2007 Copper Quill Award

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation would celebrate the opening of its newest enterprise, the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort, in January 2006. The celebration would bring together the 900 members of the Nation, influencers throughout Arizona, including government, other tribes and VIPs from a number of organizations, as well as the general public. The Nation recognized that while influencers and the public were well aware of the Nation's casino, awareness of its history, ten enterprises, charitable involvement and impact outside the borders of its territory was limited. The Agency needed to develop a visual piece that would not only communicate the Nation's history, but would evoke an emotional response from the audience. For the greatest emotional impact, the agency decided to create a video on DVD to commemorate the launch of the new resort and to recognize the Nation's long struggle to reach such a significant milestone. Because there would be limited time at the grand opening events and a great amount of information to communicate about the Nation, the Martz Agency believed that a video would best engage the audience and concisely present the information that was most important. Martz wanted the video to be a source of pride for the Nation, and to the general public, highlighting the accomplishments of a long-struggling Nation who never gave up in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.