THATCHER — The mother and daughter team of Darla and Brianna Dodge are running a successful business — Enchanted Elyxr, a mobile non-alcoholic drink service.
But they haven’t been able to expand as much as they’d like, involving fresh fruits and other commissary items, because of a lack of access to a commercial kitchen. So they decided to start their own.
Their pitch for Rural Food Business Hub, a commercial kitchen space for their business and other mobile and cottage food businesses, was selected the winner of the 2026 Graham/Greenlee Moonshot Pitch Competition Thursday at the Lee Little Theater on the campus of EAC.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
“We’re very excited,” Darla said. “We’re hoping this will help make this come true for our community and for ourselves. This is definitely a good step in the right direction.”
The Dodges have the location and are currently going through the zoning process to bring the commercial kitchen a reality. The plan is to use connex boxes.
“We can make it our own and turn it into a quality kitchen without having to do all the framework and the building like that,” Darla said.
For winning, the Dodges received $5,000 cash for the business, $500 for service by Azurite Bookkeeping, a $1,300 for digital service and branding by Lamplight Digital, three months of advertising on Valley Vision and a gift certificate to Center for Intuitive Education.
They also advance to the Moonshot state finals in October in Phoenix, with a chance to win $10,000, or another $5,000 as the fan choice.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Second place was awarded to Sitter Share, a digital app that connects parents with babysitters and childcare options in the Gila Valley. Sitter Share principals Maddie Bingham and Bryan Bryce received $2,500, $250 to Azurite, $1,300 to Lamplight, three months of advertising on Valley Vision and and a gift certificate to Center for Intuitive Education.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Third place was awarded to the new owners of Ginaveve’s Market Place, Lacy and Cade Bryce. They received $1,500, $100 to Azurite, one month of advertising on Valley Vision and a gift certificate to Center for Intuitive Education.
The crowd favorite was Fuel Bar, freshly made, nutritionally balanced packaged foods. Owner Gabriella Pena received $1,000.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
All 13 presenters at Thursday’s pitch competition received a year’s worth of mentorship and training with Moonshot, a Flagstaff-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship in rural Arizona.
“They all took the mentors’ suggestions, and were extremely coachable through the day. And you saw it in their final pitches,” said Torey Cranford with the SBDC.
Judges for the local competition were Robert Theobald with Arizona Commerce Authority, Brandi Szymanski with Community Investment Corporation of Arizona, Jennifer Stauffer with OneAZ Credit Union, Heather Floyd with Valley Telecom, Vaughn Grant with Country Financial and Kiersten Hathcock with Moonshot.
Sponsors for the Graham/Greenlee Moonshot Pitch Competition include Freeport-McMoRan, Valley Telecom, Country Financial, Gila Cheer, American Southwest Credit Union, CMI, Trophies N’ Tees, Double R Communications, Lamplight Digital, Azurite Bookkeeping Co., Center for Intuitive Education, Eastern Arizona College, the Graham County Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center at EAC.
Previous Graham/Greenlee Moonshot Winners
- 2023 — Royce Hunt-Bell, owner of Roycycled Treasures decoupage papers, stencils, art journals and instruction
- 2024 — Matthew Artman, owner of Arcane Gear hunting accessories
- 2025 — CIO John Whitman and CEO Steven Taylor, Nexus Health AI LLC
- 2026 — Darla and Brianna Dodge, owners of Rural Food Business Hub commercial kitchen
