With a style one might not expect, Debbie Harvey surfs the wave of retail success.

Almost any Florida beachgoer is familiar with Ron Jon Surf Shop, one of the most recognized brands in surf- and skate-based products and apparel.

Yet, what comes to mind when you think of Ron Jon? Is it the laid-back beach lifestyle? Long-haired, tan-bodied surf enthusiasts catching some ocean waves? Lingo like “aloha,” “amped,” “bangin’” or “boss”? Or maybe even Ron Jon’s funky, casual 24-hour store in Cocoa Beach?

You might also think the person behind this business fits those profiles — but you would be wrong. In reality, the president and chief operating officer of Ron Jon Surf Shop is a middle-aged woman. Not only is Debbie Harvey head of the famous Ron Jon brand, but she's also riding the crest of her retail industry. Even more, she’s a leader in the community, volunteering for a variety of local organizations.

Though born in the Philippines, Harvey grew up in Fort Lauderdale and spent most of her life in Florida. She attended the University of Florida, where she earned two B.S. degrees, in business administration and marketing. At least that Florida background somewhat matches the company’s image. While Ron Jon’s ethos may reflect a mellow, relaxed style of living,  the person who runs the company does not. Instead, Harvey’s style is hard driving, straightforward and all business.

“I basically started my career in retail the Monday after I graduated from college,” she says.

Harvey joined the executive training program of what was then Maas Brothers Department Stores, which later consolidated and became Burdines. There, she worked her way up from area manager to assistant buyer and eventually to divisional merchandise manager.

Even after Harvey had made such notable advancements in her career, she continued pushing forward. She moved to Beall’s, becoming vice president of apparel, and then had a short stint with the Home Shopping Network before leaving Florida for Tennessee to work for Goody’s Department Store. In 2000, family issues compelled her to return home to Florida, and not long thereafter, she was recruited to work for Ron Jon as vice president of purchasing.

Today, Harvey has been with Ron Jon for almost 10 years and has been the company’s COO since 2008. There, her pervasive experience in retail has well equipped her to be the leading woman behind the surf shops.

“In business,” she contends, “every position that you have improves your experience bank and prepares you to deal with a variety of scenarios. Some of the most important lessons you can learn [teach you] how to deal with and manage different types of people."

Another lesson learned that Harvey has put into practice is understanding the importance of smart growth. “Overall, my goal as president of Ron Jon is just to make our stores as profitable and exciting as possible while growing in a smart, measured way. We want to enhance our business and brand while placing stores in sensible beach locations that reflect what our company represents.”

Above all else, she adds, business is business, regardless of niche or perceptual stereotypes. “Our business is knowing how to serve the customers, delight the customers and provide them with the merchandise they expect to find in our stores,” she asserts.

“When you’re a merchandise buyer, you learn to separate your personal taste from what the customer wants. If you’re good enough at it, you don’t need to be the type of person others expect you to be.”

Also, while one might expect the retail industry to be cutthroat and male dominated, Harvey claims just the opposite. “I believe that the retail industry was one that was at the forefront of having women in management positions. By its very nature, it tends to attract a lot of women into the buying positions, and it was just a matter of time before they started moving into the upper ranks of management positions. If you just take a look around the industry, you can see that the president of Beall’s is a female, the president of the Home Shopping Network is a female [and] there are a lot of women at the [helms] of retail [companies].”

Notably, Harvey’s commitment to community service is just as hard driving as her career in retail. Her mantra: “I am part of my community, and I believe in it.”

“I think that it is very important to challenge yourself to get out of the office and into the community and strive to make a difference,” she says. “Overall, I’m trying to make [Brevard County] a better area for business." Harvey is involved with numerous organizations, both professional and charitable; for example, she serves as chair of the board of directors for the Florida Retail Federation and as a board member of the Brevard Zoo.

Harvey not only lives that mindset, but she also encourages her fellow executives to do the same. Her head of operations is on the board of United Way, and her marketing director is on the board of Take Stock in Children, a nonprofit organization providing low-income, at-risk students with the opportunity to excel in their education through scholarships and mentoring programs.

Even with so much on her plate, Harvey is still able to excel in all she does. Like one of the county's many surfers poised to enter the water, she is both zealous and passionate about her work. She clearly loves what she does.

“I look forward to coming to work every day,” Harvey concludes, “and I don’t think it gets any better than that.”

