THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606010073
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 184 lines
PEERING THROUGH reading glasses, Lydia G. Duke immediately got to her bottom line:
``How many people are going to see this program?'' she asked the woman who wanted her to buy an ad.
Satisfied with the answer, Duke handed the paperwork to her business manager, telling her to write separate checks to pay half the bill from one franchise and half from the other. Then she thanked the woman for coming before turning to the next person waiting for her.
Duke - as she is known professionally - believes each person deserves her undivided attention and respect.
``I'm really not in the car business,'' said Duke, vice president of the family operation with the long name - Duke Chevrolet-Geo-Oldsmobile-Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac-GMC Truck - or Duke Sales, Service and Leasing, for short.
``I'm in the people business.''
Pointing to automobiles lined up outside on two adjoining lots on North Main Street, she said, ``The cars are a catalyst.''
Relationships are more valuable than possessions, she believes.
``The most important thing in life is not how much you acquire or how much you make, but people,'' she said. ``I'm big on making memories - at home, at work or serving the community.''
Finding quality time for family requires a delicate balance for Duke, who works long hours every weekday. She and her husband, William ``Bill'' Hevener, have an ``interstate marriage'' with homes, children and pets in two states.
On top of that, she juggles civic responsibilities, though only two at a time because she refuses to take on more than she can handle.
``I do enjoy contributing,'' said Duke, who recently finished a three-year term on the board of directors of Edmarc, a regional hospice for children with terminal illnesses.
This year, she is chairman of the Suffolk division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. She sees the post as an opportunity to give back to the community, her home for 25 years.
Last year, as chairman-elect, she worked closely with Chairman Harold U. Blythe, Bank of Suffolk president.
``I kept an ever-watchful eye on Harold and the fantastic job he did,'' she said.
As she approaches the midpoint of her term, she is confident of accomplishing her goals for the chamber this year. She has focused on promoting the city while pushing for regional cooperation, a concept that she admits concerns many people.
The Hampton Roads Chamber has more than 3,000 businesses, and, collectively, that is a powerful lobbying tool in Richmond, Duke said.
Regionalism is like a good marriage, she said. ``You have to keep the lines of communication open, respect each other, agree to disagree and revisit things a whole lot, asking, `Is this really what we want?' ''
The chamber must work with city officials to prepare for the growth that is inevitable, she said.
``We want to control that growth so the quality of life - not only for the business sector but the entire community - is not only retained but enhanced,'' she said.
But the city is unique.
``We don't ever want Suffolk to be equal in Hampton Roads or in Virginia,'' she said. ``It's like looking at your children. You may love them the same and treat them the same, but they have characteristics that make them unique.''
She believes Suffolk can offer something to the region.
``I feel like, in the years to come, we can have things others want to come here for,'' she said. ``With the right tools in place, we can have the other four cities looking to us for things besides land.''
Another emphasis this year has been a drive for new members.
``My time will end in six months,'' Duke said, ``but we have got to think three to five years down the road. We're looking for business leaders to promote and preserve the quality of life we have.''
She believes the city's image is changing.
``Suffolk is not only on the brink of growth, it is on the brink of respect,'' she said. ``Suffolk is the crown jewel of Hampton Roads.''
With rural and urban areas, the city has the best of both worlds.
``You see me out here on this concrete,'' she said. ``But I love to go digging in my yard, in my little garden.''
She starts each morning with a 5 a.m. jog on the treadmill.
``I like to open the blinds and watch the sun come up across the trees,'' she said. ``I really enjoy seeing each day start.''
By 7:30 a.m., she's usually making her morning rounds to be sure business is off to a smooth start.
``This is where I start my day and end my day,'' she said, stepping from beneath a Cadillac being serviced in one of the bays. ``I want to know who doesn't have a uniform on and why he doesn't have a uniform on.''
``If I'm not here at 8, they know I'm at a meeting,'' she said, as she chatted with the mechanics.
