PROFILE:Eric Neitzel, public information offi cer, Show Low Fire Department. 23

BY LYNN DUCEYlducey@bizjournals.com

The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is searching for a new CEO and executive director for the second time in two years — and at a critical junc-ture for the Latino community.

The chamber joined the American Civil Liberties

Union and other groups in May in legal challenges to the state’s new illegal immigration law, which is working its way through the courts and has yet to take effect.

“One of the things that we feel we can do as a cham-ber is to counteract the effects of this (law),” said AZHCC spokesman James Garcia. “We represent Latino small business, and this is where our repre-

sentation and advocacy comes in.”The chamber board is looking for someone to fi ll the

role who is comfortable representing the organiza-tion in public and has proven administrative skills.

“An ideal candidate would have a good knowledge of nonprofi ts and the Hispanic business community,”

El Mirage plan would create urban arts hubBY MIKE SUNNUCKSmsunnucks@bizjournals.com

The city of El Mirage has a very “un-Phoenix” vision for its future — cut more from the cloth of Santa Fe, N.M., and Portland than the Valley’s sprawling suburbia.

El Mirage voters in November will con-sider a long-term plan to transform the West Valley city into a transit-oriented, environmentally friendly arts hub. Of-fi cials also want to cut the city’s carbon footprint by half over the next several de-cades and create parcels for organic and urban gardens.

Thermo Fluids Inc. plant manager Bryan Sullivan

inspects two large storage tanks containing used motor oil that is ready

to be sent out to end-users.JIM POULIN | PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL

Arizona Hispanic Chamber seeking new CEO

SEE LATINO | 32

Greening the auto industry

Thermo Fluids Inc. has made a business of taking dirt out of the automotive industry.

The Scottsdale company is poised to do more than just recycle used oil products, as it has been doing since 1993. In August, it will become what may be the state’s fi rst home for recycling oil fi lters from auto repair and lube shops.

For Arizona, where it is legal to ship used fi lters to land-

fi lls once they are drained, it represents another step in a growing sustainability chain for the automotive sector, said James Devlin, the company’s CEO.

“We don’t fi nd (dumping fi lters in landfi lls) acceptable, and neither do our customers,” he said.

SEE EL MIRAGE | 32

SEE THERMO FLUIDS | 32

THE LISTS:Highest-paid CEOs. 13, 15

Directors’ compensation. 26

MOVING ON: Sports marketing veteran Ray Artigue launches his own agency. 8

SURVEY SAYS: CEOs reveal economy is leveling off, improving. 14

PATENT DECISION: High court’s ruling good news for bio fi rms. 17

c er,

Garcia

Scottsdale company launches oil fi lter recycling programppppppppppp yyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyyyy gggggggggggg ppppppppppp ggggggggggggSSSSSSSSSSSSccccccccccccoooooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttssssssssssssddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllleeeeeeeeeeee ccccccccccccoooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmppppppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyy lllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnncccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss ooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllll fififififififififififi lllllllllllttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeccccccccccccyyyyyyyyyyyyccccccccccccllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg pppppppppppprrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmSSSSSSSSSSSSccccccccccccoooooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttssssssssssssddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaalllllleeeeeeeeeeee ccccccccccccoooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmppppppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyy lllllllaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnncccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss ooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiilllllll fifififififififififififilllllllttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeccccccccccccyyyyyyyyyccccccccccccllllllliiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg pppppppppppprrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmBY PATRICK O’GRADY | pogrady@bizjournals.com

RENDERING PROVIDED BY EL MIRAGE

A rendering of El Mirage’s proposed downtown.

marketingnches his

economy

rt’s7

phoenix.bizjournals.com INFORM. CONNECT. SUCCEED. JULY 23, 2010 $3.95

The Phoenix Business Journal connects me to the business heartbeat of the city, delivering insights and commentary to my desk each week and my inbox each day. Beyond the value of the news service, Phoenix Business Journal events bring together decision makers, helping to create a healthier and more interwoven Phoenix business community.

Mark El-TawilRegional CEOHumana West Region

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION & RATES, CONTACT MIKE MALL AT 602.308.6525

On the jobWHAT’S THE MOST SEVERE ARIZONA FOREST FIRE

YOU’VE WORKED? Arizona’s largest wildfi re, the Rodeo-Chediski fi re of 2002. This was my fi rst Arizona fi re since moving to Phoenix from the San Francisco Bay Area earlier that year. In fact, that fi re is what brought me to the White Mountains to serve as the PIO for the long-term

fi re rehab and timber salvage team. WHAT’S SOMETHING ABOUT FOREST FIRES THAT PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND? For some reason, most of the media are focused on the easy shot of the sexy or spectacular air tankers throwing bright-red retardant over the fi re, and helicopters making strategic water drops. Don’t get me wrong, aircraft play a huge role; but it’s the folks on the ground who go in after the aircraft does its job and secures the line. WHAT’S THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? Being able to communicate effectively to people who need the info we provide in real or near-real time, and being able to adapt to the changing ways we

communicate as a society. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN YOUR WORK? Providing a clear voice of what is going on during an incident or event. When used properly, social media can reduce the “clutter” of speculation and rumors of what is going on.

— Adam Kress

When a forest fi re breaks out in Northern Arizona, people turn to the news almost immediately. But in most cases, the “news” is getting its news from one man: Eric Neitzel.

As the public information offi cer for the Show Low Fire Department and owner of Fireground Communications, Neitzel stays close to the front lines and provides the latest information to members of the media covering the event.

He’s also become a pioneer in how that information is passed along, thanks to his extensive use of social media. By using Twitter (@ENeitzel and @Fireground), Facebook, YouTube and Skype, he’s helped create more effective ways to communicate during fi res and other crises.

“I always thought there had to be a better way to communicate to people in need,” Neitzel said. “During the SoCal ‘fi re siege’of 2003, there was not a clear voice of accurate info available due to so many fi res burning, so media outlets were reporting inaccurate information about escape routes to evacuees fl eeing from the burning hillsides. In some cases, people perished because of that inaccurate info.”

That experience led Neitzel to social media and, ultimately, to launching Fireground Communications. Through his business, he trains PIOs throughout the West how to use social media for rapid communication.

Water may always be the best tool for battling forest fi res, but Neitzel has proved that social media is a pretty good one to have on hand, too.

WYiu“i

WFUmosbawafttWPcwot

co

PersonalAGE: 42EDUCATION: Fire science,

fi re engineering and mass media communi-cations degrees, College of Marin

FAMILY: Wife, Rebecca; daughter, Katelyn, 3

BIRTHPLACE: San Francisco

RESIDENCE: Show LowFIRST JOB: “Aviation

helper” at the Smith Ranch Airport in San Rafael, Calif., at age 16

Off the clockWHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION? The San Juan Islands in Puget Sound

and the Pacifi c NorthwestWHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST MEAL? San Francisco-style cioppino, fresh dungeness

crab, sourdough bread and a good Sonoma/Napa Valley wineWHO’S THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PERSON YOU KNOW? There are so many great public

servants out there who give of themselves to save lives and reduce human suffering. But ultimately, for me, it would be my wife, who holds down the fort and allows me to take my passion on the road.

PROVIDED BY ERIC NEITZEL

When a forest fi re breaks out in Northern Arizona,

Eric NeitzelPublic information offi cer | Show Low Fire Department Owner | Fireground Communications

July 23, 2010 PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL EXECUTIVE PROFILE 23phoenix.bizjournals.com