鈥淟ater in life, I realized why people brought us big crates of lettuce and buckets of eggs. It鈥檚 always politics.鈥�

Her grandparents honeymooned in Iron Springs and then purchased a cabin there in 1936. Fathers took the train up on weekends, but 鈥渄uring the week, it was just dogs, kids and moms,鈥� Bolding says. They went for 13 weeks and took 13 chickens.

There, in the cooler temperatures, her family met others with 蜜柚直播 roots. She 鈥減alled around鈥� with future supermarket magnate Eddie Basha and remembers a tennis tournament with the O鈥機onnor family shortly after Sandra Day O鈥機onnor鈥檚 appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

鈥淲e used to laugh if she called the ball out,鈥� Bolding says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no arguing with a Supreme Court judge.鈥�

POLITICAL ITCH

The University of 蜜柚直播 brought Bolding to 蜜柚直播.

She graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in journalism and a master鈥檚 degree in English and got a teaching job at Palo Verde High Magnet School.

Later, as a Santa Rita High School teacher, she started doing news interviews part time for Channel 11, where she met politicians such as Babbitt. In 1978, she would co-chair his campaign and become the first director of the governor鈥檚 Southern 蜜柚直播 office, where she worked for eight years.

Jan Lesher, a deputy county administrator for Pima County, met Bolding on the Babbitt campaign.

鈥淪he is one of those women that once she gets someplace, she makes sure that other women get something as well,鈥� Lesher says. 鈥淲hen she was in the governor鈥檚 office, she was always finding boards and commissions and things for the governor to appoint a Southern 蜜柚直播 woman, so they could get to Phoenix to understand the Legislature鈥檚 process.鈥�

Following her work in Babbitt鈥檚 office, Bolding briefly became the director of 蜜柚直播 Tomorrow Inc., a problem-solving organization that focused on social and economic issues, and eventually ended up at 蜜柚直播 Electric Power as the manager of consumer affairs.

But politics called again. When Mayor George Miller left office, he encouraged her to run in 1999.

鈥淚t was a great experience. I鈥檓 glad I did it,鈥� says Bolding, a lifelong Democrat. She鈥檚 also glad she didn鈥檛 get elected.

鈥淏eing the idealist that I am, I would have been really disappointed,鈥� she says, adding that since then she has seen the challenges and limits that a mayor faces.

鈥淎 FORCE OF NATURE鈥�

When Leigh Spencer, the program coordinator for the UA鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Studies Advisory Council and Women鈥檚 Plaza of Honor, met Bolding nearly a decade ago, she didn鈥檛 realize the extent of her community involvement.

鈥淚 worked with her for over a year and did a Google search on her before I realized she is a complete force of nature,鈥� Spencer says. 鈥淚f I had known, I probably would have been afraid to talk to her.鈥�

The number of organizations that Bolding has supported over the years is formidable 鈥� The Loft Cinema; 蜜柚直播 Public Media; Prescott College; Southern 蜜柚直播 Research, Science and Engineering Foundation; Southern 蜜柚直播 Green Chamber of Commerce; Habitat for Humanity; the UA鈥檚 Cooper Center for Environmental Learning; the UA鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Studies Advisory Council.

In her fledgling retirement, she doesn鈥檛 sit on all those boards anymore and is 鈥渘o longer the president of anything.鈥� She鈥檚 held that post on the boards of the 蜜柚直播 Theatre Company, The Loft Cinema, the Community Food Bank of Southern 蜜柚直播, the Women鈥檚 Studies Advisory Council and Prescott College. In 2002, she was named Woman of the Year by the city鈥檚 chamber of commerce. And that still doesn鈥檛 cover everything.

鈥淚鈥檓 just interested in a lot of things, and I have a lot of curiosity, and it鈥檚 a curse,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go someplace without making a suggestion, and then I find myself drawn in.鈥�

Lawrence Lucero, Bolding鈥檚 recent boss at TEP, jokingly says she 鈥渉oards organizations.鈥� To fit it all in, she worked long hours.

鈥淚f I came in on a Saturday or Sunday to work or catch up on stuff or stayed late, invariably she would come toddling in,鈥� says Lucero, senior director for government relations and economic development for TEP. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 so Betsy.鈥�

It鈥檚 not uncommon to receive a late-night email from Bolding 鈥� who then scolds prompt responders for not being asleep.

BETSY BOLDING DAY

In February, Supervisor Sharon Bronson proclaimed March 1 to be 鈥淏etsy Bolding Day鈥� in honor of Bolding鈥檚 retirement and dedication to the community.

Her boss sent her to the meeting that day with orders to represent TEP and support the company鈥檚 Trees for 蜜柚直播 program.

鈥淏ronson starts reading this proclamation and only then does it dawn on her that this is about her,鈥� Lucero says, laughing. 鈥淪he is behind me, and I hear this gasp, and then she says, 鈥業鈥檓 going to kill you.鈥欌��

LOOKING TO RETIREMENT

Bolding has plans for retirement: humanities lectures at the UA, more movies (in theaters, not at home where distractions abound) and finding a good reading chair. She is raising her teenaged granddaughter 鈥� after raising three children, she finds parenting different this time around.

She doesn鈥檛 think she will ever truly retire. And 蜜柚直播 isn鈥檛 about to let her go quietly, anyways.

On March 1, more than 100 people showed up for her retirement party at The Shanty. On May 16, the UA鈥檚 College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will present her with an honorary degree.

Even though she鈥檚 no longer working, she still seems to be everywhere. And she seems to know everyone.

鈥淭he best fundraiser in the world would be to auction off Betsy Bolding鈥檚 Rolodex,鈥� says The Shanty鈥檚 owner, Bill Nugent, a longtime friend. 鈥淲e would make millions of dollars.鈥