Parade Grand Marshal Chandler Warden Honored for a Life of Community Service

The Grand Marshal for the 2016 Tucson Rodeo Parade, Chandler Warden, is a transplanted Californian who learned a love for Southern Arizona attending summer camps at Tanque Verde Guest Ranch. He moved to the Tucson area full time in 1993 and has since dedicated his time to supporting charitable organizations and causes in the area.

Over the years, Chandler has hosted a drive time radio show, worked in the cruise industry and for the Roaring Camp Railroad Tour Company. He worked for the California Department of Agriculture, and was Director of Tour Operations at Biosphere 2.
From his ranch in Marana Chandler oversees the charitable work of his family’s philanthropic organization, the Bert W. Martin Foundation. The Foundation has touched many worthwhile organizations. He worked with Arnold Palmer to help build the nation’s first children-only emergency and trauma center at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida. His support of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has resulted in the addition of the Warden Oasis Theater, the Warden Aquarium and the continuation of the Desert Ark program. Warden serves on the Board of Directors for the Desert Museum.

Chandler is a melanoma survivor and advocates for cancer research. He helped establish the Skin Cancer Institute at the Arizona Cancer Center, and continues to sit on the Board of Directors. Because of his work with the Skin Cancer Institute, you will now find free sunscreen stations at the Desert Museum, Reid Park Zoo, the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Chandler’s philanthropy for other Southern Arizona organizations include Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Tucson, El Rio Community Healthcare, The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Marana Community Food Bank, Therapeutic Riding of Tucson, KXCI Community Radio, U of A Student Veterans Affairs Program, and preservation of the Fox Theater, the Historic Rillito Race Track, and the Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum. He was named Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year in 2013 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals

Chandler feels that giving back to the community to create a better place to live and to protect and preserve our cultural treasures is a life’s necessity. His motto is “Protecting the vision, and honoring the privilege.” The Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee is proud to have Chandler Warden as the Grand Marshal of the 2016 Tucson Rodeo Parade.