Black Women In Progress to Build $70 Million Hotel in Bisbee
By R.J. Cohn
What began as weekend camp for girls 10 years ago in the parking lot of a beauty salon has not only rocketed into one of the most empowering, year-round girls camps in Arizona, drawing hundreds of youngsters from around the country.
Bankrolled with corporate grants from foundations like the National Basketball Association, the little camp that started on a whim is on the cusp of building a $70 million, 100-room hotel on soon-to-be purchased 170 acres near the Bisbee Municipal Airport that would help finance the Black Women in Progress (BWIP) Confidence Camps for girls regardless of race.
And if all the chips fall into place the way they have been since camp director/ grant writer Acacia Barnett has thrown her heart and soul into starting the camp in 2016, Hotel Seville – named after her great-grandfather – will be up and running in 2030 with groundbreaking starting in 2028.
“This is a major undertaking, and we’re working with architects, hospitality experts and applying for million dollar grants,” said Barnett. “This is going to be a tremendous project.”
Not only would the hotel – which resembles a Franklin Lloyd Wright building, though Barnett calls it an “Arizona-Spanish revival-modern look” – become a summer confidence camp for hundreds of girls from 7-18.
Seville Hotel, complete with an enormous convention center, a STEM lab for the girls camp and other rooms, would have a tremendous economic impact for Bisbee, which for decades has been clamouring for a hotel that could stage sizable conventions.
“Never in my wildest dreams when I started a camp in my parking lot on Highway 92 did I imagine it would evolve into something that might turn into a 100-room hotel on 170 acres,” said the 35-year-old Sierra Vista native and Buena High graduate. “We’re excited about the future and how we’re going to get there. Who would have thought this is where a girls confidence camp would go?”
Probably only one person – Acacia Barnett, the granddaughter of the late Hattie Barnett, a pillar of Sierra Vista’s Black community who founded BWIP with 20 other Black women in 1970 at Fort Huachuca to educate the community about Black culture.
“I wanted to honor and remember their legacy by naming a girls camp after them,” said Barnett, director of Cochise College’s Small Business Development Center.
An Arizona State University graduate with an M.A. in architecture and another in construction management, Barnett has not only honored a legacy. She has paid it forward, empowering thousands of young girls’ by instilling confidence and teaching life skills they may never have experienced on their own.
“We’re the only program in the state like this, and because of how it’s grown, we absolutely have to get state and national funding because there’s nothing here locally to keep us going besides the Legacy Foundation which granted us $25,000,” she said. “We’re a nonprofit that’s 80% funded by grants and constantly scouring the country to find new sponsorships. That’s why the hotel concept is so important to us.”
BWIP Confidence Camps have not gone unnoticed.
Along with the NBA – which granted BWIP $50,000 – corporate foundations like Freeport-McMoran, Charter Oak, Aerie Real, Blackstone Investment Group, the African American Legacy Fund and Mary’s Pence have delivered crucial financial support.
In 2022, Barnett received the Phoenix Suns’ Golden Standard Award for her significant contributions to the Sierra Vista/Phoenix, recognizing her leadership in empowering young Black women through life skills and leadership training.
“These camps allow kids to excel at school, improve social skills, self-esteem and perform better in all aspects of life,” she said. “We think out of the box with how we develop camp programs, what kind of instructors to bring in and what skills we can teach. This summer we’re bringing flag football players and coaches to the camps. The sky’s the limit for what we can bring to the table for these girls.”
Barnett hasn’t stopped bringing it to the table since she started her first camp in 2016 that drew 44 girls, which doubled to 88 the next year, then soared to 200 right before Covid hit. After the pandemic, Barnett began overnight camps, taking girls to Mt. Lemon in Tucson and Mayer in Yavapai County. It was such a huge success that she saw the need to make overnight camps a solid piece of BWIP.
“I’m clearly a sucker when it comes to kids,” she said. “I love seeing them grow into confident young women from our program. An 8-year-old from foster care cried because she absolutely didn’t want to be here when she came. When camp was over, she cried even harder because she didn’t want to leave.”
But the cost of running year-round camps is enormous, and Barnett and BWIP’s board of directors realized they needed hefty grants to maintain what they were building. Girls were flying in from out of state to attend, and most were returning year after year.
“When it first started, it was $20 per girl, but when the overnight camps took off, it became $450,” said Barnett. “It costs more than $2,000 per kid, plus workman’s comp, liability insurance, paid interns, transportation, food and other expenses. That's why we need deep funding.”
Barnett has watched BWIP evolve into an expansive organization with day camps throughout the year offering core camp activities, culinary classes, lessons on changing a tire and oil, anti-bullying, gardening, while nurse practitioners teach hygiene and the female body.
“We’re doing really good work here for these girls,” said Barnett. “I’m grateful that our board of directors believe in me and my vision. As long as I can get us to the finish line – building the hotel as a revenue stream for the camps – then I’ve done the job I set out to do.”
