Diane Joens became Mayor of the City of Cottonwood in May 2007. Previously she served a term as a City Council Member from June 2003 to May 2007.
Mayor Joens is the City Council’s appointee on the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee and Verde River Basin Partnership. She is also a member of Greater Arizona Mayors and cofounder of Stewards of Public Lands. She is an enthusiastic proponent of volunteerism, youth and senior programs, veterans’ issues, and trails and bicycle pathways. Along with the City Council, City Manager and his staff, she strives to provide quality services to residents of Cottonwood. She is a graduate of Project CENTRL, a two year state-wide leadership program supported through the University of Arizona and the Center for Rural Leadership. The Mayor was editor and publisher of a community project, the Verde River Almanac. A life-long learner, she periodically attends classes at Yavapai College.
Preservation of the Verde River is one of the Mayor’s primary interests. She is highly supportive of businesses—large and small—in the upper Verde Valley, and understands that the river is among the area’s most attractive and substantial resources for quality of life, economic development and tourism.
In the past the Mayor worked as a news reporter, in the field of banking, and determined HUD and Rural Development housing program eligibility for the elderly and disabled. She also worked for the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors.
Diane Smith was raised in Sierra Vista, Ariz. When she was 15 her parents moved to Iowa where she finished high school and then married Paul Joens. Diane and Paul farmed in Iowa 15 years, raising corn, soybeans and hogs. They sold their farming operation and moved to Cottonwood 24 years ago.
Dedicated to the many volunteers who make a community strong, the Mayor has written many articles about area volunteers that have been published in a local newspaper. Her Web site is www.dianejoens.com
The people of Cottonwood and the upper Verde Valley provide the Mayor’s inspiration for leadership. Mayor Joens considers it an extraordinary privilege and responsibility to serve the citizens of Cottonwood as their Mayor.