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Booth: Today on the Carolina Women's Collective Podcast, I am joined by Lynn Menes. Lynn is the president and CEO of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association where she works to protect, educate, and promote the diverse interests of North Carolina's hospitality industry. That represents more than $33 billion in sales annually and employs approximately 11% of the state's workforce.
Welcome to the podcast today, Lynn.
Lynn: Thank you so much, booth. It's a pleasure to be with you. I appreciate you having me on today.
Booth: So you have been with the N-C-R-L-A [00:01:00] for about 13 years now. Can you tell us exactly what that role involves?
Lynn: Well, uh, yeah, so about 13 years. It's hard to believe. Uh, it's been a, a great, uh, ride.
I've enjoyed every moment of my work. Uh, as you know, I'm retiring at the end of the year, so I've, I've spent some time reflecting on those 13 years. Uh, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, um, particularly serving during Covid. I, I think that's one of the hallmarks of my career, and as I look back over my.
Lengthy career. It'll be one of the things I remember most. Uh, an opportunity to step up and lead in a time that our industry, our state, really needed it the most. But, uh, basically we represent the interest of about 22,000 businesses across North Carolina. There are about 20,000 restaurants in North Carolina food service establishments and about 2000 lodging properties.
Um, every day business owners who own and invest in those companies, a lot of them small businesses. get up. They employ folks. They work hard every single day. And our [00:02:00] job really at the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association is to try to make the environment in which those businesses operate as conducive as it possibly can be to success.
Uh, largely that's trying to make sure that government doesn't put policies in place that are restrictive or onerous to those business owners. Um, we try to put in place good policies that allow them to grow and to thrive, uh, in the independent fashion in which most of them are concepted and operate. Um, and then we provide networking opportunities for those business owners and information every day.
Uh, our phone rings. I have a, a staff of 10 folks. Um, our phone rings from a restaurateur or a, a hotelier who has a specific question. And, um, we often play the role of concierge for these restaurants and hotels. They have a question about a health department regulation, a labor issue. Uh, they're looking for a resource, a supplier, and, and often we have access to information.
That, uh, helps them be [00:03:00] successful. So that's really what we do every day. It's a labor of love and uh, it's just been a tremendous honor and pleasure to serve this industry in this way for the past 13 years.
Booth: That's fantastic. Just a lot of small business support all around right there with so many businesses involved and hospitality itself, whether it be restaurants, hotels, it's all kind of encompassing under the hospitality label.
That's a really fast pace. And challenging industry. I know our last guest was in the restaurant industry for a long time and she spoke about some of those challenges. So as a woman in this leadership position, what do you feel are some of your best traits that have helped you lead within this space?
Lynn: NCRA is about an 80-year-old organization, and I am the first female to serve at the helm of the association. It's been, you know, men by and large, uh, really running the association, but as our industry has become more diverse, uh, we're seeing more, uh, female owned businesses, uh, more [00:04:00] minority owners.
Um, it has been a unique opportunity to step in and, and lead in a unique way. Uh, when I first joined the association, one of the old timers there looked around the room and he gave me a bit of advice. He said, Lynn, I'll tell you what's wrong with this organization. It is stale, male and pale. And, uh, I took that to heart and I thought, you know, really this.
This is an industry that, that is in flux. It's changing, it's becoming more diverse, both, uh, culturally, ethnically, and from a gender standpoint. And, uh, it is an opportunity to sort of mix things up and bring new leaders to the table. And so that really has been my focus for the past 13 years, is trying to, uh, bring some of the diversity that our industry embraces, uh, to the board table,
To leadership roles in our industry. But as a female, um, I think, you know, one of the things that women do exceptionally well is multitask and, um, and adapt to ever-changing priorities. I have found that throughout my career, that women really have a unique ability to pivot, to make decisions on the fly, to adjust.
We [00:05:00] do that as moms every single day. We do that in our personal lives. And I think women do an exceptionally strong job of that in the workplace. And so that's one of the things I'd like to think that I've brought to the role is the ability to kind of take a look at things day to day. They change day to day situations change day to day.
Uh, policy makers change, you know, we have to adapt with all of that, and we've become much more resilient and much more flexible, and much more open and transparent. And I think a lot of that has to do with, women in leadership roles, not just myself, but the others that we brought around the leadership table in this industry.
Booth: Fantastic. I like that stale mail and pale quote. That, that, that'll definitely give you a little incentive right there, won't it? So, um, along those lines. You were instrumental in North Carolina's brunch Bill, and I remember when that went through, I thought to myself, a woman was in charge of this.
