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Suzy Holley

New position: Sales manager, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Tampa. Previous position: Director, community development, Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tampa

Suzy Holley has come full cycle, from growing up in cattle country in the Texas Panhandle to sales manager of Ruth's Chris Steak House in Tampa.

Her hometown was Perryton, Texas, two hours north of Amarillo, "in the middle of nowhere," she says. "Wheat fields and feed lots. Where all the cattle are grown.

"I watched it all being grown," she said. "Now I'm selling it."

Holley also is selling the entire Tampa Bay area. In addition to joining Ruth's Chris Steak House, she continues her role as a consultant in community and government relations for the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

She says she has long been a fan of Ruth's Chris. "I've been a customer of Ruth's Chris for 20 years," often visiting other Ruth's Chris venues across the country. And in her role at the CVB, Holley said she often brought dignitaries and held functions at the restaurant.

The restaurant, on West Shore Boulevard, seats 186 people and is the only Ruth's Chris in the bay area. The next nearest Ruth's Chris restaurants are in Sarasota and the Winter Park/Orlando area.

By working two jobs, Holley confesses that she "doesn't sleep much," but she says she never has. "I think the jobs overlap quite a bit," she said. "It's still getting out there into the community . . . letting our presence being known in the community. It's all hospitality."

At Ruth's Chris, Holley is responsible for all sales, marketing and advertising. "I also take care of all banquet sales and special event planning," she said. "I help people decide what to do for their events."

Holley attended West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University) in Canyon, majoring in physical education. As a housewife and mother, she and her family moved across the country, relocating 10 times in 16 years. When the last move, in 1991, found Holley and her two children in Tampa, "I said, "No more. This is it.' " One daughter just graduated from the University of South Florida; the other is a student at Plant High School.

Holley began working at Jacobson's department store in Tampa, originally just for the holidays. Then she began organizing fashion shows and special events, even teaching manners seminars to teenagers. Within three years, she was working there full time, from 1991 to 1994. She then moved to providing fashion shows and special events for Stein Mart stores from Tampa to Lakeland, from 1994 to 2000. She joined the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2000.

"I love the hospitality industry," Holley said. "I found that out when with the CVB. I love helping people . . . to be happy and to accomplish their goals. It makes me feel personally good."

Holley said she also likes now being more directly a part of the hospitality industry - the largest industry in Florida, she said. "This is a career. People in hospitality are serious about doing this for the rest of their lives."

Holley said she is confident Ruth's Chris Steak House can compete against other high-profile steak houses in Tampa, including Bern's and the Palm Court. "We have a wonderful market for steak lovers," she said. "There's enough business to go around (just as) there are enough Bucs fans and Lightning fans to fill both stadiums on the same night."

Holley, 48, is actively involved with a number of civic and professional organizations. She is on the board of directors of McDonald's Training Center; president of her Leadership Tampa class of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce; and on the advisory boards of organizations, including Kid City, Dress for Success, Miss Tampa Scholarship, the Florida Aquarium Development Committee, the Mayor's Beautification Program and Hillsborough Community College. She is also co-chairwoman of the Chiselers, the preservation committee for the Henry B. Plant Hall at the University of Tampa.

Holley also is an active member of the Suncoast Porsche Club. She often attends autocross rallies where drivers run a designed course against the clock. Holley said she no longer races her Porsche after running her Porsche 944 into a wall during a race in Sebring a few years ago.

She was uninjured, but "My feelings were hurt. I cried for two weeks. Then I got over it."

Holley said she enjoys the weekend rallies, often at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. "I really do it for fun," she said. "It's a release. It's relaxing."