By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
If you looked up “busy bee” in the dictionary, Yvonne Fry’s picture likely would be under it. It’s hard to believe there is just one of her — between the Tomlin Middle School PTSA meetings she heads up and the two businesses she owns. But this woman on the go walks with a brisk step that somehow gets her to all her meetings.
A self-described “out-of-the-box person,” Fry has her hands in many Plant City organizations and extends her reach into Tampa and throughout Hillsborough County.
Among others, she was appointed to the commission on the Status of Women by Attorney General Pam Bondi, chaired the board at The Spring of Tampa Bay and started the Women’s Hall of Fame, which just celebrated its third year.
Many people in the community have heard the name or know her, but with so many roles, they likely don’t know all she does.
In fact, there’s a good chance you have received multiple business cards from her. She doesn’t have just one in her wallet — she has four.
BIG TALKER, REVOLUTIONIST
“I think of myself as the farmer’s daughter on barefoot,” Fry says.
She is a farmer’s daughter, but she traded her bare feet for business pumps. Her family came to Plant City in 1955 and ran a farm with 60,000 chickens on the west side of Stafford Road. In addition to the chickens, her family owned cows, pigs and other animals and grew several crops. Every morning, her father went to the Tampa market to sell and came home to tend the fields. In 1978, her family sold the farm and built a smaller tract of land they could tend.
Growing up in Plant City, Fry has fond memories of her hometown and has seen it change in many ways. As a preteen, she learned how to ride horses western style in a field near the bend in Alexander Street. Fry used to jump her horse over trees that had been cut down to make way for the new development, Walden Lake, then known as Mud Lake.
“I love Plant City,” Fry says. “I love the history of it, and other people like Ed Verner or Gil Gott from the (Plant City) Photo Archives cherish it and keep the history alive. We can learn from the past, and we (have) to remember where we came from.”
Fry has pride in her town and reminds her 13-year-old son, Arie, that wherever he goes in life, he will be from Plant City.
In 1980, Fry’s father died from cancer. Her mother found a job in real estate to support Fry and her brother and sister. That’s when Fry first caught a glimpse of the woman she wanted to be.
“Mom showed me that strong woman lifestyle,” Fry says.
After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, she worked in public relations and marketing and then founded Lines of Communication, a telecommunications company that helps government and private companies streamline their data systems.
With the success of her first company, Fry started a sister company called Revolutionary Strategies, which handles other requests that may not fall under the umbrella of Lines of Communication.
Below her name on her Lines of Communication business card, there are no words such as “founder” or “CEO.” Instead she described herself as “Big Talker.” And beneath her name on her Revolutionary Strategy card, it says “Revolutionist.” The two descriptors are a testament to her personality and a glimpse into how she views herself.
“Women can bring a real special quality to business, and my business is proof of that,” she says. “Women have a touch with our attention to detail and operations.”
THE PRODUCER
Plant City has its own pop sensation. Next Radical Generation, or N.R.G., is a group of preteens and teens from the area,that has performed throughout the state since its inception two years ago. Fry was responsible for the founding of N.R.G. and is the producer of the group.
And she has a business card to prove it.
Arie always has had a love for the stage. Taking note that other students in the area with talent were going leaving the Plant City area to seek dance training, voice lessons or other creative extracurriculars, Fry pulled mothers aside to discuss launching a singing group.
Before long, the students and their parents jumped on board, and N.R.G. has been growing a fanbase around Florida ever since. This past Christmas, NRG performed on Celebration’s busiest night.
“This is not about making stars,” Fry says. “This is about building a business and teamwork, responsibility and accountability.”
THE UNFORGETTABLE ONE
Fry’s fourth business card is a little more personal. It’s square, versus the traditional rectangular shape. But more noticeable than the shape is its bright color and print. A cursive capital “Y” sits in the middle of a pink swatch with a zebra print boarder.
“It’s me,” Fry says. “It’s dramatic. It’s strong. It’s feminine. Hopefully, it’s memorable.”
With her history of community involvement, Fry has been asked to speak and emcee events.
So, she recently began branding herself and created this fourth card to help in the process.
Fry has no end goal for her own self promotion, except to stay active in the community that she so loves.
So what’s next for this superwoman?
Her companies are continuing to work to achieve big contracts, which she thinks will make a big impact in Florida.
The members of N.R.G. have recently written their own song. Fry wants to have the group record it and start marketing it this year.
And as far as her involvement, she has no plans to slow down.
“That’s one of my goals this year — to inspire people to get involved — no matter what your cause,” Fry says.cheatpack