During the Navajo County Board of Supervisors regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10, Pinetop-Lakeside resident Donna Shurwin spoke during call to the public and requested that the board “Formally end all Navajo County government participation in REAL AZ Economic Development Group Inc., and any other of its iterations, including use of Navajo County resources, staff time, branding, accounts or promotion.” Shurwin stated that REAL AZ voluntarily dissolved in October 2024 and can no longer conduct new business or receive revenue since it is no longer a nonprofit.
Shurwin also claimed taxpayer funds have supported the organization for years, and it still collects funds from members since its dissolution in 2024. Along with asking for the board to end its collaboration with REAL AZ, she requested board member Jason Whiting, who also sits on the REAL AZ executive board, recuse himself from discussion or voting on the subject, “to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.” The board was unable to make any comments during the meeting due to meeting ordinance but requested staff to look into the matter if they saw fit.
Following the meeting, Navajo County Economic Developer Director Chris Pasterz, who also serves as an executive director of REAL AZ, addressed Shurwin’s concerns and explained the history of REAL AZ.
REAL AZ began as an informal group 10-15 years ago, subsequently becoming a nonprofit with a mission for community leaders to work together in support of economic growth.
The non-profit then dissolved as a 501(c)(3) in 2024 due to lack of revenue, but Navajo County continued to support the group, seeing the value in its mission.
“Eventually they got to a point, and this was about four years ago, that they said ‘we need to get this going for real, not just an informal group. Let’s do this as a nonprofit,” explained Pasterz, and REAL AZ once again became a nonprofit with help in part to funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and Arizona Public Service (APS).
Pasterz was then hired as economic development director for Navajo County, with REAL AZ part of his oversight. Pasterz provided an information sheet that states there are no REAL AZ staff, activities are performed by Navajo County staff members tasked with leading the REAL AZ regional efforts.”
Although the organization did see growth in its membership while it was a nonprofit, it still suffered from a lack of revenue to sustain the nonprofit title. “We discussed it at length, over about nine months with the executive board and the board of REAL AZ, and then a motion was passed and adopted to dissolve that (REAL AZ) as a nonprofit entity,” explained Pasterz. “But the group said, ‘hey, we still want to meet. We want to keep this thing going.’ And so, it became an informal group called REAL AZ.”
Pasterz clarified that the organization has no statutory powers and does not receive funds from tax dollars. Members of the organization, including Navajo County board member Jason Whiting, are not compensated for their work with REAL AZ.
According to the information provided, REAL AZ currently stands as an informal regional economic development organization led by community leaders with the same mission that it had at its fruition; marketing, promoting and strengthening the business environment across Navajo and Apache counties to support long‑term economic growth. The organization consists of 13 public members, 34 private members, five academic institutions and five non-profits, all with the mission of promoting economic growth through connections and unification.
REAL AZ operates through regional collaboration and shared resources, with members engaging in-person at bi-monthly meetings. Operational activities are funded through memberships dues, contributions and grant funding through local jurisdictions, ensuring efforts align with regional priorities and member needs.
Paster explained that “REAL AZ’s job is not to pick winners or losers, like one business succeeds here and another doesn’t. Our job is to help the industry that is seeking to come here find a best fit or a pathway to be here.” Pasterz gave an example of working with Rutz MX, a motocross facility that opened outside of Holbrook. The company’s original plan was to buy land further away from any city limits and at a higher price, until REAL AZ worked with them to connect them with the City of Holbrook for a more affordable land lease and closer to the city itself, which gave Rutz MX a better deal while also supporting Holbrook with their patrons.
“We’re such a big area. We talk tight knit within our little communities, but bringing all those communities together, that’s where people are finding that value,” stated Pasterz, adding that people can make important connections in a real way. “Because they’re like, ‘oh, that’s the realtor that I need,’ or ‘that’s the city manager, I met him, I shook his hand, so when I call him, he knows who he’s talking to on the phone.’”
Noteworthy outcomes of REAL AZ include the implementation of the county’s BRECC Coal Community Diversification Strategy, the redevelopment of the former paper mill property by a housing manufacturer, NACOG Brownfield Route 66 Coalition leadership, supporting the City of Winslow’s BNSF rail site, workforce housing development support for developers and jurisdictions, multiple academic regional studies and support development, and support for utility‑scale energy projects including gas repowering, bioelectricity, battery storage, wind and solar development.
Members listed on their website include representation from Navajo County, Apache County, Winslow, Holbrook, Pinetop/Lakeside, Show Low, Snowflake, St. Johns, Springerville, Northland Pioneer College, Arizona Public Service, Arizona@Work, Arizona State University’s Just Energy Transition Center and more. For a full list of individuals and entities involved in REAL AZ, and for those interested in becoming members, visit www.realaz.org.
