36 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE Substance Over Spectacle There is a sign in John Graham’s office that reads: JUST SAY NO. “It came from my mother,” he said, adding with a laugh that he has trouble with that. Despite the sign, the Grahams are ubiquitous in the philanthropic scene. John has been involved with Valley of the Sun United Way for roughly 20 years, serving as board chair and Tocqueville chair with Kathleen multiple times. “I’m really passionate about it, and love the organization,” he said. “I think the world of what they do.” Yet, while they value the community spirit and fundraising power of the Valley’s philanthropy scene, their personal style of giving is more low-key. “We are really homebodies,” Kathleen said. “I have no desire to be the front person. I prefer to support versus go out. I love being with my family and my small circle of friends.” This grounded nature stems from their deep desert roots. Kathleen’s father, an ophthalmologist, moved the family to Phoenix in 1971 — a move he had been ‘dead set’ on making after serving as a flight surgeon at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1967. John’s history in Phoenix goes back even further; he arrived in 1958, when Maricopa County was home to fewer than 400,000 people. They remember an Arizona that feels almost mythical now. John recalls a city of two-lane roads flanked by canals. Kathleen remembers growing up in Arcadia when 48 th Street felt like the edge of civilization. If you went to Scottsdale and Shea, you were out there hunting,” Kathleen said. “We lived adjacent to Amanda Blake — Miss Kitty from ‘Gunsmoke’ — who was on Exeter Boulevard. She had lions. We would sit on our screened patio and hear the lions roar.” John and Kathleen have watched the city grow from a dusty outpost to a metropolis of 5 million, but they insist the spirit hasn’t changed. “It is the most friendly place I’ve ever been in my life,” John said. “Whether you came here 50 years ago or 10 days ago, somebody is there to lift you up.” Phoenix Gateway Center groundbreaking in 1983 with ( left to right ) Mayor Margaret Hance, Tor Andenaes, John Graham, Bob Hunt, Bill Turner and Richard Mallery. An office building and hotel at 44 th and McDowell were the first Sunbelt Holdings project at One Gateway.

FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 37 Building on History That deep history is now physically cemented in the city’s core. For decades, Park Central was the retail heart of Phoenix. As shopping malls faded, most developers would have razed the site to build gleaming glass towers. But Sharon Harper, the CEO of Plaza Companies, had a different vision, one of revitalization and history. When she repurposed the property for a new era of medical and educational tenants (including Creighton University, where John sits on the board of trustees), she decided to name the buildings not with letters or numbers, but after the people who built Phoenix. She called John with a question: “Would you be OK if I named one of those buildings after your dad?” John’s father, Bill Graham, was a pioneer in Phoenix commercial real estate. He joined Coldwell Banker in 1958 — just years after the firm opened its first office outside California — and spent nearly two decades helping shape the city’s skyline, including the leasing of the original Park Central. “I was practically in tears,” John said. “I said, ‘I would love nothing more than that.’” It is a fitting tribute, particularly as John himself has now been recognized as a 2025 Arizona Historymaker, ensuring that the Graham name remains synonymous with the state’s evolution. And, in a twist of fate that defies probability, Valley of the Sun United Way found itself needing office space just as the “Graham Building” became available due to another tenant’s vacancy. Soon, John will attend board meetings in a building that bears his father’s name — a physical manifestation of a legacy that spans three generations. The legacy continues with the next generation. John has two children from his first marriage, Justin and Annie, and together with Kathleen, welcomed their youngest, Will. Justin works alongside his father at Sunbelt Holdings (“The father-son thing seems to work out well,” John said with relief), Annie works in Los Angeles, and Will is pursuing his fourth degree to become a nurse practitioner. Despite the blended-family dynamics, all three children are deeply involved in the family’s philanthropic efforts. But their involvement goes beyond their résumés. For the past 10 years, the Grahams have treated philanthropy as a family roundtable. Annie, Will and Justin now carry on the Graham legacy of community involvement. The Graham Building at Park Central recently became the headquarters of Valley of the Sun United Way. Photo by Scott Foust FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 37