Take a Hike!

Around here, we are always up for fun things to do! Recently, Lori and I took the boys on a "train ride" to Tempe to go hike Hayden Butte. ( "A Mountain) We all had a great time so we decided to do it again. This time, we thought we would invite some friends!

Please join us Saturday, March 21st as we get together with our friends from Take A Hike Arizona to meet at “A” Mountain in Tempe, for a fun morning hike, stroll or walk up Hayden Butte. The easiest way to get there is via light rail. Exit at the 3rd and Mill station and meet us at the coffee shop on the south west corner. (Mills End Cafe at 310 S Mill Ave) We will leave Mills End at 8:15 for our fun morning “hike.” Hey, what else are you gonna do on a nice Saturday morning that would be more cool than hanging out with some friends and getting some fresh air?
Like they say at Take A Hike Arizona, “The Butte may not qualify as an all out hike, but it does provide a nice quick jaunt uphill (just over 1/2 mile) and provides nice views of downtown Tempe, Tempe Town Lake and the surrounding area.”

Much of the trail is paved and the entire walk probably doesn't take an hour. It is a perfect Saturday morning trip! Click to see some pics from our recent trip...

The Butte is also a designated historical landmark. Just off the trailhead on the Leonard Monti Trail, you can find a number of petroglyphs carved into the rock by the Hohokam people. I recently spoke with Michael Monti (Leonard’s son) and I believe he will be joining us in the morning. It will be fun to learn some of the history of the Butte from him.

The founders of Take a Hike Arizona Tracey Epel and June Kleier will be on hand to join us as well. They have a very fun attitude about outdoor activities and I have enjoyed getting to know them recently.

The plan is to meet on Saturday morning, March 21st at 8:00am at Mills End Cafe which is located directly south of the light rail stop at 3rd Street and Mill Avenue. Mills End will be easy to find, just look for the Rail Life banner in the window Saturday morning. We plan to leave (ie: cross the street,) by 8:15am.

If you have never been on the light rail yet, you might want to see this information about the Park and Ride locations and check out how to purchase a light rail pass for your trip! Any questions? Just Call Nick!

Time for Nick's Annual Turkey Drive

Once again, it's time for our annual turkey drive! On Sunday Nov. 23rd , I will be delivering turkeys to help the Phoenix Rescue Mission feed the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. I believe that many people have a desire to help others this time of year but find it difficult to do so because our lives are so busy. This year, the need is sure to be great! If you would like to help by making a financial donation, we will do all of the work for you! I'll be purchasing frozen turkeys Sunday morning to deliver to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. (I can provide receipts from the mission if needed) Please feel free to contact me with any questions or donations.

Last year, with the help of my friend Rob, we were able to deliver over 100 turkeys for needy families! I want to give special thanks to Rob Sell at Sell Home Inspections for all of the help he has been the last couple of years. The first few years, I did the Turkey drive mainly by myself but with the generosity of our family and friends (and the addition of 3 small children) it became quite a task. Thankfully, Rob has really stepped in to be a huge help to me in hauling all of these birds! We have a BLAST delivering them and want to thank everyone for your donations to such a great cause.

Please help. It can be a dollar or a hundred dollars (or more!) but every single penny is GREATLY appreciated. We want to make it easy for everyone to help others this Thanksgiving.

I would like to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,
Nick

Free ASU football tickets!

RailLife.com is giving away 2 free ASU football tickets for next Saturday's game. All you have to do is visit the Rail Life Blog (<---click there) for more information...

Tempe residents care about their community!

Saturday, October 18th is "G.A.I.N" night which stands for Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods and is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness in neighborhoods.

Lori and I will once again be joining several of our neighbors in participating in this fun event with our kids at Stroud Park in Tempe. The Camelot Village Neighborhood Association is involved and they describe the night as a partnership effort between the Tempe Police Department and Neighborhood Watch Programs, Neighborhood Associations and Apartment Communities. During G.A.I.N. residents lock their doors, turn on the their porch lights and spend the evening outdoors with their neighbors.

We walk to Stroud Park often and enjoy the playground, basketball hoops, large grass areas and of course the "sea shells" along the canal. I took this pic of the boys playing with a neighbors dog in the park last week. Come on over and join us! There will be food and a lot of fun people to hang out with. Feel free to bring a dish to share or to just come check it out!

October is Breast Cancer awareness month!

For the month of October, we have gone PINK in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. This is a great opportunity to tell our friends about FREE mammograms.

Most of you know that, for many years, I have sponsored teams for the "Climb to Conquer Cancer" as it is a cause very near and dear to my heart. There are many other great ways to get involved in helping raise money and awareness. In fact, a friend of ours is helping with a "Relay for Life" event this month. Take a look!

You should also know that the Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammograms in exchange for advertising.

We can all do a lot to help!

Nick Bastian Talks Real Estate With Fox 10

Recently, I was invited to the Fox 10 studios to talk about real estate and my business. Interviews are always kind of interesting and it is interesting to see the final, edited version. I had a really good time shooting this and want to thank Fox for the opportunity to talk about real estate with them.

