Name and Position     

Rick Swanson, Director of Marketing and Development

Hometown       

Nashua, NH (but I have lived in Flagstaff for 25 years)

I worked for twelve years in marketing at the medical division of a Flagstaff-based corporation, W.L. Gore and Associates.  I once owned a children’s bookstore called “Where the Wild Things Are” in Flagstaff’s historic downtown.  I was the director of the Northern Arizona Book Festival for the years 2000 through 2003.

Life Interests

Wife – Deborah Beals, Finance Director at the Flagstaff Housing Authority

Two sons – Hunter and Blake, ages 15 and 13.  Hunter is an apprentice falconer.  Blake is an avid writer.

Hobbies – I like to ski the “steep and deep.”  I have run 8 marathons.  I do the N.Y. Times Crossword Puzzle every Sunday.  I am a “cautiously optimistic” Flagstaff gardener.

Community Interests/ Agencies with which you are involved

I have been elected to two four-year terms on the Flagstaff City Council.  For eight years I was on the board of the High Country News, a newspaper that covers environmental and social issues of the intermountain West.  I am currently the president of the Arizona Rural Health Association.