Like I just knew that that was the case. So tell us about what the brunch [00:06:00] bill is and how you went about the process of helping it come to be and the impact it has had on the industry.
Lynn: Well, that was one of the most, uh, fun pieces of legislation I've worked on in my career. and what I find generally is that is we deal with policymakers, and I do that every single day.
I, I was in, uh, up in DC last week meeting, meeting with our members of Congress. Um, I meet every single day with legislators, uh, on both sides of the aisle. We deal with mayors, county commissioners, elected officials all over, and what I've generally found is that these are all really good people. And if you can go into them and present a business case, they're respectful.
they listen, uh, and they're willing to be helpful. And so I've always tried to take that approach. I mean, sometimes people say to me, I don't know how in the world you deal with all those politicians all the time. And, and I think it's because I don't. Think of them in that way. I just think of them as individuals and people and, um, they're generally receptive to big, bold ideas.
If you can lay them out, present a business [00:07:00] case, they generally are supportive and that's really what we tried to do with the brunch bill, uh, several years ago. Uh, North Carolina has very. Strange, archaic alcohol laws In general, we are a controlled state. We're one of only 13 alcohol control states left in the nation.
It means the government owns all, alcohol, all liquor in the state and distributes it. Uh, three-tiered system. I. We have these, these 170 local a b, C boards that make it very convoluted to, to buy and sell alcohol for, uh, mixed beverage permitees in the state to operate. And so one of our big challenges and, and opportunities over the past several years has been to try to reform alcohol laws.
Uh, so the brunch bill came along simply because it, it just didn't make a whole lot of sense to us that, We couldn't sell alcohol before noon on Sunday. And so why was that? Was it a religious thing? Because that's unconstitutional to prohibit, the sale of alcohol based on a religious [00:08:00] reason.
And so, you know, we sort of cracked at that door a little bit. Um, we also were seeing in restaurants and, and hotels across the state. International visitors coming into the state and they wanted a bloody mar, or they wanted a mimosa with their brunch. Brunch was becoming a huge new day part for restaurants and hotels across the state.
And we were losing business because we couldn't sell alcohol until that magic bewitching hour of noon, you know, um, you couldn't get the alcohol at 1158 or 1159, but when the clock struck noon, it suddenly was okay. And that was just really a bizarre. Sort of notion. So we began to talk to policymakers about that, even those who are restrictive about alcohol consumption.
But we made a business case and we talked about the fact that. You know, people order brunch, they order an omelet, but if they ordered a mimosa or Bloody Mary with that, it doubled the ticket price, meaning we could employ more people, pay more people, raise more money, pay more taxes. It was a business case, and so one by one policymakers got on board with us and, and [00:09:00] kind of agreed to that.
And we were able to get a law passed. Now follow this that didn't authorize early Sunday sales statewide, but it authorized local jurisdictions to allow it. So that sort of took the heat off the backs of policymakers. So they weren't allowing author, they weren't authorizing Sunday sales, but they were authorizing local.
Elected officials to make that decision. So they were sort of kicking the can, to those local officials, and that's really how we got it done. So, you know, county by county across the state, they now are, uh, serving alcohol at before noon on Sundays. They can serve it at 10 o'clock. You can buy it in a grocery store at 10 o'clock or on a golf course at 10 o'clock on Sunday.
And, um, it's been just tremendously successful both from cons from a consumer standpoint and from a business owner standpoint, um, where they're able to generate a whole lot more revenue with alcohol sales early on Sunday. Um, so it's been a good thing. It was a fun bill to work on. We, uh, created a website, social media presence, uh, free the [00:10:00] spirits.
It's, we said, free the spirits. Why are we holding the spirits back, you know, till noon on Sunday? And so it was a lot of fun. The general public got behind it and that was one of those bills we were really proud to get across the finish line and it making a big difference here in North Carolina.
Booth: Absolutely. That's interesting to hear that backstory. I had no idea it was kicked to the local officials, so you learn something new every day. Right. but I have seen, um, just here in Carter County, the brunch business just blossom since that happened. I mean, it used to just be a handful of places that offered it on Sunday, and now there's restaurants that were closed on Sunday that are now open just for brunch.
So I, I can definitely see the impact it's had on the industry for sure. Yeah. Now you touched on Covid a second ago. Angie mentioned the word pivot. So covid hit the hospitality industry hard. How did you have to pivot and lead differently during that time? And what innovations, [00:11:00] such as the serving careers campaign came about during this time of challenge?
