Our Work Does Work.... 

More than 1.5 billion. That’s billion, with a “B”! 

That’s how much money this agency has returned to 

rural Arizona just during the past seven plus years 

while I’ve served as your State Director. 

Over $300 million in money invested in rural Arizona 

this fiscal year; $132 million in housing funds at a 

time when folks were slipping further and further 

away from the dream of Homeownership; $122 

million in utility funding for water, water/waste 

water, telecom—all manner of utility improvements; 

$15 million in business development for rural Arizona. But the work of this 

agency cannot be understood in terms of numbers. This agency succeeds by the 

individual, not by the number. 

Numbers on a page cannot convey the heartening moment when a family moves 

into its own home...when youngsters have a safe and modern facility for preschool...when seniors have clinics and care homes and senior centers right in 

their own community. 

We have built houses—and we have built communities. We have forged 

businesses—and lifelong friendships. We have given hope and confidence—and 

we have received in return the satisfaction of knowing our work DID work. 

Federal workers don’t often get praise for the work they do. But I will tell you 

this, day in and day out our staff has been dedicated to the mission of this 

agency. USDA-Rural Developments mission is to increase economic opportunity 

and improve the quality of life for rural residents. 

Your dollars have made a difference in 2008 and we will continue to work hard 

every day to maintain your trust in the ever challenging world of economic and 

community development. 

Eddie Browning

Message from the State Director 

Arizona—USDA Rural Development 

2008 Progress Report 

 Fy/08 investment in rural arizona 

Programs:

Business: $21,416,184 

C o m m u n i t y: $ 3 0 , 5 6 9 , 7 0 5 

Housing: $132,344,015 

Utilities: $122,160,000

T o ta l $ 3 0 6 , 4 8 9 , 9 0 4 
It has been almost a year 

since President George W. 

Bush asked me to serve as 

the 29th Secretary of Agriculture, and I have had 

many great days working 

with the dedicated men and 

women at USDA to move 

our agriculture, conservation, and rural development 

policies forward. Together, 

we have accomplished a great deal in a short amount of 

time. 

My family’s heritage is deeply rooted in rural agriculture, 

and I will forever be proud of my rural upbringing. Also, 

having served 8 years as Governor of an agriculture State, 

North Dakota, gave me a thorough appreciation for rural 

economic development. Serving USDA has been more than 

a job; it has been a personal commitment. For me, the future of rural America is my future as well. 

As we enter a new fiscal year, USDA is being called upon to 

help the Nation develop renewable energy, decrease our 

reliance on foreign oil, and help create extraordinary opportunities for rural entrepreneurs. 

I have been proud to serve our Nation during these exciting 

and challenging times. I am confident that with the support 

of USDA Rural Development, rural America’s best days are 

yet to come. 

Ed Schafer, Secretary 

Rural America is changing. An estimated 60 million people live in rural 

areas and most of them 

don’t farm. Traditional 

rural industries -- agriculture, forestry, and mining 

-- are still important, but 

rural America today is 

diverse, vibrant, and 

growing. It is a place 

where world-class diagnostics can be made available to local 

health providers via the internet where an industry leader 

like Viking Range can thrive in a Mississippi Delta town of 

fewer than 20,000 people ... where biofuels, wind, and 

solar power are driving a revolution in renewable energy ... 

and in which millions of people, who in an earlier era would 

have fled to the city, find in rural communities a superior 

quality of life. 

These successes don’t happen by accident. The internet 

revolution and broadband have dramatically expanded the 

horizons of rural communities and businesses. Renewable 

energy, which is largely rural energy, is generating new economic growth and jobs. Farm income, farm exports, and 

farm equity are at record highs. Rural communities across 

the country are upgrading hospitals, schools, and other essential community services. Across the country, smaller 

cities are emerging as regional hubs in a restructuring global 

economy. As economic opportunity and the quality of life 

in rural communities continue to improve, the future of 

rural America is bright. 

Thomas Dorr, Under Secretary 

USDA Rural DEVELOPMENTS’ MISSION 

is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested nearly $91 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 1.7 million jobs have 

been created or saved through these investments. 
Community Food Bank received a grant for $75,000 

to purchase a truck and two cargo vans to help with 

the outreach to children in rural areas of the Tohono 

O’odham Nation and Pima County. Shown are 

(from left) USDA Rural Development, Community 

Programs Director Leonard Gradillas, Community 

Food Bank, Director David Carnegie and USDA RD 

Community Programs Specialist Debra Stewart. 

Our Success Stories 

The cameras were rolling on State Director Eddie Browning when 

Community Food Bank celebrated with its new fleet of “green” trucks. 

At the event, people were able to see the past means of transportation, 

the new fleet and the future technology of helping those who need it 

most. That future: a 20 foot diesel/electric hybrid truck. Its exhaust is 

cleaner than the air that goes in to the engines. 

State Director Eddie Browning presents a 

$199,000 grant to AZ Highways Television / 

Arizona Department of Commerce to be used 

to fund a portion of the production costs for 

the AZ Highways TV Show. The program 

profiles small businesses across rural Arizona. 

Shown are (from left) Eddie Browning State 

Director, ADOC Deputy Director, Kent 

Ennis, AZ Highways Television host Robin 

Sewell and Business Programs Director, Gary 

Mack. 

