The Arizona Small Business Association Staff would like to extend its gratitude and appreciation to Allan Starr for his dedication as ASBA President for 2006 and 2007 and for his ongoing particpation with ASBA's Board of Directors. Thanks Allan for all you have done.

President - Eden Sunshine

Eden Sunshine, often referred to as "The System Guy", is the President of E Quest Development Company and MakingYourBusinessWork.com. He is also the founder of the Level Seven System and the Level Seven Business Development Challenge. The Challenge Program is a proven, systematic and comprehensive process for business owners wanting to bridge the GAP from average to excellence in their businesses. His experience includes being a Nationally Recognized Certified Master E-Myth Consultant and has logged over 15,000 hours of coaching and consulting businesses. Eden has spent most of his professional career working and developing small and medium size business. Eden has served as a volunteer in a wide range of non-profit organizations and sat on the boards of several privately held corporations. During 2005, he served on the Membership Relations and Communications Committee. In 2006 and 2007, he served as ASBA Vice President.

Vice President – Stephen Heitz

Stephen currently serves as Director of Interactive Services for The Lavidge Company, a full service advertising, public relations and interactive agency. Stephen is an accomplished leader in both Interactive marketing and technology working for companies including eBay, eBay Motors, and Barrett-Jackson. He has executive and consulting experience in education, insurance, auctions, retail products, marketing and e-business. Stephen's accomplishments include receiving Innovator of the Year award from the Maricopa Community Colleges and was selected Forbes Best of the Web list for TV/Online Auction. Stephen obtained his Bachelors of Science in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix. Additionally, Stephen is a member of Arizona Internet Professional Association and the Arizona Technology Council.

Secretary – Doug Bruhnke

Doug believes that membership in ASBA adds value and is an important step for companies in Arizona. He’s CEO of Growth Nation, which helps emerging companies reach their growth potential by developing and implementing effective marketing, sales and business development initiatives. In addition to providing branding and strategy, Growth Nation brings customers access to the best marketing resources in the area – including collateral development, websites, direct mail, advertising and public relations. In addition to his support of ASBA, Doug is a member of the Executive Committee for Enterprise Network, Invest Southwest Capital Conference, Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG) and Scottsdale Job Network. He was born in New York, lived six years in Asia and has worked in 28 countries.

Treasurer – Kristine Kassel

Kristine is the President and Owner of Benefits by Design which has been in business over 10 years! She is currently on the Executive Board for ASBA and has recently been asked to participate in the Women’s President Organization (WPO). She also served as the President of the Arizona and Phoenix Association of Health Underwriters Association, received their National Distinguished Service Award and most recently was the National Education Chair. She is currently serving on a new committee with the Department of Insurance and was also selected to serve on the advisory board for Life Wise Health Plan of Arizona. She also held several board positions with NAWBO. This year The Business Journal also recognized her as one of the “40 Business Persons under 40.” Notably, Kristine and Benefits by Design were selected to participate in the AAAMES two year mentoring program with APS, which supports women and minority owned businesses and just recently graduated from that program! Kristine is a native Arizonan and received her BS degree from Arizona State University and has been in the insurance industry for 18 years.

Immediate Past President – Allan Starr

Allan is the President/CEO of Marketing Partners, a strategic marketing, advertising and public relations firm he founded in 1976, and which serves a select list of leading local, regional and national clients. Allan has presented marketing workshops throughout the country and was commissioned by an agency of the United Nations to conduct marketing and advertising seminars in Trinidad and Tobago for marketing executives from emerging countries .He was recently elected to his third consecutive two-year term as a member of the board of directors of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of The Chamber’s executive committee. For a quarter-century, he served on the board of directors and is past chairman of The Chamber’s Phoenicians Committee. He also has served as President of the Phoenix Junior Chamber of Commerce, The Phoenix and Arizona Professional Photographers Associations, The Phoenix Advertising Club and as Chair of the Southwest District of the American Advertising Federation. In addition, he served on the executive committee of The Professional Photographers of America and the board of directors of the Executives Assn. of Greater Phoenix. Allan was elected to ASBA's Board in 2002, and serves on The Association’s executive committee.

