Chandler council marks community events, mourns longtime CUSD official

Mayor Hartke opened the July 17 meeting with a remembrance and condolences for the family of Terry Lock, a longtime Chandler Unified School District official. "Terry was a good friend of mine," Hartke said, noting Lock served as CUSD's director of community relations for 27 years. The mayor said the city’s thoughts and condolences go to Lock's family, friends and colleagues.Operation Back to School, which the mayor described as the city's 12th annual event, distributed "thousands of backpacks" stuffed with school supplies, shoes and other items and involved roughly 50 nonprofit partners, according to the mayor. He said an exact total was not available at the meeting.Micah Miranda, identified by the mayor as the city's economic development director, was recognized for being named Policymaker of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education of Arizona. Vice Mayor Ellis announced a partnership with the Black Chamber of Arizona to host the National Black Business Month Summit on Aug. 1 at the Chandler Center for the Arts. "It's going to be August 1. It's a free event," Ellis said. The summit will include panels, workshops, vendors and galleries and is billed as an all-day event.Councilmember Hawkins promoted the Chandler Center for the Arts' free summer concert series, which Hawkins said will run Friday nights beginning July 25 through Aug. 29 (excluding Aug. 15) with performances starting at 7:30 p.m. "If you need a break from the summer heat, you can head indoors and enjoy free live music," Hawkins said.The meeting also included brief remarks from a new staff member identified only as John, who said he was "humble and excited to be here" at his first council meeting. The announcements were delivered as part of the council's "current events" segment; no formal actions, votes, or budgetary measures related to these items were taken during the meeting.