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Tumultuous era ends as chamber head resigns

By NICOLE HUTCHESON
Published June 2, 2007

SAFETY HARBOR - Cyndi O'Donnell, who butted heads with city officials as president of the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce, has resigned.

O'Donnell, 48, submitted her resignation to the chamber's board of directors Thursday, citing personal and professional reasons for her departure. Her last day in the job was Thursday.

"We were at a place in our life where we wanted to spend more time as a family, " O'Donnell said Friday.

Chamber board chairman John Schaefer said O'Donnell's resignation wasn't expected, but it didn't shock members, either.

"Things happen; people resign everyday, " Schaefer said. "From that standpoint, we graciously accepted and we want to be able to move on and function day-to-day as a chamber."

Schaefer said the board would assume O'Donnell's duties in the interim.

O'Donnell began serving on the chamber's executive board in 1999. In 2003 she was named president. Prior to the post, she owned Confidential Medical Services, an insurance examiner's company.

During her time at the chamber, O'Donnell was integral in organizing the Harbor Sound Seafood Festival, an event formally under the auspices of the city.

In 2002 she made an unsuccessful run for the City Commission.

In late 2005, O'Donnell was involved in controversy stemming from a heated discussion she had with then-city commissioner and now Mayor Andy Steingold during a commission meeting about the chamber's financial practices.

Steingold and another commissioner had requested copies of the chamber's yearly audit, saying they wanted to know how the chamber spent about $51, 000 provided by the city. O'Donnell later contended that she had provided commissioners with sufficient financial information regarding the chamber.

"Chambers don't do audits, they track procedures, " O'Donnell said Friday. "We've provided them with copies of checks and invoices, so I don't know what else there is to see."

O'Donnell said during her tenure the relationship with the city deteriorated and that discord was part of her reason for resigning.

"I love this community, " she said. "I would have done anything I could to remain as active as possible. But when there's such negativity going on it becomes nonfunctioning."

Steingold said the financial information the chamber provided did not convey a "procedurally healthy organization." He said the commission has requested additional information about the chamber's finances, but has yet to receive it.

"We're accountable and we ask the chamber to be accountable to us, " he said.

In the coming months, O'Donnell said she plans to focus on her family including her 16-year-old daughter, who is involved in athletics, and her husband, Mickey, a pipeline operator for Progress Energy.

"I have put everything on the back burner for a long time for the community, " she said. "And now it's time to look for other options."

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727445-4162.

[Last modified June 1, 2007, 23:27:59]