To: redfish who wrote (375 ) 1/30/2004 11:56:59 PM From: ChinuSFO Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 81568 Senator's wife will greet 'Kerry-van' Jan. 30, 2004 12:00 AM Between the FBR Open and the Democratic presidential preference primary, the Valley's skies will be filled this weekend with private jets. John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will arrive Saturday in her Gulfstream painted with red stripes. The Heinz ketchup heiress (Forbes estimates her worth at around $500 million) is head of the Heinz Endowment and Heinz family philanthropies. She has been touted as one of the most influential philanthropists and premier environmental leaders in the nation. She met Kerry at a United Nations environmental conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Her first husband, Sen. John Heinz III, died in a 1991 plane crash.) On Saturday, Teresa Heinz Kerry will welcome a group of 100 veterans and volunteers who are driving to Phoenix from California, some on their Harley-Davidsons, in support of her husband, who also rides a Harley. This caravan of riders calls themselves the "Kerry-van." Get it? On Saturday evening, Rep. Ed Pastor and his wife, Verma, will host a private reception for Kerry in their home to meet the Latina Women for Kerry group. Al Sharpton will be in town on Sunday and plans to attend at least two church services in Phoenix. He would welcome the support of community leaders such as Cody Williams, president of the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce. Williams is being heavily courted by several campaigns. "I'm flattered, and since I know what it's like to run for office, I understand how important it is to try to get an endorsement," Williams said. "I'm still undecided, but I'm glad to see Al Sharpton in the race." azcentral.com