26 MARCH 2024 By Jennifer Marshall In 2011, two friends – David Redding and Tim Whitmire – started a men’s group focused on three things: fitness, fellowship and faith. The organization, which started in North Carolina, grew rapidly, and now there are groups in more than 30 states, with 2,000 workouts happening every week. The Phoenix chapter debuted in 2018 and is celebrating its sixth year in the Valley. “F3 is a network of free, peer-led workouts for men,” Central Phoenix Region Leader Micah Pappas said. “The mission is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men to invigorate community leadership.” F3 is open for men of all fitness levels, with no cost to join or participate. “My brother often reminds me that nothing is free, including our group. F3’s cost is discomfort – we wake up early and work out rain or shine. Most of our workouts begin at 5:30 a.m. and last for 45 minutes, so plenty of time to get ready for work and other responsibilities.” The workouts (what F3 refers to as beat downs) start with 10 minutes of warm- up to get muscles loosened and the blood flowing: arm circles, jumping jacks or jogging, for example. The workouts are peer-led in a rotating fashion. The leader of the workout is referred to as the Q. The workouts vary depending on the leader. One day, it might be doing lifts with cinder blocks; another, it could be doing push-ups, squats, etc. The workouts usually end with 5-10 minutes of ab/core exercises. When the workout is over, the Q leads a Circle of Trust, where men can offer intentions, ask for/give guidance, promote community events, etc. “F3’s Credo is ‘Leave no man behind, but leave no man where you find him.’ We welcome men of all fitness levels and all physical abilities to our workouts,” Pappas said. “We have no requirements other than show up on time and follow what the workout leader has planned.” Arcadia Park at 56th and Indian School was home to the first official boot camp in Phoenix and has since expanded to Los Olivos Park and Granada Park. Workouts take place every day in different locations. In addition to workouts and friendship, the men of F3 also give back to the community through volunteer work and the support of local charities such as Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Red Cross. “I can speak to the positive effect F3 has had on my mental and physical health since I’ve been involved the past couple of years,” Pappas said. “We promote community leadership, and you’ve probably seen us picking up at the park, running the canal, etc. We’ve also donated nearly 500 pints of blood to the American Red Cross since 2018.” F3 also hosts a variety of social events for the group and sometimes their families. “Members are encouraged to meet for coffee once a week, and we typically go out to lunch on the second Friday of the month,” Pappas said. “Any F3 participant can develop an idea or bring awareness/ attention to a community event. I’m really proud to say the men lead any event and volunteer work we do in the group.” For more extensive workouts (known as convergences), F3 invites their sons to join in. For Monday holidays this past year, the chapter invited family members to summit Camelback Mountain. They also host cookouts, have birthday parties, volunteer at St. Mary’s Food Bank, and attend dinners with members and their families. “Phoenix is the fifth biggest city in the nation, and we know there are a ton of men in the Valley who want to celebrate what their bodies can do through exercise, grow friendships with like-minded men, improve their mental health and be better men/husbands/fathers for their local community,” Pappas said. “Our plans are tied to that mission. We aim to quadruple our footprint in the Valley by the end of 2024.” f3nation.com Phoenix men’s group offers fitness, fellowship and faith Members of F3 and their sons gathered for a fifth anniversary celebration last year. PHOTO: JANAINA PAPPAS F3 has an annual Thanksgiving beat down event – these members are part of the losing team, celebrating not being in the title game and on their way up “A” mountain. PHOTO: TIMOTHY CLARK Micah Pappas

27 MARCH 2024 By Mallory Gleich Arcadia High senior Madilyn Messenger joined Girl Scouts when she was a kindergartner at Hopi Elementary. In the 12 years since, she’s fully immersed herself in the duties and adventures within her Troop, leading to the ultimate accomplishment: The Gold Award. About five percent of eligible Scouts earn the award each year. According to Madi, the Gold Award “represents the highest and most prestigious individual achievement in Girl Scouts.” Scouts must be in grades 9-12 and complete two “journeys” to achieve this honor. “Journeys are sessions where the girls learn a new skill and make a difference in the community,” Madi said. “The Gold Award is part of that. The project must make the world a better place.” The criteria include two objectives: to be a sustainable change, and teams must work over 80 hours to complete the task. Madi decided her sustainable change would come from creating a safe environment for the Western Burrowing Owls of Arizona. “They’re having issues with their population due to construction destroying their habitats,” Madi said. “Burrowing