Ruskin's chamber director has vast practice planning events, from her family band's gigs to corporate shindigs.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published March 26, 2004
RUSKIN - Suzy Lacey inherited one doozy of a calendar when she assumed the top spot at the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce.
Right off the bat came the Ruskin Seafood and Arts Festival in November, followed shortly thereafter by a Veterans Day Parade. Then, a toy drive in December and a massive annual banquet and silent auction in January.
"Just about every weekend, I'm at some function or another," said Lacey, the chamber's executive director. "Every single day is different."
In other words, Lacey's schedule is the same as it's always been.
For 18 years, Lacey toured the country as a singer with her father Wayne's Gibsonton-based gospel band, the Laceys.
The group won national gospel awards and twice played at the White House, but Lacey said she's as happy as ever in her new role in Ruskin.
"Growing up in the music business, I'm used to something new every day - a new city, a new town, new people," said Lacey, 43, who now lives in Gibsonton. "This affords me that opportunity to meet new people every day."
Lacey grew up listening to the music of her father, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Gibsonton, who toured for decades playing a vaudevillian hybrid of comedy, gospel and country music.
When she graduated from high school, Lacey decided to join the family business - but was given no guarantee she'd make it.
"I actually auditioned," she says. "They were making a living at it, so they had to be professional. But thankfully, I inherited some of my dad's talent."
The band ceased touring in 1997 after Wayne Lacey suffered a series of heart attacks, though he and the band now perform selected events as the Wayne Lacey Family.
But periodic concerts didn't pay Suzy Lacey's bills, so in 1997, she set out in search of a new career. While on tour, she had become the band's de facto promoter, negotiating contracts and booking shows from a laptop aboard the family's bus.
Since touring was what she did best, she became certified as a tour guide. And since she had become adept at organizing concerts, she found work as a special event planner.
Lacey had a nice job planning events for the Marriott Waterside Hotel in downtown Tampa until Sept. 11, 2001. After the attacks on the World Trade Center, more and more groups wanted to scale back on parties and offsite events. Before long, Lacey was let go.
"The economy had not recovered," she said. "Conferences, conventions and meeting planners were not spending their money."
She bounced from one event-planning business to another until the Ruskin job became available last fall. The opportunity to help small local businesses - and plan a few major parties in the process - was everything she was looking for.
"I told everybody, this was my dream job," she said.
She has big plans for the Ruskin Chamber, and already has made a few changes. Every Friday, she and other chamber workers wear T-shirts from local businesses to help advertise.
Lacey also hopes to see chambers of commerce in neighboring areas, such as Apollo Beach and Sun City Center, collaborate on more issues that affect the entire SouthShore region. This month, she volunteered to help wherever she was needed at the Apollo Beach Manatee Arts Festival.
"We need somebody that's just planning special events," she said. "We need somebody that's just doing sales and marketing. The need is there. The communities are growing and getting larger."
Lacey, for one, plans to keep working in Ruskin for as long as possible, even if it means dealing with the occasional 14-hour workday.
"It's a lot of work," she said. "But this is where I want to end up."
JOB: Executive director, Ruskin Chamber of Commerce
PAST JOBS: Tour guide; special events planner; singer for the Laceys, her father Wayne's longtime Gibsonton-based gospel group.
WHITE HOUSE ROCK: Wayne Lacey's band played for Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. in the White House.
SECRET PASSION: Auto racing. Lacey is a fan of both amateur racing - she's a regular at East Bay Raceway - and professional, especially NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Visitors to the chamber have brought her boxes of Gordon memorabilia.
ALL-TIME FAVORITE QUARTERBACK: Dan Marino, whose bobblehead rests atop an office filing cabinet.
THE KING'S MAN: One of Lacey's most memorable musical experiences came when she was just 19. Only a year out of high school, she spent a day in the studio with John Rich, Elvis Presley's steel guitar player, recording a song for her father.
