Provo Orem Chamber – Staff
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Chamber President – Val Hale(801) 851-2562 |
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Chamber Vice President – Donna Milakovic801-851-2560 |
Member Relations Director – Neil Smith(801) 851-2556 |
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Events Director – John Whittaker(801) 851-2563 |
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Director of Sales and Membership – James McCloud(801) 851-2555 |
Administrative Director – Jeanie Johnson(801) 851-2558 |
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Administrative and Media Specialist - Renae Deighton(801) 851-2555 |
About the Chamber President
Val Hale assumed the role of President and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce on August 1, 2012. He replaced Steve Densley, who served for 30 years in that capacity.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Val served as Vice President for University Relations at Utah Valley University for two years. In that capacity, he oversaw legislative affairs, marketing, public relations, media relations and community relations. He also developed partnerships between UVU and local businesses. From 2006 to 2010, Val was Advancement Vice President at UVU and was responsible for fund raising and all external activities of the University. His first role at UVU from 2005-20006 was Assistant Vice President for External Affairs. His duties included serving as legislative liaison for the University, overseeing community relations and supervising economic development activities.
Prior to joining UVU, Val worked for 22 years in the Brigham Young University Athletic Department. He began his BYU career in 1982 as Promotions Coordinator for Athletics and Special Events. In 1989, he was named Assistant Athletic Director for Media and Public Relations, a position he held for 10 years. In 1999, Val was named BYU’s eighth Director of Men’s Athletics. During his five years in that role, he led a prolific fund raising and building program that resulted in, among other things, the construction of Miller Park (a baseball softball complex), the Student Athlete Building, the Indoor Practice Facility and the Legacy Seats in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Val graduated from BYU in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. He received a master’s degree in communications in 1987. From 1981-82 he worked at the Daily Herald as a reporter covering business, government and BYU.
In the community, Val has been very active, serving as Chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors (2012) and as President of the Utah County Affiliate of Habitat for Humanity (2011-12) and Riverside Country Club (2011-12). He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Utah County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Fishbowl Inventory, an Orem-based company that specializes in inventory management software. Politically, he has served as Chair of Orem Precinct 5 in the Republican Party.
When he is not at work, Val enjoys golf (5 handicap), skiing, snowshoeing, backpacking, tennis and racquetball. He and his wife, Nancy, ride a tandem bike together and have ridden as far as 206 miles in a single day. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
About the Chamber Vice President
Donna Milakovic is the daughter of a U.S. Navy pilot and spent her youth on the East Coast, mainly in Florida, where she was born and later in upstate New York. She attributes her undying belief that anything is possible to the fact that she spent many formative years living adjacent to Disney World.
After serving an LDS mission in Seoul, South Korea, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Korean. She spent her graduation day in Oxford, England while completing the BYU London Program. Donna has used her education and life experiences in various fields working as a paralegal and legal secretary, a newspaper correspondent for the Daily Herald for 3 years, an event planner in Eagle Mountain City working on the Pony Express Days Celebration that includes 28 events in 10 days, and most recently as executive director of a chamber. Continuing her professional development, she has attended the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management in Tucson, Arizona.
Before accepting the newly created position of Executive Vice President at the Utah Valley Chamber, Donna was President/Executive Director for the Lehi Area Chamber of Commerce for three years. In her first year as a Chamber President, she was recognized by the members as “Business Person of the Year” and later nominated by her peers to serve on the Utah State Chamber Board of Directors. Donna is currently the Chair Elect for the 2013 State Chamber Board.
Along with state awards and acknowledgements, she led the chamber to gain national attention as Lehi Area Chamber joined only 20 other chambers in the country to be named “Military Friendly Chambers” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Veteran Owned Business Association in a December 2011 publication.
She participates in several professional and community organizations.
Donna lives in Eagle Mountain with her husband and three children. She enjoys spending time with her family, running half marathons, writing fiction, working with her writers’ group, traveling and improvisational cooking.