Lynn: Well, without question. the covid experiences, one of the hallmarks of my career. I will never forget those couple of years that we had to navigate Covid. Uh, it tested everything I had ever known or believed or understood about leadership, uh, in ways that I would've never imagined. Uh, and even just talking about it today, we're five years.
Post Covid hard to believe. Uh, I get a little PTSD, I'll never be the same. Uh, and that's true for many of my colleagues who had to navigate it. But, as consumers, as individuals, we know what happened during covid. It was a, a rush of, covid cases, escalation of covid cases, and this fear factor because we saw people dying around the country.
It was a, a really scary time. And so in those early days of March, uh, 2020. Uh, I began to get calls from the governor. At the time it was Governor Roy Cooper, his, um, chief of Staff and senior leadership team, uh, kind of [00:12:00] preparing me for Covid. And they, they began to say that, you know, this thing is really ramping up and we are watching it closely, but we think we may have to take some, some serious action that may.
Impact, uh, workers who would have to suddenly pivot and work from home. And we may even have to consider shutting down restaurants, and we're like, oh, no, no, you can't do that. You can't do that. But we began to have those calls day after day after day, until it became pretty clear leading up to March 17th that they would, in fact.
Shut restaurants down, and have people work from home. And so those phone calls continued throughout Covid, uh, with the Governor's chief of staff. And I would say that they were very open and collaborative during that process. There were people who were angry, of course, they didn't want their businesses shut down, they didn't understand it.
Um, but we chose to have a seat at the table to be in daily conversation with them during Covid. And that continued for about a period of, you know, that first year. Um, literally every mandate that would come down, every [00:13:00] executive order, when the governor announced that executive order, we had been at the table with them, with the governor and his attorneys, his senior leadership team, trying to navigate each of those executive orders, those decisions and the implications those would have on businesses.
Um, and so that really became, kind of a key role that we played is trying to help him understand, okay, we're gonna shut restaurants down, but. What if we could still do takeout and delivery? They're like, okay, we can make that work as long as the worker's inside or wearing a mask and takeout and delivery could be done.
So we were able to carve that piece out from the early days. So March 17th, 2020, restaurants were shut down, but takeout and delivery save the day because restaurants had, you know, food in the freezer, food in the fridge. Uh, workers that needed employment and we were able to, um, get that authorized takeout and delivery.
And so then we pivoted and began kind of a PR campaign to tell, to go on nightly news. The media who were, you know, folks were hungry for information and [00:14:00] we encouraged people, Hey, support your local restaurant and employees get takeout, get delivery, and people did. And so we spent a lot of time trying to.
Uh, build that narrative so people felt comfortable, um, you know, going out to, to get pickup takeout delivery. Uh, and that really boomed during covid, which saved a lot of restaurants and saved a lot of jobs. Um, the interesting thing about that is that, you know, the case we made to the governor, to the administration was that our supply chain didn't have enough food in it.
Uh, the ability to get food. From grocery stores, we, we, at that moment in time on March 17th, you know, our supply chain is such that we eat both. Uh, food from grocery stores that we prepare at home, and we eat a lot of our meals outside of home, uh, meals away from home, both at school cafeterias and, uh, the workplace cafeteria settings and dinners out and lunches out.
And so literally we wouldn't have had enough food if we hadn't allowed these restaurants to continue to operate. And so that was the case we made. So we were able to, to, to put those two things together. [00:15:00] Uh, and that worked pretty well for a time. you know, large gatherings were shut down, and so that really impacted hotels in a significant way.
There were no meetings, conventions, concerts, sporting events. a lot of travel was shut down, but, in North Carolina we saw a lot of pivoting from that business, travel to people traveling to the coast. And so here in Carter Wreck County, we saw, business booming. At least in, in rentals and hotels because if people were gonna be working remotely, they could do that in desirable places.
And they were taking leisure travel to get out of the home, uh, to get away and to spend time with family and friends. And, so we were able to pivot in that way. Um, several of the things that we did during Covid, uh, were first of all. As we began to reopen restaurants and hotels, we worked with the, uh, administration to try to put in place a, a training program called Count On Me and See, and that was designed to, um, help.
[00:16:00] People feel more comfortable going back into restaurants and into public places. Uh, with the knowledge that staff that would be serving them would've taken some extra training to, uh, prepare for social distancing and mass mandates and extra cleaning protocols. Uh, and to put those things in place. So we created this training program Count on Me and see that was really designed to.
A train people, but b, more importantly, to make consumers feel comfortable coming back into establishments. And so we did that, uh, and and started in May of 2020 to allow people to come back and do so responsibly. You'll remember there was a mask mandate that was put in place, and that was just such a weird thing.