owls cannot dig and create new burrows, so I worked with Wild at Heart, building new hideaways in Salome and Gila Bend for relocated and rescued owls.” Wild at Heart (WAH) is an Arizona-based raptor rescue organization founded in 1993 by Sam and Bob Fox. According to WAH, Western Burrowing Owls have experienced declining populations for decades. The organization’s Recovery Project includes rescue, reengineering habitat identification, relocation, release, and continued monitoring to ensure survival. Madi said she was excited to help further the mission of WAH and started working on her project at the end of August 2023. It was completed in January 2024, after she worked over 80 hours to help build safe homes for the species. While working in Salome, she saw burrowing owls that had been previously relocated to the site together with baby owls – which demonstrated that the owls had made this place their new home. “Seeing an un-banded owl at the Salome site, I knew my hard work was worth it,” Madi said. “The project was working and these owls had a safe place to raise their young!” Joining Girl Scouts was a way for Madi to meet new friends and do community projects while working together with others – but that original idea grew into so much more. “I learned to think of different ways to solve problems, I have more belief in myself, and I know how to be kind and courteous to others,” Madi said. “I also learned to be more independent and to have patience. My favorite part was being able to help others and learning new skills.” After graduation, Madi plans to continue working at The Hermosa Inn as she pursues a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management through the WA Franke College of Business at the NAU Scottsdale campus. Madi will receive her Gold Award at a ceremony this spring. Arcadia High student grabs the Girl Scout Gold Award Madi worked over 80 hours with Wild at Heart’s Burrowing Owl Recovery Project. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KELLI MESSENGER By Mark Hays Brophy junior Aiden Ohm and senior Zane Mertel, along with friends Miles Naffah and Tanner Tate, share a few similar interests, but none compare to their love of music – especially bands like Blink 182, American Football, Coldplay, Sublime and Pepper. This love of music brought the foursome together to create Prefect, an alt-rock and reggae band formed in 2022. “I was always writing music and wanted to start recording it and playing live shows,” Aiden said. “I want to make music for a living and to be able to tour around the world, performing in other countries.” Miles feels the same: “The other band I was in wasn’t doing much, and I wanted to play shows, so I joined Prefect,” Naffah said. “I don’t have a plan B. I want to do music full time.” Prefect was formed by a mutual friend who is no longer in the band, according to Manager Ami Rogers. The friend was in a different project with lead singer/guitarist Aiden Ohm when he introduced Tanner, and Tanner then brought Zane to be the group’s bassist. From there, the music was flowing. The name came from A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – after the character Ford Prefect. “People always confuse it with perfect, so the band had a shirt made that says ‘Prefect, not Perfect,’” Rogers said. Tanner said he’d played drums for a few years and wanted to do more than “sit in his room playing drums by myself.” “I thought that playing live shows would be fun. We’d like to be able to do music and not have to get a real 9-5 job,” Tanner said. Most of the inspiration behind the band’s songs comes from their day-to-day experiences and the challenges that go along with getting through high school. Aiden is the primary lyricist. He wrote ‘Mango’ and ‘Paradise’ about his life experiences as a high school student. “Rather than being about specific events or relationships, he writes about general scenarios and feelings that people can relate to whether they are currently going through something similar or can listen and feel nostalgic,” Rogers said. Thus far, Prefect has opened for reggae acts like Fayuca Kash’d Out and played alongside Kaleidoscope Kid with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. They played at the We Care Festival in Los Angeles this year and at the Desert Sol Festival in February. So, what do the four do when they aren’t playing music? Guitar player Aiden said he likes reading, rock climbing with his brother, and going to Dodgers games. Miles, who also plays guitar, is into sports like hockey and soccer. Tanner (drummer) and Zane (bassist) will attend the University of Oregon next year. “I want to keep playing music, but if that doesn’t work out, I’d like to live in the middle of nowhere and just enjoy my days,” Tanner said. Prefect released its debut EP, California Button Up , to all streaming platforms in January. They plan to release two new singles and an LP by the end of the year. Readers can catch them at the Mesa Music Festival in April. Learn more on Instagram at @prefectband ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ inspires local alt-rock band Drummer Tanner Tate, guitarist Miles Naffah, guitarist Aiden Ohm and bassist Zane Mertel of Prefect. PHOTO: NEIL SCHWARTZ