Born and raised in Arizona, I know firsthand how important water is to our way of life. It is the very thing that makes this desert so hospitable. As kids we played in it and as parents, we ask our kids to conserve it. But it is much more than that.

In my day-to-day business of running our family-owned real estate brokerage, I am often asked by clients relocating to Arizona, do we have enough water for all these people? And over 20 years I have formulated great responses to this very difficult question. The simple answer is yes. We use less water in Maricopa County today than we did in the 1970’s, all while our population has increased sixfold. This is not to say we don’t need to be good stewards of our water. But it does prove an important fact – with good planning and long-term vision we can provide for our children a future that is as fun and bright as the past we grew up with in Arizona.

My family arrived here in the 1970’s and focused on the future. My father brought the first condominium to Arizona – innovating urban living – before Arizona really knew what it was. My father owned the Arizona Biltmore Golf Course and was a leader in water preservation, by trading its historic well rights for SRP Irrigation water and helping to lower ground water use in central Phoenix.

Growing up with my mother and stepfather we had both a cattle feedlot and a cotton farm. I saw the importance of water for agriculture industry, as both ventures needed to walk the delicate balance of life in our desert.

I grew up with both sides of my family working hard to use water in wise ways that helped grow our economy and create great jobs for many other families. These same values are just as important today as they were then.

As we move forward, we must work together to come up with solutions that protect our current sources of water, incentivize those who use water to use it more wisely, and come up with programs to help eradicate waste and leakage – all while looking ahead to new sources and solutions to ensure Arizona can continue to grow and prosper.

As a board member of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, I will commit my time and efforts to continuing the legacy of well-run water management in our great state of Arizona, by embracing the legacy my family has taught me – utilizing our water safely and effectively for the betterment of Arizona’s future.