But we said to the governor, we said, you know, you can put this mask mandate in place, but don't make restaurant employees mandate this we, or enforce this. We can't throw people out of restaurants. We're not gonna begin. We can't be the police force. We're doing all we can do to serve with all these new protocols.
We have to put in place new wiping down procedures, new sanitation procedures. [00:17:00] We can't be the police. And so we negotiated a, a position so that there was a sign that was put in public establishments, um, restaurants, hotels, but other places as well that told people in a friendly way that you have to wear the mask to come in and you have to social distance.
Uh, but took away the responsibility of rest tours and hotels to police that. So that was another thing that I think helped us to be successful. I could just go on and on about all the things that we did during Covid, uh, to try to mitigate the adverse impact. But of course, it was a significant impact on our industry.
I. Um, we saw sales decline. We saw, you know, restaurant revenues decline. And, um, then from that we were able to get some important relief, uh, programs put in place that we can talk about as well, but some relief that came to restaurants and hotels specifically who were impacted in a pretty significant way.
Just the day-to-day activities of covid. the desperate calls from restaurateurs who were losing everything they had. I mean, they live hand to mouth [00:18:00] already. They, you know, have a, successful night. They buy more food, they pay their staff. it's a ongoing day-to-day cycle. And when they were shut down for two months, eight weeks, essentially, it was, the death now for a whole lot of businesses.
Many closed, but many took on significant debt that they still carry today. So it was a, a really desperate time for our industry, but one that we are proud of the way we navigated.
Booth: Absolutely. And you, you just mentioned some of the relief you were involved in. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Lynn: Yeah.
So, in my 20 year career. Working inside of government. Before I took this role, I had opportunity to become familiar with a whole lot of government relief programs and, uh, grant programs and things of that nature, um, that I think prepared me well for helping our industry navigate Covid. I. One of the things that happened was the federal government, uh, passed a American Rescue Plan Act and they allocated money to the states.
In our state, those dollars came from the federal government, but the General Assembly, the North [00:19:00] Carolina legislature had to make decisions about how they would invest those dollars. So some went to schools to help them adapt. Uh, some went to medical facilities healthcare, but some was earmarked for businesses that had been most impacted during covid.
we already had strong relationships with legislators and so we began to go over and meet with those legislators and we made the case that our industry had been disproportionately impacted by Covid. Um, we pulled the numbers and we could show the economic decline year over year. So we took the, a year before Covid and we took the covid year and we were able to show significant decline, uh, for restaurants and hotels.
And we made a, an appeal to them. We, we wrote and put in place a blueprint for revival of the hospitality industry. Uh, we called it. And it had several points, but the most important among those was the, um, request to give some, a, some forgivable loans to restaurants and hotels that were forced to shutter.
Now, a lot of businesses were impacted during covid, but [00:20:00] grocery stores were allowed to operate convenience stores, operated retail stores could continue to operate. Restaurants were shut down and hotels, uh, could not hold any events in them. And so we made the case that that restaurants and hotels were uniquely impacted and we were able to pass or, or get put in place of 500 million.
I. Dollar grant program that was earmarked specifically for restaurants and hotels. And the way it worked was that if a business could demonstrate that they were down by 20% and many, many were, then they got a check from the, from North Carolina Department of Revenue for 10% of their losses, um, that amounted to $500 million in checks paid out to restaurants and hotels for their losses during covid.
Now again. That just covered 10% of their losses. But that was a, a huge payday for those businesses that had been impacted. And many say today that that one measure alone saved their businesses. they tell me [00:21:00] that every day. That, you know, thank you so much for all that you guys did, did to advocate on our behalf, um, that that program saved our business.
So, you know, many of them are still carrying debt, but that injection of revenue helped to sustain them during covid.
Booth: That's very interesting. You know, 500 million sounds like a a lot of money, and it is, but then when you say it only covered 10% of their losses, as, as an accountant, I'm like, Ooh, that's still, you know, not covering much.
They're still suffering. Very much so. And so the fact that so many could, um, take that amount and still be able to make it work just says a lot about the resiliency of the industry. For sure.
Lynn: It does, it does. But another thing I'm really proud of is that in the early days of Covid, um, the business owners were, yes, of course, distraught that they had to close their business.
But March 17th, March 18th, March 19th, the calls that I began to receive were from desperate, uh, respir, [00:22:00] restaurateurs and hoteliers who were having to displace their workers. They were having to send workers home, and they said to me. You know, these are workers that depend on their wages every day to put gas in their car, to feed their families, to pay their phone bills, their light bills, or water bills.
