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Senior Editor and Arizona Preps Founder, Anthony Ray, has worked hard daily to cover and mentor Arizona’s high school and junior college basketball prospects since 1995. Ray’s pursuit to improve the lives of Arizona’s youth has translated for almost 20 years. After a strong basketball season at Pima JC, Ray attempted to walk on at Northern Arizona before giving up his basketball career to raise his daughter. Ray completed a Bachelor of Science Degree (BS) at Arizona State University in 1995, and then completed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Management) at Western International University in 2002, and a Master’s in Business Administration (Marketing) at Western International University in 2014.
Ray began his goal of improving the level of basketball in the state of Arizona and providing valuable scholarship opportunities to Arizona’s underprivileged youth. Ray began his scouting service, the Arizona Hoop Review (an NCAA Approved Scouting Service), in 1995. The report was sent out quarterly to many of the nation’s top division-I programs and included an overview of the state’s best in high school and junior college basketball. Since then and currently today, Ray is Arizona’s most respected College Basketball Scout – helping more than (350) high school student-athletes over the years land Division-I scholarships.
With the Arizona Hoop Review scouting report taking off across the country, the report would reach the hands of a West Coast basketball scout, Jerry Norley of West Coast Hoops. Norley contacted Ray and gave him an opportunity to create an Arizona-based recruiting website, Arizonapreps.com, in the summer of 1999.
Mason Maynard, who oversees all of our marketing as our Director of Marketing for Arizona Preps, has more than (13) years of experience running marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies and startups. Mason played his High School basketball in the West Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, at Mountain Ridge High School and is a product of the Arizona Magic Youth Outreach Organization. Mason took his basketball career to Loyola Marymount University, where he was named the Freshman of the Year. After a coaching change at LMU, Mason transferred to Azusa Pacific University to finish his playing career. After college, he became a Varsity High School Basketball Coach for five years in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mason’s first job outside of basketball was still in sports, being an on-air talent for a local FM Sports radio station. It was here that he had a stint of being the college basketball analyst and morning show sports talk segment for a morning talk show on V103, Atlanta’s number one hip hop station. After that, Mason found his passion for Marketing and began working for Comcast Communications as their first-ever Field Marketing Manager. He would create events to better educate new and existing customers on how the equipment and technology worked.
After living in Atlanta for eight years, Mason decided it was time to move back to his home state and bring his passion for helping grow the reach of Arizona Magic Youth Outreach. “I came back to work alongside Anthony Ray because I genuinely believe in the program, and I want to give the kids of Arizona the same opportunity that I received.”
Mason is also working for Grand Canyon University as a Regional Marketing Manager, helping to grow GCU’s footprint in its non-enrollment endeavors.
We look forward to Mason operating and organizing all future events with Arizona Preps and The Arizona Magic Youth Outreach.
Angela Davidson Weathers, also known as “Coach A” is one of the most decorated businesswomen in the basketball community. She has earned numerous accolades as a result of her hard work and dedication to sports at every level that began at the tail end of her professional playing career. Coach A was the TBL’s (The Basketball League’s) female Coach and the 1st double minority in the world to be an anomaly as a Head Coach/GM and Partner of the Dallas Skyline. The trailblazing pioneer has had a history of groundbreaking success both on and off of the playing court her entire lifelong body of work, and served as Interim Head Coach Kendrick Perkins’s Beaumont Panthers and laid the framework for nationally recognized AZ Compress Prep.
As the former GM of Dallas Skyline & Interim Head Coach of the Beaumont Panthers and Coach A helped contribute to the growth, development and re-branding of the Dallas Skyline contributing to the recognition of the TBL (The Basketball League) as being honored as the league’s Most Improved Market”. Coach A has brokered numerous player deals through her experience as a former agent and business savvy administratively as a brilliant business mind that stemmed from over a decade of service in nonprofit management.
Weathers emerged as a dominant leader in the strategic advisory consulting industry as a result of her brilliant unconventional business strategy and management skills. Established as an Executive International Director and NCLUB Hall of Famer after a successful playing career, the 2 X World Champion Coach A developed global relationships to create procurement plans for both players and international entities and delivers sports leadership education as one of the world’s fastest-growing ed tech companies in the world.
Jason is a dynamic connector, leader, marketer and philanthropist. Jason is originally from Long Island, New York, and has lived in Arizona for 29 years. Jason possesses over 25 years of account management, business development, customer service, management, marketing, and sales experience. With an MBA from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication from Arizona State University, he is well-positioned to add value in his new role as Executive Director of Arizona Magic Youth Outreach.
Jason is the Owner of a growing small business since 2019 called Professional Connection Agency, LLC. Anyone who knows Jason or who is connected with him through business, or a networking organization will confirm that he is one of the best known and most well-connected Business Owners that you could have the good fortune to meet. Professional Connection Agency, LLC, and Jason support clients for long-term growth and profitability one professional connection at a time.
As an active supporter of many charities and non-profit organizations, Jason is well-known in the world of small business and lives his life always looking for new ways to give back and to make the world a better place. Each day, Jason’s goal is to make a positive impact in the lives of others and our community. Jason is grateful for who and what he has in his life.
