to Honor Tradition While Championing Innovation

Staying One Step Ahead of Change

Chamber CEO Don Willie Strives to Honor Tradition While Championing Innovation

By David Dudley

When St. George Area Chamber of Commerce (SGACC) President and CEO Don Willie was considering a move from Salt Lake City to St. George, Utah, he called Tim Anderson, attorney and shareholder at Kirton McConkie, to ask for advice.

“Tim said that if I took a job in St. George, I better know what my next move after that job would be,” Willie said.

It wasn’t the advice Willie expected. He was being considered for a position as the executive director of the Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Dixie State University (DSU). His experience and background were perfect for the position, but he had spent the better part of the previous decade building a career on the Wasatch Front, first working as a policy analyst and advisor for Governor Gary R. Herbert and then serving as managing director at the World Trade Center Utah.

Still, Willie wondered whether it would be a good move. It was 2018, about two years before he would be invited to apply for the role of President and CEO of the chamber. “I didn’t know it then,” he said, “but everything was falling into place.”

Atwood Innovation Plaza

Dr. Kyle Wells, dean of the College of Business, interviewed Willie for the position at DSU. If hired, Willie would need to help secure funding for Atwood Innovation Plaza (AIP), oversee the renovation of the 50,000-square-foot East Elementary School, and then help to establish it as a southern Utah entrepreneurship hub. “We hired Don to do an impossible task,” Wells said. “And when we hired him, we didn’t know the end from the beginning.”

The task seemed impossible, but in the short period of eighteen months, Don secured the funding, renovated the facility, created the state’s largest public maker space, and established programming to support a growing start-up community.

At that time, Sylvia Bradshaw was the director of Sponsored Programs at DSU. Like Wells, she had fond memories of East Elementary School, which opened in 1955. She and Willie collaborated on several applications for federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants. The funds were earmarked for activities and equipment for AIP. The plaza was named for TrueHearing CEO Lindsay Atwood, who donated $750,000 in matching funds to the project. Lindsay passed just days before the facility was dedicated.

Bradshaw said Willie provided energy and momentum to the AIP project when he joined the team, rallying local leaders behind it. “He also ensured that everyone saw the vision,” she said. “He honored the journey of the building, those of us who were working on the project, and the community.”

As an example, Bradshaw described a photo that was taken to commemorate the closeout report for the AIP team. “There are nineteen people in that photo,” she said, “and only one of them is a woman.” Bradshaw paused there. “Don made sure that I was in that picture because he wanted to ensure that I was recognized for the work I put into that project. He genuinely cares about the people and the community.”

Willie’s work with AIP didn’t stop with the completion of the project. Wells explained that the EDA asked the AIP team to be part of a new university program that would make DSU the primary contact for the region. “We had a very short time to prepare it,” Wells said. “I was skeptical and didn’t think we had time to pursue it. Don put many long hours into a proposal that proved to be successful. We continue to run that program today.”

Joining the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce

St. George Area Chamber of Commerce COO Brad Buhanan got involved with the organization when he was in branch management at America First Credit Union. In addition to serving on a number of committees for the chamber, including a stint as chairman of the Board of Directors, Buhanan was also on the hiring committee that brought Willie to the chamber. “I’ve always been impressed by his vision,” Buhanan said. “He has a real desire to grow the chamber in a responsible, calculated way, which is important because we are seeing seemingly exponential growth.”

Buhanan pointed out that Willie’s connections to resources across the state have helped with public policy and advocacy on behalf of chamber members. “He has really helped to grow the visibility of the chamber,” Buhanan said. “He is also respectful of the rich tradition of the chamber.”

Tim Anderson, who has practiced law in St. George for forty-four years, agreed with Buhanan’s appraisal. Anderson is the son of Art Anderson, who served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II before moving to St. George. “He was the director of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce from 1975 to 1981,” Anderson said. “I watched dad bridge the gap between local landowners and developers, who didn’t always agree on how things should be done.”

