From the president
July 2026
Dear Supporter,
We are working our way through the summer months at Ironwood that are always so dreaded. But after a really hot March, April and May temperatures were surprisingly mild in the 60’s at night. We are now in the three-digit range for the balance of the summer.
There has been a couple months of technological failures and frustrations. If it has felt like you have gotten one mailing after another from us recently, it is because it started with a broken down printer which delayed our May newsletter almost half a month. Once the newsletter finally went out, most of the Tucson mail was down for at least a week due to an accident or breakdown at the central post office. The postal workers were outside working as quickly as possible to get the mail sorted and out.
Then the problems at home began as well. We have an expensive water truck repair to make just as the hot summer begins and we must have two functioning water trucks. One van went down from pack rats chewing the wires and burning up the starter and battery. Then the very next day the other van broke down when our staff were on the way home from a project at one of our remote foster homes. And yes, there is more. Both pickup trucks needed front end rebuilds within weeks of each other. I just know you are probably sitting there shaking your heads knowingly. You are all probably thinking been there done that, really all at once!!
The frightening thing is we are all so dependent on technology of all kinds. These past months have shown us how vulnerable we really are. It is like dominos. One thing fails and then another and another. It is certainly a problem of a grand scale when there are nearly 700 lives that rely on people and equipment working. We have the means necessary to repair the vehicles because of YOU. We will recover from the interruptions from the break down in our newsletter delivery and mail delivery. None of these occurrences for which we relied on technology have resulted in any big disasters to us or our pigs, but we must be ever diligent and aware of what may happen. However, we cannot anticipate everything that can happen. For example, gas and diesel prices rising so dramatically with a long hot summer ahead is making hauling water so much more expensive. According to the World Meteorological Organization, a strong El Nino could cause extreme weather this fall and we don’t how that may influence the southwest and our pigs.
As supporters of our dear pigs at Ironwood please know we will do all we can to keep our pigs safe and secure and deal with what comes our way, technological or natural. We so appreciate your support that helps to get us over these unexpected expenses.
Sincerely,
Mary Schanz, President & CoFounder
