Eastern
Arizona Courier
Scottsdale Breakfast Club visits Safford
By Jon Johnson
Assistant Editor
Published on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 8:56 AM MST
A group of aeronautical enthusiasts flew into
Safford on Monday morning and were treated to a cowboy breakfast at the Safford
City Annex.
The city helped sponsor the event in an attempt to bolster tourism, according
to Mayor Ron Green.
The Scottsdale Breakfast Club flew 23 privately owned planes into Safford and
brought 55 people to the city for breakfast.
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According to club head Warren McIlvoy, the
group flies into a different locale once a month and eats breakfast. Afterward,
the club members return to their planes and take flight.
Green, Vice Mayor Jason Kouts, Councilor Ken Malloque and City Manager David
Kincaid were on hand to greet the club members and their guests at the airport.
The group was then shuttled to and from the Safford City Annex, where they were
treated to a cowboy breakfast, courtesy of Ralph Smith and his chuck wagon and
crew.
The breakfast included sausage, biscuits and gravy, cowboy coffee and two types
of scrambled eggs – one with jalapenos and one without. The food and coffee
were cooked using traditional methods, including Dutch ovens. The Scottsdale
group paid $10 a plate to Smith to cover food costs, and many went back for
seconds.
While the group was eating, the trio of Green, Smith and Don Wriston played a
few cowboy songs for their enjoyment.
Kincaid told the Courier city staff volunteered their time to set up the
breakfast and shuttle the group from the airport and back.
He said the only expenditure from the city was for the fuel used by the city’s
vehicles.
Before the group left for the airport, each visitor was given an information
packet about the city.
McIlvoy told the Courier the Safford Regional Airport was a nice facility to
land at, and the group would be back.