It’s Very Southwestern Here

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

ToyCon 2009 is going to sizzle when Phoenix reaches record high temperatures this week. As the first trailblazers settle in and prepare for an early start on Wednesday, spirits are high and the reunions commence. Old friends are connecting with enthusiastic freshmen and mingling in the hallways of the Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa.

Launched in the 1920’s, the resort started off as an enclave for the Goodyear Rubber Company. The climate of Phoenix is quite similar to the climate of Egypt where Goodyear was purchasing its cotton for the threads used as a component of its tires of the day. To save on the import costs, the company scouted this Southwestern locale as a new domestic source of raw materials. What began as a home for the cotton farmers quickly soon expanded to accommodate visiting Goodyear executives and eventually morphed into a resort, complete with spa, tennis courts and three renowned golf courses.

Down the hall from ToyCon registration, representatives of the dental and milk industries have gathered for their own conferences. Toys and teeth . . . everyone that helps to shape the development of young children has convened in Phoenix this week!