Profile: Kathy Rabon
By FRED W. WRIGHT JR
Published September 4, 2006
Kathy Rabon said she likes a challenge, and she is looking ahead to a multimillion-dollar challenge as the Salvador Dali Museum plans to launch a capital campaign to pay for its new location.
"My primary responsibilities in the immediate future are to raise the necessary contributions to build the new museum," Rabon said. "We're accessing the need right now. We're in the quiet phase, doing our homework, reviewing the vision."
Rabon said she expects the campaign goal to be between $30-million and $40-million. An estimated $14-million in grants and pledges have been obtained, she said.
"Every day is different," Rabon said. "My job is all about relationships. Fundraising, in and of itself, is an exchange of passions. My responsibility is to make sure we're representing the organization in the best way possible. The best way is face to face, and that is what I prefer."
A native of Clearwater, Rabon graduated from Dunedin High School and attended Florida Southern College, majoring in journalism. Her first job was in retail advertising for the St. Petersburg Times, which required a lot of travel.
"I love being on the road," Rabon said. "I'm a people person."
Rabon was with the Times until 1984, when she left to begin her consulting business, Creative Display and Design in Clearwater. She provided merchandise displays for retail stores, mostly in malls. She worked in the family business, William Short Clothiers, which had five stores in the Tampa Bay area.
In 1996, Rabon joined the Greater Clearwater Chamber of Commerce as president and CEO, and joined Ruth Eckerd Hall in 1999.
Rabon said she is especially drawn to fundraising because she wants to support the community she has grown up in.
"I've lived here all my life. I love giving back to the community," she said. "I'm also impassioned about the arts.
"I'm committed to making sure the arts are accessible to everyone in our community," she said. "It's a critical factor in the development of children. It's an integral part in the stability and economic development of our community."
Rabon is a member of the international board of directors of the Association of Junior Leagues. The board, with headquarters in Manhattan, oversees the junior leagues in four countries. Rabon is also on the board of directors for Leadership Tampa Bay.
Rabon, 48, and her husband, Bruce, have two sons and live in Clearwater Beach. They are expecting their first grandchild this year, she said.
One of her proudest moments, Rabon recalled, was carrying the Olympic torch in 1996 in St. Petersburg before the games in Atlanta. She ran about a mile toward the Pier.
"Other than the birth of my children, it was definitely the most exciting time of my life," she said.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1999-2006: Executive director, Performing Arts Center Foundation at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater.
1996-1999: President and CEO, Greater Clearwater Chamber of Commerce.
1996-Present: Owner, Creative Display and Design, Clearwater.
1982-1996: Owner/partner, William Short Clothiers, Clearwater.
1977-1982: Sales representative, retail advertising, St. Petersburg Times.
PREVIOUS POSITION: Executive director, performing arts center foundation, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater