Joe Winfield is one of those people to whom it is easy to talk and who has some interesting things to say. He's a son, a father, a grandfather, a landscape architect, a forest service-national parks lifer, a racquetball player, and hiker. And he's been a member of our community, by choice, more than 25 years. He knows who we are. We want to be sure that you know who he is.
Joe is the youngest of his family of origin. His mom is his hero: “She divorced my father when she was pregnant with me. It wasn't an easy decision for her. She didn't have a college education. A bright lady, working as a bookkeeper. What she did was courageous.”
Today, Joe has a busy family life. He and his wife Marianne have a daughter and six sons. They have nine grandchildren, with two on the way. One of his son’s was married in September; another announced his engagement late last month.
 |
| Mayor-Elect Joe Winfield |
Joe is a University of Arizona grad and a landscape architect. He worked for the US National Park service for 32 years. He is now in his fourth year with the US Forest Service. He plans to retire in a year.
Joe’s favorite program is the River Trails Conservation Program. “To activate and assist community-based conservation work. I opened the office here in Arizona in 1996… We provide professional services throughout the state of Arizona. One of our mantras is ‘close to home recreation.” He applied this thinking when he chaired the Oro Valley Trails Task Force in 2000.
Joe and Marianne put roots in Oro Valley in the 90’s. “We are a community-oriented family”. They were careful to stay put here in Oro Valley once their kids got to high school age. He sought out work here so that he could stay in our community
When he is not working
Joe can be found playing racquetball with one of his sons at Kreigh Park. And, of course, as you would expect, Joe likes to hike. His favorite trail is at the end of Linda Vista.
Joe shared a hiking moment with us. He hiked from his home in the Palisades and Catalina Shadows through the Catalinas.
“I always wanted to just go out my front door and go backpacking in the Catalinas. I did that a few years ago. I went on a 30-mile backpacking trip. I went out my front door and hiked up CDO wash to and past the Romero Pools.”
Joe is an optimist who loves Oro Valley.
“I’ve been doing some traveling recently. I’ve seen some great communities but they don’t hold a candle to Oro Valley. There are some very positive things that have been happening in our community that are attributed to our mayor and council and we will build on those positive things. I hope to be moving the community in a direction where I think we can do better.”
---
