Author: Maralyn D. Hill

http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2011/10/25/20111025gilbert-centennial-pie-bake-off-postponed-year.html We are looking for sponsors for January 2013 or early February 2013. Gilbert centennial pie bake-off postponed a year by Srianthi Perera – Oct. 25, 2011 09:59 AM The Arizona Republic Apparently, no one wanted a share of the pie. The Arizona Blue Ribbon Pie Round-up and Bake-off scheduled for Jan. 21-22 at Highland High School, has been postponed to January 2013 because organizers could not get any monetary sponsors. The bake-off had been billed as one of Gilbert’s signature celebrations of Arizona’s centennial and had received official sanctioning from the Arizona Centennial Commission, allowing it to use an “Official Centennial Event” designation. The bake-off was to benefit Gilbert Public Schools. Organizer Pam Jackson, who runs a marketing business called Skipping Stars Productions, said she contacted nearly 300 potential sponsors, but could garner only in-kind support. Even that was limited, she said. “People were saying it was not in their business plan this year,” Jackson said. Crisco was one of the companies that gave this stock response, she said. Jackson conceded that she didn’t give the project sufficient time. Jackson and Maralyn Hill, a Gilbert journalist who is president of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, approached sponsors for donations ranging from $750 to $15,000 to raise an estimated $28,000.”There was a tremendous amount of interest,” said Hill, who said she was not able to put...