August 2025 Member Spotlight
Tom Pitts
Business Consultant, Author, Grant Writer, Army Veteran, Serial Entrepreneur, Self-Proclaimed “Information Junkie.”
Where did you grow up?
I was born in San Diego, eventually landed in Tucson, and graduated from U of A. After graduation, I wandered the world and came back to Arizona with my wife for semi-retirement in 2005. Though I still have friends in Tucson, including some of my bandmates from college (that I have Zoom chats with every couple of weeks), we opted to settle in Jerome for the cooler weather.
How did you get involved in the economic development profession?
After my studies in chemical engineering, marketing, and economics at U of A and serving as the news director for the NBC affiliate in Tucson, I toured as a musician, worked in artist development and concert promotion, was Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for a worldwide trade publication, put a company together to do business development in finance, marketing, and distribution, then got involved in resort development in markets such as Orlando, FL, Myrtle Beach, SC, and South Padre Island, TX. More recently, I’ve had a restaurant and have been writing a wine column for Sedona Monthly Magazine for the past 16 years. Throughout all of that, I’ve done a little bit of everything – big business to community engagement – I did a nightly TV news cast for U of A and have served on many Boards of Directors. I’ve always thought it was important to get involved in my community and its economic development efforts.
What are some economic development organizations you are engaged with?
I’m currently a member of the Board of Directors and a Past President and Chairman of the Board of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce, where I still handle media relations. I’m also a founding and current member of the Yavapai County Economic Resource Alliance (YCERA) leadership team and serve as the current Chair of the Programming Committee. I have served on the Arizona Office of Tourism’s Research Roundtable since 2010 and previously served on Governor Brewer’s Arizona Strategic Partnership Workforce Development Committee. I was also a founding Director of the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization (VVREO), a two-time EDDE Award Winner.
What are some of the international organizations you have engaged with?
While in Texas, I served as a Bailli (Chapter President) and National Board Member for the Paris-based Confrerie de la Chaine des Rôtisseurs, the largest international wine and food society in the world. I was a Cellarmaster for the London-based International Wine and Food Society. I was actively involved in leadership roles with the Commanderie des Bordeaux, the Jurade de Saint-Emilion, the Confrerie Saint-Etienne (Alsace), the Confrerie de la Vignerons de Saint-Vincent (Burgundy), the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine (the American wine society), and others, including Italian and German societies. I was the president of a local 450-member wine tasting group and have travelled extensively in wine country in Europe, Australia, and North America.
What is a past project that you’re proud of?
I was the Founding President and Chairman of the Board of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium; I helped start the Viticulture and Enology (wine) Program at Yavapai College and was the second instructor in the program; and I do studies for the wine industry. A lot of people don’t know about the difficulties that the wine industry has had during and long after Arizona’s Prohibition. I collaborated with Northern Arizona University and the Arizona wine tourism industry, and we recently released our third economic impact study for the Arizona Office of Tourism, which showed that the Arizona wine industry was responsible for creating over $350 million in total economic output, brought over one million visitors to rural Arizona, and supported over 2,400 jobs in Arizona in 2023.
What is your favorite wine or wine experience?
I remember the first time I tried Chateau Mouton Rothschild and visited that property. Picasso did the painting on their 1973 wine label, the year when they finally attained First Growth status in Bordeaux, and I actually just donated a bottle of that vintage from my cellar to help raise money for the Verde Valley Wine Trail to create a specialized license plate for the organization in the state. The bottle sold at auction for $1,700.
What has been your involvement with AAED?
I first got involved with AAED in 2010 and have been the Chair of the Rural Economic Development Committee, on the Government Affairs Committee, served as the Board Liaison for the Rural and Tribal Committees, still volunteer for the Event Committees helping with the Spring Conference and Fall Forum, and just stepped off the Board last month.
Share one of the best things about AAED.
AAED is very impactful and one of the best things it has done is build a collaborative network across Arizona. I have over 800 phone numbers stored in my cell phone primarily from engagements at every junction across Arizona, from Rural Roundtables to Economic Impact Studies I’ve helped produce in partnership with Arizona’s colleges and universities.
Photos (above)
– Gold Record presentation at A & M Records for The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. (Tom is on the far right.)
– Tom Pitts with the ribbons of rank and awards from the wine societies listed above.
– Tom Pitts with his son, Tom, in 1998 at the Kientzheim Castle in Alsace, France for the 50th anniversary of the restart of the Confrerie Saint Etienne after World War II, where Tom received his Maitre (Master) ribbon for achieving the highest rank in the oldest wine society in France.