Vandeberg retiring after two decades of service to the Chamber

After 22 years as the public face and the driving force of the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, Debbie Vandeberg is retiring as executive director of the Chamber.

Vandeberg said she had planned to retire in a few years, but recent health issues have made keeping up with the high demands of the job difficult. But, because the Chamber position is as much a passion as it is a career, Vandeberg said she doesn't plan to simply walk away.

"I don't feel like I'm walking away because I'm staying (in Havre) and I'll still be involved and I care. I care about the success of this because we worked really hard to get it where we're at today," she said. "I'm just taking a different path right now, but I'm still going to stay involved. The first few months are really to get me healthy ... and then, after that, things could be really different."

A Havre native, Vandeberg spent more than a decade of her early years of employment working retail in states from the west coast to the east. She came back to Havre in 1986 and opened her own retail store selling women's clothing and sportswear.

She first gained experience with the Chamber as a business owner member, serving on the board, in committees and as president.

When she got out of retail in 1993, she said, she was on the board of directors for Havre Beneath the Streets, and she spent time helping get that museum going. The following year, Vandeberg said, the Chamber advertised its executive director position, and she was hired.

"I had served on the Chamber board for six years so I knew of the Chamber and the things that it did for business and the community, so I applied for the job and I've been here ever since," she said.

Vandeberg's office manager, Shari Robinson, has been there almost the same amount of time. Vandeberg hired Robinson soon after becoming director, and Robinson will be staying at the Chamber office.

Vandeberg's retirement is effective June 1, but she told the Chamber board she will continue to help organize the Governor's Council on Tourism annual meeting that will be in town June 14. She said she is working on the final duties but will shepherd that project through to the end, then will be on call.

She said she also plans to stay involved in other projects, including working with Havre/Hill County Historic Preservation Commission, which she has been connected to from the start. She will also be helping to promote tourism, and taking part in two state programs she has been involved with for years, but hasn't had the time for.

She was selected by the governor a few years ago to be a Montana Ambassador for business in the state, but said her schedule hasn't allowed her to participate like she wants with that or the Leadership Montana program of which she is a 2005 alumni.

"The Montana Ambassador program has now risen to a different level on my radar screen because I will have that time ... and I'm very excited to hopefully be able to be a real contributor at the Leadership Montana level as well."

While on any given day Vandeberg could list at least a dozen events and projects she is actively working on and an equal number she is assisting the 12-plus Chamber committees with, a few of her projects over the years stand out as major accomplishments.

The biggest and dearest of these, she said, is Town Square.

"The vision when we started that was to take some not-so-desirable looking property in our downtown area and turn it into a cornerstone for the community that could be a place for activities," she said.

In the end, Town Square created a sort of synergy within the community and between tourists and locals, she said. A big portion of that synergy comes from the Town Square activities themselves, starting with Saturday Market, the summertime farmers' market which culminates in September during Festival Days.

"I will truly miss that group of folks on Saturdays during the summer months," she said.

Beyond Saturday Market, music has been a big part of Town Square from the beginning, starting with Tunes at Noon and growing into the Sounds on the Square two-hour, evening musical event featuring local bands.

And the Town Square Committee planned to make Christmas part of the Square from the first concept. The downtown Christmas tree, originally set up in the center of the intersection at Third Avenue and Second Street, was revived under her reign, Vandeberg said, but with a mature pine tree planted in Town Square, the Community Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony was moved to Town Square and became a major holiday event in the area over the last 18 years.

Leadership High School, the Chamber program that exposes high school sophomores to different aspects of business and civic service, runs a close second as her biggest accomplishment at the Chamber. Now in its 18th year, Vandeberg said, she just spoke to sophomores and will be reviewing applications soon to pick 20 youths to participate in the program.

"It's just great to see the kids go through that program and now look at some of the alumni that have gone through the program," she said. "My only disappointment is that I can't take every sophomore, that I can only take 20."

"I will miss the kids," she added, "... miss the people."

While the job of the Chamber is to promote business and the community, it is the connection to the people that helps make the Chamber succeed, she said, and the people who have given the job added meaning.

"The success of anything is the involvement of the people," she said.

This list of people starts with those who volunteered over the years to be on the Chamber board and the many committees, as well as work on projects.

"I'm very appreciative of those folks that guide this ship," she said. "... They are the backbone of any chamber of commerce."

But the list also includes the community members who show up to participate and help and to have fun, she said.

"It's always heartwarming to have people show up and appreciate it," she said. "It's the reward for all the work, planning, organizing and facilitating."

But it was talking about Robinson that finally caused a break in Vandeberg's voice.

"Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't say thank you to my person out there that keeps me on task and says don't forget you've got this to do," she said.

"So it really has been a team. The success of everything is the people," she added, "and they are who I'm going to miss."

THE JOB

The Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee has posted the position of Chamber executive director and is taking applications.

"I don't think the work will ever be done," retiring Executive Director Debbie Vandeberg said, "and the next person that comes in will have their own set of ideas and so there could be new things."

She listed some of the qualities needed for the position:

• Be able to multi-task because dozens of long-term and short-term projects are going on at the same time, each in different stages of development.

• Have attention for detail

• Be able to make cold calls to businesses to become members or asking for needed participation in an event

• Have good writing skills, from correspondence to press releases to advertising copy

• Have public speaking skills

• Have strong people skills and caring for the community, and

• Be able to handle a job that is not 8-to-5, Monday through Friday.

The job requires a lot of morning, noon and evening meetings, she said, as well as weekend activities.

"It is a life," she said. "It's a culture, it's a life and it's kind of an odd career, but it's basically about people and doing good things for businesses and your community."

There is a personal pay-off, she said.

"A community like Havre, if you get involved you can make a difference. You can see the fruits of your labor turn into good things," she said, "and I think that's the whole motivation behind me is that I care about - I really care about my community and I just want to do everything I can to continue to make it better."