Jack Alspaugh

Jack is the Managing Partner of Gary Insurance Group where the focus is to provide benefits to the small group market consisting of 2 to 50 employees, as well as the solo entrepreneur. They are a small but very dynamic organization that understands the needs and the limitation this size organizations faces. Jack is a member of Greater Phoenix Health Underwriters the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Association of Health Insurance Advisors. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Raising Special Kids and the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk. Jack has been actively involved with the Arizona Small Business Association for the past several years and was an instrumental piece in developing the COR3 Referral Groups.

Candace Canton

Candace is the Executive Director of Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C., the oldest law firm in Tucson, overseeing the management and coordination of its approximately fifty attorneys and staff. She has held that position in three different law firms in Dallas TX, Mesa AZ and now in Tucson AZ. She has continued volunteering her time to community and professional organizations, including the Society of Human Resource Managers and the Association of Legal Administrators, for which over the years she has held numerous board and leadership positions. Currently, she serves on the boards of COPE Behavioral Services and the Arizona Small Business Association.

Joann Hardy Carranza

Joann served most recently as General Manager for Territorial Newspapers in Tucson, she has worked in the publishing industry since high school. She first tried retirement in 2000 after 30 years with Tucson Newspapers but was called out of retirement in February of 2001 to consult for Territorial Newspapers and then was named General Manager. In November of 2006 Joann decided not to retire, but to see what new ventures she could develop and will be running her own consulting business. Joann is currently a member of the Governor’s Small Business Council, serves on the board of the Arizona Newspaper Foundation and as Board Chair of Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona. She and her husband, David Carranza own a sign company in Tucson, Sign-a-rama. She has two sons, Taylor and Alejandro. Joann has been Co-Chair of the Membership Relations and Communications Committee.

Al Chaves

Al Chaves is a Financial Consultant with the Wachovia Securities LLC office in Scottsdale, Arizona. Wachovia is one of the nation’s largest investment firms. Al works with families, individuals and small businesses to create and implement thorough and personalized financial strategies that provide each client the best opportunity to achieve their goals. Al believes that risk management through proper asset allocation and diversification is the cornerstone of a good investment strategy. Mr. Chaves holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He has attained his AAMS (Accredited Asset Management Specialist) designation from the College for Financial Planning and is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council. Mr. Chaves is fluent in both English and Spanish, and is an active member in his church. Mr. Chaves volunteers his time to organizations and projects such as Valley of the Sun Habitat for Humanity and Rotary.

Jack Hamlett

Jack and his wife Kathy own a special type of business. Mad Science is an international franchised business which they own 2. Mad Science is the worlds leading Science provider for kids to spark their imagination with engaging hands-on educational programs and activities. Jack is also a participant of AAAME Class 8, an APS sponsored mentoring group. Jack was also a Hairdresser and trainer for major Hair care companies for 25 years. That provided him with a practical business education which has helped his awareness and knowledge of customer service and satisfaction.

Rena AJ Huber

Rena AJ Huber is the Director of the APS Academy for the Advancement of Small, Minority and Women Owned Enterprises (AAAME). Launched in 1997, AAAME is a two year business mentoring program which teaches small, minority and/or women owned businesses the skills and knowledge they need to reach the next level of business success. This innovative and successful program has assisted more than 115 companies in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area to achieve their business goals. Rena has served APS and its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., in a variety of positions in the areas of purchasing and supply-chain management. In addition to being a member of the ASBA Board of Directors, Rena serves on the Board of Directors for the Southwestern Business Financing Corp., is the Director of the Executive Leader’s Forum and is a member of the Greater Phoenix Chamber Athena Powerlink Governing Board. In 2005-6, Rena served as the Chair of the ASU Spirit of Enterprise Spirit Team working with the ASU Spirit of Enterprise Center at the W.P. Carey School of Business. In 2005 and 2006, Rena was honored as a top 10 finalist for the Athena Award, presented by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Rena was also awarded the APS Award of Excellence in 2005, an acknowledgement by APS company president Jack Davis for her significant contributions to the success of AAAME within our community. Rena has a B.A. in English from California State University at Fullerton and has obtained Lifetime status as a Certified Purchasing Manager from the Institute of Supply Management.