And, uh, we are sending them home without anything. Now you remember the state's unemployment system was in disarray. People couldn't get a phone call answered. The website was crashing. There were no unemployment checks going out for a long time. In the early days of Covid, our members stepped up. Uh, and I particularly remember Steve Tanha, who's co-owner of the Angus Barn in Raleigh.
He was my board chair that year, and he said, we've gotta do something to help these workers. Were displacing. Um, we had, we were laying off around 200, 250,000 people, just all on one day. They sent them home, they had no work and, um, we were able to raise. Over a million dollars. In a week, two weeks, and we were offering [00:23:00] grants to displaced workers in the amount of $500 each, so checks were going out.
As we would send a worker home, we would give them a check for $500 that didn't pay for everything, but it at least allowed them to put food on their table. Until they could regroup a little bit. Um, we lost workers during Covid, but I'm really proud that we were able to do the right thing and take care of our own workers.
That worker Relief program continues today. It's pivoted from, uh, just covid relief because when Covid was over, we still had some money in the bank. People were still making donations. We're now giving those dollars to Western North Carolina workers who've been uh, impacted and to other hospitality workers who are facing hardship.
from time to time we'll have a restaurant to, uh, encounter a fire or worker to have a family medical crisis and they have to be outta work to take care for a take care of a family member. That fund allows us to provide relief to those hospitality workers who are in distress. So really proud of that.
In the [00:24:00] darkest days of Covid, it was one of the most important things, uh, to our business owners. Uh, to step up and take care of their employees. And I think that says a lot about this industry and who we are.
Booth: It sure does. And that's fantastic that it's continued on and you're able to serve. Western North Carolina and just whatever capacity is needed.
So I love that. And so prior to N-C-R-L-A, you kind of led me into this, talking about these relief programs and everything. You served as deputy secretary, as well as a few other positions within the North Carolina Department of Commerce. So during your career there. Was there one, I'm gonna call it a hat, so to speak, because you did different positions that was the most challenging as a woman, and how did you overcome that challenge?
Lynn: Well, I, my time at the Department of Commerce was, uh, just a tremendous, uh, personal and professional growth opportunity for, for myself. I had, uh, prior to taking that [00:25:00] role, had been home with children. I had two young children. I chose to stay home with them for about seven years, and when I put that little kindergartner on the bus to go to school, I.
Knew that I had to go back to work. I, I couldn't stay home in an empty house. You know, there was plenty to do, but I was ready to resume my career. And so I, I started work in the Department of Commerce in May of, 1993. And, um, yes, at that time as I first went in, I found myself, uh. As a division head.
So there were leadership roles in Department of Commerce, but we would meet every Monday morning at eight o'clock, uh, around a big board table, mahogany board table in the North Carolina Department of Commerce boardroom. The Secretary of Commerce would convene those meetings and each of the division heads would give updates, uh, status reports on things that were happening in our sections.
I looked around that table and there were about 20 men sitting there and about two women. I was one of those women and I was, a lot young. Then and a lot cuter then. And, um, it quickly occurred to me that, I had to work hard to be [00:26:00] taken seriously as a female. This is back, 19, 19 93.
you know, there were men around that table who I remember one day, one of them. Uh, asked me a question if I would help him with something. He said, you'll take care of that, right, Suge? And I'm like, oh my goodness. It just kind of hit me and I thought, you know, I have two options here. I can either take him on and challenging for calling me Suge or just realize that he's not a very smart guy and that he's really, you know, messed up.
The problem is his and not mine. I. And so I chose to just ignore it and answer his question. but I, I did feel often that I had to be, uh, very prepared. I had to work hard to be taken seriously. I had to be, uh, smarter and, well prepared for all of those meetings. I had to go in with something to contribute.
it was a different standard, I think for women back in, in that day to be taken seriously. But I did work hard at it. The other thing I'll say is that as I would show up to those Monday morning meetings and look around the table. At those colleagues of mine, um, one of the things that I was always proud of is the fact that at eight o'clock on Monday morning, I had [00:27:00] already gotten up, made the beds.
Gotten two kids ready for school. My husband traveled at the time, uh, I packed lunches, walked the dog driven carpool, dropped the kids off. Sometimes had to go back home to pick up a library book. They might have forgotten, all the things that moms have to do before I showed up around that board table at eight o'clock.
And it occurred to me that most of those men had not had to do that. Those same kinds of things. Um, and I was really proud of the fact that I could juggle those balls, that I could do those things. And I think women still do that today. We juggle lots of balls, we have lots of responsibilities. Uh, we multitask well and we pivot well.
