Photo by Jon Willey

FAMILY PORTRAITS

From the president of  the Diamondbacks to a family on food stamps, no one’s immune to a sluggish economy. Here’s how three Valley families cope with the crunch.

The Halls
Derrick Hall and his family are proof that no one is totally immune to the current economic conditions.
Hall is president of the Arizona Diamondbacks – commanding a salary and a job title that would make nearly anyone envious. At the same time, the Hall family is taking a costly hit because of the dramatic decline in the housing sector.
Hall says his family moved into a new home nearly a year ago and listed the old Paradise Valley residence for close to $2.5 million. Now, even with it priced at less than $2 million, it still hasn’t sold. That’s a half million dollars gone.
“We’re not at the point where we’re really feeling the crunch, but two mortgages is becoming a little much,” Hall says. “We keep hearing from Realtors that buyers are active right now, but we’re sure not seeing it. People want to see things turn around first.”
Hall and his wife, Amy, also are feeling the effects of rising gas prices. Their children, Logan (12), Hayden (9) and Kylie (6), are at the prime ages of being shuttled from this practice to that event and back and forth in every direction.
“We’ve had an SUV for many years because we have three kids and three dogs, but we’re shopping for a hybrid now,” Hall says. “We’re not going to cut the kids’ activities, so we’re trying to change our budget.”
On top of family concerns, Hall has heard complaints about gas prices from team employees and fans during the baseball season. “It costs a lot more to come to the ballpark every day,” he says.
The Halls are fortunate enough to be immune to the larger sacrifices that many families have to make in tough economic times. That being said, kids ask questions and parents have to give answers.
“Logan is getting old enough to start asking those tough questions,” Hall says of his eldest son. “He asks if we’re in a recession and what it means. We say it’s a tight time for everyone.”