Success in Cottonwood Ariz.: Mayor Diane Joens

Diane Joens is Mayor of Cottonwood. In the past she worked as a news reporter, in the field of banking, and determined HUD and Rural Development housing program eligibility for the elderly and disabled. She worked for the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. She served as a Cottonwood City Council Member four years, and was elected Mayor of Cottonwood in March of 2007 and again in 2011.

Diane was raised in Sierra Vista, Ariz. When she was 15 her parents moved to Iowa where she finished high school and then married. Diane and husband Paul farmed for 15 years, raising corn, soybeans and hogs. They sold their farming operation and moved to Cottonwood 26 years ago.

Preservation of the Verde River is one of Diane's primary interests. Diane is one of the founders of Stewards of Public Lands, a group that organizes volunteers, government agencies and businesses to clean up and maintain the Verde Valley’s beautiful public lands. Stewards work in creative ways to encourage collaboration of governmental entities at the federal, state and local level, working across jurisdictional lines and pooling resources. www.verdestewards.org

She is co-chair of the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee and chairman of the Greater Arizona Mayors’ Association. Diane was publisher of a community project, the Verde River Almanac, as her Project CENTRL internship. Diane especially enjoys working with youth and participated in Cottonwood Middle School’s Water Audit in 2009 and 2010. The 7^th graders subsequently won the Governor’s Rural Economic Development Award. Currently she is collaborating on a program, Water Literacy for Kindergarteners, a partnership between Cottonwood Municipal Utilities and Cottonwood –Oak Creek School District.

Dedicated to the many volunteers who make a community strong, Diane has authored a column, Spotlight on Volunteers, for the Verde Independent, and hosts a television show, Inside Cottonwood, on Cottonwood's Government Channel on CableOne TV.

Serving as Cottonwood’s Mayor is both a privilege and responsibility. The people of Cottonwood and the upper Verde Valley provide Diane’s inspiration for leadership.

Web site: www.cottonwoodaz.gov

Web site: www.dianejoens.com

Mayor's Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/6yq3b3

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mayordianejoens

Blog: http://everythingcottonwood.blogspot.com/

The City of Cottonwood is on Facebook! Be sure to "Like" our page. https://www.facebook.com/CityOfCottonwoodAZ

Project CENTRL: http://www.centrl.org/