So, that was you know, an aha in the early days of my career. but really I would just say that, the 20 years I spent in the Department of Commerce were so. Incredibly rewarding. Um, government sometimes gets a bad get, gets a bad name, um, but it was a tremendous employee or a tremendous opportunity.
In that role, I worked with three governors, two of them, two terms in a pretty close relationship [00:28:00] and worked for five cabinet secretaries in, in an appointed position. What that means is that you serve at their pleasure. They can let you go any day. You're not a career state employee. You are a, an appointed.
In an appointed position, um, it makes you work differently, and I still work that way today. Um, in my current role, you know, I wanna be there as long as somebody, you know, wants me there. That's a different way to work than an entitled, you know, role. But I loved working in that way and loved, uh, serving leaders and, and delivering value every day and trying to help other people be successful.
That was, um, that was the most rewarding part of, of that tenure.
Booth: That sounds very, very interesting and a lot of different moving parts and still doing all the mom duties in the morning. So I, I get it. It's um, it's definitely a different role than the most of the men are taking on. So at both roles, N-C-R-L-A and the Department of Commerce, you know, we've kind of already talked about all the workers impacted during COVID and all of these things.
You were constantly over all this time [00:29:00] making tough decisions that impact. Thousands of workers and businesses, what was your approach to kind of analyzing decisions you needed to make so that they did the most good? We've heard about a lot of the good you've done, but what, how did you kind of approach, what was your thought process to, you know, do the best impact for the most people?
Lynn: Well, I think you, you have to kind of look at the landscape, assess the landscape. I've relied a lot in my career on research, facts, figures, numbers, economic impact. If this, then that, what's the, what's the impact gonna be? Uh, a lot of my career, I was involved in marketing and so you, you, you market, but you.
You assess, you know, the success of that investment and did you get the return you wanted? And if not, how do you pivot and make different decisions? Um, and, and so I have relied on facts and figures and numbers a lot of my career, but a lot of decisions I make. Are also, you know, intuitive.
Um, [00:30:00] I think you have to just trust your gut sometimes and you just assess the situation. You talk to people, you get, you get insights and perspectives, and then you just make a decision quickly and just roll with it. Um, I find that I rely a whole lot on instincts. So yes, facts, figures, numbers to the extent you have those, but at the end of the day, um, you can't have analysis paralysis.
You've gotta just make a decision based on. the information, the facts and life experiences that you have that serve you well every day. So, that's really been a secret to success, I think, is just having the confidence in and, and ability to make decisions and stand by those decisions with whatever information you have available to you.
Booth: That's fantastic. A lot. A lot of people don't know how to go about making some of those decisions. So those were some, some great, uh, tips. Now, a minute ago, you mentioned kind of going back to work after your second went to kindergarten, so you did. Decide to take some time off from your career to raise your daughters when they were younger.
How did stepping away [00:31:00] kind of shape your perspective as a leader and a mother within the professional world? And then kind of how did you keep yourself positioned to be able to come back into your career when you were ready to.
Lynn: That's a, a great question booth. So, um, I chose to step away and stay home with my kids because, largely because my husband was traveling.
He was in a career where he would leave on Sunday nights and get home on Friday nights. And as we began to talk about it and think about it, I just couldn't figure out how every ear infection was gonna mean that I had to. You know, be home from work. Every, uh, you know, fever meant that I couldn't send a kid to school.
I would have to, would've had to do it all myself. And so just for us, it just didn't seem like it was gonna be a workable solution for me to work. So I chose to stay home for my kids. And I will say it was the hardest work I've ever done in my life. Um, the demands of motherhood of, I always say negotiating with a terrorist because a 2-year-old is not logical.
You can't present a case and, and move them based on logic. it's a hard, hard thing [00:32:00] to do. And so I, I look back on that time and, and know that that was, you know, probably one of the most challenging times of my life. Um, I love being home with the kids, but it, but it was work and it was, uh, and it was challenging.
And so you ask about how I navigated that. I quickly. Learned though that I couldn't just be, excuse me, I couldn't just be home with those kids all day. I had to have something more in my life. And so I got involved in a lot of nonprofits, um, women's club in Raleigh. Um, and through that I sat on several boards and, and gave back.
I did a lot of volunteer work and it was in that way that I. Found meaning and purpose in, in life outside of, you know, just my kids and family, although that's pretty important. But it did allow me to be with other adults and to continue to grow personally and, and even professionally because a lot of the skills I learned in managing volunteers and working with volunteers and other leaders, um, you know, served me when I went back to work.
