Sioux Falls Business Journal

Macy's Otis plays mom for hockey team

By Rosemary McCoy

Tuesday, 12 June 2007

The Question and Answer feature helps readers learn more about prominent people in the business community. This issue’s Q&A profiles Lynn Otis, store manager at Macy’s. Name: Lynn Otis Title: Macy’s store manager Hometown: Detroit Age: 53 Background: Bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Wayne State University in Detroit; has worked in retail since high school in management and buying positions; has been with Macy’s (Marshall Fields/Dayton’s) for 25 years; serves on the board of Junior Achievement and serves as a classroom volunteer; has been a housing parent for the Sioux Falls Stampede since the team came to Sioux Falls Family: Husband, Lee; dog, Lexie   Q: Tell me about your interests and hobbies. A: “Watching sports (especially hockey), playing golf and cooking.” Lynn Otis is the store manager at Macy's. (Inertia/for the SFBJ) Q: How did you become interested in your field? A: “I started at 16 working in a small specialty store and got hooked on the business.” Q: What do you enjoy most about your job? A: “The people I work with, the customers I interact with and that no two days are alike.” Q: How do you find time to balance your job and your family? A: “This is tough sometimes, especially at the holidays, but I plan ahead and am fortunate to have great managers and a very wonderful husband.” Q: What kind of music is in your car or what do you listen to on the radio? A: “Motown, ’70s and sports talk radio.” Q: If you could have dinner with two or three people, alive or dead, who would you choose and why? A: “Oprah Winfrey as she is incredibly dynamic; Al Kaline, baseball player and my childhood idol; and Rachael Ray, great cook and seems to be a lot of fun.” Q: If you have a visitor from out of town, what’s your favorite place to take them? A: “The Washington Pavilion or a Stampede game. The Pavilion is a beautiful facility for our size of community to have. Something that wonderful is very special. Many towns our size or bigger don’t have that. I’m a Stampede housing mom for the team. We’ve been doing that since the start of the team.” Q: Do you have a charity or organization that’s especially close to your heart? A: “There are two. I’m very involved in Junior Achievement. I serve on the board and I’m a volunteer in the classroom. The other is the Children’s Home Society. They do incredible work.” Q: What’s your favorite summertime activity? A: “Walking my dog or golf.” Q: What are the best and worst things about living in Sioux Falls? A: “The best is the people and the community involvement. The worst is why we can’t figure out how to get a new arena.”