We’d like to welcome Peddler’s Son Produce as one of the newest 2010 board members!

Who is behind Peddler’s Son Produce?

Well, I had a chance to sit down and talk with Joe Palmisano, one of the owners of Peddler’s Son Produce.  Joe, and his brother, Ted Palmisano are partners in this locally and family owned business.

Tell us about your organization…

My brother, Ted, and I grew up in Wisconsin. (Yes, we’re both Packer Fans!)  Ted worked for our cousin’s produce company during high school and a couple of  years in college and enjoyed it. In 1988, Ted moved to Arizona and started his own company selling produce out of the back of his pickup truck.  In 1995, I joined him to see if we could take the company to the next level.  It worked pretty well with Ted focused on the warehouse operations and purchasing and me on sales and finance.  We bought our current location with 17,000 square feet of warehouse space on 14^th St and Jackson and have never looked back.

Are there any current highlights you are working on?

We have always focused on customer service to help set us apart from our competition and it’s paid off.  In the last couple of years, we’ve actually been fortunate to see some growth and we’ve just expanded into the Prescott area.  Family is very important to us and we feel like we’ve assembled a team that is like our family.  They’ve been a large part of our success. We’d like to grow our business even more because we feel like we’ve got the team to do it and we’re ready for more.

Why did you join PCA?

We joined PCA because we want the downtown Phoenix area to continue to grow.  Our warehouse is located here and we want to support the neighborhood that supports us.  Many of our employees live near our warehouse and we’d like to see more options available to them for housing, retail, etc.

What issues affect your business?

Strong neighborhoods and a climate that is open to support local business affect our business.  There is so much that is happening with the makeup of downtown, we want to make sure we’re a part of what is going on.

What are ways for other PCA members to contact your organization?

Website: http://www.peddlersson.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PeddlersSonProduce#!/PeddlersSonProduce

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PeddlersSon

email: info@peddlersson.com

Address:  214 S. 14^th St. Phoenix, AZ  85034

Foursquare:  http://foursquare.com/venue/3932169

“Think Globally, Prosper Locally”

City of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon

The next Phoenix Community Alliance Buzz will be on Thursday February 17, 2011 at 4:00pm. PCA will have City of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon discuss his recent travels to foreign countries including Dubai and the economic development opportunities available for Phoenix. How can we position Phoenix to be more attractive to global investors?

To learn more, email tonya@phoenixcommunityalliance.com or call (602) 254-7477.

SHINE THE DOME!

Print this and post in your office!

Collect Pennies To Help Shine Our State’s Capitol Copper Dome!

As a Children’s legacy project, the Arizona State Centennial team is launching an Arizona Centennial Penny Drive. The drive kicks off February 9, 2011, the same day voters approved the State’s new Constitution 100 years ago. The project hopes to raise enough funds to shine the copper dome atop of the State Capitol, which is estimated to cost $65,000. Any extra money raised will go to an ongoing improvement fund for projects around the Capitol.

Parents: Encourage your children to make a difference for this memorable time in our State’s history! Arizona Centennial Committee provides a toolkit for helping your child start a Penny Drive in their school. Teachers: make the Centennial part of your classroom experience by providing lessons on Arizona’s history. At PCA, we are going to do our part. We will have a jar at the office to help collect pennies as well as at all our meetings until the end of the drive on April 15th. We want to leave a legacy! Let’s work together to SHINE THE DOME! SHINE THE DOME! SHINE THE DOME!