take anything for granted. In years past, there were a lot of events that you just didn’t worry about, but today, in managing a public assembly facility, you have to be very sensitive to what could happen. The un- known is a scary part of it because there are terrorists who are willing to give their life. That was taking place abroad, but never here. Today, we have to be cognizant of that. That’s a very scary thing.” The events of 9/11 essentially created change, something a lot of people are not comfortable with. Change has never bothered Dubay, though. When you are born in Orono, Maine, you obviously deal with change if you are going to ascend in a career that one day leads to Gainesville and the campus of the University of Florida.
New Kid on the Block In a storied venue career that spanned 47 years and culminated with his retirement on July 6 of this year, Dubay has made and seen more change than a con- venience store cashier. Change has never bothered Dubay. Go- ing through change is one of the major ways that a man goes from being born in a tiny north- east town to ending a career at one of the nation’s largest uni- versities. The public assembly facility
looked at me and said that if it doesn’t work, that he was going to have to make a decision. I knew what that meant.” Dubay did not give the mayor the opportunity to have to make any
the following year.
were the hardest working, most dedicated group of individuals. They would do anything. My secretary would sell tickets. We had box of- looking to book a room or the arena and not be able to get through.”
Go South, Young Man Lionel Dubay is proud to say that in his career he has had only two
“As I got older, and as years passed in being
that nothing would happen on my watch. I never would want somebody to get hurt or a terrorist attack. In the old days, as much as
industry was still quite young - pointed as director of the new Augusta (ME) Civic Center in January 1973. Oh, the industry had been around for quite some time, but the professionalism, education, and training components left plenty to be desired. Despite being formed in 1924, IAVM’s member- ship numbered about 300 when Dubay set foot in the industry, a far cry from the 5,300-plus members today. Dubay graduated from the University of Maine in Orono with a major in education and a minor in recreation. During his junior year in college, Dubay applied for the Orono YMCA youth center director, deciding it was a good way to put that recreation part of his degree to use, while at the same time getting an education in the outside world. He ran the youth center for two years and even got a taste of live entertainment by booking events for the center. Dubay also organized fund-raising events, and by the time he graduated college, the center’s membership had grown from 29 to more than 300. -
reation director for the City of Augusta, some 80 miles away. There, Dubay credits Paul Poulin, the city manager, as a mentor who really launched the young professional’s career. Dubay had been at his position for a year when construction started
could either be a seasoned veteran with a strong business acumen or … a wet-behind-the-ears type such as Dubay. Poulin, in essence, put his job on the line by pushing for the latter. “That wouldn’t happen today,” Dubay said. “A youngster today
graduating from college needs to get in as an event coordinator and work their way up. But this was a young profession at the time. The
16 Facility Manager Magazine
world today. You can take as much precaution as possible and the inevitable could still happen.”
While in Augusta, Dubay served as recreation director and then director of the Augusta Civic Center. He was the main man in Maine, able to make deci- sions quite often on his own for the good of the venue and the community.
By the time 1985 rolled
around, Dubay had been talking with Jim Dalrymple, a friend from earlier in Dubay’s career, who had opened the new Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida in 1980. Dubay was not seeking a new position, but when Dalry- mple left for a position in Wash-
ington, D.C., he recommended the campus job to Dubay. “I had several options to leave, but I had two daughters and the quality of life for me coming from a small town was very important,” Dubay said. “I wasn’t drawn to the big city or to make the big money, per se. It wasn’t the motivation for me.
It reminded me so much of Maine. I said to myself, ‘I think this is it.’ I just fell in love with Gainesville.” Dubay saw change in how business was done. Whereas, before, he could pretty much slap a new coat of paint on the building at his dis- “The maintenance of the facility is being done by the physical
- is handling our accounting and purchasing. It was quite a transition,” he said. Dubay grew into his job, though, and as he did, he began mentoring “The vibrancy of the campus life had so much energy,” he said.
“As I was getting older, I appreciated it even more. What was really rewarding for me was growing people. At one time, we had seven of Dubay believed strongly in not only gaining those aspiring students practical experience at the arena, but introducing them to IAVM and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