So it kind of meant that I wasn't really outside the. Workforce. I was still involved in the community and making a [00:33:00] difference, and I felt value and professional and personal growth. So that helped to, to navigate. But the interesting thing is, as I came back to work, um, when I put that little kindergartner on the bus to go to school, and she insisted on riding the bus because her bigger sister rode the bus.
So I followed behind in my car. But when I knew she was safely inside the school building, um, I started work on that day with the, with the Department of Commerce and, um. I quickly, walked in and, I noticed there are people around complaining about work and I thought, man, this is, this is awesome.
I get an office to myself, I can shut the door. I get a lunch hour, I get a break. this is awesome. Um, and so I've always thought that being able to work was a. A privilege and honor, um, you know, juxtapose that to the challenges of being a full-time mom. I mean, that's hard work. That's really hard work.
And, and so I've appreciated, uh, the fact that I've experienced both, but have loved, um, working professionally and, and considered a, a privilege and honor every day to be able to, to work in a professional [00:34:00] role. But I commend women for both. It's, it's hard. Um, I had a friend, uh, recently who talked about the role of women working, being a mom, and, uh, she said, you know, it's not really a balance.
It's a blend. And I like the, I like that perspective on things because I never felt that I was balancing, it wasn't my home life and my work life. It was about how do you blend those two? And, um, you know, I think women can feel a little bit guilt sometimes for working, but we shouldn't feel that. Um, I, I would like to think that my daughters have benefited immensely.
I. From my professional work, they, uh, have been able to, you know, hear about my work experiences. They've been able to kind of experience that they've traveled with me. I've, I've traveled to many foreign countries and across the United States in my. Career and often when it worked out, I could drag them along with me, particularly as they got a little bit older, middle school and beyond.
Um, they've gotten to, to travel and have experiences that they would not have [00:35:00] otherwise had. And I think they're better adult women because of that. So I like to think that they've, that I've been a good role model that we've, that they've learned a, a bit about, um, you know, the world, uh. Through my professional career.
So, you may not be home all the time to take care of those kids, but there are trade offs and benefits that, you know, certainly help to mitigate, uh, that, that loss of time being home with them.
Booth: Absolutely. And, and what they see you doing can be inspiring and the experiences they got out of it.
So that is, that's fantastic for them. And you mentioned that your husband, he traveled a lot, especially when they were little. How did you and your husband kind of. Navigate and support each other, both being professionals with, with children. I'm, I'm, some are single moms and they have it really, really hard.
But some spouses really help the family situation. So how did you and your husband kind of navigate that together? I. Well,
Lynn: when the kids were younger, I just, as I mentioned, stayed home and so that worked out pretty well. And then he [00:36:00] was home on weekends, so we divided that way. When I went back to work and I was traveling and he was traveling, we literally would get the the calendar out and I'd say, okay, I've gotta be in Chicago this week.
And he's like, well, I need to be in Dallas, but I can go the next week. So often we would just trade off, and then we were fortunate enough to have. Family close by. So my parents were retired at the time and on, on the rare occasions where we both had to be away, my parents would come and and help out with the kids.
There's nothing like the network of family or close friends who you can trade off with. That support system I think makes all the difference for people who are trying to navigate. You know, complex personal careers, but, um, but generally it was just that we could, could tag team our calendars and, um, to the, he was in sales and so a lot of his, a lot of his work he could dictate, you know, if I can't go this week, I can just go the next week.
So he would schedule around my schedule. Um, and so we made it work that way. Good communication, right. Yes. Always,
Booth: always, always. So, um, you kind of mentioned at the beginning that you have a [00:37:00] recent, recently announced your upcoming retirement. So in the tenure of your career, how have you seen the environment for women evolve?
Lynn: It is changed a lot, uh, in the early days, as I, I mentioned earlier, women were kind of new to the workforce and to leadership roles back in the early nineties. Um, and so we probably weren't taken quite as seriously. I think that has changed a bit, but as I speak to young women, I, I don't want women to ever take that for granted.
We've worked hard to have a seat at the table and, um, showing up. Working hard, delivering results is really, really important for women, for all people, but I think for women, um. It, it has changed. I think it's gotten a lot easier, although I was with a, a group of women last week in Chicago and one of them said, you know, I, I think we were doing better.
I don't know that we are today. And so I'm not sure what that means, but I think we always have to be vigilant [00:38:00] about making sure that I. We're taking care of ourselves, that we're kind to each other, that we're lifting each other up, um, that we're doing the kinds of things that help support women. It is not easy to be a mom, to be a wife, to be a female.
