Sound like a strange line to hear in southern Arizona? Well, it might become a little more commonplace in this region if a relatively new organization accomplishes what it is setting out to do.
The Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism, and Film Authority (SASTFA) was launched last year by then-Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature. It aims to enhance the economic opportunities southern Arizona provides for sports, tourism, film and workforce development, and recently, Pinal Partnership CEO Anthony Smith was selected as the Pinal County representative for the organization. In our latest issue of Copacetic Magazine, he shared a bit about what the organization aims to do for the region.
Bringing back economic opportunities
I’m delighted and honored to share with you that I was selected to be Pinal County’s representative on the Board of Directors for SASTFA. The ultimate goal of Pinal Partnership and SASTFA is consistent with what drives me, that being economic development and prosperity.
It’s no surprise that tourism is big business in Arizona and for southern Arizona, tourism is estimated to bring in $3.4 billion in direct spending, creating over 26,000 jobs, supporting local businesses and creating for us a higher quality of life.
Sounds impressive — but we can do better, much better. Keep reading.