Anderson said that when he received that call from Willie in 2018, he was impressed. “It took a lot of courage for Don to leave northern Utah for St. George,” he said. “When he joined the chamber, I wondered what more could be done. We were already in a good place.”

The Chamber’s Evolution

After joining the Chamber, Willie worked to grow its ranks to ensure that it was led by astute local business people and successfully navigated the tensions that sometimes arise when changes are implemented. According to Anderson, staying above the fray is not an easy thing for an outsider in St. George to accomplish. “Some people come here and try to run our lives, but Don didn’t do that,” he explained. “Instead, he made nearly everybody feel welcome, and more importantly, heard. My dad would have been proud.”

Donna MacBean, founder of local nonprofit Neighborhood Connection, said that she appreciates Willie’s attention to chamber members and his leadership style. “He makes everyone feel as though they matter,” MacBean said. “We feed over 800 kids who may not otherwise have food each weekend. Don’s work, especially where networking is concerned, has really helped us to serve more families.”

Back to The Future

For his part, Willie feels that his skillset was the perfect fit for the chamber’s needs. “My consulting experience was key,” Willie said. “And my marketing, economic development, and policy strategy have impacted businesses throughout Utah.”

That experience has become more important as Willie continues to drive the chamber’s evolution. He has launched a number of initiatives. He has grown the chamber’s ranks by adding an unprecedented 400 new members over the past two years. And he has established several awards programs: the Element Awards to recognize women of influence and impact throughout the area; the Arete Awards to recognize economic, business, and political leaders of the highest caliber in southern Utah; and the 30 in Their Thirties Awards to highlight young business people who are making a difference in the community. “Recognizing leaders throughout southern Utah empowers them to amplify their impact,” explained Willie. “That is what the chamber is all about.”

Willie has also amplified the chamber’s voice as a champion for small business and entrepreneurs in the region by bringing the Small Business Saturday program to the area and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs like Startup Grind and the St. George Junior Entrepreneur Market. “These types of programs and initiatives not only empower our local small businesses, they literally put the St. George area on the map,” he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Willie rallied local government leaders and private businesses to launch the Safe Southern Utah campaign and created the Greater Together Small Business Resilience Fund, which supported over sixty small businesses with zero percent interest loans before any federal funding became available. Later, the investors, which included Washington County and St. George City, collectively decided to convert the awarded loans into grants. “When the loan contributors suggested the conversion, we went to work,” said Willie. “We made calls to each business just before Thanksgiving of 2020, and many of those conversations were interrupted with tears of appreciation.”

Part of the chamber’s evolution, Willie noted, is getting more involved in advocacy efforts on behalf of the southern Utah business community. But change doesn’t come without its challenges. During the 2022 legislative session, the chamber opposed House Bill 60, which led to some tension with local representatives, and the chamber declined to take a stance on the Dixie State University name change, which garnered pressure from both sides of the name change debate. ”I have a deep respect for leaders with whom we may be at odds,” he said. “We’re not okay with the status quo, and that can lead to some tension. However, tension can be productive.”

Willie sees the chamber’s role in the community as more than networking lunches and ribbon cutting ceremonies. “The Chamber has a responsibility to represent the interests of businesses in this community,” he said. “We speak on behalf of the majority of our nearly 1,000 members when we advocate for less government regulation in commerce, a vibrant community, and expanding economic opportunity.”

Additionally, Willie expressed his commitment to being an unwavering champion for private sector businesses and vowed to help generational projects—like AIP and Tech Ridge—grow successfully. “I’m good at creating strategies that drive change. When I take something on, I put my all into it, and I expect that of our team,” he said. “Everything we’ve accomplished is because of the incredible support of our board members, our chamber members, and my team at the chamber. It’s been a big lift, but positive change rarely happens easily.”

Willie paused a moment in thought, then continued. “The economy is thriving. It’s evolving, so we must evolve. To remain status quo would be irresponsible. We’ve got to stay one step ahead of change.”

David is a southern Utahbased freelance journalist and educator. He can be reached at daviddudley@gmail.com.