Northpinellas: Chamber officer leaving for Dunedin

Chamber officer leaving for Dunedin

Lynn Wargo, a Clearwater chamber vice president, will become the next president of the Dunedin chamber.

By LEON M. TUCKER

CLEARWATER -- A key organizer for the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce who planned such events as the Taste of Clearwater has been hired as the president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce.

Lynn Wargo, vice president of special events for the Clearwater chamber, said she will leave her position around Thanksgiving to begin her new job as head of the Dunedin organization starting Dec. 1.

"This is, for me, the chance of a lifetime," Wargo said. "It's a community I love. I've spent a lot of time going to different events there, and if I were ever going to leave Clearwater, I couldn't think of any city or place I would want to go other than Dunedin."

The 40-year-old Palm Harbor resident will replace current Dunedin chamber president Robert Bellavance, who in August announced plans to retire after running the office for the past four years.

Bellavance, who officially retired this month, will remain in a part-time role until Wargo begins.

"I'm following a wonderful guy who I think has done a good job and done so much for that chamber," Wargo said of Bellavance. "That community has come so far, and the changes are so dramatic there. I'm just really glad to be joining such a vibrant chamber and a vibrant town."

Bellavance said his chamber made a good choice.

"I'm just really pleased that such a well-qualified person is getting the job," he said. "I just think she's going to do an outstanding job. I'm happy for her, and I'm happy for the chamber."

After a committee representing the Dunedin chamber's board of directors interviewed the four candidates for the position, board chairman Jim Stearns said, Wargo was the obvious choice.

"She has a fabulous personality and has all the qualities we were looking for," Stearns said. "She brings a vast experience in chamber work, special-events coordinating and fundraising activities. I think she'll do well."

Wargo joined the Clearwater chamber 17 years ago after graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of science degree in consumer services.

She worked as an assistant to the director of community development and then the president before she took on her current role in 1993.

As vice president of special events, Wargo has been responsible for organizing networking sessions for Clearwater merchants, the chamber's annual golf tournament and Taste of Clearwater restaurant festival, to name a few.

"We're sad to see her go," said Mike Meidel, president of the Clearwater regional chamber. "But she spent a long time here, and we're proud to see her have such a terrific opportunity. I look forward to continuing working closely with her."