Both behind the scenes and at the lead, Inez Long has championed local minority business for more than two decades.

You have to love someone with passion. Someone who will struggle and fight for others in need. You have to love someone who gives back to the community and who stands up for the little guy.

Inez Long is someone you just have to love.

Long is president and CEO of the Black Business Investment Fund of Central Florida Inc., a private and public partnership investment fund developed to create, support and enhance minority business development through loans, training, technical assistance and education. Long has leveraged more than $21 million in loans, which created an economic impact of more than $93 million in the Central Florida community and helped to retain and create thousands of jobs.

As a child, Long developed a strong sensitivity to those in need and an awareness and commitment to community, shaped by parents who consistently gave back to their own community. A sixth-generation Floridian and Winter Garden resident, Long has a deep relationship with the heart of Florida. She attended Valencia Community College before earning her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of South Florida, where she also met her husband of more than 30 years. She later received an MBA from the University of Central Florida.

Long began working professionally in banking with a foundation in commercial credit policy and underwriting. She worked for Florida National Bank (which became First Union) and later with SunTrust Bank. Long quickly climbed the professional ladder, making a name for herself in her field and setting a standard for community involvement.

Early in her career, working as a commercial lender, Long discovered that it was difficult to get business loans for minority-owned businesses. Dismayed by this apparent bias, she began exploring ways to help, joining outside business groups and volunteering her time, experience and business connections to assist in underwriting those loans. She utilized different organizations, including the BBIF, and found that by working on both sides —lender and business owner — she was able to actualize the loans. She would often approach lending organizations on behalf of black business owners, maneuvering through the thick red tape, determined to assist the business in its goal of receiving credit.

This kind-hearted championing ended up benefiting Long considerably, as she was later solicited by the BBIF’s president in 1990 to join the organization after she had approached the BBIF on behalf of a black business owner. In 1991, the president of the BBIF was promoted, and after being interviewed by the BBIF board among other nationally scouted candidates, Long was offered the job of president.

For more than two decades, the BBIF has worked to make a significant impact on Central Florida’s minority business community, helping to create and sustain thousands of jobs and to foster the growth of hundreds of businesses. As president, Long has more than tripled the BBIF’s capital base.

“Our goal is to continue to expand our capital base so that we can support more small businesses,” says Long.

As a nontraditional small business lender, the BBIF aims to expand and leverage its resources and partnerships to help more of the state’s small businesses. “There are so many quality small businesses that need financing assistance,” she comments. “I love finance and the art of putting creative deals together. And I love helping people achieve their dreams of owning a successful business.”

In addition to her position with the BBIF, Long is a managing partner in the development of the Renaissance at Carver Square project. Located in Orlando’s historic Parramore community, the Renaissance at Carver Square is a mixed-use project on a 1.27 acre site that will include commercial and retail outlets, housing, a small business incubator, and a community and business multiuse space. When completed in ??, the project will also reintroduce the Carver Theater to the community for arts and entertainment. Most notably, the project will utilize many of the community’s local minority and small businesses and, according to Long, signal the BBIF’s “commitment [to] and investment [in] community redevelopment in the Parramore area that will spur the economic growth in Orlando.

“This project is so very important because it brings about a significant and positive impact economically into a part of the community that is economically depressed and has been so for over 40 years,” she says.

The project is quintessential Long. Not only does it promise to revitalize a long-neglected area of Orlando, but it could also provide significant resources to expand minority business enterprises in Central Florida.

“If I can help a business owner, whoever it is, I will help them.” Long says. “My hope and vision is that our community leaders, public and private, continue to support the concept of economic gardening. [A] focused effort would strengthen and make our community economically healthy.”

Entrepreneur/philanthropist David Maus is driven by passion in business and compassion in community.

After nearly 17 years of doing “whatever it takes” for customers and building his business into a successful empire, David Maus has become one of the most recognizable faces in Central Florida. Read more

Linda Landman Gonzalez doesn’t suit up, shoot, rebound or defend. She’s on the offensive, though, in a battle for community inclusion, equity and voice.

For Linda Landman Gonzalez, nothing has been like the lessons she received abroad. Her experience in high-profile corporate roles over more than the past decade in Orlando pales in comparison to the B.A. in education she earned from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City and her ensuing years of marriage, classroom teaching and raising two daughters in Mexico.

