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Kathy Tilque was born into a military family, and as a result she has lived a lot of places. But one small Arizona farming town stood out to her.

Tilque started her career in Copperas Cove, Texas, moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and finally transferred to Gilbert, where she joined the staff at the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. During a stint organizing events at the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, Tilque began attending the Institute for Organizational Management, a with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. There, she made a discovery.

鈥淚 realized I wanted to be CEO,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淏ut more importantly, I wanted to be CEO at the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, because I just love this community. And it just so happened that the position came open, and the board knew me from my past experience with them, and they recruited me to come back, and I鈥檝e been here ever since.鈥�

The way chambers of commerce operate and the expectations placed on them have evolved considerably over the past 30 years, Tilque said.

鈥淚f I were going to whittle that down to one word, it would be relevancy,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淗ow do you continue to be relevant to not only your business members but to the community as a whole as the environment continues to change?鈥�

Beginning in 2006, Tilque and her colleagues noticed a vital shortfall in the social services provided to Arizona women in need who want to earn a degree and find gainful work. In addition, Chandler-Gilbert Community College lost funding that had previously been used to assist disadvantaged women with tuition.

The solution: Positive Paths, a nonprofit organization serving educational needs in the East Valley. Positive Paths was , and Tilque鈥檚 organizational management strengths made her the perfect person to do the 鈥渉eavy lifting鈥� behind the scenes.

Now, Positive Paths is as its East Valley Woman of the Year for 2019.

鈥淚t was so surprising but so humbling, and I鈥檓 just so grateful that they wanted to honor the work that I have done with them,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淪o honored, but more importantly, I鈥檓 just so excited about the progress they鈥檙e making.鈥�

Tilque said she draws her inspiration from her grandmother, Helen O鈥機onnor. O鈥機onnor is no longer living, but she raised a family on a farm in Minnesota and had 鈥渧ery deep roots鈥� there, Tilque said.

鈥淲hat I admire about her is her willingness to show kindness to everybody, and she had this uncanny ability to make every one of us feel like we were the most important person鈥� whenever we were there,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淚t stayed with me, and I realized that every day you can do something simple to show kindness to somebody else, because you don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e going through.鈥�

Tilque said she doesn鈥檛 think she will ever reach her grandmother鈥檚 quintessence, but she hopes she makes people feel important every day.

Over the years, Tilque has worked closely with the Arizona Chamber Executives as well as regional and national chamber associations to review legislative issues and ensure Gilbert and Arizona remain business-friendly.

鈥淚 like to say I learned from the best,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne of my mentors in the business was Jack Camper from the Tucson Chamber.鈥�

Camper, now retired, always instilled a sense of responsibility in young chamber executives, Tilque said.

Tilque said her most significant accomplishment was the part she played in saving the iconic water tower in downtown Gilbert, which she said was a decidedly collaborative effort. The water tower was in desperate need of repairs and was at risk of being dismantled, triggered by the town鈥檚 desire to rid the structure of its original (and dangerous) lead-based paint.

鈥淲e were votes from it being torn down,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淯nderstanding the and what it meant to this farming community 鈥� we鈥檙e over 250,000 people today 鈥� was a labor of love.鈥�

The town council ultimately voted to restore the tower and also sought grant money to build a next to it. Tilque said she still can鈥檛 believe how close Gilbert came to tearing down its most recognizable landmark.

鈥淚t has become not only a centerpiece for what鈥檚 happening in downtown Gilbert, but it鈥檚 our icon,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody knows the water tower.鈥�

Tilque said her , from a business perspective, is The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. The 鈥淎bilene paradox鈥� describes a situation in which a group of people are trying to come to a decision, but each member mistakenly believes their choice contradicts the rest of the group. As a result, the group makes a decision that the majority of its members oppose in the interest of not 鈥渞ocking the boat,” so to speak.

鈥淭he bottom line of it is, if you鈥檙e in a meeting or you鈥檙e part of a project, you have to speak up if you agree or don鈥檛 agree, or you end up going to Abilene, where nobody wanted to go,鈥� Tilque said. 鈥淚 think that if people were to say what are鈥� my strengths, it鈥檚 speaking up in meetings and making sure we鈥檙e going on the right path and being okay with it if we decide to go a different way, but at least we鈥檝e had that conversation.鈥