Chamber Director Follows New Opportunity

The office is lined with bookcases displaying encyclopedias, law books and records of history symbolic of an historic library. The oak book shelves share space with recognition plaques, family pictures and mementos of more than two years of working with the Sidney community. The desk clutter is indicative of a manager that always has one more project to address. Most of the projects are related to business relationships that have developed since becoming executive director of the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce.

There are people who bring a level of energy to a cause that can't be overlooked, a person who by their very personality shares excitement. The excitement is shared easier when that person quickly gives credit to the other people around her.

That is Denise Wilkinson and the presence she brings to meetings and events. She says her work at the Chamber brings together many of her past experiences, having worked in business, tourism and local government.

"The Chamber brought that all together," she said.

Wilkinson and her husband moved to Sidney from southern Illinois. There she worked as a city clerk, in tourism and in a family retail business.

"When I first came here, I visited the Chamber office and I thought this is such a cool building. I could see working here," she said.

Another opportunity recently presented itself, she applied, and about 2 ½ years later she is moving on to bigger opportunities. She has accepted the leadership position, president and CEO, with the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. Her acceptance of the job has already been announced at the Norfolk Chamber's annual meeting.

She said her time at the Cheyenne County Chamber office encompasses her past experiences including public speaking and business. She said she is thankful for the opportunity to work at the Chamber.

One of the high points of her time at the Chamber is the relationship with Western Nebraska Community College in Sidney and its business incubator program. The program is designed to offer first time business entrepreneurs a place to develop their business, with mentors who can help them get started.

"It is exciting to see some things coming to fruition," Wilkinson said.

The position in Sidney, and consequently in Norfolk, came about through a series of events, events that could be defined as supernatural. She learned about the opportunity at a Chamber of Commerce conference. The previous director in Norfolk encouraged her to apply.

"It was kind of meant to be," she said. "God works in mysterious ways."

Wilkinson said she will always remember the achievements of the Sidney office. Among the achievements, she recalls the relationships formed with retailers, the Hickory Street project and the Sinful Sidney 150 celebration being considered for event of the year by the Mid America Chamber Executives.

She said while Sidney is in a challenging time, "most people aren't doom and gloom." People just want to see the change completed so they can move on, according to Wilkinson.

"It has been a great town," she said.

She said people of Sidney and Cheyenne County are very hard working. She said the community she moved from in southern Illinois had an unemployment rate of about 13 percent. The Sidney unemployment rate hovers around the 2-2.6 percent range, according to Homefacts.com.

She and her husband have five children living throughout the continental United States.

"I really appreciate the way the people (of Sidney) welcomed me," she said. "This was a great opportunity."