“I just feel so fortunate to be in this place at this time,” he said, “working at the chamber but also living in Brandon where there’s such pride in community.”
Reagin said the Brandon community stands in sharp contrast to his home in Terra Haute, Ind.
“There you see boarded up buildings and struggling businesses,” he said. “The difference is so apparent. I feel good to live in Brandon where people are passionate about their community and help those who are less fortunate – it really feels good to be a part of that.”
As vice president for sales, Reagin oversees membership at the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce (GBCC).
“We’re kind of the customer service department,” he said. “Our main concern is keeping members happy and of course recruiting. We want their experience to be valuable – not just in business but personally.
“I can offer a lot of avenues for promoting members’ business,” Regain said, “and also a lot of personal connections. We give business a voice. We help speak for things that are important to your business such as government advocacy and quality of life issues. We help people get involved in the community and make the community better.”
Reagin draws his energy from the membership. With close to 1800 member businesses and organizations Brandon’s chamber is unusually active.
“Our members are passionate about Brandon,” he said. “I think people who participate in the chamber have a real love for their community.”
And he feels that this is not just a center for business, but also a gathering place.
“We’re not a social organization,” Reagin said, “but people really do enjoy those events.”
Reagin first came to the chamber in 1995 to work in directory sales and has held his current position six years.
“Before then at a small AM radio station in Dade City (WDCF),” he said. “I’d previously worked in advertising in Indiana.”
Reagin’s dad was career Air Force, a veteran of three wars, and the family lived in Maryland, Hawaii, Ohio, and then Indiana.
“I did most of my growing up around Terra Haute,” he said. “I studied biology at Concordia College then went to Indiana State where I earned my degree in communications. I did on-air announcing for a while before going into sales at WBAK, the local ABC affiliate.”
In 1994 Reagin’s wife, Lynn, landed a teaching job in the Brandon area. The young family moved south.
“She teaches fourth-grade at Alafia Elementary,” he said. “In Indiana the schools were laying off teachers. She heard about the Great Florida Teach-in and got all kinds of job offers.
“It’s was definitely a great move for us,” Reagin said, “professionally as well as personally.”
Brandon, Reagin tells his friends up north, is unique.
“The heart of Brandon is not what you see, it’s the people,” he said. “The service groups and the churches and the charities are all so active trying to make the community better.”
One way to achieve a better community, he believes, is through a strong active chamber.
A conscientious worker, Reagin admitted he needs to add some balance.
“I do enjoy reading,” he said, “but I don’t have much of a recreational life at this time. I could certainly use one. Then as a family we do the typical things folk with 6-year-olds do. Theme parks, piano lessons, local parks, going to the beach.”
Asked to pinpoint Brandon’s immediate challenges, Reagin fingered affordable housing.
“The folks our members need to hire can’t afford to live in Florida,” he said. “It’s hard to find qualified people but when out of state folks find out about the housing costs it’s really difficult to recruit them.
“The other challenge,” he said, “is making sure that our growth is responsible.”