Nick Bastian Joins Tempe Realty Executives Office

After 16 years in the real estate business, I feel more proud of my job and enthusiastic of my future business than ever before. Yesterday, after a long process, I made a decision to join what I feel is the best real estate firm in Arizona. That firm is Realty Executives. Over the past couple of months, I have weighed my options very carefully and have met formally and informally with several brokers, large and small. While my normal business practices will not change much and most of you will not notice a difference, I believe the corporate structure, the ability to "run my own business" and the convenience of many valley wide offices will help me to serve my clients even better in the future. My phone number, email address and web site address will all remain the same and this will be a VERY smooth transition for all of us. It is late and I have had a very long couple of days but I will be updating more in the near future. Please feel free to contact me at any time should you have any questions.
The real estate market has changed and I have decided to embrace change while growing my business. I am very happy to make this announcement and look forward to talking with you soon. Thanks again for your continued support!

Say Thanks

Take a look at the video in this link..
http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php
I like the line.. It's not about politics, it's about service.. Thanks to my friend Irene for sharing..

"Free" Ice Cream for "Club" members - Tomorrow!

This morning, I am sending out an email to "Club" members to join Lori and I at the Tempe Baskin Robbins (located at 1715 East Guadalupe) tomorrow night at 6:00 PM. Call me a big spender, but I'll be glad to buy you and your family an ice cream cone! :-)

Here's the deal.. Baskin-Robbins (31 Flavors) is out to help and honor America's firefighters. Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents (at some locations) on April 30th.
According to their web site..
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation remembers America's fallen heroes and assists their families. The organization provides firefighters with training to prevent deaths in the line of duty and offers the public information to prevent fires in our communities.
A donation of $100,000 will be made by Baskin-Robbins® to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. At select local stores throughout the country, you may also have a chance to donate to your local fire station.
Baskin-Robbins is proud to support this worthy cause. We encourage you to learn more about the foundation by visiting www.firehero.org.

How "cool" is that!? Heck, it is already getting hot and it will give us a great opportunity to have some fun and to support a great cause. I hope you can join Lori, Luke, Cole, Will and I for this fun evening of ice cream! Please leave a comment below to let us know if you can make it. or, "Just Call Nick!" so we know to watch for you. Of course, if you can't make it to "our" Baskin Robbins, you should find one near by and enjoy this great "excuse" for a treat on Wednesday, April 30th from 5-10PM.

Our very good friend, Ryan, happens to be a firefighter at OUR station. We are also very fortunate to have other friends that are firefighters. This is something that we can all participate in!

I hope you can make it!
Nick

btw.. Special thanks to my friend, Candace, for letting me know about the ice cream!

Nick's having some fun with Fox!

Here is a copy of the new commercial we shot a couple of weeks ago at the Fox 10 News studios. Most will run as a 15 second commercial during news casts, sit-coms, sporting events etc. Some will be 30 second commercials with another "featured" agent. So, "Just You Watch" to see your friend, Nick on tv this year! So far, these guys have been a lot of fun to work with. Also, please take a look at the new page of mine on www.myfoxphoenix.com. My direct link on their site can be found by clicking here.. You know what they say.. The camera adds 10 pounds and I really do wish they wouldn't have used so many cameras! :-)
We are looking forward to promoting real estate in a positive light over the next twelve months. Having the media do some "positive press" might help get a few people off of the fence. I really do believe there are some good opportunities in the market right now and look forward to promoting our valley's real estate market along with Fox 10 and My 45 news channels. Thanks for stopping by!

Autism Speaks

My cousin sent this email to me today and it really made me think.. I am so fortunate to have healthy children.. So, as she asked me to do in the email, I am passing this along to my friends and family.. Please take a look..

The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.40 to Autism
Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed the funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family.
Click Here for the What Kind of World video.

Nick's Annual Cancer Climb

Once again, I have sponsored a team for the annual "Climb to Conquer Cancer" that is held at South Mountain. I hope that you can join me and participate in this very fun event that will be held on Saturday, February 23rd. The "climb" is actually a walk up the mountain and is a great way to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. The cost to participate is $35.00 and includes registration, t-shirt, food, drinks and lot's of fun. I will be glad to register you and pick up/deliver your t-shirt so that all you have to do is show up the day of the event and have fun! If I register or donate for you, you don't get on any more mailing lists. :-)

Another option is to join "Georges Team" which is a team our family sponsors in memory of my father in law who lost a very courageous battle with Cancer last February. To join or to donate online, click here.

I am sure that all of us have been effected by cancer, either by a friend, family member or co-worker. Together, we can help! If you are not able to participate but would like to make a donation, please let me know and I'll be glad to help with that! Please feel free to contact me for any information. I have registration forms, information packets etc, that I can deliver or email to you. If you have any questions, just give me a call or leave a comment here on the blog..

Thanks so much!
Nick

Nick's Annual Turkey Drive!

Once again, it's time for our annual turkey drive! On Sunday Nov. 18th , I will be delivering turkeys to help the Phoenix Rescue Mission feed the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. I believe that many people have a desire to help others this time of year but find it difficult to do so because our lives are so busy.
If you would like to help, I'll be glad to come to your home or office and pick up a frozen turkey to deliver for you! OR, we can do the running around if you would like to make a financial donation. I'll be purchasing frozen turkeys Sunday morning to deliver! (I can provide receipts from the mission if needed) Another option would be for you to donate directly to the mission by clicking here.. Last year, Lori and I were able to deliver nearly 1000 pounds of turkey for needy families!
I would like to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season!
Sincerely,

Nick