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Grand Canyon University hosted its inaugural Colangelo Servant Leadership Awards breakfast Tuesday, in partnership with Freeport-McMoRan, honoring four community members for outstanding service, leadership and entrepreneurism.

Named after Jerry Colangelo, a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the state, the awards celebrated the ideals that Colangelo has practiced throughout his career. As the owner of the and, Colangelo helped build two of the state鈥檚 most popular franchises to a combined valuation of almost $2.8 billion.聽

鈥淲e want to highlight business and elevate humanity through servant leadership, which is the most important tenet of the four tenets of conscious capitalism,鈥� said Randy Gibb, dean of GCU鈥檚 Colangelo College of Business. 鈥淢r. Colangelo embodies what it means to be a servant leader: service before self, humility, stewardship, and love and care for your team. And our four recipients today also embody all those traits.鈥�

GCU President Brian Mueller emphasized the importance of highlighting the countless Arizona residents that create new jobs and opportunities. He said awards like this help recognize exceptional leaders and their daily efforts to improve Arizona and provide 鈥渘ew prosperity.鈥�

These are the 2019 Colangelo Servant Leadership Award recipients:

• David Kimmerle, CEO of Sanderson Ford car dealership
• Linda Little, president of iHeartMedia Phoenix
• Mike Ingram, founder of land and development business El Dorado Holdings, Inc.
• Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority

鈥淭o me, that [award] is at my core in terms of who I am,鈥� Little told 麻豆官网 after the ceremony. 鈥淭hat means more than achieving huge financial success because it鈥檚 all about how you can serve others and lead. I鈥檝e always been a collaborator, I鈥檝e never been the kind of leader that gets in the front of the room and says, 鈥業t鈥檚 my way or the highway.鈥� I鈥檝e always been that person that says, 鈥楬ey, I have a good idea, but if you had a better one, let鈥檚 do that.鈥� I love one-on-one coaching; I love understanding what somebody wants to do.鈥�

Watson explained that leadership is about the effort of many to advance a common goal. She cited state leaders in their efforts to grow Arizona鈥檚 economy, including Gov. Doug Ducey, GCU鈥檚 Mueller and Watson鈥檚 own team at the Arizona Commerce Authority.

鈥淪ervant leadership is about the efforts of many to advance a common goal,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淚n addition to Jerry, I鈥檝e had the great privilege of working with so many servant leaders to make Arizona the best place to live and do business鈥� job creation, salaries and capital investment are on the rise, and we continue to advance our state鈥檚 competitive global position.鈥�

Mueller also highlighted the importance of a free market system in Arizona, including its role in shaping GCU and its surrounding neighborhood. Because of public markets and their willingness to invest, he noted, GCU has created over 11,000 jobs, both on campus and through new businesses. Additionally, home values in the neighborhood have jumped by roughly 302 percent in the past five years.聽

鈥淭he economy鈥檚 on fire 鈥� the things that Gov. Ducey has done, the Arizona Commerce Authority, with their leadership,鈥� Mueller told 麻豆官网 after the ceremony. 鈥淏ut we have trouble getting the news out, so this was one attempt to say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 talk about the great things that are happening; let鈥檚 talk about the great people that are making those things happen, and let鈥檚 put Arizona out as one of the best places to live鈥� 鈥� because it is! 鈥� and not just because of our weather, but because of what鈥檚 going on in the state.鈥