Tucson Business Radio

IMPACT E6: Meghan Heddings & Dr John D. Arnold 

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Meghan Heddings, Executive Director 
Family Housing Resources 
3505 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 501 
Tucson, AZ 85719 
520-977-7533 
mheddings@fhrinc.net 
FHRTucson.org 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter |

Meghan Heddings joined FHR in December of 2018. Meghan is a native Tucsonan that is passionate about improving the local community and providing resources to improve individual and families lives and advocating for improved services. Prior to coming to FHR, Meghan worked at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona as the Chief Operations Officer heading a team of over 50 individuals across southern Arizona.   

Dr John David Arnold 

www.ppep.org 

Dr. John David Arnold was born in ‘Pennsylvania Dutch Country’ on a small farm located near Doylestown in Bucks County.  His late father whose family dates from the early 1600s was a writer and inventor, who wrote the first motor tourist guide of Mexico for Triple-A and Popular Mechanics Magazines in the 1950s.   

His mother was an artist, sculptor, and micro-business owner of Grayce’s Gift Shop in Patagonia, Arizona until the age of 97.  Dr. Arnold has two sisters, Janie & Elaine.  Dr. Arnold has been a resident of Arizona for over five decades and presently resides in both Tucson and Patagonia, Arizona.  Dr. Arnold is a single parent with three daughters and one stepson; Loree, Renato, (born in Lima, Peru) Chaska, 19, and Tika, 16.  All four have attended and excelled in traditional and public charter schools.    

Dr. Arnold moved to Guadalajara, Mexico with his family when he was six years old and attended elementary school at Colegio Cervantes.  He moved to Nogales, Arizona after five years in Guadalajara.  His family then moved to Tucson’s south side circa 1958 where he attended Wakefield Junior High and Pueblo High Schools.  Subsequently, Dr. Arnold graduated from the University of Arizona, with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Sociology, two master’s Degrees in Administration and Education, (M. Ed) with a Ph.D. in the same fields. 

Main Administration
Address: 802 E. 46th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
Phone: 520.622.3553 | Fax: 520.622.1480 | TDD: 1-800-367-8939
Email: dnoriega@ppep.org

SHOW HOST:
Barbara McClure, Executive Director  
IMPACT of Southern Arizona 
3535 E Hawser Street 
Tucson, AZ  85739                                                    
520-825-0009 / Mobile Phone: 206-915-0919 
barbara@impactsoaz.org 
www.impactsoaz.org 
 SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter |

Barbara McClure wakes up each morning passionate about going to work at a place that improves lives and inspires futures every day! She has been the Executive Director of a Tucson social service nonprofit called IMPACT of Southern Arizona, for ten years. What is it that keeps you passionate about your role Barbara? 

Barbara has been a visionary and planner with decades of experience as a small business owner and in nonprofit leadership; her innovative ideas and strategic thinking, along with a talent for bringing the community together, has helped grow IMPACT five-fold in a very short time. Her talents and interests are diverse but all center around helping people, improving the community, bolstering education, building capacity and sustainability, being vocal about the rights and conditions of others, experiencing art, nurturing all inhabitants of your garden, and enjoying life to the fullest. 

And now Barbara is about to experience another exciting chapter in her life with hosting a brand-new Radio Show Podcast here on the Tucson Business RadioX Network starting in November. 

IMPACT of Southern Arizona is a 20 – year old social service nonprofit stabilizing families and seniors, and moving people out of poverty. IMPACT’s programs are designed to stretch household budgets so earned income can be spent on necessities such as improved housing conditions, fuel to get to work, utilizes, and needed medical attention and prescriptions.  Its clients are your neighbors! People come to IMPACT because it is a welcoming place where they are always treated with dignity and respect, and where they find resources, referrals, coaching, and help to attain the skills that can move them forward into self-sufficiency. 

Barbara grew up in Pasadena CA, moved to Long Beach for college, got married and started our family then moved to Seattle area ten years later. Took our youngest son on an 11-month motorhome trip to get to Tucson – Homeschooled for 10th grade. 

We vacationed at a rustic cabin when I was growing up, where we had no phone or television; and spent all our time outside fishing, hiking, horseback riding, listening to old radio shows, playing pool, reading comic books from the local small grocer, and using our imaginations all day long. I always admired the superheroes who defended people and cities like Gotham and Metropolis, so when our three boys were born, we named them after familiar character: Colin (Bryce for an overlay of Bruce Wayne, Kent, and Parker. Our first grandchild was born last year, and as in the family tradition, named Logan, after the Wolverine. I used to always tell them they were my superheroes – and they still are today! 

Barbara loves working with numbers and has always loved math and the organization of things, so accounting seemed perfect, but I soon realized that I if I became a CPA I would have to spend many months inside doing tax returns, and that did not appeal to me as a long–term career! I have a great imagination and enjoy creating things, so thought I should find a better path that might nurture that side of my personality. I was working in the shipping industry in SoCal at the time and fell in love with import and export, so shifted my majors to Marketing and International Business. Those were wonderful fits, and I imagined graduating and moving to the largest port on the planet, in Germany; then, I met my future husband and things took a different turn. 

A little bit about how Barbara got into Nonprofit work: 

All along with my husband and I were always involved in nonprofits and community volunteer opportunities, and often said it was too bad we could not make a living doing those things we loved so much. Leadership roles in PTO, Boy Scouts, Historical Societies, Junior League, Elks, Rotary and more. Then when we moved to Tucson I looked for a local opportunity to impact my community. A Board position was about to open at IMPACT, and my local bank branch manager, Peggy Smoot, suggested I would be very passionate about getting involved in the mission work there. I worked in the Food Bank. 

There are thousands of nonprofits in Tucson. What makes IMPACT Unique is that they bring the community together to stabilize families and move people out of poverty. Our true success lies in partnering with a large number of businesses, agencies, social clubs and other nonprofits. We invest $2.5 million in the community each year, and we do it all with a lean staff of amazing professionals supported by more than 170 volunteer shifts each week! We have put great systems in place to run efficiently, effectively and with a commitment to sustainability and integrity, protecting the community’s investment in our work, striving for perfect audits, being innovative, building capacity and most importantly – treating everyone with dignity and respect. We are an award-winning nonprofit with numerous nods to incredible customer service. Our clients are your neighbors… We improve lives and inspire futures of people living in Southern AZ.  

So, IMPACT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and you have been at the helm half that time. Share with me the things IMPACT has accomplished over the years, and the things you have planned for this celebratory year.