Bivins brings new business ideas and insight to chamber for 2012

If you don't believe that bad luck can turn into great opportunity, listen to Bob Bivins, the incoming chairman of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce. A successful attorney and third-generation Bay area resident, Bivins used to ply his profession in Tampa.

"I had been downtown for 21 years," says the USF and UF grad who has held the distinction of Florida Super Lawyer for three consecutive years. "I had an accident in 2006 that hurt my back and paralyzed me. I live in Lithia, and as I was recovering, the thought of driving downtown every day lost its appeal."

Bivins considered the situation and found that since his office worked primarily with clients by phone and internet, a downtown location was no longer as critical as 10 years earlier. "We are business attorneys, and there was a business backbone here to give us a client base," he says. "Brandon tends to support Brandon, and we did not lose a single client. Their reaction was 'OK, it's not a big deal.'" Bivins and his partner John M. Hemenway had soon established a busy Brandon-based firm.

"The chamber was huge for us," Bivins recalls. "It helped us become known to local businesses. It has worked out better than I ever hoped it would."

The former editor-in-chief of the University of Florida Law Review (1985) has quickly become a leading light in the greater Brandon business community. Bivins, who took on the role of chairman Feb. 1, is well prepared. "I've already been pretty involved," he notes, "and I have a good feeling for the chamber's strengths and challenges over the next couple of years because of the economy. Our job is to help our members at a time when businesses are struggling."

He's looking forward to working with the professional chamber staff, led by president and CEO Tammy Bracewell, and also speaks highly of outgoing chairman Melissa Snively.

"Tammy has done a great job, and I want to help her in every way we can," he says. "I appreciate that Melissa has given me some runway start time and gotten me involved already."

Bivins knows that the chamber represents a significant time commitment, but considers it a great educational opportunity. "I have talked with my partner, and he understands I'll be out of the office a bit more, but he's happy for me and he will cover any gaps. My colleagues at the office are very supportive, and we are all friends of the chamber."

He says he already has some ideas about 2012 priorities. "I'm going to talk to our staff and sponsors about our Hispanic business initiatives," Bivins notes. "I would like to get that going strongly again. We have a lot of Spanish-speaking businesses in the community, and we need to figure out how to bring more of them into the chamber."

Bivins says he believes the chamber should remain flexible and always seek ways to serve its members. "Instead of doing what we've always done, we want to find out what our members need right now. I believe in planning strategically, so we are ready for whatever the economy throws at us. I hope I can give Tammy some perspectives from the outside," he says. "We'd like to see what the chamber membership is facing in three to five years. It might be different from what we do now."

"We may never get back to the boom days of '06, but we need to get out of the morass we are in. So we are constantly reassessing, and the chamber is the best advocate for our community," he says. "It's a great community, where people support each other. It's all about relationships out here, and that is huge."

Did Snively give him any advice? He laughs. "She said I should be prepared for anything. That seems about right."

Bivins is known for his charitable work with people and animals. He has three dogs and also provides foster care for others. That sort of temperament will suit him well in the coming years, says Bracewell.

"Bob has a wonderful, servant heart," she says. "He is very even keeled. He will do great things with us, because he has a real heart for our community."