Helping Small Business - The Southern Gila 

County Economic Development Corporation 

(SGCEDC) has been awarded $100,000 by the United States Department of 

Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD). The funds, from the USDA Rural 

Development Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program, will be used by 

the SGCEDC to augment their Revolving Loan Program (RLP). USDA Rural 

Development State Director Eddie Browning said, “USDA is proud to work 

with local community leaders to help fund enterprises that improve the quality 

of life for rural residents.” 

Shown are (from left) 

Ron Nielsen, Director 

of the Small Business 

Development Center; 

Pat Burke, Dean of the 

Gila Pueblo campus; 

Bill Marshall, President 

of the SGCEDC; Chris 

Martin, SGCEDC Director; Gary Mack, 

USDA Business & Cooperative Program 

Director; and Eddie 

Browning, USDA Rural 

Development State 

Director.
Buckskin Sanitary District in recognition of Earth Day was presented 

with a check for a $2,334,000 loan and grant of $1,849,690 from Eddie 

Browning State Director to develop a sewer collection/conveyance 

system and a wastewater treatment facility, which will allow more users to be connected to the towns’ sewer system. 

In honor of Homeownership Month a Guaranteed 

Lender Appreciation open house was held. Numerous 

lenders stopped by during the day. Shown are (from 

left) Eddie Browning State Director, Earl Tatlow Single Family Housing Specialist and Mark Shaw with 

New West Lending. 

“Over several months our staff covered the State to explain our programs and assist folks in rural Arizona 

in applying for our various grants and loans,” State Director Eddie Browning explained. “This will be a 

two-way dialogue,” he said. “We want to listen to what these rural community advocates have to tell us 

about how we can best serve them...and we want to tell them about the programs we have to help.” 

Browning noted that funding is available for such projects as libraries, senior centers, hospitals and clinics, 

housing, business plans and feasibility studies, police and fire stations, emergency equipment, museums, 

day care centers, and nursing homes. The meetings will feature break-out sessions for specific programs 

and will give potential applicants hands-on assistance in working through the system and paperwork. 

Our Special Events 

 
Business Programs increase rural job opportunities, facilitate the development of rural business and improve economic development. Individuals, corporations, cooperatives, public bodies, non-profit corporations, Indian tribes and private companies effectively leverage these programs with other financial resources. 

• Guaranteed Loans 

• Rural Business Enterprise Grants 

• Intermediary Re-lending Program 

• Rural Business Opportunity Grants 

• Rural Economic Development Loans & Grants 

• Value-Added Development Grant 

• Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Improvement Grant 

• Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans 

• Rural Cooperative Development Grants 

Community Programs provide funds and technical assistance for municipal 

water and wastewater systems, distance learning and telemedicine projects and 

vital community facilities such as libraries, fire departments, child care and medical facilities. 

• Guaranteed Loans 

• Direct Loans & Grants 

• Water/Waste Disposal Loans & Grants 

• Technical Assistance & Training Grants 

• Solid Waste Management Grants 

• Distance Learning & Telemedicine Grants & Loans 

• Rural Broadband Loans 

• Technical Assistance Initiative Grant 

Housing Programs ensure rural communities have access to safe, well built, 

affordable homes and rentals. Funds can be used to build, renovate or repair a 

home. 

• Guaranteed Loans 

• Direct Loans 

• Repair Loans and Grants 

• Technical Assistance Grants 

• Rural Rental Housing Loans 

• Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Loans 

• Farm Labor Housing Loans & Grants 

• Rural Housing Site Loans 

• Housing Preservation Grants 
ARIZONA STATE & AREA OFFICES

www.rurdev.usda.gov/az/

AREA ONE OFFICES AREA TWO OFFICES AREA THREE OFFICES

Prescott Valley Area Office Phoenix Area Office Willcox Area Office

8841 Florentine, Suite A 230 N. 1st Avenue, Suite 206 Suite 658 Bisbee Ave. 

Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 Phoenix, AZ 85003 Willcox, AZ 85643 

928.759.9301, ext. 3 602.285.6376 520.384.3529, ext. 4 

928.759.9284 fax 602.285.6379 fax 520.384.2735 fax 

Show Low Sub-Area Office Yuma Sub-Area Office Green Valley Sub-Area Office

1801 W. Deuce of Clubs 2197 S. 4th Avenue 1131 S. La Canada 

Suite 120 Suite 104 Suite 203 

Show Low, AZ 85901 Yuma, AZ 85364 Green Valley, AZ 85622 

928.532.2270 928.782.0860, ext. 4 520.648.1769 

928.532.2273 fax 928-782-0951 fax 520.648.0335 

Flagstaff Satellite Office Kingman Satellite Office

101 E. Beale St., Suite B Hwy 264, P.O. Box 859 

St. Michaels, AZ 86511 Kingman, AZ 86401 

928.753.6181, ext. 4 928.871.5038, ext. 4 

928.753.3524 928.871.4530 fax 

 ARIZONA STATE OFFICE

230 N. First Avenue, Suite 206 

Phoenix, AZ 85003 

602.280.8701 – Fax 602.280.8770 

PROGRAM AREAS

Business 602.280.8738 

Single-Family Housing 602.280.8755 

Multi-Family Housing 602.280.8765 

Community 602.280.8745 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, 

color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from 

any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). “USDA is an equal opportunity provider, 

employer, and lender.”