Kevin Klimas

Kevin is president and founder of Clarifacts Inc., a privately held corporation which focuses exclusively on employment background screening services. Elected to the board of directors for the Arizona Small Business Association in 2005 for a term of two years, Kevin serves on the finance committee and is the chairman of the strategic alliance committee. Kevin is also a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators and serves as the communications chairman for the Valley of the Sun Human Resource Association. Eager to share his knowledge regarding the importance of pre-employment screening for business success, Kevin has been featured in various publications including The Business Journal, bizAZ, Arizona Business Gazette, Workforce Management Magazine and the Arizona Republic’s "Ask the Expert" section. Kevin’s expertise in background investigations led to the publication of a book in 2005 entitled Common Sense Business. A practiced lecturer, Kevin regularly speaks on employment screening issues to prominent organizations such as Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, the Society of Human Resource Management’s Arizona Consultants Forum and Right Management Consultants.

John Kowalski

John is President of Pivot Productions, Inc. and is currently the radio talk show host for The John Adam Show. His past experience includes management consulting and executive coaching for Pivot Productions, Inc. as well as CEO, General Manager, and Financial Controller of Kowalski Construction, Inc. where he was responsible for overall corporate objectives, operations, financial and administrative functions. John’s skills include strengthening strategic customer relationships by empowering employees to continually innovate products, services, and business processes in order to deliver unparalleled market leadership. He has a Bachelor of Science in Speech from Northwestern University School of Communication.

Debi Kuehn

Debi is the owner and educator behind Kuehn Financial Education Services, LLC, offering consumer and small business money management consulting and education. She developed her business idea as a result of the unsettled economic climate after September 11, 2001. Her straight forward approach to money has attracted the attention of television, print, and radio media, which have been platforms for her to share her message of financial knowledge as power and prosperity. Debi is a founding co-facilitator for ASBA TIME (Training, Information, Mentoring, and Education) where she developed an accredited entrepreneurial business plan class and assisted in launching a successful mentoring program. She also participated in developing Arizona competencies for high school financial curriculum and teaches at DeVry University.

Don Mock

Don is a newly elected member of Jobs for Arizona Graduates (JAG) as well as a past board member for the Arizona FFA Alumni Association. He also serves in various capacities on committees with the Valley of the Sun HR Association, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Arizona State SHRM Council and Gateway Community College. His current role is that of Community Relations Manager at Jobing.com where he prides himself on connecting companies with people to help them build valuable relationships in order to recruit and hire future employees.

Raúl Sánchez Monreal, Jr.

Raúl is a longtime resident of Ahwatukee and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs/Director of the South Mountain Community College Guadalupe Center at Guadalupe, Arizona, an extension campus of South Mountain Community College with the largest Maricopa County Community College District in the nation. Raúl developed the Entrepreneurship Program Certificate utilizing Robert F. Kiyosaki book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” where students now have a choice of selecting a career or the option of preparing themselves to be an entrepreneur. He was instrumental in creating a partnership with Arizona Small Business Association to provide business training and business plan classes in a college and business setting to ASBA members and the business community at large. He joined the Maricopa County Community Colleges in 1979 and a founder employee of Rio Salado Community College, South Mountain Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and South Mountain Community College Extended Campus at Guadalupe, Arizona. In 2004, Raúl was awarded the state’s most prestigious Hon Kachina Volunteer Award, the 2005 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Community Service Award and LULAC Convention Pioneer Latino Educators Excellence Award all for his 35 years of leadership volunteer service to community. Raúl is a current board member of the following organizations/associations: Vice President/Founder of Hispanic 50/50 Project LTD, Past Chairperson of the Phoenix Police Department Hispanic Advisory Board Directors, City of Phoenix Community Development Committee, Board Member of the Arizona México Higher Education Commission, and past Executive Board member to the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley, the Arizona Health Centers Professionals and Friendly House Foundation Board member. Raúl is an international songwriter with a Latin Song of the Century Award and owner of R. S. Monreal Music Publishing Inc. /BMI. Raúl recently signed a contract with Morgan James Publishing LLC of New York to publish his first bilingual books of poetry “One Hundred Drops of Water” scheduled for release in 2007. He recently started his Translation LLC and his Teleconexión Latina.