By Shar Porier
Calling The Hive a godsend is an understatement. It is a place of learning, exploration and fantasy one would normally find in a city far larger than Sierra Vista.
It offers high-speed internet, professional-grade tools, and one-on-one guidance from trained staff who listen first and tailor support to each person’s goals. It’s not just a tech center; it’s where education, workforce development, social services and creativity converge.
Visitors can get hands-on with tablets, laptops, virtual reality headsets, 3D printers, robotics kits and artificial intelligence tools. There’s even a green screen for podcasting or job interviews, and equipment for photography, videography, and stop-motion animation.
And, it’s free. Yes, free to all ages and all skill levels thanks to the Institute for Digital Inclusion Acceleration (IDIA), an organization that has started Hives all over Arizona. It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with a mission to ensure everyone – no matter where they live – can access the tools they need to go online, learn, work and take care of their health.
When you enter The Hive, you’ll find a welcoming, living-room-like atmosphere designed to make technology approachable. “We created more of a living room atmosphere in here than a computer lab,” said Ethan Bradley, the site’s Digital Navigator. “People feel comfortable coming in and asking questions about what they don’t know.”
He sees people of all backgrounds walk through the doors. One regular visitor, a local artist, often curls up with an iPad to draw for a few hours, he noted. Others, like students, retirees, or job seekers, explore everything from basic computing to advanced projects like producing a video, podcast, or a 3D-printed creation.
“We created a more of a living room atmosphere in here than a computer lab,” Bradley said. “So people feel comfortable coming in and asking questions about what they don't know.
“I have had some educators come through here and take a look, and I always tell them, we are very happy to host any type of school project, whether it's supervised by a teacher, or if they're older and the teacher just says, ‘Okay, go produce a public service announcement video, or talk about environmental impacts, or, you know, road safety’ or something like that. It's not necessarily a public service thing, but it’s something that causes the kids to learn about a contemporary issue that is important and then demonstrate their learning by producing a technological product like a video or a podcast or stop motion photography or even a 3D print.”
Stephanie LaBorde Dreux, Head of Community Activation, spoke to a man who works for the Sierra Vista Airport about establishing some sort of program to interest students in avionics.
Dreux said, “We created this great experience where people can come into a non-intimidating environment if you don't have a high school education or you want to find a new career path. It's not all high tech.”
IDIA partnered with Apple to start two mobile units to take to outlying smaller communities that do not have such services available, like Bisbee.
“We can still bring the technology out and hold classes and pop-up events,” she said. “Anything we can do to help the community build interest and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activities, like the Bisbee Science Lab that has done an incredible job.
“And Sierra Vista is such an interesting community. There's a lot of programs that already exist in town that we can supplement. And so that's part of my job is to find those folks and see how we can be helpful.”
Digital inclusion, at its core, means everyone has what they need to use the internet and technology to fully participate in work, school, and daily life. The Hive embodies that mission—connecting people to education, creativity, and opportunity in a space that feels open, empowering and community-driven.
Located in the Community Innovation Center at 4251 Enterprise Way, Sierra Vista.
Open on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, visit the website at: https://theidia.org/ or call 520-508-0915.
All Animals Honored at the Pet Blessing
By R. J. Cohn
During any other ceremony, the loud chorus of barking dogs at a religious festival would give parishioners cause to shudder and turn heads toward the ear-splitting racket.
But during the Blessing of the Animals, held around the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi where people bring their pets to be blessed, barking isn’t just a welcome sound, or a call of the wild.
It’s an expected part of the service for all God’s creatures to let out a healthy howl or two.
And that’s just what they did – from a 5-month-old Yorkipoo to a 65-pound Goldendoodle – as they and their canine brothers and sisters and other pets received blessings from Rev. Charli Tupper of the Unity of the Huachucas in Hereford in a ramada at Veterans Memorial Park.
Instead of sprinkling a dash of holy water on the animals who came to be blessed, Rev. Tupper placed her hands on their heads and quietly told them what a blessing they are, while their proud owners received certificate of blessing.
“It doesn’t matter what type of animal people bring – a longhorn steer, a reptile, a goat, or a Chihuahua – our animals bring so much into our lives, and I’m honored to bless them,” she said.
While churches around the country traditionally honor the feast of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, on Oct. 4 with a blessing for all pets, this year Unity of the Huachucas celebrated the feast day a month later due to an unforeseen emergency Rev. Tupper had in early October.
But 30 days later, Rev. Tupper was busy blessing animals, whispering words of grace and gratitude to every pet she touched, acknowledging the human-animal connection while recognizing them as a gift from God.
“If I can do something nice for animals like bless them, that’s a great honor for me because our pets give us so much love and devotion,” she said. “They are a big part of our family and deserve to be blessed. They mean the world to us.”