But if a woman in a suit and pumps looks out of place in the garage, the workmen don't seem to notice. And that's where Duke got her start in the car business seven years ago after her first husband, R. Eley Duke Jr., died of cancer.
A Mississippi native, she had met Duke while visiting relatives in Suffolk. After teaching elementary school for two years, she became a full-time mother of their children - Eley III, a recent college graduate, and Kelly, who will graduate this week from Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and enter James Madison University in the fall.
``When I came here, I reversed what I was doing,'' she said. ``I had been the one to provide the hugs and lunches and drive car pool. Then I became the lady who provided the income.''
She became a student as well. ``Not only did I lose the spouse I thought I'd grow old with, I changed every role I had experienced in 18 years in Suffolk,'' she said. ``I worked hard to make it look easy, so people wouldn't worry about me.''
Her father-in-law, Ray Duke, owned 75 percent of the company, and she inherited 25 percent. With encouragement from her husband before his death, she moved into his old office.
First, however, she worked beside the people she now supervises. She started in the parts department for three or four months, then moved to service and then sales.
``I had been the dealer's wife,'' she said. ``Many of these people had been employees here for years. They lost one of the owners, and they lost the dealer's wife. They inherited her in a position they knew she didn't know a thing about.''
She traded her lesson plans for a ledger with debits and credits.
``It was difficult to take someone trained to be an educator and lay a financial statement in front of them,'' she said, as the intercom crackled, ``Lydia Duke, line one.''
At first, she turned down several requests to participate in community projects. Her only preparation for the business world had been working part time in litter control under Thomas R. Hines, the city's public works director. ``I was `Litter Lady Lydia,' '' she said.
She needed time to adjust to her new career.
``I knew I could not be learning here and running off to meetings,'' she said. ``I would be cutting everyone short.''
But when Harry L. Cross III called several years ago to ask her to consider a spot on the chamber board, she felt the time was right.
``We had just completed a huge expansion and had acquired Chevrolet and were buying the property across the street,'' she said.
She is a consensus builder at work and in her chamber activities.
``I like to get my eight managers and my father-in-law together before making a decision. He has 37 years of experience, and they have youth. You can't go wrong if you listen.
``I apply those principles at work, in the chamber and in my family. To communicate, I use my brain and my heart.''
She is a very private person about her personal life, however.
``When I got married, I did not tell anyone here until the day before that I would be married the next day at noon,'' she said.
When she leaves the car lot on Fridays, she retreats to the privacy of her home, sharing her time with her husband, children and two grown step-children, one of whom was married recently.
``They're the balance to all the long hours,'' she said.
They manage by using plenty of coolers to carry food from one home to another, she said.
``A lot of time, our turkey is bought in North Carolina, cooked in Virginia and carried back to North Carolina to eat Christmas night,'' she said.
``We have two Christmas trees, two wreaths, 12 stockings - six here and six in Plymouth,'' she said. ``Make that 14 this year. We also have two yards, three dogs and a cat.''
Organization is the key for her.
``Remember, I used to teach and had lesson plans,'' she said. ``The older I get, (the more) I have to rewrite in the margins.''
Carrying on the family business has been rewarding despite the sacrifices.
``I've been the bridge between the first generation and the third, in case the children would choose to run the business. If not, I would not have lost a thing. I've made a heck of a lot of friends and learned so much.''
Like any good leader, she realizes she can't do everything alone.
``I've got a good team on the chamber board, a good team here at work and a real good team at home. That's what brings the balance. That and I do know who my guardian angel is.
``He's with me daily.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
PEOPLE PERSON
Staff photos, inside and cover, by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
``If I'm not here at 8, they know I'm at a meeting,'' says Lydia G.
Duke, who likes to make morning rounds at Duke Sales to make sure
things are running smoothly.
``I'm big on making memories - at home, at work or serving the
community,'' says Lydia G. Duke.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT LYDIA DUKE
Harold U. Blythe
Bank of Suffolk president
Catherine Brinkley
Chamber director, Suffolk
William E. Harrell
assistant city manager
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB