About Us

Go White Mountains Inc. is a dedicated nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the vitality of Arizona's White Mountains. Our mission is to foster sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation while promoting economic opportunities and community collaboration. Through strategic partnerships, education, and destination marketing, we aim to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the region. Our efforts are focused on supporting local businesses and nonprofit organizations, ensuring a high quality of life for residents, and inspiring visitors to appreciate the year-round beauty and diversity of the White Mountains.

The idea behind Go White Mountains began with a simple problem: finding reliable, complete and timely information about Arizona’s White Mountains was far more difficult than it should have been.

After moving full-time to the Show Low area in 2018, founder Rex Richard experienced that challenge firsthand. Whether looking for local events, outdoor activities, businesses or simply a better way to connect with the community, useful information was often scattered, incomplete or difficult to find. Over the next several years, conversations with local businesses and community members made it increasingly clear that this was not an isolated frustration—it was a regional opportunity.

Drawing upon decades of experience in technology, marketing and platform development, Rex brought together a small team to begin researching, planning and building a better solution. What followed was a multi-year effort to create a centralized regional resource capable of connecting residents and visitors with the places, experiences, events, stories and businesses that make the White Mountains special.

Development began in earnest in 2021 with strategy, research and platform planning, followed by development and integration in 2022. In 2023, the project moved into public launch and audience development, with an increasing focus on community awareness and participation in 2024.

goWhiteMountains.com officially soft-launched as a public service on June 1, 2023, followed by the launch of its targeted outreach campaign one month later. The response demonstrated something important: people wanted a trusted, centralized way to discover and engage with the White Mountains.

From the beginning, however, the vision was larger than building a tourism website. The goal was to create a collaborative regional resource—one capable of strengthening connections among communities, supporting local organizations and businesses, encouraging responsible tourism, sharing the region’s history and culture, and helping build a stronger year-round economy.

That original vision ultimately provided the foundation for Go White Mountains Inc., a nonprofit organization established to carry the work forward as a community-focused initiative dedicated to the long-term benefit of Arizona’s White Mountains.