She’s a pretty good dart thrower, but the common, flimsy “bar darts” don’t satisfy her. The heavier darts are what she prefers to throw, she explains, as her shot goes errant and the dart drops to the floor.
        So we went outside of the usual boundaries of the profile interview and I dumped a set of 18-gram darts on the tab – and on the expense report that I will be submitting for this article.
        Indeed, Joanna Peters likes to throw heavy darts. She’s one of the most vocal neighbors in Arcadia. She is currently the President of the Arcadia Camelback Mountain Neighborhood Association (ACMNA), and she has previously held the positions of Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer in the organization.
        She’s also the editor of the ACMNA newsletter, which you have received if you’re in one of the 2750 homes from 44th to 64th Streets and Indian School to Camelback Mountain. She picks up a lot of volunteer positions here and there, and you’ll find her lobbying for just about any worthwhile cause that comes into our neighborhoods.
        Joanna Westhafer (her maiden name) was born at Good Samaritan Hospital and was brought home to grow up in a ranch house on Lafayette. Her mother was raised in one of the first homes on Roma, and later met her husband, an Air Force pilot who flew out of Luke A.F.B.
        The two settled in Arcadia to raise their family, even when Dad got a job with American Airlines and had to commute to Los Angeles.
        As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, attending Arcadia schools and eventually, Arizona State.
        Once in college she wanted to design record covers for a living—or maybe as a hobby, she explains.
        With exception to her time at ASU, she has always lived in Arcadia, and she’s excited that her children are growing up here too.
        “Arcadia is a neat place to grow up,” Joanna says, “with the huge yards, real neighborhoods, great local businesses and so many nice people, I just love this area.”
        With two school-age children, Joanna finds, like any other stay-at-home mom, good chunks of her time are spent raising her youngsters. Even with the time constraints of parenting, though, Joanna earned her 1st degree black belt in karate in 2005.
        “Instead of just dropping the kids off for their karate lessons, I joined them,” Joanna says. “The kids got their red belts and I was on my way to my second degree black belt.”
        Joanna strives to do the very best job possible in whatever task she accepts. So I ask her: what if you could be the best in the world at anything at all? She doesn’t hesitate—she would want to be the very best parent.
        Admirable, yes, but what if you could be the best at anything else? “Probably a financial trader,” she says, “on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.”
        At press-time for this article, she is interviewing at City Hall for a position in the Government Machine. If she doesn’t get the position, that’s okay. She’s likely to end up in government one way or another, where she will no doubt excel.

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