Five Questions

Michael Reagen, the new president of the Naples Area Chamber

of Commerce, is not secretive about his plans. Reagen, 59, intends to spend 10

years at the helm of one of the area’s largest and most influential business

organizations and then retire here. Southwest Florida’s quality of life was one

of the reasons Reagen decided to leave Des Moines, Iowa, after just one visit

to Naples for the job interview.

Since he arrived in June, Reagen has spent the majority of

his time meeting with more than 80 Chamber members to get their candid thoughts

about how the group can better serve businesses.

Reagen’s résumé includes stints in the academic, government

and business arenas. He headed the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce

Federation from 1989 to 1999, served as a senior vice president at Des Moines

University and most recently worked as a consultant.

With nearly 1,400 members, the nonprofit Chamber has 10

full-time employees and 150 volunteers at its Visitor and Information Center on

Fifth Avenue South and its administrative office on U.S. 41. Last year, 167,000

people stopped at the visitor center.

As a newcomer, what challenges do you see for the Naples

area?

The whole matter of balancing growth is terribly important.

The cost of housing is problematic. You have to make sure there’s room for

diverse populations, including people who help the community function. You need

priests and preachers, police officers, actors, poets, cooks. Where’s the

balance going to be if it’s so expensive to live here?

Instead of fussing about growth, we’re figuring out how to

balance it. What a delicious dilemma. I come from a part of the Midwest that’s

having major trauma. Iowa is suffering terribly. It’s losing people. In addition

to having the benefit of enormously gorgeous natural resources, Southwest

Florida has the benefit of new people as well as an explosion of wealth. There

are a blessing and a curse here. The blessing is that we have more stuff going

for us than most people on the face of the earth. The curse is trying to figure

out how to balance it.

What are some priorities that you’ve already set out for the

Chamber?

We’ve got to focus on continuity of leadership, both

volunteer and with the members as well as staff. There has not been a

consistency. There’s not been a continuity of leadership.

Also, we need to do more with small businesses. A majority

of the area’s businesses are small businesses with special needs. A special

committee is focusing on those businesses and looking for programs that we can

offer. Externally, we need to reach out. This is a progressive community. This

needs to be a more progressive Chamber. So we need to visit people and say,

“How can we be of assistance to you?” I’m gratified by the conversations I’ve

had with Edison College, the Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology, The

Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Marco Island Chamber and the Bonita

Springs Area Chamber. I can see crafting alliances and partnerships with these

five groups and others.

Have you been surprised about anything since moving here?

I’m startled by the price of housing. I’m also taken aback

by the compartmentalization—the focus on gated communities and different

sections such as Fifth Avenue and Third Street.

How is Naples similar to Des Moines?

They both have a high concentration of very talented people.

They have wealth, in a different way. Des Moines sits in the

midst of the most abundant and richest earth in the world. You can spit on the

ground, stick your finger in it and something marvelous will appear. This, on

the other hand, is a subtropical paradise.

What’s your biggest challenge in the next year?

Saying no. I’m eager and so excited. I’m going to have to

balance my time and effort.

Our board is comparatively young, hot to trot, very

enthusiastic and supportive. We just have to pace ourselves.