October Chamber Events

BYU to Honor Local Chamber of Commerce President

Provo, UT- Brigham Young University announced the selection of Provo Orem Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Steve Densley, as the 2008 recipient of the University’s Distinguished Service Award. This award is given to alumni who have provided outstanding service to their professions, community, nation or church. The University has been honoring outstanding alumni with this award since its inception in 1937. Among the first honorees were Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the electronic television and venerable U.S. Senator Reed Smoot.

Densley has been president and CEO of the Provo Orem Area Chamber of Commerce since 1983. The Provo resident graduated from Brigham Young University in 1970 after attending BYU on an Athletic Scholarship. He was recruited to play basketball and football by over 50 universities nationwide. He has been President of the Utah State Chamber of Commerce three times and currently sits on the Utah State Chamber of Commerce Board.

Densley hosts a nightly cable TV Show called “Taking Care of Business” and has written a column for the Daily Herald for over 15 years. He was published nationally in Chicken Soup for the Soul and has done a number of radio shows over the years.

Densley has served as Rotary Club President, United Way Vice President, State Home Builders Associate Vice President, and on the boards of the Provo Arts Council, BYU Cougar Club, Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, American Cancer Society, Chair of the Utah State Consumer Protection, BYU Management Society, Utah State Medical Advisory, Utah Jr. Achievement and numerous others, including several for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He currently serves on the Boards of the Zion’s Bank Advisory, Sundance Film Festival, Provo Rotary Club, Utah National Parks Council Boy Scout Executive, Provo Cascade District and Silver Beaver Awards Chair. He is on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Regents Institute of Advanced Management at Loyola Marymount University. He serves on the Utah Valley University Center for Leadership Advancement, Pacific States Pipe Advisory Board, and the Utah Lake Commission Board along with numerous others dealing with Healthcare, Immigration, Energy Alternatives and Transportation.

Densley has hosted over 10 foreign students in his home over the past 30 years from Peru, Japan, France, England, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. His wife, Colleen, is the Principal of Wasatch Elementary School and was Utah’s 1992 Teacher of the Year. They have 6 children and 13 grandchildren.

Other BYU graduates being honored at the October Homecoming Awards Dinner are University of Utah President Michael Young, Alpine artist Blair Buswell, and James Olson, Professor of History at Sam Houston University. Other special awards and their recipients include the Young Alumni Service Award to Sean Reyes, the Service to Family to Alice Schindler Cannon and the Honorary Alumni Award to Jack W. Sunderlage. All of the recipients will be honored at various special events during Brigham Young University’s October Homecoming week.

Provo and Orem Meet the Candidates Night

The Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring two meet-the-candidate nights for those running for state Legislature.

Residents can meet those who are running to represent Orem districts on Oct. 8 in the Orem City Council Chambers from 6 to 9 p.m.

A meeting with those running to represent Provo districts will be held Oct. 9 in the Provo City Council Chambers from 6 to 9 p.m.

Both meetings are open to the public.

The chamber's Government Review Council is hosting the meetings to encourage businesses and residents to become more involved in the political process.

Any questions, contact Anna Rose at 851-2560.