We're nurturers. We take care of people. We worry about people. Uh, I'm a worrier. I worry about my neighbors. I worry about my family members. I worry about my kids, my husband. we're naturally, uh, worriers and nurturers. We. We try, try to take care of each other. Uh, I think it's important for women to take care of themselves, that self-care, uh, reaching for your own oxygen mask before you reach over to help somebody else.
we have to do that. Um, and so I, I think women can't ever forget the fact that, uh, that we do have. I. Challenges above and beyond those that, that men sometimes face in the workplace because we do in life, we just take on a lot more. Um, but I think that's what, what makes us unique and special and gifted and talented.
It makes us nimble and adaptive to lots of different circumstances. It's what, what makes [00:39:00] women successful? I think.
Booth: I love that so much. And during this time, was there one major change or advancement that really stands out to you or had a big impact on you?
Lynn: Oh my goodness. So I, I think back to the early days of my career, um, and I'm gonna really date myself, but it's just not that long ago.
We didn't have email, we didn't have internet when I first started. Um, I remember vividly on my desk at the Department of Commerce when I first started, we had a Rolodex. And so you would write, you know, you'd either take a business card and staple it to a a, a Rolodex. Or, uh, you would write that name and contact information there.
That discipline sticks with me today. And so, you know, that morphed from a, a paper Rolodex to eventually a contact book that we, I keep an outlook today. I don't know what other people use, but a contact book I think today. Space generation sometimes just relies on social media, so they go to LinkedIn or they have other ways that [00:40:00] they connect with people.
But I'm very old school, uh, and I think about this because I look at younger women around me who, or younger people who don't have that, uh, contact book. One of my. Employees, a new employee got in my car one day. I had a new car and, and the screen was showing an error message and it said, we can only sync 4,862 of your 8,495 contacts.
And she goes, holy, you know what expletive, she said, you have over 8,000 contacts. And I said, yes ma'am, I do. It's how I get things done. And um, I think about that, that's so old school, but it really is. The secret sauce, it is how I work today. It is the relationships that I've developed over, you know, 45 years of working.
It is people I know and people who know me and people who will help me and, um, and give me advice and information. Um, that I rely on every single day. Now, the, the lady who's heading the search for my successor, we were [00:41:00] talking about this the other day, and I, she said, what's the secret to your success?
And I said, it's just connections. It's people, it's knowing people and knowing how to ask for help and advice, and, uh, leaning into people who. Can help steer me in a direction or, or serve as a resource. And I was telling her about my 8,500 contacts and she said, yeah, but a lot of those people are probably dead or retired by now.
And I said, yeah, but their replacements aren't. So if I call that number, somebody's gonna answer the phone and be able to help me. Um, so you know, that really is, I guess, old school. It's a way things have changed today. I don't think young professionals rely on that. Maybe they do have contacts, but they just go to LinkedIn or they go to.
Some other, you know, social networking site to get information and resources. I still like talking to people every single day. That's how I, that's how I work, how I get things done.
Booth: that's so interesting. that the way you do your contacts and the 8,500 is just mind boggling. But it is true.
Like I didn't really think about it, but I asked my son and he's 18 the other day for one of [00:42:00] his friend's phone numbers. 'cause I needed to send something and he was like, oh, I don't have his number. We just always snap each other. And I, and it's, it's so true. They rely on, on social media. So I'm gonna. I'm gonna have to get him on the contact list game as, as well get him started.
Yeah. But that is, um, that is really, really great. So I'm gonna ask you one last question to wrap up. How do you hope your legacy will continue to shape the North Carolina hospitality industry?
Lynn: Oh, that's a, that's a big question. I, lead with passion and I think people who know me well. Uh, appreciate that.
Um. I wake up every day inspired and motivated and driven by the sense of passion. It's not, my work is not a job, it's not a career. It is a passion, a love, an energy, uh, for this industry to support this industry, to help it be successful. I've spent my career doing that. Um, [00:43:00] and it will be interesting to see how I.
Change when I walk away, you know, when I, when I'm no longer leading this industry every day, but I have, I've just been fueled by a, a sense of passion. And I hope that whoever comes in my role and, uh, my successor will have that same energy and enthusiasm and commitment. It's hard work. we work hard.
We as women work hard every single day. And I think the secret is finding your passion, your love, your energy, and that will, uh, bolster you and, lead to your success. So passion.
Booth: Passion. I love it. I love it. This has been so fantastic. Your story and how you have impacted so many women, so many business owners, so many workers is, is so inspirational.
Um, I know you're so proud of everything you've accomplished, so thank you for your time and sharing this story with us today. Thank you so
Lynn: much, booth. It's been an honor to be with you. [00:44:00]