The Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations was established by Governor Raul H. Castro in 1975 of the Arizona Commission on National and International Commerce (ACNIC). Designed to focus CEO and other senior-level attention on economic development opportunities, ACNIC introduced a series of initiatives that broadened Arizona's approach to the international arena.
Under the leadership of Dick Mallery, the international division of ACNIC quickly sponsored a
series of trade missions and senior level business and government contacts from countries around the world. An early goal was to create a vision for the role for Greater Phoenix in the world community. The perceived need for greater awareness of economic, political and social issues led to a proposal to establish a Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations in Phoenix.
The prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, located in New York City, administered an outreach program around the country. By providing knowledgeable speakers such as ambassadors, current and former government officials, academics and senior business executives, the Council mirrored in local communities the format which had become its hallmark in New York City: expert commentary by the speaker followed by a not-for-attribution discussion with by-invitation-only participants.
This sounded like the perfect vehicle to move Phoenix leaders to a higher level of international involvement. As a result with urgence of Dick Mallery and Dino DeConcini, Governor Castro convened a meeting of senior government, business and academic leaders to explore the founding of a Committee on Foreign Relations in Phoenix. Governor Castro, a former US Ambassador to both El Salvador and Bolivia before his arrival to the Governor's office, was a natural ally for such an endeavor.
While still in the exploration stage, the Committee idea was almost derailed. The Council in New York had a moratorium on adding new committees because it had reached the limit of its ability to support the effort with the resources then available. Fortunately, Dick Mallery's former law school dean at Stanford University, Bayless Manning, was the then Chairman of the Council and Dick's access and persuasiveness soon had the door open for Phoenix.
All that was left was to get the buy-in of the local community. In November of 1975 Governor Castro invited a large group, well over 100, to a luncheon meeting at the Arizona Club to address the issue of whether or not Phoenix should formally apply to the Council to establish a Committee. The group consisted of civic leaders and persons actively involved in international business, education, finance, law, media and related activities.
Both Arizona State University and Thunderbird were well represented and the response from the academic community was overwhelming favorable. Since the leaders in the business community had already signed on to the need for increasing international activities, they quickly saw the affiliation with the Council on Foreign Relations as a very positive step toward that goal.
Will Rapp was then a loaned executive from Valley National Bank to the Governor's Office with the charge of increasing the international services of the State. In that role he had become the Executive Director of ACNIC at its formation and now took on the additional role of Executive Director of the newly-formed Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations (PCFR). Bill Voris, then President of Thunderbird, was tapped as the Chairman of the Committee.
Because so much work had been done on the front end with the Council, the PCFR was quickly operating. The first program was offered a few days later on December 7, 1975 at a dinner meeting held at the Arizona Club. The inaugural speaker was Dr. Grace Ibingira, the former Ambassador to the United Nations from the Sudan. Then in exile from the despotic Idi Amin government, it was not until Amin's overthrow in 1979 that he could safely go back to his home country.
It was a great beginning. While the Council added no other Committee for ten years, in many ways Phoenix became a model program based on the number and quality of programs offered as well as the level of participation of its active membership, more than justifying the Council's confidence.