JANUARY 2018 6 | Well, 2017 is over, and all I can say is “Thank Goodness.” That thing was a bear. It was up there in difficulty, drama and potential style points for success with…2016? As you are reading this I am probably taking a nap to try to recover. Also, #%$& cancer. But now here we are, in 2018, ready to approach the new year with a clean slate, clear eyes and an open heart. And the good news is, there are already some bright spots on the horizon that promise to make 2018 a great year for our community. Here are just a few things to watch for in the Valley in the new year. A Home for Helios Construction work is underway on the expansive new Helios Education Foundation campus just south of Camelback on 32nd Street. This 65,000 square foot building is being designed to serve as a hub for education nonprofits and other community activities, and is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. It promises to provide a huge boost to the work of the nonprofit sector in helping our children succeed. Phoenix Rising…to MLS? Over the course of the past year the high- profile owners of Phoenix Rising FC (that’s Football Club, for those of you who think a football is exclusively a brown, oblong object) have made a very, very serious bid to bring the Valley its fifth major professional sports team. They’re under consideration by Major League Soccer to join the top-tier league in the country by 2020, although the timeframe on selection is a bit fuzzy. Will they pull it off? Stay tuned. New Mayor One thing we do know — Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is moving on to run for Congress, so we’re going to have a bit of scrum to fill the office in the fall. The field is fairly open, creating what promises to be one of the more entertaining races in the 2018 cycle. The ripple effects won’t be insignificant. Leaders Being Recognized Valley Leadership’s Man & Woman of the Year, Sharon Harper and Neil Giuliano, are the best of the best when it comes to leadership, philanthropy and positive contributions to the community. Their impact {ahead of the curve} NEXT DOORS Tom Evans | CONTRIBUTING EDITOR THE NEW YEAR IS HERE ( THANK GOODNESS ). HERE’S WHAT TO EXPECT FOR 2018...

JANUARY 2018 | 7 will be celebrated at the organization’s annual luncheon on March 8. New Eats The Valley’s burgeoning restaurant scene continues to expand. Just within driver/7- iron of our palatial Frontdoors Media world headquarters in Arcadia, we’ve seen The Porch and a new Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers open up to the south, a whole gaggle of spaces under construction at 32nd and Campbell, and the new Gadzooks nearing completion at 40th and Camelback. Will the boom continue? Will some of the new concepts throughout the Valley go bust? Getting the answers will be more than half the fun, at least for foodies. Spring Giving Some of the most prominent events of the philanthropic calendar are coming up in short order and are coming off highly successful years. The spring event season is a blur in the most average of years, but with a sound economy and some major momentum for organizations and events such as Celebrity Fight Night, PANDA, and more, it could be a big year for Valley charities. Adult Spring Break Will the incredibly warm winter weather we’ve seen so far this year continue? If it does, look for Adult Spring Break — my term for the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open and basically the entire month of March between Spring Training and events — to break just about every record you can think of this year, which might just happen regardless of the weather conditions. Knock Knock Knockin’ on Frontdoors Finally, this month will mark the one- year anniversary of my wife Andrea and I purchasing Frontdoors from our friend Julia Patrick, and the March 1 issue will mark the one-year anniversary of our first issue. We’re grateful to all of you in the community who have taken the time to view our work and support us over the past year, in good times and in bad. And we’ve got some exciting things in store for 2018 — stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming weeks and months. One thing we can safely say — 2018 isn’t going to be dull. My wish for all of us is that it’s…fantastic. Maybe a bit more chill than the past couple of years, but a happy and prosperous new year at the very least. NEXT DOORS CONTINUED @tevans927 Tom Evans CONTRIBUTING EDITOR