With impeccable timing and a bit of luck, Cynthia Conroy, president and founder of Bisbee Vogue, Inc., a local 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that creates and supports initiatives to enhance economic vitality, health and wellness of citizens in Southern Arizona, made an idea become a reality. Located at 201 Tombstone Canyon, Conroy started the organization in 1989 under the name Save Our Stairs; however, as the city owns the stairs, she figured a less misleading name was in order. She eventually changed the name after 1991, which was the first year of the Bisbee 1000, or “The Great Stair Climb.” She found a way to showcase the many historical stairs that offer a bird’s eye view of the city by creating a race to promote recreation and wellness for loRegioncals and tourists alike. Her idea came after reading an article in the New York Times about how more Americans were heading back to gyms between 1985-1989, and the most popular exercise equipment they were buying (spending millions on) were stair climbing machines. “I’m like a dog with a bone,” said Conroy. “If I see it, and it moves, I’m after it.” Although she considers her idea a fluke, she and the others who have made it happen through the years took what the city already had available 24/7 and created a buzz for Bisbee.
Conroy discovered Bisbee four decades ago, after she took some advice from a friend in San Francisco to visit the eclectic town of artists. Familiar with the European landscape from her travels abroad, Conroy immediately saw the parallels. “Bisbee is what it looks like….read full story (online subscribers only)