Jason is always open to new connections and new partnerships. Please feel free to connect with Jason at an upcoming Zoom Meeting, at an in-person live event, on social media or via e-mail.
Kory is an experienced Business Owner and Software Architect with over 15 years in startups and enterprise level businesses. This has led to a unique mix of skills ranging from hands-on software development, to team management and B2B sales. Kory has been involved behind the scenes managing Arizona Magic Youth Outreach and Arizona Preps’ digital presence for over a decade and is ready to step out from behind the curtain to continue growing Arizona Magic Youth Outreach.
Autumn is a seasoned Account Executive with over 23 years’ experience in customer service, business development, recruiting, account management and sales, working with some of the world’s largest corporations. She has demonstrated success in understanding client needs, building strong relationships, and providing an exceptional customer experience. Her expertise and finesse in working with large enterprises has led to multiple awards and a skill set for growing long term relationships. Utilizing this experience will allow Arizona Magic Youth Outreach to continue to grow and serve its community.
As both a former athlete, and a graduate of the University of Nevada-Reno, Autumn understands and is passionate about the importance of ensuring our student athletes receive an education that enables them to be successful in life.
Andrea Bernardo joined the Arizona Magic Youth Outreach, Inc team in 2021 and has been a big part of the team’s ability to promote Arizona’s student-athletes through her hard work and determination. Andrea joined the Arizona Preps’ staff as the Executive Assistant in 2019. Since her addition to the business, she has made tremendous strides in helping the organization reach new heights in promoting Arizona youth basketball.
Through her defined work ethic and commitment to excellence, Bernardo has a massive passion for helping aid and mentor the lives of Arizona’s youth in Northern Arizona, where she resides, and also in the Phoenix area and surrounding areas of the state. Andrea’s commitment to Arizona basketball alongside the community and her belief in the organization has helped Arizona Magic Youth Outreach continue our pursuit of changing the landscape in Arizona.
As a Business Banker in the East Valley at National Bank of Arizona, Monique maintains a
high level of client satisfaction in generating, managing and servicing a portfolio of clients
with a specific qualifying net worth. She focuses on business development within every
industry by providing financial knowledge in the areas of commercial lending, business
deposit products, treasury management and cash management. Monique’s large focus
is on providing business owners with their needed capital to purchase commercial real
estate, equipment, build-out financing, construction financing and more. She brings
over 18 years of experience holding various positions in the financial services industry
including business lending, business development, operations management, relationship
management, auditing and mortgage. Monique is able to provide her clients with an
exceptional level of personal service for their business lending needs as well as works
jointly with the retail banking teams to deliver a great 360 experience. She is committed
to enabling her clients to achieve their dreams and goals by providing guidance of which
products and services will best suit their banking needs. Monique gives each client the
time, tools and support they need to make informed financial decisions. Whether it’s your
family, your business or your community, Monique helps to give you back the time to
pursue your passions and focus on what really matters to you.
Community Involvement
Monique currently volunteers at the Shriners Children’s Hospital, Girls’ Scouts, United
Way and Junior Achievement. She has previously volunteered at Homes for Humanities
and for various crisis intervention teams in Arizona, California and Nevada.
Ron Maynard offers over forty years of senior executive leadership from the telecommunications industry. He brings operations, marketing, sales, and contract negotiations experience. Ron focused on creating business proposals and contracts. With this experience, Ron will also be heavily involved with the Arizona Magic Youth Outreach grant writing team.
Starting his career in 1979, he was part of a team building Cable TV systems in northeast Ohio, to most recently building a fiber to the curb Internet system in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Ron now lives with his wife, Deb, in Peoria, AZ.
JD Dorfman is a Senior Advisor at Phoenix Financial Retirement Planning. JD’s goal is to help those who want to have their retirement income last a lifetime. JD uses retirement options that many people are unaware of. These vehicles are safety based, but highly effective. JD is an expert in this field, so allow him to help you achieve a distribution you can’t outlive. What’s more important with your retirement plan than its durability? A retirement plan needs to be built to last, and JD understands this.
JD has 14 years of experience in the financial arena, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. He holds licenses in Insurance, Long Term Care, and Annuities. He is an expert in determining if a trust is needed. If so, take comfort that JD has done over 200 trusts in his career. JD has been recognized by several companies as a top producer. Advisors Excel, the most prestigious financial marketing organization in the country, has recognized him among their top 500 producers. JD has been published in several media outlets, including ASBA (Arizona Small Business Magazine). He has also been an on-air-personality for 10 years with KFNX radio.
Outside the office, the most important part of JD’s life is his family. The source of his strength is his wife Eileen. JD will tell you that he is the man he always wanted to be as a result of his wife’s eternal love. The other joys in his life are their 2 daughters, Tia, and Lylah. Surrounded by women, is there a better way to live life?
If you are interested in attending the next Board meeting and or you are interested in joining one of our Committees, please e-mail info@arizonamagic.org.