In 1962, we moved from a modest building on the southeast corner of 17th Avenue and Jackson Street in Phoenix to a midcentury citadel on the western edge of Encanto Park. Because we have subscribers in more than 100 countries around the world, we refer to our home as “our world headquarters.” And so it is. This is where we carry on the legacy of our founding fathers — Raymond Carlson, George Avey and Jim Stevens — and the many men and women who walked through our castle doors every morning. The building was designed by Mr. Avey, our longtime art director. And with the exception of two windows on either side of the thunderbird on the door, nothing has changed on the outside. Inside, almost everything has been turned around. But two sacred spaces remain: Mr. Carlson’s office, which is now the command center where our captain, Kelly Mero, runs the business; and Mr. Avey’s office, where I sit draped in humility and gratitude. The rest of the building is about what you’d expect from a government building. The industrial furniture, the metal filing cabinets, the weighted tape dispensers, the analog clocks, the drab wall colors, the linoleum floor tiles in our cafeteria … even the carpeting is government carpeting. There’s nothing sophisticated about our workspace, but like a hammock in the woods or a terrycloth bath robe, it’s comfortable and familiar. And it’s home. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
— Robert Stieve, Editor