- May 5, 2024
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As the incoming chairman of the board for the Chamber of Commerce, Lubi hopes to boost economic recovery.
Garry Lubi
Age: 54
Family: Wife, Barbara; three children; five grandchildren
Occupation, title: Senior Vice President, Commercial Area Manager for Prosperity Bank
Quirky fact: Has played the acoustic guitar since he was 9
Garry Lubi got into banking when he was 18 years old, when he started as a teller while attending college at Canisius, in Buffalo, N.Y.
July will mark 36 years in the industry.
But while his career has been constant, his location has not. Before moving to Palm Coast full-time in late 2004, Lubi had moved seven times in the previous 14 years. The most recent move brought Lubi to Flagler County, from Vero Beach.
Immediately after moving to Palm Coast, Lubi got a job at Prosperity Bank, where he currently is senior vice president and commercial area manager. Lubi also got involved with the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates.
Lubi has been involved with the chamber in every place he has lived, and he said a chamber is an integral part of any community.
But, he said, none has been as impactful as Flagler’s. As a chamber leader in 2011, Lubi was one of the most vocal proponents of having the county unify behind one economic development plan.
As the incoming chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, Lubi hopes to continue positive momentum in economic development and help reduce the county’s high unemployment rate — which is the second-highest in the state.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen in my five years (with the chamber) is that I think we have strengthened our voice around economic development,” he said. “And we have always been very persistent in keeping the intensity going relative to addressing the need to do something different.”
The numbers won’t come down overnight, though. Lubi gets that. In fact, he said the current unemployment situation should be recognized as a “state of emergency.”
“We need to create a foundation,” Lubi said. “We started that, and I think by 2015, we can look back at 2011 and say that, foundationally, what we did in 2011 and 2012 is what really made a difference for what will become in 2015.”
Ron Szymanski, who was on Prosperity Bank’s board of directors, met Lubi when he first got the job with the bank. Szymanski was also entrenched in the chamber. He said if there is anybody capable of leading the chamber into 2012 and preparing the community for a recovery, it’s Lubi.
“When (Garry) grabs a hold of something, he doesn’t let go,” Szymanski said. “He keeps trying and trying until he gets there.”
Barbara Lubi has been married to Garry for more than 30 years. She said her husband’s passion is unmatchable, but his integrity is what she admires most.
“He’ll give everything he’s got, and he’ll do it the right way,” Barbara Lubi said.
Barbara Lubi said Garry always looks at the big picture, which will be vital in preparing the county for an economic recovery during the coming years.
“He’s not short-sighted,” she said. “He would always look from the high end. Not just how it’ll benefit him personally, but how it’ll benefit the entire community.”
In the meantime, while the recovery process continues, Lubi hopes to grow the chamber’s member base, which stands at 850 businesses.
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
