18 JULY 2021 By Jennifer Marshall How fitting it is that the City of Scottsdale’s first official poet laureate would be named Robert Frost. After 11 years of service, Frost will step down from the city’s honorary position. His love affair with poetry came after Frost’s high school English teacher assigned him to write a poem. Like his famous counterpart, poetry has become synonymous with his life. “During my time in the Marine Corps and throughout my working life, I’d write poems,” Frost said. “After I retired in 1997, I pulled all my poems out of the folder I kept them in, and I published my first book of poetry entitled A Sweet Place to Play .” While riding with the Verde Vaqueros, a group of men who do an annual charity ride for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, Frost was inspired to write a cowboy poem. He penned more of the theme and won a cowboy poetry contest in Tombstone. This propelled him to publish his second book in 2009 called Cowboy Poems about the Old West and New . “Since my name is Robert Frost and Scottsdale is ‘The West’s Most Western Town,’ I thought ‘shouldn’t the City of Scottsdale have its own cowboy poet?’,” Frost said. “So, I approached then-Mayor Jim Lane, gave him my book and asked him if I could be the poet laureate.” Frost didn’t get a response from the mayor right away, but he continued to share his work with the community. During poetry month in April, he read a poem at a Scottsdale City Council meeting and then a couple of months later, Councilman Bob Littlefield asked Frost to write and read a new work at fellow Councilman Tony Nelssen’s memorial. “I read A Cowboy’s Lament , and after that reading, the mayor asked if I still wanted the position,” Frost said. As poet laureate, Frost said his job is to get people interested in reading, writing and enjoying the genre. The position works closely with the Scottsdale Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Public Library. Over the years, he has conducted and sponsored many public workshops and activities. He’s also hosted several episodes on Scottsdale’s TV channel, and he’s led numerous poetry hikes in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, where a group of people hike and stop about every 300 feet to read a poem. Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega will usher in a new poet laureate, making Robert Frost the poet laureate emeritus. He is on the selection committee for the new position, and will help review all the applications and make recommendations to the mayor, who will then publicly announce the name of the new poet laureate this month. Scottsdale’s first cowboy poet laureate passes on the ropes Bob Frost By Rachael Bouley Michael Bendok and Sanya Somani will begin the next chapter of their lives on a high note after being recognized by the City of Phoenix for their contributions to the local community. Bendok and Somani were named Council District 6 winners in the Outstanding Young Man and Young Woman of the Year program. Along with 16 other high schoolers from around the Valley, the two Phoenix Country Day School students were acknowledged in a virtual celebration in May and each received a $500 scholarship. The yearly program recognizes students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and drive and who have conducted positive youth-led projects. Bendok and Somani both said they were pleased with this acknowledgment after years of hard work and serving the community. Bendok co-founded Kidz 4 Causes, which raises money for rare disease research. In its first four years, the nonprofit raised $170,000 to study rare disorders, and now it is focused on relief efforts and underprivileged students. Bendok was also a part of the Arizona Governor’s Youth Commission and put together a plan for his school to build solar panels to save $4 million in energy costs over 25 years. His interest in solar energy also inspired his project at The Georgetown Global Business Program in 2019. He built a blueprint for a solar panel construction project in the Middle East and Africa. “Giving back means helping individuals who do not have the resources or tools to help themselves and using privilege as a leverage to aid others instead of just yourself,” Bendok said. The recent PCDS graduate is spending his summer interning at FCG Solar before heading off to Stanford to study energy resources engineering and management science. Somani also co-founded a nonprofit, launching HealthForHER with her friend Anaiya Patel. The organization provides underprivileged women with health resources and education. While Somani finds purpose in bettering the lives of people around her, she said it was great to receive recognition for her service. “I was overjoyed when I found out I won the City of Phoenix Outstanding Young Woman Award,” Somani said. “I had no idea Michael was also in the running, so when I found out we had both won, I was very excited for us.” Heading into her sophomore year, Somani looks forward to meaningful work with HealthForHER and traveling and exploring different cultures around the world. “My goal for the future is to become a successful, independent woman who can support her family and friends while continuing to make an impact in our society through my passion for social advocacy,” Somani said. Area teens named Outstanding Young Man and Young Woman Michael Bendok Sanya Somani Editor’s note: see “Local student earns national recognition for volunteerism,” and “Phoenix Country Day students on a mission for women,” at arcadianewsonline.com. ESTATE? PROBATE? TRUST? 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