Rage Quit Games: A Business Built for Diehard Gaming Geeks
By R.J. Cohn
A gaming geek hooked on video game consoles since he was seven, Josh Rambo never lost his love for arcade games like Mortal Kombat, Space Invaders and Pac-Man.
Now 43, the 11-year Army veteran who runs the popular Rage Quit Games on the West End that not only brings vintage games and consoles into the hands of gaming geeks like himself; his 1,800-square foot store has everything a diehard gaming nerd could ever wish for, including a full Predator Cosplay costume mounted on a 7-foot stature that greets you like an alien visitor when you walk into the breadbasket of Rambo’s world.
If you were zonked-out on games like Gauntlet Legends, NBA Jam, Street Fighter II and Galaga, then you’ve hit the motherlode of an era Rambo has resurrected with more than 10,000 games from as far back as the 1980s before it became a $299 billion global market industry.
What’s even more remarkable is Rambo lets “customers” play on his video arcade games all day without being pressured to buy something.
“I wanted to create a place that was all things gaming and geeks, not just for introverted basement dweller nerds who loved this stuff like I did,” said Rambo, who opened Rage Quit Games at 498 W. Fry Blvd. in 2023. “I wanted a safe atmosphere for them to interact with others, have Mario Bros. tournaments and where people can find stuff they played with as kids. For many who loved that time of their life, this place is golden.”
It’s also been golden for Rage Quit Games, which set record sales months at least five times in 2025. “It’s been gangbusters at times,” said Rambo.
Along with selling reconditioned gaming consoles and controllers for less than half the price of modern ones, Rambo has also given back to the Sierra Vista community with raffles that raised $1,600 each for the Wounded Warrior Healing Center and Peaches Pantry.
Though Rambo has Space Invader cartridges hooked up to USB ports, rhythm video game Guitar Hero and wireless Rock Band controllers that sold over 25 million units when they burst on the scene in 2005, business isn’t just targeted toward kids..
Eighty-five percent of Rage Quit’s revenue comes from games and accessories purchased by collectors.
“A lot of it is driven by nostalgia,” said Rambo, who buys, sells and trades games and consoles like stocks and bonds at a stock brokerage. “A lot of people are buying a piece of their childhood. When I see the joy flash across someone’s face who finds a vintage game he played 20 years ago, I realize how much I love what I do.”
Despite the 13-15-hour days he puts in, Rambo is hardly getting rich selling nostalgia and vintage games. He’s absolutely in love with the entire gamut of arcade gaming that never left him.
“They were so interactive when they came out I felt there was nothing on earth quite like the first Nintendo I got,” he recalled. “It was like a cartoon you could play with. I never experienced anything so incredibly cool. I was totally hooked.”
He still is.
Thirty-six years later, he still has that same love for gaming as his customers looking for a game or console that was a touchstone of their childhood.
“I had a 12-year-old looking forever for a Game Boy Advance SP in a specific color, which I happened to have,” said Rambo. “He was completely over the moon about it. The look on his face of rapture is part of the reason I do this. I don’t know what other work could fill me up like that.”
Despite three overseas tours in the Army, the video geek who could play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uninterrupted for hours in a basement has created something of a vintage video arcade where both kids and adults can play Big Buck World, Mortal Kombat and Marvel vs. Capcom fighting games for free without being hassled to buy something.
“I grew up in game and card shops in Portland, Oregon,” said Rambo. “I wanted a place where kids who love this stuff could interface with others. People and things end up where they’re meant to be when they’re meant to be there. Controllers and consoles are meant to be played with, not in boxes or basements.”
Watch Rambo help a customer looking for a game on a shelf with 10,000 games, and you realize Rambo is meant to be where he’s meant to be, not in a box or a basement.
Is he still that same childhood geek?
“I have my moments,” he said.
Rage Quit Games
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A Look at the People and Stories Behind the Radio Mic
It's a family affair
Dragoon pistachio orchard brings the best of local farming heritage
By Shar Porier
BENSON -- Steakhouse? Angry Lemon? Chipotle? What? They’re craftly seasoned pistachios?
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, Sarah Ogilvie left her 11-year career in medical billing. Her father, Richard Searle, a rancher and pistachio grower in Dragoon, suggested she try selling pistachios.
Unable to find flavored pistachios locally, she decided to make her own. “No one would help me with recipes or how to do it. I had to develop my own everything,” she recalled. At first, she roasted small batches in her kitchen oven—a slow process with uneven results.
The breakthrough came when her husband, Andrew, found a professional nut roaster in Thessaloniki, Greece. Shipped via boat, train, and truck, the machine finally arrived at their door. Unlike a kitchen oven, a nut roaster evenly distributes heat, creating consistent browning and preventing scorching. Some models also include integrated cooling systems to stop roasting instantly, locking in flavor and preventing burnt shells.