That period in her life, from leaving the United States at age 17 to returning in her 30s, brought an enlightenment that has shaped the remainder of her life.

“I came back very aware of just what makes America so extraordinary in its community feel,” she explains. “And I wanted to be a part of that.

“I couldn’t imagine not knowing the community or being a part of it or not trying to understand the community. Being a participant [in] the community is who I am. … It’s not something I think about. It’s just how I exist.”

Indeed, many people find work in their life. Far fewer, such as Gonzalez, find life in their work.

A mid-1990s stint as vice president of Hispanic sales and marketing for Barnett Bank in Orlando served as a prelude to nine years as director of diversity, community and government relations for Darden Restaurants, Orlando’s only Fortune 500 corporation. While at Darden, she focused on creating community partnerships, employee volunteer opportunities and leadership development in top markets nationwide, including Orlando. She also managed corporate giving while developing a second-language translation initiative for the corporation.

Her efforts resulted in numerous corporate awards for Darden, including Fortune’s Top 10 Diversity Elite, Black Enterprise’s list of Best Companies for Diversity and Hispanic Business magazine’s Best Place for Hispanics to Work.

In September 2007, Gonzalez was named vice president of community relations and government affairs for the Orlando Magic. There, she oversees community relations, government affairs and multicultural insight, and she presides as head of the Orlando Magic Youth Fund Advisory Council.

In that 2007-2008 season, the team won 50 of 82 games and made the playoffs. Yet, one of the franchise’s best moves, it turned out, was the hiring of the multidimensional Gonzalez, an all-star point guard of sorts who contributes mostly by elevating the level of play from those around her.

"Linda has great passion and vision, while having her finger on the pulse of the community," comments Alex Martins, the Magic’s chief operating officer. "Her leadership is outstanding and allows the Orlando Magic to enact programs and initiatives that make an enduring impact."

With Gonzalez at the helm of its advisory council, the OMYF has stated its mission as helping “every child in Central Florida realize their full potential, especially those most at risk, by supporting programs and partnerships that empower families and change lives.” Since the Fund’s inception, it has granted nearly $15 million to Central Florida nonprofit organizations. This year, OMYF checks were presented to 27 organizations from nine counties. With funds raised by the OMYF and the match provided by the McCormick Foundation, a total of $750,000 in grants and scholarships was distributed to the community in 2008-2009.

Additionally, a staffwide campaign provides more than 5,500 volunteer hours annually, establishing a sense of civic spirit throughout One Magic Place that’s reminiscent of the crowd buzz created from an emphatic Dwight Howard dunk.

Gonzalez also worked to ensure minority participation in the construction of the new Amway Center, scheduled for completion this [EWP1] fall. The result: a reported 35 percent participation by women and ethnic minorities. “This is something we did not take lightly,” she says.

Similarly, Parramore, the neighborhood surrounding the new center, has been among her chief agenda items. The Magic have helped to fund the Parramore Kid Zone, an initiative aimed at reducing juvenile crime, teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates, along with building basketball courts and playgrounds and working with the neighborhood’s schools. “[Parramore],” she notes, “is just as important as Thornton Park or the Lake Eola historic district. It is downtown, and it is a top priority.”

Her last name offers clues, but her work leaves little doubt that diversity isn’t simply an option or the right thing for a community to do. Instead, it’s a natural state of being for Orlando. “It is who we are,” she says, citing that more than 260 languages are spoken in Orange County schools. “The number-one thing is you always should recognize, celebrate and then ensure that who you are is at its best.”

Gonzalez acknowledges that effort, for her, isn’t easy. It’s often exhausting, in fact. Aside from her duties with the Magic, she currently is involved in volunteer activities for several organizations. Among them are the Central Florida Transportation Corridors Task Force, Florida State Conference NAACP Corporate Advisory Board, African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, Casa de Mexico, WMFE Board of Trustees and the city of Orlando’s Children’s Trust Committee. Also, she is the chair-elect of the Valencia Community College Foundation and the immediate past president of the Orlando Ballet. And, for good measure, she serves on the board of Fifth Third Bank and was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in February 2009 to sit on the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County.

Still, her commitment is tireless. The word excuse remains missing from her bilingual vocabulary.

“The time exists; there are enough hours in a day,” she says. “You just really have to be committed to being there. I use the hours in the day for things that to me are important.

“It’s my name and my commitment.”

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