KATIE WORTHINGTON DECKER

WORDS Kelly Sanford Brown PHOTOGRAPH Amy Sexson

“To love one’s city, and have a part in its advancement and improvement, is the highest privilege and duty of a citizen.” The words belong to Daniel Burnham, but the importance of the meaning they carry is what inspires the passion and drive that has made Katie Worthington Decker such an asset to her community. For the past eight years, she has served as President of the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, where she tirelessly worked to strengthen, elevate, and enhance the city. This year, she accepted a position with the Lakeland Economic Development Council (LEDC) as Senior Vice President, and great things are on the horizon.

Decker was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, because it was the only hospital close to where her parents lived in Ohio that could handle the birth of triplets. Her family moved quite a bit as her father’s career evolved within the United Way organization, and they eventually settled in Lakeland when she was fourteen. The self-proclaimed “drama and band nerd” attended high school at Santa Fe Catholic, where Katie continued her involvement with theater. “Anyone that knows me,” she says, “knows I am not shy around a microphone, so I certainly attribute my enjoyment of public speaking to drama. The theater is also a place where differences are seen as strengths that set you apart, and I think that influenced my outlook on life as an adult.”

Decker considered becoming an attorney at one point, primarily because of her love for the television show “Law and Order.” However, after dabbling in that field at the beginning of her college years at the University of Central Florida, she realized it was not something she would enjoy long-term. She ended up taking an intro to Hospitality Management class with a friend, and everything fell into place. “Here was a degree in business and marketing that was human-centered and all about the customer experience. As our world has shifted to high consumer expectations, this degree has been invaluable to me,” she explains. There is no doubt it helped with her career trajectory, including hospitality, insurance, banking, public relations, and customer service. On what originally led her the Winter Haven Chamber she says, “I was lucky enough to have bosses at SunTrust, Bond Clinic, and CNP Agency who understood and championed the value of being engaged in your community as a return on investment to their business.”

She started volunteering for the Chamber in 2007, and in 2008 helped form a young professionals’ group at the request of the then Executive Director Bob Gernert to get more young people involved in developing the future of the city. Decker served as the founding chairwoman of that program (now called Endeavor), the chair of the Chamber Foundation, and as a volunteer Board Director. When Gernert announced his retirement, several board members encouraged her to apply for the position, and the rest, as they say, is history. She is very pleased with the goals accomplished during her time there. “The Chamber is in the best financial position it has been in for years,” she says, “even after the trying years of the pandemic. We received that 5th star [the highest ranking of a Chamber through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce] in 2018, and I have full confidence they will again in 2023. We became well-known as an advocacy-oriented Chamber and held board positions on important regional and statewide organizations, helping to advance policies for the betterment of the business and citizens in our community.” She adds, “I truly feel there is an immense pride that has swelled over the last eight years. Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Polk County have so much to be proud of, and that is evidenced by the people moving here and the entrepreneurs and companies investing in our region.”

When asked what prompted her move to the LEDC she explains, “I was getting to a point in my career where I wanted to expand my horizons to differing facets of economic development and community place-making.” The LEDC’s mission is to “help create jobs and capital investment by attracting new companies as well as facilitating the expansion of existing companies in the Lakeland area.” Katie was impressed by the staff and volunteer leadership approach to accomplishing this mission, which she refers to as “very diverse and strategic.” She says, “Yes, they are incredibly successful at ‘traditional’ recruitment and retention of business and industry in Lakeland, but they are also visionaries, preparing the community for future generations of business, employees, and residents.” She adds, “Most importantly, they are doers.” Decker admires the way in which a specific challenge or certain needs of the community are researched: by talking to business, civic, and community leaders and by visiting other cities that are implementing innovative ways of addressing challenges and bringing these tactics home. “For example,” she adds, “Lakeland wanted to foster a supportive and self-perpetuating entrepreneurial ecosystem? Enter Catapult in the basement of the Bank of America building which today is a beautiful facility on Lake Mirror buzzing with activity of enterprising entrepreneurs. Lakeland businesses wanted a way to engage their interns and new hires with the community? Enter the LEDC’s Summer Leadership Program and recruiting companies like LALToday to help communicate the numerous positive reasons we choose to live here. And the list goes on and on.”

Decker looks forward to bringing her talent, knowledge, and skill set to Lakeland. “Through my time at the Chamber, I have been exposed to different areas of community development and the issues and opportunities presented to businesses in Polk County. I have been deeply engaged with advocacy at the local, regional, and state levels, which helps me to navigate many different situations. My experience has always included an emphasis on analyzing an issue and effectively communicating a message that brings people alongside the organization to accomplish its goals. I hope that I can leverage this experience to support the LEDC and the Lakeland community.”

She is also excited to learn more about the technical side of economic development from the LEDC President, Steve Scruggs, and the rest of the LEDC team she refers to as “outstanding.” “Just in the first few weeks I’ve been here, I’ve seen how their knowledge and professionalism is benefitting the Lakeland economy in very tangible ways.” Decker adds, “My initial goals are to listen and learn. There is a wealth of knowledge in this office and within this community. My sense from everyone I have met so far is that there is a genuine passion and drive to design a community for the future that benefits all of Lakeland’s residents and businesses.”

Her pride in these communities is contagious. One can’t help but feel the passion, sincerity, and enthusiasm with which she approaches this new endeavor or to share in anticipation of amazing things to come. Another favorite quote of hers comes to us from Edward Bok via his grandmother and reads as follows: “Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it.” Katie Worthington Decker intends to do just this. In fact, she already has.