Chamber exec leaves her mark

Vonnie Mikkelsen is wrapping up her work this week at the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce to take on a similar role for the chamber of commerce in Springfield, Oregon.

Making the decision to leave her current post was no easy choice, Mikkelsen said.

“This was not just a job to me. It was really a commitment. It’s where my heart was. It’s where I grew at the same time that I saw people around me and the community and the organization, itself, grow,” said Mikkelsen, who lives in Land O’ Lakes.

Mikkelsen took the leadership role at the Zephyrhills chamber on Dec. 14, 2009. She was selected from a field of 44 candidates.

Since accepting that role, she’s been involved in numerous initiatives.

She helped organize the collection of items for the time capsule created to celebrate the city’s 100th anniversary.

She was involved in the push to change the hours for when liquor could be served on Sundays.

She was involved in the effort to persuade the state roads department to use a pair of one-ways running through Zephyrhills, instead of turning Gall Boulevard (US 301) into a three-lane, one-way road.

She led efforts to launch a new annual festival, the Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Fest, an event that attracts thousands and raises money for the chamber and community groups.

She drummed up support to create the Zephyrhills Economic Development Coalition.

And, she helped persuade the powers-that-be that finding money to create a four-lane stretch of State Road 56 — from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wiregrass Ranch to U.S. 301 — would be an investment in the region, not just a project for Zephyrhills.

While the money has not yet been found for the State Road 56 project, work is under way to see if it’s possible to get a loan from the state’s infrastructure bank to make it happen.

Mikkelsen is proud of what has been accomplished during her tenure, but she’s the first to say these achievements were a result of people working together to make them happen.

“I never would have guessed all of the things that we were able to accomplish – even at my highest expectation. We, together, have exceeded those. That’s incredibly rewarding,” Mikkelsen said.

She’s been amazed by the willingness of individuals and organizations in Zephyrhills to give their time, talent and resources.

Mikkelsen thinks a chamber of commerce is in a unique position to pull people together.

“It’s (the chamber is) your business community, it’s your nonprofit organizations, it’s your faith-based organizations, your community support organizations, your schools, your government agencies. It’s a cross-section and there’s no other organization in the community like that,” Mikkelsen said.

Recognizing how people can help is important, Mikkelsen said.

“If you know the resources that are in an organization like that (the chamber), the possibilities are endless,” she said.

Having a pulse on stakeholders’ interests is essential, Mikkelsen added.

“It’s not my chamber of commerce. It’s not even the board’s chamber of commerce. It’s first and foremost, the members’, and then the community at large,” she said.

Mikkelsen said she hadn’t been at the job long before she had a chance to tap into the broad spectrum of Zephyrhills’ stakeholders.

That happened when she was working with a team to create a time capsule for the city’s 100th birthday, she said.

The capsule contains artifacts of the daily life of groups and organizations that make up the fabric of Zephyrhills.

When Mikkelsen agreed to take a leadership role on that task, she was determined to excel.

That’s her mantra.

“I don’t promise anything I’m not going to deliver on, and usually deliver beyond expectations,” she said.

When Mikkelsen joined the Zephyrhills chamber she was coming out of a period of personal transition, she said.

She’d left a position with The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a few years before because it wasn’t the right fit for her.

Then, she went back to school to get a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of South Florida.

At the same time, she was doing volunteer work.

She served as a certified guardian ad litem, acting as an advocate for children under state protection, who had been abused, neglected or abandoned.

She also volunteered hundreds of hours at the Pasco County Animal Shelter.

She said a staff member there described her as “the best used-dog salesperson in the world” because she concentrated on getting dogs socialized and ready for adoption.

Her efforts there earned her a Citizen of the Year award from the Florida Veterinary Medical Association.

When Mikkelsen arrived in Zephyrhills, she didn’t know much about the community beyond the research she’d done to help her land the job.

She got busy trying to understand the community’s strengths and opportunities, as well as its weaknesses and threats.

“You’ve got to know where they are. You’ve got to know where you are and what you need.

“Once you’ve identified your weaknesses and your threats. Once you’ve identified them and are clear about them,” she said, “that’s the starting point.

“Instead of wallowing in your disadvantages, just know them. “Then, you focus everything else on the solution,” Mikkelsen said.

Part of finding those solutions involves building partnerships and considering different points of view, she added.

Building those relationships takes time and follow-through, Mikkelsen added. “It’s not just sending an email.”

It also takes a willingness to do the research to establish credibility, and to create trust, over time through your actions, she added.

It’s important to respect people’s time and to be sure that meetings are meaningful, Mikkelsen said.

“You’re calling on volunteers. Time is money. I appreciate that. I value that. I get it. Ultimately, I don’t want to waste their time. I don’t want to waste my time. More importantly, I want them to keep coming back, and keep engaged and keep moving forward, because we need them,” she said.

Finding common ground and collaborating is an effective way to tackle issues, Mikkelsen said.

“If you’re always looking at others as a competitor and a threat, then you’re definitely not leading. It’s the biggest drag on success,” she said.

She’s fluent in Japanese. She spent 16 years in Japan and worked with Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting in Tokyo to develop programming for Cartoon Network Japan.

Factoids about Vonnie Mikkelsen
She’s fluent in Japanese. She spent 16 years in Japan and worked with Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting in Tokyo to develop programming for Cartoon Network Japan.

The ringtone on her cell is “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

She received the Florida Veterinary Medical Association’s Citizen of the Year award in 2009 for her volunteer work with Pasco County Animal Services.

Published July 1, 2015