Michael Moore

Michael has been in the banking financial services industry for 28 years and has recently joined Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) as the Area Manager for Business Banking while serving as the Sales and Strategic Business manager for the bank’s Small Business Banking Organization in Arizona. Michael has served as past board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Phoenix as well as past leadership positions with the American Bankers Association, YMCA in Tampa, FL and other local community organizations. Michael is a graduate of Trinity University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and an Executive MBA from the same. He is also a former owner, President and CEO of two privately held small businesses.

Kathy Ramirez

Kathy is the Vice President and Manager of Business Lending/Services at Vantage West Credit Union. While the credit union is over 50 years old, it began servicing the small business market just four years ago. They enjoy an alignment with ASBA’s vision by helping small business owners grow their business. Kathy has served on multiple boards including Las Familias Services, Toastmasters, Soroptimist of Desert Tucson, PPEP, PAWS, and the Saguaro Council Girl Scouts. Kathy grew up in Phoenix, Arizona having graduated from Central High School. She spent over 25 years of her career in Business Banking at Valley National Bank of AZ which later became Bank One and now Chase. She took a position with the Bank in Tucson in the mid 70s and has specialized in lending to businesses ever since. She has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Susan Ratliff

An award-winning entrepreneur with over 30 years experience in sales and marketing, Susan is the founder of Exhibit Experts, a portable display company and the creator of the Women Entrepreneurs' Small Business Boot Camp. She is also an author, popular seminar presenter and co-host of a radio talk show for entrepreneurs. susan is an active member on the ASBA board, Chairs the MRACC committee, and has presented seminars to the membership. Susan also serves on the boards of NAWBO and NSA and participates on the Small Business Leadership Council of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Bob Roth

Bob Roth, Ph.D. is the Managing Director of the Arizona Business Center Consulting Group. He serves private business owners as an advisor, consultant, educator and business broker. His area of specialization is in helping them develop the full value of their business through implementing optimal exit strategy. Bob’s past experience includes serving as a Vice President for Del Webb Corporation and Radisson Hotels. He also served as National Advertising Director for the Holiday Inns System Worldwide. As a small business entrepreneur, he founded Roth/Graham Advertising and served as president/COO of the Grand Canyon Railway project. “Dr. Bob” holds a B.S. degree in public communications from Boston University and MBA and Ph.D. degrees in business administration for California Coast University. As a mentor and someone who cares, Bob served as Vice President of Public programs for the American Humane Association and currently serves on the board of Directors of AZ Entrepreneurs, dedicated to supporting Arizona’s entrepreneurial community.

Nancy Russell

Nancy is the Dean of Workforce and Business Development for Pima Community College where she is responsible for providing vision, academic leadership and direction for the academic programs and initiatives in the Workforce and Business Development area. She has substantive experience as a board member of both for-profit and non-profit organizations such as the University of Arizona Center for Innovation, Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO), Arizona Small Business Development Center State Network, the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and Casa de los Ninos. Nancy has Masters of Education and Business Administration Degrees from Texas A&M and a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State.

Cristie Street

Cristie has more than 13 years of leadership experience building global brands and guiding product development in technology companies. She is an accomplished writer, product manager and marketer, whose vision and expertise in business performance has driven enterprise growth with companies in the telecom, software manufacturing and IT consulting industries. Cristie is the founder and managing partner of Nextrio, LLC. Nextrio was a finalist in the 2006 Copper Cactus Awards' "Best Place to Work". In addition, Cristie was nominated for the 2005 Women of Influence Award and was listed as a "Woman to Watch" by Inside Tucson Business. Nextrio was also a winner of ASBA’s 2005 "Building a Better Business Award" for Culture and People and a 2007 Arizona Company to Watch.

Janice Washington

In September 2006, Janice C. Washington CPA took over as State Director, Arizona Small Business Development Center Network, a state-wide partnership between the Small Business Administration and Arizona’s community colleges. Janice also has more than thirty years of broad-based experience working with large corporations and small businesses. As Principal of J. C. Washington CPA for over twenty-one years, she obtained extensive experience consulting with small businesses and non-profit organizations helping them achieve success. From 1975 until the launch of her business in 1985, she held various analytical, administrative, and management positions at Honeywell Information Systems and Intel Corporation. Over the years, Mrs. Washington has participated in various leadership capacities on numerous community and City of Phoenix boards, commissions, and task forces. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants.